Greetings,
I’m in the process of outlining my book, and have a brave female character who has dark skin. The story is not set in our society and doesn’t have a set time period. I recall a few years ago reading a complaint about POC characters not having POC names, but I’m worried that a very “black” name (such as LaQuisha) will be racist and a very “white” name (such as [name_f]Molly[/name_f]) will be taken as ignoring the characters racial background. Any advice on this? My story doesn’t have many characters (less than ten), but I also have a mixed race character with a [name_m]French[/name_m] name. Is that alright?
Thank you in advance.
So, keep in mind I am a white girl, but I think you just look for names with an African origin;
[name_f]Afia[/name_f]
[name_f]Izara[/name_f]
[name_f]Imena[/name_f]
[name_u]Kamali[/name_u]
[name_f]Marjani[/name_f]
[name_f]Salama[/name_f]
[name_f]Zendaya[/name_f]
[name_f]Zora[/name_f]
Or, some Hebrew names as many people, regardless of ethnicity, are religious to the [name_m]Christian[/name_m] faith. Here’s some less “white” names tho;
[name_f]Amira[/name_f]
[name_u]Azariah[/name_u]
[name_f]Eva[/name_f]
[name_f]Jezebel[/name_f]
[name_f]Keziah[/name_f]
[name_f]Tamara[/name_f]
[name_f]Salome[/name_f]
As for your other question; uh, yeah? There are many children of mixed race all over the world. Are these the only POC though? With such a small cast of characters they may seem like “token” POC.
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I’m from a country with no POC whatsoever, save the occasional tourist at the mall, so I don’t actually know anyone from a different race or religion. Thank you for suggestions, but I think I’m not settled on a name just yet.
I realize that I should include more diverse characters, but I’d probably need to add new characters entirely for that instead of changing my existing characters’ races.
Thanks for everything.
Personally I don’t think it matters all that much
I am Greek and while we dont have really dark skinned people we do have poc and they all have normal names
Maybe something that sounds like a name with an African origin but actually isnt?
[name_f]Effie[/name_f] is the only name that came to mind, sorry, maybe start a new thread for names like that if you do like my idea
Good luck!
It really depends on where your story is set and what your character’s background is. Are they first generation in X country? If they’re 2nd gen/beyond, would their parents pick a name that would allow them to blend with the new society or stick to their traditional roots?
Not all black people are from [name_f]Africa[/name_f], so it might help to hammer down where her roots might lie. Brazilian names vs. Jamaican names vs. African American names vs. Egyptian names vs. so on and so forth are all very different. I’d suggest some more research into the culture she might be from (or the one you think is most analogous, if you’re not writing about our present world), and then from there it might be easier to find suitable names for your characters of different backgrounds.
When in doubt, just Google! I’m sure you can find plenty of great resources about picking names for characters of different racial backgrounds.
Disclaimer: My response was originally much longer, but I whittled it down a bit when I saw that you’re from a European country and don’t often meet people who aren’t white. So please excuse any irritation you might sense in my response, as I tried to cut those bits out. Now:
There is no such thing as a POC name. There are Igbo names and Japanese names and Hindi names and a multitude of names from a multitude of ethnic groups, but there is no such thing as a POC name. All “POC” tells me is that your character is not white. You need to be more specific. Not every black person has a name of African origin. Personally, I know black people named everything from [name_m]Ladarius[/name_m] to Jenequa to [name_f]Erin[/name_f] to [name_m]Brandon[/name_m] to [name_m]Rodriguez[/name_m] to Oluwadamilola. All of these names, when worn by a black person, become “black names.” I live in area with a large Korean immigrant population. Some of these Koreans choose to go by their Korean names in the US – Doohyun, Chungyong, Eunmi, Sumin, for example – while others assume English names like [name_m]Kevin[/name_m], [name_m]Eugene[/name_m], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], and yes, even [name_f]Molly[/name_f]. A character’s name does not need to announce their ethnicity to your readers. Names don’t work that way in the real world, nor must they work that way in fiction. In regard to your concern that a [name_m]French[/name_m] name may not be appropriate on a mixed race person, I would recommend researching the [name_f]Louisiana[/name_f] Creoles. Since your story does not take place in our society, I would do what previous posters have suggested and research cultures similar to the ones your characters may be from and go from there. However, to avoid stereotypes, I would also fully develop your characters’ personalities before considering how their ethnic background influences who they are.