Name Some Fantasy Desert Princesses!

Writers' Corner
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I’m trying to name a few characters for a Visual Novel project, set in a desert kingdom with a sort of “middle east by way of sex-positive queer-friendly romantic fantasy” aesthetic. I’m strictly NOT aiming to represent real-world cultures - just wanted a fantasy story centering on non-white characters for a change - so made-up names that fit the style are fair game as much as any real-world name. For sounds, think Indo-European/Middle Eastern/[name_u]North[/name_u] African types of names (you can probably see what I’m aiming for with the shortlists).

The characters in need of names are three ladies who happen to be the three wives of a young prince, [name_u]Taj[/name_u]. Here’s a picture of each (click to enlarge), a quick rundown of their personalities, and the names I’m currently deciding between (you can suggest others instead if you want):

“Sexywife” (LEFT), the princess of a neighbouring kingdom. She was married to the young prince for typical political reasons, but nonetheless she’s very fond of him. She’s considerably older than [name_u]Taj[/name_u] and the other two wives, and has a broadly motherly attitude towards all of them. She’s confident, playful, affectionate, and extremely clever.
Current Shortlist: [name_f]Mariam[/name_f]/[name_f]Maryam[/name_f], [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Amaya[/name_f], [name_f]Amara[/name_f], [name_f]Idra[/name_f]

“Shywife” (CENTRE), a poor village girl who accidentally caught the eye of the prince. Rumours around town say he ordered that her parents give her to him, but the truth is her parents were mistreating her and [name_u]Taj[/name_u] felt sorry for her. Though she’s deeply grateful to the prince for saving her, her difficult youth weighs heavily on her outlook and her self-esteem, and she has great difficulty feeling safe or happy. She’s soft-spoken, melancholy, cautious and sensitive.
Current Shortlist: [name_f]Nadia[/name_f], [name_u]Noah[/name_u], [name_u]Paz[/name_u], [name_f]Riva[/name_f]

“Toughwife” (RIGHT), who was pursuing a warrior’s calling until her parents implored her to marry in order to save their finances. [name_u]Taj[/name_u] requested her hand to assuage their fears, but her true role is as his confident and bodyguard. She adores [name_u]Taj[/name_u], but as a devoted retainer to her prince, rather than a wife to a husband; secretly she’s probably in love with “Shywife”. She’s courageous, abrasive, protective, and basically humourless.
Current Shortlist: [name_f]Amirah[/name_f], [name_f]Jethra[/name_f], [name_f]Sethe[/name_f], [name_u]Ariel[/name_u], [name_f]Reva[/name_f], [name_u]Rohan[/name_u], [name_f]Shivani[/name_f], [name_f]Surya[/name_f]
Slightly Longer List: Asra, Aslan, Batari, Emira, Eshe, Rashida, Raja

Other Notes: Since these three are regularly in the same context, names that are distinct and complimentary are best (like if you pick [name_f]Riva[/name_f] don’t also pick [name_f]Reva[/name_f], or [name_f]Amara[/name_f] and [name_f]Amirah[/name_f], etc :p)

Many thanks! :smiley:

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[name_f]Miriam[/name_f], [name_f]Nadia[/name_f] & [name_f]Amirah[/name_f]

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“Sexywife”: [name_f]Mariam[/name_f]. Not too young ([name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Amaya[/name_f] and [name_f]Amara[/name_f]) or too motherly ([name_f]Miriam[/name_f]). [name_m]Just[/name_m] perfect.
I have nothing to say about [name_f]Idra[/name_f], I just think that [name_f]Mariam[/name_f] fits best the character.

“Shywife”: [name_f]Nadia[/name_f] and [name_f]Riva[/name_f] are strong names, so I would chose [name_u]Noah[/name_u] or [name_u]Paz[/name_u]. But, if this girl is “melancholy, cautious and sensitive”, I think [name_u]Noah[/name_u] is the best choice.

“Toughwife”:
[name_u]Ariel[/name_u] - too cute
[name_f]Amirah[/name_f] - name of a polite girl
[name_f]Surya[/name_f] - seems too musical for someone that is harsh
[name_f]Shivani[/name_f] - too princess-like
And I stay with: [name_f]Jethra[/name_f], [name_f]Sethe[/name_f], [name_f]Reva[/name_f] and [name_u]Rohan[/name_u]. All of them are good options for your character, but my favorite name here is [name_f]Sethe[/name_f].

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Thanks everybody!

Between here and my Twitter account, [name_u]Paz[/name_u] is definitely the favourite for Shywife, and I think it’s secretly the one I’m preferring anyway. Normally I don’t care for P-names at all, so the fact that I’m leaning in that direction probably means I really like it ^_^;

Opinion seems to be very divided on the other two! [name_f]Shivani[/name_f] seems to be most popular for Toughwife, but more people said they specifically didn’t like it, too. Tricky! I’m considering using [name_f]Shivani[/name_f] and letting the other girls (but nobody else) call her “Vani”, but not sure still. “[name_f]Sethe[/name_f]” might more properly be winning, as it’s a lot of peoples’ second choice, and almost nobody seems to dislike it. (Though now “[name_f]Emira[/name_f]” is definitely on her list too :p).

