Have you ever looked back at your pre-naming obsession writings, and find some characters who’s names you regret using because you realize they’re super-popular, too 70s or 80s-sounding, or that you look at differently from your new naming experiences?
For instance, one of my old stories included an [name]Ella[/name] and an [name]Abby[/name] as main characters. They fit the characters, but know all I can think about is how popular their names are.
Yep.
I had a character named Alexia Marie Goldstein nn Lexi/Lexia. Terribly Mary Sueish. She’s now Karina Noelle Matthews nn Kari.
Other than her…I know there have been others, but I can’t recall them atm. It’s been a while.
EDIT:
I had a B/G sibset of Hayden and Kyla, their surname was Silvers. shudder
Another character named Dalia Alexis, a current character is named Briar-Rose Elisabetta Ettore, but I definitely want to take out some of the Italian, and will probably just name her Briar, middle name Rose and her surname.
Deffinetly. I had a story with some decent characters names- [name]Helena[/name] [name]Louise[/name] was the heroine- but there were several that I cringe at. Twins named [name]Aubrey[/name] and [name]Audrey[/name], and a sibset of [name]River[/name] (male) and [name]Susannah[/name] (who went by [name]Susie[/name].)
Also, I remember I had a story about an unwed Romanian mother living with her deadbeat boyfriend in Northern [name]Ireland[/name]. I remember that her son was [name]Jacoby[/name], and her name was [name]Rooney[/name]. It deffinetly didn’t fit the ethnic background or the character.
I hang my head in naming shame.
Yes of course! I had a character once named [name]Holly[/name] [name]Holiday[/name]. Seriously. Everybody in her family was born on a holiday(I know, these names are extremely cheesey). [name]Holly[/name] and her mom [name]Noelle[/name] were born on [name]Christmas[/name], [name]Valentina[/name] and [name]Rosalie[/name]([name]Holly[/name]'s older twin sisters) were born on Valentines [name]Day[/name], [name]Ember[/name]([name]Holly[/name]'s younger sister) was born on the fourth of [name]July[/name], and [name]Holly[/name]'s dad [name]Patrick[/name], and her little triplet siblings [name]Bridget[/name], [name]Lucky[/name] & [name]Patrick[/name] [name]Jr[/name]. Were all born on St. [name]Patrick[/name]'s day. [name]How[/name] [name]Bridget[/name] got in there I don’t know, probably just because its an Irish name. I had some really good names-[name]Noelle[/name], [name]Valentina[/name], [name]Rosalie[/name]- and some ugly ones- [name]Lucky[/name]- Really?!
I also used some pretty ‘blah’ names. Like [name]Andy[/name]. Why on [name]Earth[/name] would I choose [name]Andy[/name]?
Yes, I used some terrible names…at least “[name]Holly[/name] [name]Holiday[/name]” didn’t get published like I had wanted it to! 
Sorry! Spazzy nook in hand!
*[name]Marietta[/name] and [name]Royal[/name] (And [name]Royal[/name] was a boy… maaaybe not the best choice, looking back…)
*[name]Bayleigh[/name] Elennora [name]Maxwell[/name] (…Yep. I will forever regret bestowing the name on that poor, poor innocent character…)
And–drumroll–
Elixia and Elivia Rumibrand.
Twins, of course, from the book I wrote as a second year. Facepalm
My characters have now subsided to more toned down names ([name]Tessa[/name], [name]Tucker[/name], [name]Catie[/name], and [name]Rowan[/name], to name a few survivors of my occasionally rampant mind)
[name]Plenty[/name]. In fact, I’m going to look back through my old stories…
[name]Skyla[/name], [name]Skyler[/name] (in the same book - it’s hard to explain why), [name]Brandon[/name], [name]Jayden[/name], [name]Blaise[/name]. Those are some of the ones that most stuck out to me, the other ones I’m fine with.
But you know what’s funny? I used Nameberry before it was even Nameberry - when it was on a website called The Cradle or something I think? - to help name characters when I first began writing in middle school. It’s just funny to me to see how much this website has evolved, and I know that’s totally off topic, but Nameberry has helped me name almost every character.
Also, the name [name]Liv[/name] (my favorite name) has shown up in my stories for the past 5 years. I think she has to be written.
Okay, I just found a listing of old characters today.
They are:
[name]Kyla[/name] [name]Odette[/name] Silvers
[name]Alyssa[/name] [name]Danielle[/name] [name]Ventura[/name]
[name]Dalia[/name] [name]Lacey[/name] [name]Celeste[/name] Ashcott…I know.
[name]Dalia[/name] [name]Alexia[/name] Ayers
[name]Lynsey[/name] [name]Walsh[/name] younger sister to a [name]Ryan[/name] [name]Walsh[/name]
[name]Christopher[/name] “[name]Chris[/name]” Santoro - Not that bad, might use him in the future.
