I’m have some issues coming up with a name for one of the main characters in the romance novel I’m working on. Her working name has been Jasmine, though I don’t think it quite fits her, or the story, and I’m already using it for another character in a different project.
My issue is- I don’t tend to like feminine names. The few I do like (ie Isadora, Evelyn, Jasmine, Sayuri, Emelia) are either already taken by other characters of mine or just plain don’t fit her. I’m going nuts!
So… I’m here, begging for help.
Let me give some context, so you’re not in this blind. The story takes place in the mid-to-late 90s, in New York City. Starts in late fall, progresses into winter. Dear MC is, uh, forced to spend some quality time with the leader of the local Russian mob, the surprisingly sweet Vladimir. She is anxious, paranoid, intelligent, quiet, private, a thinker and a planner, compassionate and affectionate to a chosen few, and overall pretty emotional, though she does her best to hide that. She dreams of making video games for a living, and she’s fairly tech-savvy. She loves paying video games, mostly horror, action, and mystery, and loves reading, typically fantasy but also a bit of everything.
And that’s about all I can offer without boring you to death or spoiling everything. Oh, and any suggestions for Russian and Italian names to fill out the Mafias would also be greatly appreciated!
To play into her personality, how about some video game/lit names from that era?
video game and literature names
Maria (a feminization of Mario)
Luna
Zelda
Sam (as in Samus)
Lara
Arwen
Ayla
Jessica (Jess, Jessie, Jack…)
Sophie (Sophia)
Matilda (or Tilda, Tilly, Mattie…)
Pauline
Cass
Angelina
Beth
Rosie
Sally
Beverly
Annie
Emilia
Wren
As for Russian/Italian names, I suggest going to Nameberry’s main page to the “Advanced Search” option. Here’s the link to it: LINK. There, you can enter in under “Origin” Italian, or Russian, and select a gender.