In depsperate need of main character naming help

Writers' Corner
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I became inspired to write a novel a few years ago from a painting I saw. I’ve been obsessing on it for a while and I have started it a few times but it was never going in the right direction. So I stopped to give it a little more thought and realized the main character wasn’t properly developed. I’ve given her some thought and now I need help naming her. Usually my character’s name themselves with little thought on my part but she just doesn’t want to introduce herself. I’m eager to start the novel but since it starts from her POV I need to name her and get her settled into her personality.

The character in question is a Halfling–which is to say she is a bastard of the royal family (the story takes place in a far future when one family rules what is left of the world. Eastern Oriental nations ([name]China[/name], Japan, and Korea) formed one superpower over a thousand years ago and now make up the royal family. All asians are either part of the Ruling Family, or Halflings. This character is unique in that she is a bastard of the Emperor and a [name]Moon[/name] Maiden or [name]Moon[/name] Watcher, also called Untouchables, as they are to live their lives as virgins, in service to the [name]Moon[/name] goddess, Kiame. As a young man, when his father was still in power, the current Emperor raped a high priestess in the midst of a ritual for Drawing Down the [name]Moon[/name]. She was imbued with the [name]Essence[/name] of Kiame when she conceived the main character. I don’t want to give too much of the story away but long story short she will end up fleeing for her life from the Imperial [name]Palace[/name] when there is an attempt on her life from uncertain sources (it sound cliche I know, but I promise it’s more thought out than that)

The other main characters that I have named have word names. This wasn’t on purpose, it was just how it happened and now I feel that this is how all Commons are named. Only the Imperial Family and the gods have names in the old Tongue (a mix of the three languages which formed the superpower that took over) thus names like Kiame are reserved for inside the palace walls and places of worship.

Names of other characters outside the palace walls are:

[name]Doe[/name]
[name]Raven[/name]
[name]Eve[/name] (short for [name]Evening[/name])
[name]Burn[/name]
[name]Blaze[/name]
[name]Honey[/name]
Owl
[name]Azure[/name]
[name]Aria[/name]
Snapdragon
[name]Blue[/name]
Smoke

I thought about calling the main character [name]Moon[/name] but I’m not 100% sure of it. I’m not yet sure whether she should have an asian name for inside the Walls that she then translates into the Common tongue to be the usual sort of “word name” those outside the palace walls have, so she won’t stand out or if she was never named as she was raised by the Untouchables where names are obsolete and she only gives herself a name when she moves outside the walls. Anyway I really need help with her name and I appreciate any help.

I liked the name Shen for inside the walls since it’s meaning (spirit) fit the superstition that she wasn’t a real or “whole” person because she was concienved while her mother’s soul was outside herself while her body acted as a vessel to the moon goddess, who is their main deity.

I feel like it’s difficult to get going on the story if my main character doesn’t have a name! If you’ve read this far, thank you. I know this was lengthy. Any suggestions would be so appreciated :slight_smile:

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I think [name]Moon[/name] is far too cliche for your rather uncliche story idea!

Perhaps something reminesint of the [name]Moon[/name].

[name]Lux[/name] means [name]Light[/name], so maybe that or a tweaking of that. For example: [name]Lux[/name] --> Luxe —> Exul — > Exule, Exole, Exoly, Exuly, Exoli.

Shen is nice, but I think of a male character with it. Shene is better to me.

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Well the Chinese word for moon is Yue which is really pretty. Xing is star. I think Yue would be lovely.

