Names for a few characters?

Writers' Corner
1

I have an idea rolling around in my head for the first time in a long time. I wanted to put a few character descriptions out there and see if I could get a few suggestions for names. I’m going to intentionally keep them a bit vague. I really just want to get the ball rolling, since I’m feeling really rusty about getting this idea started.

All of these characters would have been born in the U.S. in the late 80s or possibly early 90s (probably more so the late 80s).

Character 1 - [name]Male[/name]. The main protagonist. A chronic underachiever. He’s a semi-recent graduate with a degree in one of the humanities that he hasn’t yet put to much use. Aimless, cynical, thoughtful, a bit arrogant and self-absorbed. He’s currently devoting most of his time to pursuing his own creative projects.

Character 2 - [name]Male[/name]. My note for him is “Not completely unsympathetic but probably what most people would describe as a redneck.” He’s the same age as Character 1, but he is not college educated. Well-meaning. I [name]DON[/name]'T want to pick a name that sounds stereotypically redneck (nothing like [name]Bubba[/name]), but I was thinking of something that would sound very dated to the time he’s meant to have been born. I’m not entirely sure what fulfills that requirement, though. [name]Kyle[/name]? [name]Ryan[/name]?

Character 3 - Female. Very idealistic and optimistic. A hard worker. Recently graduated, like Character 1. I haven’t quite decided her job yet, but it’ll be something like a campaign worker or someone who works for a non-profit, something in that vein. She’ll probably have been a political science major.

Any ideas?

2

These are names I would consider if they were my characters. I hope they help at least a little, and I’m really sorry if they don’t fit.

Character [name]One[/name]:
[name]Gavin[/name]
[name]Dominic[/name]
[name]Brett[/name]
[name]Alexander[/name]
[name]Blake[/name]
[name]Victor[/name]
[name]Jesse[/name]
[name]Adrian[/name]
[name]Curtis[/name]
[name]Julian[/name]

Character Two:
[name]Trevor[/name]
[name]Lloyd[/name]
[name]Travis[/name]
[name]Kurt[/name]
[name]Derek[/name]
[name]Dale[/name]
A.J./R.J./T.J. and any other initial names
[name]Chester[/name]
[name]Warren[/name]

Character Three:
[name]Allison[/name]
[name]Jane[/name]
[name]Claire[/name]/[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Lila[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Calla[/name]
[name]Hillary[/name]
[name]Trish[/name]
[name]Melody[/name]
[name]Sadie[/name]
[name]Wendy[/name]

3

Here are some more ideas:

Character 1 - [name]Bryce[/name], [name]Clayton[/name], [name]Daniel[/name], [name]Eric[/name], [name]Noel[/name], [name]Seth[/name]

Character 2 - [name]Cody[/name], [name]Jeremy[/name], [name]Terry[/name], [name]Tyler[/name]

Character 3 - [name]Brittany[/name], [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Erin[/name], [name]Jillian[/name], [name]Kendra[/name], [name]Tina[/name]

I hope this helps. :slight_smile:

4

Oh hurrah, these characters are just a few years older than me! I think I have a pretty good grip on what names were used at that time.

Character 1: Andrew, Matt, Brian, Sean
Character 2: Nate, Kevin, Chris, Adam, John, Cody
Character 3: Sarah, Megan, Amber, Jessica

If I were you I would do Andrew, Cody, and Sarah.

EDIT: Oh, whoops, only JUST saw the whole “stereotypical late 80s” for Character 2. Geez, I could easily list off 5 or 6 stereotypical female names for the time, but mens names up until the whole Jacob/Aiden explosion didn’t quite trend as much as womens. You know, there were a lot of Michaels, but there were a lot of Michaels for decades. My best shot: Josh, Nick, Justin, Cody.

I just realized someone else said Cody! It must be right ;). Tyler, to me, is one or two years too late, but that’s based on people I personally know and their ages, not real data.