[name]Jaxson[/name] [name]Cassidy[/name] I think his sister was an [name]Ashleigh[/name] [name]Cassidy[/name]
I had a [name]Jayde[/name] [name]Leigh[/name] [name]Evans[/name], who’s name I’m still quite fond of actually. Her character’s pretty intriguing as I think of it.
I can’t remember many of my characters as most of my ideas stayed in my head until I lost interest, but I do remember a few.
[name]Katrina[/name] [name]Jones[/name]. While I don’t mind [name]Katrina[/name] too much, she was such a self-insert, borderline-[name]Mary[/name] [name]Sue[/name] character that she really turned me off of the name. She had 3 brothers, but the only name I can remeber is her younger brother [name]Henry[/name]. Who they liked to call [name]Indy[/name]/[name]Indiana[/name]. Now, I love [name]Henry[/name], but I cringe when I think of this story. Oh, I thought I was so clever! The story revolved around [name]Katrina[/name] moving from NYC to Nowhere, [name]North[/name] [name]Dakota[/name], where the roads are called things like Dirt [name]Lane[/name] or Broken Avenue or something like that.
There was also the time I came up with 10-11 year old superheroes. When I was younger, I believed that all names must somehow be related to the character. So, that is how I came up with [name]Ingrid[/name], called Inny, who could turn invisible, and Flamo (flame-oh; I think this is how I spelt it), who was pretty much a teenaged Human Torch. Yeah. I actually didn’t really like [name]Ingrid[/name] at the time, I was just using it to get to Inny, and I do now. But still. Flamo.
Oh my God, this is so embarrassing, but when I was younger I started writing with a character named OrabellaWeywerck and at the time I thought it was the coolest name ever. I’d nicknamed her [name]Ora[/name], and everything. Now It’s like, “Oh God, what were you thinking?”
My pride and joy used to be a short story about - get this - [name]Juniper[/name] Blueman.
Oh my.
Once, I made up a character named [name_f]Bluebell[/name_f] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f]. I was about 6 or 7 at the time. I should’ve stuck to just [name_f]Bluebell[/name_f] or [name_f]Ivy[/name_f].
Honestly I don’t even see a problem with most of these 
I was guilty of matchy siblings syndrome, I remember making up twins [name_m]Ronald[/name_m] and [name_m]Donald[/name_m] and triplets (no shit) called [name_m]Martin[/name_m], [name_f]Martina[/name_f] and [name_m]Martino[/name_m]. And then the nintuples (nontuples?) [name_u]Penny[/name_u], [name_f]Sally[/name_f], [name_m]Benny[/name_m], [name_u]Olly[/name_u], [name_m]Lenny[/name_m], [name_f]Jenny[/name_f]… I forgot the others, but you get the idea!
I don’t have any that really make me cringe that I remember, mostly as a very young child I wrote fantasy stories with magical creatures named things like “Sunset” and “[name_f]Flower[/name_f].” Now I typically keep nature names like that confined to the middle spots of hypothetical combos never to be bestowed upon an actual child or I give them to animal characters, but never humanoid ones. I mean, I was five, so while I don’t LIKE the names (well… maybe in a really pretty combo…) I can’t say that I’m embarrassed that I used them.
Mostly I struggled with giving characters names unrealistic for a certain background just because I loved said names. [name_f]Lilac[/name_f] works fine for some stories, but the average adult in today’s world isn’t going to be named [name_f]Lilac[/name_f]! I have to remember that if I give a few characters unusual names, I have to balance those out with normal names for the other characters for the world to seem realistic.
I remember I used to use a lot of very long, dramatic names - for a typical [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_f]Sue[/name_f]. [name_f]Valentina[/name_f] was a common one, I believe (likely with three, equally-long middles), as well as [name_f]Rosaria[/name_f], [name_f]Lucienne[/name_f], [name_f]Alexia[/name_f], etc. Names that would possibly be okay on their own, but not when paired with (multiple) very frilly middles. For male characters, I think I used [name_m]Aleksandr[/name_m], [name_m]Leonardo[/name_m] and other longer names, too, with plenty of nicknames.
Frankly, not all of these names are necessarily bad … [fingers crossed hoping I’m not lying]
Some that made me (personally) cringe after I rediscovered them:
[name_m]Rusty[/name_m] - I first used this in a story with a dog named Rascal… somewhere along the line, the dog became [name_m]Rusty[/name_m] and the owner, [name_m]Ronald[/name_m]. I just… “WHY?”
Then there was a different story about a different dog named [name_m]Pete[/name_m]. His owner’s name was [name_m]Job[/name_m] (with a long ‘o’ like the book of [name_m]Job[/name_m] in the Bible). [name_m]Job[/name_m]'s friends were called [name_m]Lincoln[/name_m] (he was super tall) and [name_m]Earl[/name_m] (he was super quiet). I just can’t get over the fact I actually (in Elementary school) thought everyone would know the name “[name_m]Job[/name_m]” and would know how to pronounce it.
