Hello fellow nameberries. The house is quiet so I’m trying to get some writing down today. I need to name the parents and older sister of a main character.
[name]One[/name] of my main characters is the youngest child in this family. His name is [name]Seth[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]. In the present setting throughout the novel [name]Seth[/name]'s family are dead. However they are present through flashbacks.
The [name]Wylie[/name]'s are from Toronto. The parents were born in the 60’s. The older sister in the early 90’s. The father is a school teacher who is respected and well-liked by all his students. He makes teaching fun. Parent-wise, he’s a little more strict and that is because the wife is very laid back. She paints and drives a red mini cooper. The older sister is sort of a dreamy, ummmm…a flower child for lack of a better word. She blogs about everything, she believes in true love, she listens to music for the meaning behind the words and not the sound. This family present themselves as perfect but they have troubles. The father is bipolar and the famioly has it’s ups and downs because of this.
I haven’t thought of any names at all so I’d love to hear your suggestions for father, mother, and older sister.
I love the last name [name]Wylie[/name]. Its not one that you hear everyday and I think that last names are just as important as first names when it comes to writing characters; it helps shape who they are. Because you included the decade in which each character was born, I looked up some of the popular names from each time. I thought that these went well with [name]Wylie[/name]:
This one was harder, because of the [name]Brittany[/name], [name]Ashely[/name], [name]Jessica[/name] Epidemic that engulfed the 90’s (I’m a 90’s baby, and although my name is not included in those three, I went to school with several). These seem to be more whimsical, like your character.
Father: I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Eugene[/name] or [name]Steven[/name].
Mother: I like [name]Melinda[/name], [name]Cynthia[/name], [name]Gail[/name], and [name]Elizabeth[/name].
[name]Sister[/name]: I like [name]Holly[/name], [name]Chloe[/name], [name]Julie[/name], [name]April[/name], [name]Mariah[/name].
A family who names a son [name]Seth[/name] might also choose a biblical name for the older sister. [name]Cassia[/name], [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Moriah[/name], [name]Tabitha[/name], rebekah, [name]Esther[/name], [name]Lydia[/name] all fit the bill, but I really like the quirky [name]Tabitha[/name].
Parents: dad should have a ubiquitous 60s boys name with a nickname (nearly all men from that era went by a shortened form of their name). I like [name]Mike[/name], [name]Jim[/name], [name]Steve[/name], [name]Todd[/name], [name]Greg[/name] or [name]Tom[/name].
Mom can be a bit more creative, though it depends if you want her to have a ‘mom’ name or not. [name]Lisa[/name] seems perfect for the time period.
I love the name [name]Seth[/name] and also agree with [name]Blade[/name]'s opinion on a biblical name for an older sister.
I love the suggestion of [name]Esther[/name]. Also, [name]Elspeth[/name]/[name]Elsbeth[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Rebecca[/name], [name]Mary[/name], [name]Sarah[/name] or [name]Hannah[/name] would work nicely.
For the parents I think something mid 20th century but with a little more flair would be great!
Ohh…blade! I love [name]Lydia[/name]. I’m totally feeling that for the sister. It’s perfect. I can see the nickname [name]Liddie[/name] comin out of that too.
Thanks jc54 too. I see [name]Steven[/name] is suggested on every post so far. I like it. But I also [name]LOVE[/name] your suggestion of [name]Jeffrey[/name] but with the nn. [name]Jeff[/name].
Oh boy this is gonna be tough. I need to look at these names closer.
So [name]Seth[/name] and [name]Lydia[/name] and the kids…that is set in stone.
I can’t use Mike, Tom, or Jim for the father because I already have a Michael, Thomas, and Jimmy in the story. So it’s going to be Steve or Jeff. With Jeff, I like the ‘pledge of peace’ meaning. As a teacher he really does bring a calm over the students and they listen to him. And dealing with an emotional disorder…there is nothing peaceful about that. This character also is sort of casual in how he presents himself. He wear jeans to school. I’m thinking Jeff seems a little more casual then Steve? Or maybe I’m totally out in left field. LOL Jeffery Wylie…maybe to many y and e sounds… Steven Wylie…just as many e and y sounds, but the ‘n’ on the end adds a different sound to it.
Thanks renrose…Honestly, I’ve never really cared for the [name]Geo[/name] spelling of [name]Jeffrey[/name]. I usually prefer the simple more common way of spelling names. Why add the extra letters in there when you don’t have too. It’s probably a simple way to think, but I’m a simple person.
For some reason, [name]Anna[/name] [name]Danielle[/name] stands out to me for the daughter. Other names: [name]Brianna[/name], [name]Nancy[/name], [name]Brooke[/name]
For the dad: [name]Peter[/name], [name]Terry[/name], [name]Tony[/name], [name]Ricky[/name]
For the mom: [name]Rhonda[/name], [name]Wendy[/name], [name]Cindy[/name], [name]Janet[/name], [name]Jennifer[/name]
Thanks haleyangie. I’m going to stick with [name]Lydia[/name] for the daughter.
I like your suggestion of [name]Peter[/name] for the dad and I like [name]Wendy[/name] for the mother too.
Alright, I need to summerize this and start to make a decision.
The kids are [name]Seth[/name] and [name]Lydia[/name].
Out of all the suggestions, I like:
For the Dad:
[name]Steve[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
[name]Jeff[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
[name]Eugene[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
[name]Peter[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
For the Mom:
[name]Melinda[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
[name]Wendy[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
[name]Cynthia[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
[name]Lisa[/name] [name]Wylie[/name]
For the father I going to go with either [name]Jeff[/name] or [name]Peter[/name]. The father is tall and I picture a [name]Steve[/name] or [name]Eugene[/name] to be shorter. I think I’m going to go with [name]Peter[/name]. To me, [name]Jeff[/name] feels a little more ‘beach boy’ for lack of a better word.
Thanks, cheasapeakechic. I sit this aside for a few days, but comin back to it today, almost everyone who commented said [name]Steve[/name] for the father. It does fit.
I like the suggests of [name]Penelope[/name], [name]Valerie[/name], and [name]Kimberly[/name] for the mother.
Thank you, for suggesting for the sister. I am going to stick to [name]Lydia[/name] for the daughter.
What holds me back from using [name]Steve[/name] for the father is that the father is tall and I see [name]Steve[/name] as a shorter guy in comparision to a [name]Jeff[/name] or [name]Peter[/name]. In addition, [name]Seth[/name] is the son, so I’m not sure I want the father and son’s names to start with the same letter. If I want letter pairs then I would just go with [name]Steve[/name], [name]Lisa[/name], [name]Lydia[/name], and [name]Seth[/name]. I really like [name]Wendy[/name] but with [name]Wendy[/name] [name]Wylie[/name] the double ‘w’, and general eeeee sound both names generate may seem a bit much.
