Naming a Family

Writers' Corner
1

I’m playing around with a new story and I need to name a family of characters. A short description of each:

Father: works in [name]Boston[/name]. Likes to watch football when he’s not working. Dark brown hair with a little bit of grey; brown eyes with laugh lines.

Mother: stay-at-home mom. PTA, bakes a lot, gardens, etc. Wants to be the perfect mom. Dark brown shoulder-length hair; brown eyes.

Oldest child: 17-year-old son. High school senior. Popular, soccer team captain, good grades, etc. [name]Set[/name] to get a scholarship to an [name]Ivy[/name] League. Short, dark brown hair; hazel eyes.

Younger child (narrator): 15-year-old daughter. High school sophmore. Quiet; has a small but close group of friends. Loves photography. Close to her brother. [name]Long[/name], wavy dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

I’m going for the quintessential, all-American family. They live in a small Massachusetts town outside the [name]Boston[/name] suburbs. The only thing I’m set on right now is that their surname is [name]Brennan[/name]. Also, they have a dog. I’m not so concerned about its name but if you happen to have any suggestions I’d love to hear them. The breed will probably be an Australian shepherd or a Shetland sheepdog if you’re wondering.

Thanks so much in advance!

2

Father:
[name]Jack[/name]
[name]David[/name]
[name]Daniel[/name]
[name]Marcus[/name]

Mother:
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Tess[/name]
[name]Lois[/name]

[name]Son[/name]:
[name]Elliott[/name]
[name]James[/name]
[name]Lucas[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]

Daughter:
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Clarissa[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Melody[/name]

3

I was thinking maybe [name]Adam[/name] for the son- does it work or is it dated? And what about [name]Michael[/name] nn [name]Mike[/name] for the father?
I guess I’m looking along the lines of “normal traditional”. I guess what I mean is names that are kind of common, but also timeless.

4

I think [name]Adam[/name] and [name]Mike[/name] work.

Female common timeless names:

[name]Katherine[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Emma[/name]
[name]Rachel[/name]
[name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Fiona[/name]

5

I’m liking [name]Beth[/name] or [name]Jane[/name] for the mom and [name]Lucy[/name] or [name]Stephanie[/name] for the daughter. Any other suggestions based off these?

7

Father: [name]Henry[/name], [name]John[/name], [name]Greg[/name], [name]Scott[/name], [name]Paul[/name], [name]Mike[/name], [name]Joeseph[/name]

Mother: [name]Cynthia[/name], [name]Vivienne[/name], [name]Marie[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Audrey[/name], [name]Joyce[/name], [name]Regina[/name], [name]Janet[/name], [name]Stephanie[/name], [name]Cheryl[/name]

[name]Son[/name]: [name]David[/name], [name]Joshua[/name], [name]Aaron[/name], [name]Austin[/name], [name]Cody[/name], [name]Lucas[/name], [name]Justin[/name], Darek, [name]Anthony[/name], [name]Chase[/name]

Daughter: [name]Kate[/name], [name]Savannah[/name], [name]Melissa[/name], [name]Mary[/name], [name]Jade[/name], [name]River[/name], [name]Alana[/name], [name]Emmeline[/name], [name]Jessie[/name]

8

Here’s the names that came to mind for me when reading the despriptions (which is so helpful btw, thank you):

Dad - [name]Gregory[/name]
Mum - [name]Victoria[/name]
[name]Son[/name] - [name]Tristan[/name]
Daughter - [name]Eloise[/name]

9

Dad: [name]Charles[/name] (maybe goes by chuck or [name]Charlie[/name])
Mom: [name]Susan[/name] (sue, [name]Susie[/name])
[name]Son[/name]: [name]Dean[/name]
Daughter: [name]Dara[/name]

10

When I saw the description you had for the older brother, I immediately thought of [name]Rory[/name]. Out of your suggestions, I like [name]Jane[/name] best for the mom and [name]Lucy[/name] best for the daughter.

For the mom how about:
[name]Gwen[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Catherine[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Sarah[/name]

For the daughter how about:
[name]Kate[/name]
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Hazel[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Scarlett[/name]

For the dad I like the name [name]Mark[/name], it’s a little less generic than [name]Mike[/name]. And [name]Brennan[/name] sounds kind of Irish to me, so maybe you could somehow incorporate that…

11

[name]Mike[/name], [name]Kathy[/name], [name]Nick[/name] ([name]Adam[/name] works too), and [name]Sammie[/name]

I live in the [name]Boston[/name] suburbs, so I just picked names that are common around here for those age groups

12

Thank you so much for all these suggestions. You guys are lifesavers!

I’m pretty set on [name]Adam[/name] for the brother. I still like [name]Mike[/name] for the dad but I’m now also tossing around [name]James[/name] and [name]Dean[/name]. [name]Stephanie[/name] seems to work really well for the mother. The daughter is the only one I’m still torn on, which is frustrating because she’s the narrator and protagonist. I like [name]Audrey[/name] for her, but I’m afraid that it’s almost not generic enough (crazy, I know!) to fit in with the rest of the family.

13

Dad:[name]Phillip[/name], [name]John[/name], [name]Michael[/name], [name]Ken[/name], [name]Dave[/name]
Mom:[name]Kimberly[/name], [name]Jane[/name], [name]Rachel[/name], [name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Son[/name]:[name]Tyler[/name], [name]Julius[/name], [name]Ryan[/name], [name]Phillip[/name], [name]Henry[/name]
DD:[name]Grace[/name], [name]Julia[/name], [name]Violet[/name], [name]Sadie[/name], [name]Isobel[/name]