I wrote a children’s book (as a child) about a cactus (?!) and two cactus wrens named [name_f]Gretta[/name_f] and Nami. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name Nami (especially as a child).
Characters from a “horror” story (maybe for ten-year-olds?) I had to write for school several years back:
[name_f]Rosalind[/name_f] (f), [name_u]Sam[/name_u] (m), [name_m]Caden[/name_m] (m), [name_m]Gabe[/name_m] (m), [name_u]Jamie[/name_u] (m), [name_m]Josh[/name_m] (m), [name_f]Meaghan[/name_f] (f - spelling?)
The names aren’t bad, but they don’t fit with the setting, personalities, time-period, or ANYTHING else. Ugh.
Lastly, I wrote a story about, get this: ANOTHER DOG (I’ve always been a dog person, but…) The dog was a sheepdog with the name [name_m]Shep[/name_m] (could I get any more generic?!). His owner was [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], and her neighbors were [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f], [name_m]Clyde[/name_m], and their dog, [name_m]Driver[/name_m]. Those are actually pretty good (yes, it does take place in the Southern US), but… [name_m]Shep[/name_m]!
@[name_f]Wanda[/name_f], I had matchy sibset syndrome too! My best/worst one (depending on how you look at it) was [name_u]Keelin[/name_u] (g), Kelston (b), and [name_m]Kingston[/name_m] (b). The boys were twins.
I also had a character whose full name was [name_u]Albany[/name_u] [name_m]Anthony[/name_m] (first and last). I thought the alliteration sounded cool but as I got older, I realized it just sounded ridiculous. Her name changed to [name_u]Albany[/name_u] [name_u]Collins[/name_u] before I ultimately dropped the idea because it was dumb.
My biggest issue was that in middle school, I would refuse to name characters the same thing as anyone I knew because I was worried they would think I named the character after them. This drove me to choosing the most random sibsets for the sake of using names that weren’t shared with anyone in my grade.
[name_f]Marcy[/name_f] is the first one I remember. Then, [name_f]Emily[/name_f] and the triplets [name_f]Annie[/name_f], [name_u]Danny[/name_u], and [name_f]Franny[/name_f] (why!!!). Then, Cushing (which was my sister’s idea), Straw (made sense in context of the story), and [name_m]Trey[/name_m].
I tend to only pick names I like now. Back when I was a kid, which is when these stories were written, I’d just take the first name that came to mind and stick with it without much consideration at all. Bleh.
Oh God, so many of them.
I had a bunch of kids–not all of them were related or anything, tied together from apocalypse-type circumstances and all in one story-- [name_f]Buttercup[/name_f], Rodeo, [name_m]King[/name_m], Chux, [name_f]Kinsley[/name_f], [name_m]Bram[/name_m], [name_f]Era[/name_f], [name_m]Grant[/name_m], Marvell, [name_f]Flora[/name_f], [name_u]Eloise[/name_u], Kioko, [name_m]Garrett[/name_m], Olyve (yes spelled that way), [name_m]Jeffery[/name_m], Eiffel, [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Kitty[/name_f], [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f], Katchi, Jacks (yes, with an S), [name_m]Jake[/name_m], [name_m]Trey[/name_m], Tercer, [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_f]Rea[/name_f], [name_f]Kore[/name_f], [name_f]Tertia[/name_f], [name_m]Omri[/name_m], Palo, Chatree, [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Bella[/name_f], [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], [name_m]Tyrone[/name_m], [name_f]Jaclyn[/name_f] (yes I had a Jacks, [name_m]Jake[/name_m], [name_u]James[/name_u] AND a [name_f]Jaclyn[/name_f]), Drusi, Zyke, Indray, Saarik, Payte, [name_m]Erastus[/name_m] and probably more. Some of these aren’t horrendous but all together they’re very odd, and some of them are just very odd. Some of them are very odd and honestly cringey but fit the characters I was writing about perfectly.
But even nowadays, I don’t pick names I necessarily [name_u]LOVE[/name_u]–because the names I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] don’t fit my characters. The names that fit just fit for some reason, and for those reasons they’re perfect. But, I will admit I don’t use such blatantly cringey names anymore (hopefully.)
I have a character that’s changed name three times. From [name_f]Norma[/name_f] (which didn’t fit to what I wanted for her in a name) to [name_f]Flavia[/name_f] and then to [name_f]Nerissa[/name_f] when I changed her surname.
I also have a character currently called [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] that fit what I wanted for her when I originally designed her but now feels a bit dated. If I were ever to try to publish it I’d change it to something more modern.