Struggling To Give A Side Character a First + Last Name

Writers' Corner
1

I haven’t been able to decide on a name for this character. He’s a side character who assists the main character on his journey.

Genre of [name_u]Story[/name_u]: Coming-of-age, [name_u]Drama[/name_u], Realistic Fiction

Time Period, Location: early 2010s, [name_u]Colorado[/name_u]

Character Description: He’s a shy, introverted teenage boy. He excels academically and is considered to be intelligent by students and teachers alike. He can be awkward when it comes to socializing with others, even with his friends. He gets overwhelmed easily but rarely expresses his feelings. He’s short for his age and is also rather thin. He has big, black eyes and black hair in the style of a messy bowl cut. He has tannish brown skin.

Who Named the Character: His father. He was a children’s book author and illustrator. He named his son after the main character of the only book he managed to publish.

Immediate Family: [name_f]Nina[/name_f] (alive, mother) - blames her dead husband for her misery, secretly wanted a divorce, often neglects her son. | Unnamed father (deceased) - tried to repair his relationship with his wife, died when his son was a toddler, loved his son very much.

Already Considered (as first names): [name_m]Bernard[/name_m] ([name_u]Bernie[/name_u]), [name_m]Eugene[/name_m], [name_u]Howard[/name_u], [name_u]Murphy[/name_u], [name_m]Ralph[/name_m]

Already Considered (as last names): [name_m]Barnes[/name_m], [name_m]Brun[/name_m], [name_u]Campbell[/name_u], [name_f]Mallory[/name_f], Silverstein

[name_m]Don[/name_m]'t suggest these names: Names like [name_m]Andrew[/name_m], [name_m]David[/name_m], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]Jacob[/name_m], [name_u]Noah[/name_u], etc. Nothing too common or popular.

Anything else?: Unisex names are okay!

Thanks for the help!! :slight_smile:

2

This sounds so good!

[name_u]Evan[/name_u] (don’t know if that’s too common for you)
[name_m]Raymond[/name_m]
[name_m]Alfred[/name_m]/[name_m]Albert[/name_m]
[name_m]Martin[/name_m]
[name_m]Russell[/name_m]
[name_u]Francis[/name_u]
[name_m]Barnaby[/name_m]
[name_m]Dennis[/name_m]
[name_u]Lawrence[/name_u]
[name_m]Gerald[/name_m]
[name_m]Norman[/name_m]
[name_m]Gordon[/name_m]
[name_m]Vincent[/name_m]
[name_u]Stanley[/name_u]
[name_m]Dominic[/name_m]
[name_m]Donovan[/name_m]
[name_m]Ernest[/name_m]
[name_u]August[/name_u]
[name_m]Hugo[/name_m]
[name_m]Oscar[/name_m]

3

Your descriptions are great jumping off points for naming!

I have a long list of suggested names (or at least words that could be truly unique names) that could work for both first and last names. Some names are completely made up. Many names are names that I think could inspire an interesting childrens book while also being names that the character’s mother would regret or resent though she perhaps once loved them when the father was first inspired.

Ahoy
[name_m]Aloysius[/name_m]
[name_m]Archimedes[/name_m]
[name_m]Barto[/name_m]
[name_m]Baxter[/name_m]
Catch / Catcher
Cherub
Copernicus
[name_m]Dominic[/name_m]
Druthers
Egg / Eggbert
Feckle
Finkle
Gnoman
Guster
[name_m]Hubert[/name_m]
Hugustus
Izzawry
Jailbird
Jolly
Junker
Kenner
Kenver
Kid
[name_u]Kim[/name_u]
[name_f]Kismet[/name_f]
Lillemort
[name_m]Luther[/name_m]
[name_u]Marlin[/name_u]
[name_m]Merlin[/name_m]
[name_u]Monroe[/name_u]
Mooney
Mouse
Mulberry
Mullet
Mullin
Nederick
[name_m]Noland[/name_m]
Nomand
[name_u]Orion[/name_u]
[name_m]Osbourne[/name_m]
[name_m]Osmund[/name_m]
[name_m]Oxford[/name_m]
[name_m]Pim[/name_m]
Prudent
Quick
[name_m]Quill[/name_m]
Redver
Roach
Rover
[name_m]Rupert[/name_m]
Rupinder
[name_m]Solomon[/name_m]
Spurt
[name_u]Sullivan[/name_u]
Sulu
[name_f]Susen[/name_f]
[name_f]Suson[/name_f]
[name_m]Thackeray[/name_m]
Thumb
[name_m]Tim[/name_m] / [name_m]Timothy[/name_m]
Toad / Toadie / Toadius
[name_m]Tom[/name_m]-[name_m]Tom[/name_m]
Upbert
[name_u]Vernon[/name_u]
[name_m]Wessel[/name_m]
[name_u]Willoughby[/name_u]
Wombat
Xylo
Yes
Yesterday
Zoomin

If you are looking for really out-there names, I would suggest looking at city and town names or even street names, especially real or fictional places that your characters would find important or meaningful. You can even play with alternate spellings. This naming trend makes me think of childrens books especially since it seems that every town needs its own kid hometown hero or its own local Indiana Jones. For example, some names that jump out at me are …

Dirks
Kalamazoo
Main
[name_u]Memphis[/name_u]
Nome
[name_m]Orlando[/name_m]
Poughkeepsie

Some are more name like than others, but it could be fun to think about! Maybe there was a certain place that both of your side characters parents loved or a location that meant a lot to one of them. Plus, it could give your side character’s fictional counterpart a sense of place in their fictional world, and the deceased father by extension.

4

Eggbert, Izzawry, [name_f]Kismet[/name_f], [name_m]Noland[/name_m], [name_m]Pim[/name_m], [name_m]Quill[/name_m], & [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u] are some of my favorites. Thanks for the recommendations!!

5

I’m glad you like them! Unusual names, non-name names, and character names are so fun and get to work outside of normal, everyday naming rules and conventions. They are so much fun to work with!

Good luck writing!