So, uh, I already did a post on this exact character but I feel like I’m losing my mind trying to rename them because the only names I’ve even tried to use for them were either unusable for the same reasons that made me need to change their original name (Rowan) or not really neutral enough for me (Jasper). And like, I do actually need this one to have a name first.
A quick recap — this is for a character based loosely on [name_f]Morgan[/name_f] [name_m]Le[/name_m] [name_f]Fay[/name_f]. They are the seventeen-year-old witch half-sibling of the [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] character, a boy named [name_f]Arden[/name_f] who goes by [name_m]Ari[/name_m]. I don’t exactly need their name to fit with [name_f]Arden[/name_f] ‘Ari’ because both characters changed their names before their respective stories begin. Originally they were [name_f]Remi[/name_f] [name_f]Fay[/name_f] but because [name_m]Ari[/name_m] is also a two-syllable name ending with the ‘ee’ sound and there’s a character named [name_f]Wren[/name_f] I figured I had to change it. Their surname is still [name_f]Fay[/name_f].
Other characters I know the first names of (when I say ‘this character’ I mean the one being renamed):
[name_f]Morgan[/name_f] — particularly important to this character’s story, basically acts as a mentor to them. Isn’t exactly very good at that.
[name_f]Wren[/name_f] — a character loosely inspired by [name_m]Robin[/name_m] Hood, not somebody they will interact with during their particular arc but everyone comes together later so that was the main reason it felt like [name_f]Remi[/name_f] wasn’t usable.
[name_m]Ari[/name_m] — as mentioned, loosely based on [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]Arthur[/name_m], and therefore this character’s younger half-brother. Very relevant to each other, although there’s a lot more reminiscing about the past from this character’s perspective’.
Elliot/Emery — leaning towards [name_m]Elliot[/name_m], actually, because I have a gazillion Emerys (I mean I have a fair few Elliots too but that’s not the point), but this is Ari’s partner in world-saving and the [name_m]Merlin[/name_m] character. Another potential strike against [name_f]Remi[/name_f] is [name_f]Emery[/name_f] being another name ending in ‘ee’, which is fairly relevant since these two do have some interactions from this character’s perspective.
The conditions I set out the first time around needed some adjusting, so again, a list:
• Cannot start with M, R, A or E (non-negotiable)
• Gender-neutral, would prefer it not to lean too masculine
• Preferably does not end in that ‘ee’ sound (such as [name_m]Ari[/name_m] and Emery)
• I do like nature names but honestly I’m having serious trouble finding anything I like that feels like it fits for this character based on my other rules
I know people responded to the original version of this but honestly none of the responses felt right. Basically all my thoughts go as follows:
[name_m]Lowen[/name_m]: Being strictly honest based on the rules this is fine, but there’s something about this name I do not like
[name_f]Cressida[/name_f]: I know I said ‘gender neutral, could lean feminine’ — this does not lean feminine, this is one hundred percent a girls’ name and it wouldn’t remotely fit this character
[name_m]Penrose[/name_m]: Ari’s surname is [name_m]Penryn[/name_m], so that would be really weird
[name_f]Seren[/name_f]: This simultaneously feels more neutral and yet still definitely a girls’ name to me? Also it sounds kinda weird when I try to say their full name out loud, in a way that [name_m]Lowen[/name_m] does not despite them being reasonably similar names in terms of their endings. I don’t know.
[name_f]Celandine[/name_f]: I am definitely not familiar with this name but this doesn’t feel neutral in the slightest and also is a pretty awkward name all things considered
[name_f]Persimmon[/name_f]: Not sure whether this feels neutral to me, it honestly just makes me think of cinnamon and again, is a very awkward name
[name_f]Teagan[/name_f]: This may be me, since [name_f]Teagan[/name_f] is a neutral name, but it does not feel like a boys’ name. That is probably because I knew a female [name_f]Teagan[/name_f] a long time ago, though (also, side note, lot of names ending in ‘n’ considering [name_f]Morgan[/name_f], [name_f]Wren[/name_f], and Ari’s full name at minimum)
[name_m]Tallis[/name_m]: I kinda like the name this comes from, [name_m]Taliesin[/name_m], but again… complicated. And as for [name_m]Tallis[/name_m] itself, this is certainly less awkward than [name_f]Persimmon[/name_f] and [name_f]Celandine[/name_f] but it doesn’t feel much like a name.
