I’ve had so many great suggestions for the main character of the novel I am trying to write (but finding it difficult without a name for my mc). I’ve had suggestions from many berries and even one of my friends that I used to do a lot of writing with. But so far, nothing had stuck at all.
I feel like my choices are so severely restricted because of the culture my character lives in. Everyone inside the palace walls are named in either Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. Everyone else is named a word name in a common language spoken throughout the kingdom, which strips them of cultural identity. I haven’t had any trouble naming any of my other characters but the main characer can’t seem to be named in these confines. [name]Every[/name] name I’ve liked for her hasn’t fit any of these criteria. I’m starting to think maybe I should just find a great name that fits her and then figure out how to explain it in the context of the story.
So I need suggestions! Anything! I will have to see if I can figure out how to explain her name in the story.
She is 19 at the beginning of the story. She has been raised by Untouchables, virgin sevants of the moon goddess who have no individual idenitity. She is a bastard of the emperor who raped her mother during a ritual for Drawing Down the [name]Moon[/name]. There is a superstition that she isn’t a whole person or that she is little more than a spirit because her mother’s soul was outside of her body while she hosted the essence of the goddess.
She is Chinese and Korean (on her father’s side) and Hawaiian and Chinese (on her mother’s side). She has long, thick black hair that she usually wears braided over her shoulder, exotic black eyes, a dusky golden/bronze complexion, and a burn scar that runs most of her right thigh from where the queen tried to have her pushed into a fire. She is quiet and spiritual. She has very strong magic (not actually magic, they are called the 7 principals but looks like magic) which many covet. After her flight from the palace when a stronger attempt is made on her life she begins to understand the realities of the kingdom and the chaos which rules now. Despite being a bastard she was always raised in relative luxury among the ceremonial [name]Moon[/name] Watchers on the palace grounds. But she always felt quite lost and once she leaves she quickly gains her potential, becoming a stronger person capable of decisions and acts she had never supposed herself capable of.
Suggestions?
[name]Luna[/name], because she serves as a servant to the moon [name]Goddess[/name] and was conceived during a moon ritual
Okay, so I’m going to give you Chinese, Korean, and Hawaiian names I think might suit her.
Ling (Chinese, meaning clever, intelligent, spiritual)
[name]Alana[/name] (Hawaiian, meaning offering)
Kalani (Hawaiian, meaning leader, sky)
[name]Lani[/name] (Hawaiian, meaning sky, heaven)
[name]Nalani[/name] (Hawaiian, meaning calm as the heavens)
Akiko (Japanese, meaning bright light)
[name]Hana[/name] (Japanese, meaning flower)
[name]Kaya[/name] (Japanese, meaning resting place)
[name]Keiko[/name] (Japanese, meaning happy child)
Kioko (Japanese, meaning happy child)
Kuri (Japanese, meaning chestnut)
Maeko (Japanese, meaning honest child)
[name]Midori[/name] (Japanese, meaning green)
[name]Mika[/name] (Japanese, meaning new moon)
[name]Mina[/name] (Japanese, meaning south)
[name]Nara[/name] (Japanese, meaning oak)
[name]Nori[/name] (Japanese, meaning law, tradition)
[name]Tera[/name] (Japanese, meaning swift arrow)
[name]Yuki[/name] (Japanese, meaning snow)
[name]Yuri[/name] (Japanese, meaning lily)
[name]Do[/name] you want more suggestions? I can try to look for other names that aren’t Chinese, Japanese, or Hawaiian, if you like. Good luck!
The more suggestions the better! I’m going to write down all the ones I like then see if anything pops out at me! The more I have to work with the better my chances are of finding the right name.
Okay, I liked the pp’s suggestion of [name]Luna[/name], since the “moon” meaning has connections to your main character. Here are other names with lunar meanings:
[name]Ayla[/name] (Turkish, meaning moonlight)
[name]Selene[/name] / [name]Selena[/name] (Greek, meaning moon)
[name]Diana[/name] ([name]Roman[/name] moon goddess)
[name]Ming[/name] (Chinese meaning bright moon)
[name]Cynthia[/name] (Greek [name]Moon[/name] goddess)
[name]How[/name] about Mèng? (Chinese, dream)
I really like [name]Ayla[/name] but I wonder if it’s connection to the Clan of the Cave [name]Bear[/name] series is too strong? Otherwise it would be high on the list. I like [name]Ming[/name] and Meng as well.
I’ve also considered [name]Takara[/name] since it means treasure, or jewel which seems like a reaffirmation of her worth to herself (she chooses her own name, since she is rasied by people who don’t have names and the royal family doesn’t bother with a bastard’s name).
I also considered Ghost, in fitting with the superstition that she isn’t a real person but it feels more like a masculine name to me.
I also like Jet, referring to her physical darkness, the opposite of the paleness that most Asians value. But I especially like it as a unique nn for the frilly and lovely Juliet which I have on my list of names for a real child someday so I’m not sure I want to use it up as a character name.
I’ve noticed a lot of the names that I’ve liked a lot have been J names. [name]Jet[/name], [name]Jarah[/name], Jiang to name a few. I just want something to jump out and bite me and say “here I am! This is my name!” but so far nothing has.
Sprita - like spirit? or sprite?
Antom - phantom without the ph
[name]Misty[/name] - bit happier, but similar idea
Ayalah
Harta - treasure in Indonesian
[name]Jalila[/name] - important in Arabic
[name]Jinan[/name] - means paradise in Arabic, [name]Jin[/name] means precious in Korean
I like [name]Jalila[/name] and [name]Jinan[/name]. I’ll keep those ones of the list of possibilities! Keep the suggestions coming!