I’m currently writing a fantasy novel and have written much more than my previous attempts ever got (a.k.a. six pages. I know.) But anyway, one of my favorite parts about writing is choosing names. What works? What doesn’t? I can’t write using a name to test it, because then it sticks and I can’t (literally, can’t) change it. Because by then the new name would feel wrong. My main problem, with name-choosing, I think, is that I like girl names best, and am a girl, so that there are mostly female characters and almost no male ones. (Currently I’m trying to fix that.) I have some names and a bit of character info, that I would like to get some feedback on:
[name_f]Kezia[/name_f] & [name_f]Embeth[/name_f] (sisters, [name_f]Kezia[/name_f] is older.)
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]
[name_f]Fae[/name_f]
([name_f]Fairy[/name_f] names… do they work??)
[name_m]Kemuel[/name_m]
Rosemay
[name_f]Eliana[/name_f]
(Name of other characters.)
What do you think? What are your opinions on each name?
[name_f]Kezia[/name_f]- I’m a little confused on the pronunciation. I read it first as KEE-zee-ah, but then as Keh-ZYE-ah. I do like it, though.
[name_f]Embeth[/name_f]- I’m not a big fan, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with it.
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]- I myself have named a faerie [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], so I think it makes a good faerie name. My only concern is if she interacts with [name_f]Embeth[/name_f] at all, the names are very visually similar.
[name_f]Fae[/name_f]- It’s a bit… contrived for a faerie. Too obvious, maybe. [name_f]Fern[/name_f] might work.
[name_m]Kemuel[/name_m]- Again, not a big fan, but it’s not bad.
Rosemay- Is this Rosemay or [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]? Because that could get very confusing very quickly. I initially read it as [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f].
[name_f]Eliana[/name_f]- Another six letter E name. I think it might get confusing with [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and [name_f]Embeth[/name_f].
[name_f]Kezia[/name_f]: I can’t decide if I like this name or not, but it’s not bad. I say it Keh-zye-uh, so if you are picky about pronunciation, you might want to pick something new.
[name_f]Embeth[/name_f]: I don’t like this one very much. It just sounds jumbled together to me. I would prefer Emmabeth. It sounds like a more complete name in my opinion.
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]: I love the sound of this name. It sounds so elegant and whimsical, and I think it would make a great name for a faerie!
[name_f]Fae[/name_f]: Like fireflyslove said, it’s a bit obvious for a faerie. [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is Cornish, according to the name description, so why not look up more Cornish names? That way your faeries have a subtle theme that keeps all of their names consistent.
[name_m]Kemuel[/name_m]: This name sounds kind of clunky to me. If I had read it in a book without knowing it was a legitimate name, I would just think it was a rip off of [name_m]Samuel[/name_m].
Rosemay: Ehhh, it’s pretty, but I would probably hyphenate it as [name_f]Rose[/name_f]-may, or maybe spell it Rosemae.
[name_f]Eliana[/name_f]: [name_u]Love[/name_u] this name!
[name_f]Fae[/name_f] seems a bit obvious for a faerie, that’s my only complaint. Otherwise, I’m okay with the rest of the names. [name_m]Just[/name_m] out of curiosity, when you say faerie, do you mean little pixies like tinkerbell, or actual tall fae folk?
@mizukuni
A mix. They’re small, like pixies, but not the type that goes around swapping human and faerie babies and wearing bells. They have wings, but otherwise look like people (except for angled faces, pointed ears, and prominent noses–maybe not the noses.) The are basically the fantasy-world version of a mosquito, since they are a pain in the neck, and literally all they do is insult. In short, not pleasant beings.
@fireflyslove
I say it as KEE-zee-uh. The other name is Rosemay, not [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], but I was worried about the confusion. Personally, I think it sounds nice, but as you said, the spelling’s an issue. Her nn is [name_f]Rosy[/name_f], and I looked at names with -ros- in them until I found one that worked. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you have any ideas of a replacement (if necessary?) Also, I realized how [name_f]Fae[/name_f] could be an issue. Where I found it, it said it came from [name_f]Faith[/name_f], and I never noticed the similarity. Thanks for pointing that out.
@vestigesofsummer
I don’t like Emmabeth (sounds to much like [name_f]Annabeth[/name_f] to me, and that’s been stolen forever by [name_m]Rick[/name_m] [name_m]Riordan[/name_m]) so I’m sticking with [name_f]Embeth[/name_f]. For [name_f]Fae[/name_f], good idea! I did, and changed it. Her name is [name_f]Bronwen[/name_f] now. (And yes, I saw how [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and [name_f]Bronwen[/name_f] are similar, but they’re cousins, and I might just have all the fairies of that family end in -wen.) Thanks for pointing out the Cornish roots! [name_m]Kemuel[/name_m] is from the bible, not a made-up name. I saw it and liked it. (So even if it seems like a rip-off, it isn’t.)
Thanks, all!
I think Rosemay is too visually similar to [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], but maybe Rosemae or [name_f]Rose[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f] would work. Or [name_f]Roslyn[/name_f]. Or [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. Or even just [name_f]Rosy[/name_f].
One more thing about [name_f]Embeth[/name_f]. I think I personally don’t like it because /m/ and /b/ are both bilabial sounds. The mouth makes the same shape for each of them, and the only difference is that /b/ is a voiced plosive (it’s made by pushing air out) while /m/ is a voiced nasal. It makes for awkward pronunciation because you have to pause at the end of the first syllable, but your lips keep the same shape. It feels like it needs another syllable there, which I think is why vestigesofsummer suggested Emmabeth. It’s [ɛməbɛθ] vs [ɛmbɛθ], and that ə (which is pronounced “uh”) makes all the difference. It provides the natural pause that I think the name needs. Unless she’s normally being called [name_f]Em[/name_f] or [name_f]Beth[/name_f]. Sorry for the major linguistics nerd out.
[name_f]Kezia[/name_f] & [name_f]Embeth[/name_f]: Not a fan of [name_f]Kezia[/name_f] and [name_f]Embeth[/name_f] is alright
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f]: this definitely sounds like a fairy name
[name_f]Fae[/name_f]: I wouldn’t use this it sounds too cliche
[name_m]Kemuel[/name_m]: interesting but it works with the other characters
Rosemay: it seems so close to [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] but I like the sound of this better
[name_f]Eliana[/name_f]: sounds too familiar next to the other names, how about [name_f]Eleni[/name_f]?
[name_f]Fae[/name_f] and [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] don’t work imo and I don’t like [name_f]Kezia[/name_f] but it fits in