[name_m]Celyn[/name_m]: Okay, so I actually do quite like this name, I just don’t quite think it fits given everything.
[name_m]Ellis[/name_m]: Two problems — one, I maybe have a character who’s gonna be called [name_m]Elliot[/name_m], and two, I have a character called [name_m]Ellis[/name_m] in a completely different story irrelevant to all of this. The name’s fine, though. [name_m]Just[/name_m] not for this.
[name_m]Sullivan[/name_m]: I honestly just do not like this name. All I can think of is Monsters Inc, and definitely not a modern day seventeen-year-old’s first name.
[name_m]Tarian[/name_m]: The problem with some of these is that they feel very outlandish compared with the rest of the cast they’re working with. I don’t hate this name, although I have to admit it doesn’t feel very teenager-y either, this is more a wise adult mentor (okay so maybe this could be Morgan’s dad…)
[name_f]Troian[/name_f]: This looks awful. No offence to anyone who likes this name or has this name, but I hate it.
[name_m]Taliesin[/name_m]: Oh, hi, I mentioned you earlier! This is okay, I guess, I just keep running into the same issue and I’m realising that I maybe should have clarified the setting better because this feels like a character in something more high fantasy, the different world sort. This takes place in modern day [name_m]Britain[/name_m], not necessarily in the most urban areas but definitely modern day [name_m]Britain[/name_m]. Well, mostly [name_f]England[/name_f].
[name_f]Delaney[/name_f]: Actually I might consider this one… [name_f]Delaney[/name_f] [name_f]Fay[/name_f] sounds okay, and if I remember what this name means… not 100% convinced, but it’s a pretty fair option.
[name_f]Ostara[/name_f]: Like some of the others, not all that neutral feeling but also it feels very wrong. I can’t quite explain it.
[name_m]Garnet[/name_m]: I’m absolutely just thinking of [name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f] Wilson’s Double Act but this does feel more like a girl’s name — and [name_m]Garnet[/name_m] [name_f]Fay[/name_f] sounds a bit weird given the adjective-noun (with [name_m]Garnet[/name_m] functioning as ‘red’) set up.
[name_m]Emerson[/name_m]: Means ‘son of Emery’. [name_m]God[/name_m], would that be an awkward conversation if the [name_m]Merlin[/name_m] character is Emery…
[name_f]Indigo[/name_f]: Runs into the same problem as [name_m]Garnet[/name_m] — paired with [name_f]Fay[/name_f], you have an odd combination of adjective-noun.
[name_f]Sage[/name_f]: I do like this… unfortunately it sounds weird with [name_f]Fay[/name_f] given they’re both single-syllable names and it feels a bit odd to say to me.
[name_m]Quincy[/name_m]: This just feels like a pretty nasty name to me for reasons I’m not that certain of. I like [name_f]Quinn[/name_f], but not this.
[name_m]Spencer[/name_m]: I also just don’t really like this being used as a first name. Although I don’t think I’d like [name_m]Quincy[/name_m] all that much as a surname either.
[name_f]October[/name_f]: Some month names are reasonable. I don’t think this is one of them, even if you could technically go by [name_m]Toby[/name_m]. It doesn’t feel right.
[name_f]Lexington[/name_f]: This… yeah, this is a no. If I was looking for a surname, maybe, but I’m not.
[name_m]Zohar[/name_m]: So this is an odd one. Popular name in [name_m]Israel[/name_m], feminine over there, but apparently reads masculine in the US? It wouldn’t be a name I could see this character choosing.
[name_m]Hollis[/name_m]: I really like this name, which is kind of why I was avoiding it. Probably another contender, although I definitely have characters with the name in other stuff so maybe not.
I mean no offence to the people who suggested these names.
What I should probably clarify: this character is a seventeen-year-old living in [name_f]England[/name_f] in the modern day, in a version of our world where magic is mostly hidden and most people aren’t wandering through the countryside on quests to slay dragons.
So I may go with [name_f]Delaney[/name_f] or [name_m]Hollis[/name_m], I’ll have to think about it, but if anyone has any other ideas then they’d be appreciated!