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Hmm, I like the idea that she doesn’t really have a name, especially if she was raised by people who didn’t care for individual names. Although, as half-royalty, she may have interacted with others in the palace and wanted a name of her own like they did. So maybe she had a name for herself but was never called by it? Whether or not she would translate it into a word name when she leaves the palace could be up to a couple things. If she’s running for her life, having a more common name might help her blend in, but also, she might have always wanted people to call her by name, in which case she’d keep her palace name. So I guess it depends on the exact circumstances of her upbringing and its effect on her sense of identity. Based on my image of her I’ve just described, I’d go with the latter, although that might just be because if I was the writer, I’d want to use the cool name for my character, rather than an ordinary word name like [name]Moon[/name]. You know your character better than I do, though, so my interpretation could be off from how you’re envisioning things.
As for the palace name itself, having something to do with the moon would be good, given her birth circumstances. The only Shen I’ve known was a boy, so I also see Shen as a boy’s name. I do like the idea of using the words for “moon” as her name(s). Maybe play with [name]Moon[/name], Yue, Tsuki, and [name]Dal[/name] (English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean) to come up with her name(s). Have that word stand alone (Yue and Tsuki sound best as names, personally); alter the word itself ([name]Moon[/name]->Muna, Yue->Yueh); or mix them together (combining [name]Moon[/name] and [name]Dal[/name] reminded me of words like “mundial,” Latin for “worldly,” which I thought was interesting even if a little clunky for a name). [name]Just[/name] some ideas.
I hope my musings helped a little, even if I’m bad at making suggestions for other people’s characters. It sounds like a really interesting story idea, and I’d love to see that painting that so inspired you. The artist in me got really excited as soon as I read that first sentence, haha.

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I cant use the name Yue (although it is very pretty). I’m a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender (the origonal cartoon, NOT the awful movie) and then princess of the northern water tribe is Yue. The moon spirirt saved her lief as a baby so when a firebender killed Tui, the moon spirit, she sacrifices her life and becomes the new moon spirit. I feel like, while their stories are still very different, it wouldb e pushing the similarities of their connections to name her Yue.

Plus, she may be sick of the moon connection as it has driven her life and mapped out her value to those who raised her and to the royal family who see the strength of her magic (which is called her Principals and were discovered through science before WWIV). So as the moon has driven her value her whole life I think she would want a name that wasn’t connected to it. I like Xing but I’m still not 100% certain. Nothing has struck me as THE name you know? As for her sense of identity, periwinkleblue, you ahve the right of it. She was mostly raised by the Untouchables and was never given a name but her father is the emperor and it is many years before his queen gives him children. She interacts with the royal family quite a it when it begins to look like she may be the only heir to the Great Kingdom. But despite their interaction they do not give her a name. It seems unnecessary to them until they are certain they must announce her as the successor to the throne.

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Oh and as for the painting I saw that inspired me…It was actually a painting of a character who would be a main secondary character andn ot the princess. It was a painting of the character I’m calling [name]Eve[/name] and when I saw her…I knew I had to write a story for her but she is a sad and withdrawn character and not fit for the main role, although she plays an important one. I have the image saved on my computer and look at it often as insperation.

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Would still love some more suggestions and opinions as I haven’t found “the name” yet.

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[name]Ah[/name], I was so close, but no moon names! Hmm…I’m not sure of the words that mean what I’m thinking of, but maybe the meaning behind her name should reinforce her individuality. If she’s always thought of in terms of the moon goddess or as an illegitimate royal child, her chosen name would reflect her worth. So maybe something referring to an interest or a personal characteristic, or even her value in itself.

Some random names, their meanings, and their language of origin:
Reika - lovely petal (J) (I just thought this one looked/sounded interesting)
Hisa - enduring (J) (Liked the strong meaning, not the sound)
Ling - clever; intelligent, spiritual ©
[name]Xin[/name] Ling - soul (C*)
Haneul - sky (K*)
*starred words are translations, so no promises on usability as names

The things I looked up were in the category of Eastern [name]Asia[/name], but if the commoners use English word names, you could always switch to English if nothing is sticking. Maybe she rejects the naming system used for the Imperial Family. But my vocabulary isn’t working for me right now, and I can’t think of the English words I’m thinking of, if such words even exist. If you liked Shen’s meaning, maybe [name]Spirit[/name] itself could work as a name. After all, you already have people named Smoke, [name]Burn[/name], and Snapdragon.
This attempt didn’t feel very helpful, although I had fun thinking stuff up. That’s all I’ve got for now, so good luck!

