The Never Ending Search for Last Names

Writers' Corner
1

Naming characters is a special part of the writing process. Last names, however, always get me! My latest story is still in development, and a few characters are in need of last names. Due to the setting of my story, last names are important. That being said, I’m at a loss for the right ones.

Please help me find last names for these precious characters! Thanks in advance!

  • [name_m]Callahan[/name_m] (Male. Strong, sarcastic, a bit negative, but has a humorous side to him. His friends call him [name_u]Cal[/name_u], for short.)

  • [name_u]Harley[/name_u] (Female. Enthusiastic, “natural leader” type, is always friendly towards others and doesn’t bother with the formalities.)

  • [name_u]Jackie[/name_u] (Female. A bit androgynous in appearance, I think the word is. Quiet but can have a short fuse at times, has strong physical abilities, and is a loyal friend.)

  • [name_u]Meredith[/name_u] (Female. Creative, responsible, and a bit of a peacekeeper among her friends. She tends to be an over achiever and works herself too hard at times.)

So what do you guys think? I’m specifically having trouble with [name_u]Cal[/name_u], because his name can be used as a surname as well. I’m not sure what fits! Any ideas are appreciated. :slight_smile:

2

While one bit of advice I use a lot is that surnames make great first names, the same is true for the opposite! You can try out some first names for surnames, I mean, everyone knows a [name_m]Johnson[/name_m], right? And there’s little variations from other languages that make first names not seem so first-namey. Like! [name_u]Jensen[/name_u]! But yeah, try some of those out?

Another easy peasy way to make surnames is occupations. [name_m]Smith[/name_m] is the most common name in the US and its an occupation~ [name_u]Tailor[/name_u] ([name_u]Taylor[/name_u]), [name_m]Baker[/name_m], [name_m]Miller[/name_m], Cook…

And nature, of course. [name_m]Stone[/name_m], [name_u]Oakley[/name_u], [name_m]Rivers[/name_m]…or maybe some place names (after all, a lot of places are named people!) try [name_u]Hudson[/name_u] or [name_u]Mackay[/name_u].

[name_m]Ah[/name_m], sorry I didn’t really get too specific on actual names! I’m not too sure what style of last name you like, and there’s just so many options. Hopefully I helped! Oh, and you could also try out just googling like, a word (for example for [name_u]Meredith[/name_u] you could do peace surnames and find last names that mean peace since she’s the peacekeeper!). Good luck!