I may have really split the crowd by making most of the names for Sexywife so similar… she has like the EXACT same number of votes for each one ^_^; I fear she may be the most difficult.

Not decided yet, so further suggestions or feedback are still much appreciated! :slight_smile:

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Thanks everybody!

Between here and my Twitter account, [name_u]Paz[/name_u] is definitely the favourite for Shywife, and I think it’s secretly the one I’m preferring anyway. Normally I don’t care for P-names at all, so the fact that I’m leaning in that direction probably means I really like it ^_^;

Opinion seems to be very divided on the other two! [name_f]Shivani[/name_f] seems to be most popular for Toughwife, but more people said they specifically [i]didn’t[i] like it, too. Tricky! I’m considering using [name_f]Shivani[/name_f] and letting the other girls (but nobody else) call her “Vani”, but not sure still. “[name_f]Sethe[/name_f]” might more properly be winning, as it’s a lot of peoples’ second choice, and almost nobody seems to dislike it. (Though now “[name_f]Emira[/name_f]” is definitely on her list too :p).

I may have really split the crowd by making most of the names for Sexywife so similar… she has like the EXACT same number of votes for each one ^_^; I fear she may be the most difficult.

Not decided yet, so further suggestions or feedback are still much appreciated! :slight_smile:

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I really like [name_f]Idra[/name_f] for Sexywife! It’s both very feminine and very strong and I’m so glad [name_u]Paz[/name_u] is winning for Shywife because that would be my vote too. Your situation with Toughwife sounds really tricky and [name_f]Shivani[/name_f] and [name_f]Sethe[/name_f] happen to be the two names I can’t choose between so I don’t envy you hahaha

Good luck with deciding! This sounds like a really interesting group of characters and setting ^-^

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I’m still having a ton of trouble settling on Toughwife, BAH! Casting the net again in case I warm to any of them. Let me know if you fancy her with:

Asra, Aslan, Batari, [name_f]Emira[/name_f], [name_f]Eshe[/name_f], [name_f]Rashida[/name_f], or [name_u]Raja[/name_u].

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Ooh, I like [name_u]Raja[/name_u] for Toughwife, but does it look too similar to the name [name_u]Taj[/name_u]? I like Aslan for its meaning, but the name [name_f]Rashida[/name_f] is growing on me looking at your picture of the character. If I absolutely had to choose, I’d probably pick [name_f]Rashida[/name_f].

For Sexywife, I think [name_f]Mara[/name_f] would fit best. Maybe I’m biased because I actually love the name [name_f]Mara[/name_f], but I feel like it’s the center line between sexy and conservative. [name_f]Maryam[/name_f] gives me an extremely conservative vibe (Again, maybe I’m biased because I know a [name_f]Maryam[/name_f] and she’s nothing like the character personality you described.). The rest are pretty, but come off as more sexy sounding to me.

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Nuts, you’re right! And since he’s derived from a previous character, he’s the only one whose name would be really hard to change. Yep, I gotta strike that one - shame, as I was quite liking it, but it’s definitely too close to [name_u]Taj[/name_u] (and [name_u]Paz[/name_u], for that matter - I must really like “ah” names ^^; ). Thanks for pointing that out!

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I like [name_f]Amaya[/name_f], [name_f]Riva[/name_f], and [name_f]Sethe[/name_f].

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All right, I think I’ve settled on [name_u]Paz[/name_u] and [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], because I like each of them focusing on a different vowel sound and having a different number of syllables.

To try to narrow down the Toughwife list, I’m now aiming for a two-syllable name, whose main vowel sound is something other than the I (ee) in [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] or A (ah) in Pa.z

I don’t suppose anybody has any further thoughts? <:)

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From your list, I liked [name_f]Amaya[/name_f] for the first wife, [name_f]Nadia[/name_f] or [name_f]Riva[/name_f] for the second wife, and [name_f]Shivani[/name_f] for the third. I don’t have any new suggestions right now, but if I think of something later, I’ll come back.

Also, I just wanted to say that the overall idea of this story is fabulous, and your illustrations are amazing.

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I just looked through some of your replies, and I have to say that while [name_f]Sethe[/name_f] makes sense for your character, I would be wary of using it because people might not be sure how to pronounce it. Is it like [name_u]Seth[/name_u]? [name_u]Seth[/name_u]-ee? Something else? That might not be a concern for you but that was my only comment.

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Actually that’s exactly why I’ve gone off it now! It’s a popular choice, but everybody seems to pronounce it differently. I was intending “seth-eh”, but it seems that almost nobody instinctively says it that way (even I have to think about it before I say it).

“[name_u]Seth[/name_u]” I like, but it sounds much more gentle to me, while “seth-ee” could be mistaken for a cute -ie nickname. Some folks have also read it like “seethe”, which is waaay softer than what I was aiming for. It’s like a linguistic shapeshifter! ^^;

Oh, and thank you for the kind words! I may not be able to share it here when it’s done, since the final result will be very adult, but hopefully I’ll be allowed a link at least <XD