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I’m a little confused, are you looking for a word name for your character, or an Asian one?
The moon is often connected with water and the tides, that could be a new direction. I also like the thought of going for a more generic light reference. Amaya is a Japanese name that means ‘night rain’. I think it would be very suitable as a subtle reference to how she was concieved, thinking of the rain as a link between the moon and her mother. Also found Japanese Gina (gee-naa) which means ‘silver’.
For a word name, maybe just Rain or Tide or River or Zenith for when the moon is at it’s highest. With Zenith, she could call herself Zia, which is the Hebrew version of the Arabic Ziya meaning ‘splendour, light, glow’ for yet another moon connection. Ziya is a boys name, but I don’t think that’s a problem :slight_smile:

I also hae to mention that I love Snapdragon, I’m so happy to seee you mention it! ^^ I recently created the most whimsical of sibsets with boys Snapdragon and Foxglove and girls Meadowsweet and Pennyroyal.

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periwinkleblue I enjoy all the suggestions. Anything I like that doesn’t work for the heroine of my story can go into a name bank of names for other characters. Anyway, I understand your vocabulary not working for you. Mine does that to me all the time.

dearest a lot of great suggestions I like [name]Rain[/name] and Tide. Zenith is great and ironically I just heard the name [name]Zia[/name] the other day for the first time and loved the meaning. For some reason it didn’t even cross my mind though to consider it for my novel. I will definitely have to think those over. They are some great suggestions and I appreciate them all!

Also, I’m glad you like Snapdragon. It’s such a fun one to use. Snapdragon, in my story, is a very old woman and a Healer. She’s a fiesty, snappy old thing and people don’t mess with her. I can’t wait to write her. In my head, she’s already a great character.

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I posted on your more recent version of this post, but I just want to say that this sounds like a fun story idea. I love dystopian fantasy, and well-done fantasies based in [name]Asia[/name] are rare to come by. Good luck! (And out of curiosity, what is the name of the painting? It may help us envision the story more if you told us–and, frankly, I’m curious!)

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Well, there was one specific painting that got me thinking on the story origonally. Later, when I found out who painted it, I looked him up and found several paintings that added to my insperation for this world.

The painting below is one of those that inspired the main character (who I am currently trying to name)

But it is this painting that inspired the whole story. It is a cropped version of the whole painting. The layout of his page has changed and I can’t find the origonal in all its glory so this is a smaller version from my pin board on pinterest. This is [name]Eve[/name].

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What about [name]Luna[/name]?

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[name]Luna[/name] us a Latin name that means moon. I don’t want a name that directly means moon and the name has to either be Chinese, Japanese, or Korean or else an English word name. There are no names outside of English word names and Eastern Oriental names. Sad day, too, because I love the name [name]Luna[/name].

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Have you come any closer to a desicion?
I thought about [name]Delta[/name] as another water name. Also [name]Bright[/name], Dew, [name]Lake[/name], Minnow, Nightingale (or other nocturnal animals? I see you already have Owl), [name]Ocean[/name], [name]River[/name], [name]Promise[/name]?, [name]Reef[/name], Wave, [name]Pearl[/name], Swan and maybe [name]Vesper[/name]?

Izumi means ‘fountain/spring’ in Japanese, Kasumi means ‘mist’, Kokoro means ‘heart/spirit’, Mizuki means ‘beautiful moon’, Tsukiko means ‘moon child’, Nanami can mean ‘seven seas’ which reminds me that you could use [name]Seven[/name].

[name]Bo[/name] means ‘wave’ in Chinese (I always loved the thought of [name]Bo[/name] for a girl!), Hai means ‘sea’, Jiang means ‘river’, Ling can mean ‘spirit/soul’, [name]Ming[/name] can mean ‘shining/bright/clear’, Shui means ‘water’, Yin can mean ‘silver’ which is the best way to describe the colour of the moon.

Eun is a Korean name which can mean ‘silver’, Iseul means ‘dew’ and Myeong means ‘bright/clear’.

Other than that I’m really not sure what to suggest to you anymore. I hope you find a name that’s just right.

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I like the sound of Jiang, tho I wish it had a meaning other than river. I like the names that mean silver, spirit/soul, water/dew/rain/sea, and things like shining/bright/clear etc. [name]River[/name] doesn’t feel quite right for the meaning but I like the SOUND of Jiang the best. I was contemplating Yin even before you mentioned it and I considered [name]Sun[/name] because I like irony that it means obediant in Korean but with a slight change of pronounciation it is the opposite of the moon which has driven her life. But I like the meanings of the names best that mean silver and/or rain.