The Unwitting Heir

Writers' Corner
1

I have an idea for a story that’s sort of developing in the back of my mind, and I really don’t want to focus on it too much, since I’ve already got my Germany-footballer story I’m working on, but sometimes details for a developing story will bug me, and I have to get them ironed out before I can go back to the story I’m mainly focusing on. :slight_smile: I think that’s the case here. I know this guy is the firstborn heir of a legendary family with old money and lots of it. I’m not sure yet where the money comes from–maybe politics, or a large conglomeration that’s been handed down from father to son for generations. In any regard, he’s expected to take over the family business, to step into the limelight and carry on his father’s legacy, but he has no desire for that life at all. He hates the limelight, has no real interest in his inheritance, and hates the results both of those things have on his life–he can never trust that any friends or love interests (particularly new ones) are interested in him for him, and not his money, he hates the fame, the gossip, the expectations. He wants to start and lead a non-profit that works internationally to help people in some way (although I don’t know what that would be, exactly, yet). He’s probably in his mid-to-late twenties, a few years out of college, and I envision him to have deep blue eyes, mid-to-dark brown hair, a quick and honest smile, fairly tall. His sister (who is still in college, probably around age 22) is named [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] “[name_f]Lena[/name_f]”.

I was looking for a name that would sort of hint at his family’s wealth, but also be fairly classic and not be over-the-top pretentious (although, maybe a little bit so). So far, this is what I’ve come up with–how do they suit? I’m open to moving combos around, and also suggestions, but I’m leaning toward one of these being it.

In no particular order:

[name_m]Reuben[/name_m] [name_m]Henry[/name_m] “[name_m]Ben[/name_m]”
[name_m]Leo[/name_m] [name_m]Philip[/name_m]
[name_m]Matthias[/name_m] [name_m]Henry[/name_m] “[name_m]Matt[/name_m]”
[name_m]Samuel[/name_m] [name_m]Miles[/name_m] “[name_u]Sam[/name_u]”
[name_u]Harper[/name_u] [name_m]Edward[/name_m]
[name_u]Ashby[/name_u] [name_m]George[/name_m] “[name_u]Ash[/name_u]”
[name_u]Emerson[/name_u] [name_m]Henry[/name_m] “[name_u]Emory[/name_u]”
[name_u]Everett[/name_u] [name_m]Henry[/name_m] “[name_m]Rhett[/name_m]”
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u] [name_m]Elijah[/name_m]
[name_m]Henry[/name_m] [name_u]Rowan[/name_u]
[name_m]Edward[/name_m] [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]
[name_m]Grant[/name_m] [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m]
[name_m]Lucian[/name_m] [name_m]Henry[/name_m] “[name_m]Luc[/name_m]”

Thank you!

ETA: urgh, I hate that you can’t modify titles. It’s obviously been a long day, because I mean “unwilling” rather than “unwitting” heir…

2

Out of your options, I like [name_u]Ashby[/name_u] the most. To me it sounds unusual and a bit uppity. Not sure how I feel about [name_m]George[/name_m] in the middle though. I think [name_u]Ashby[/name_u] [name_m]Edward[/name_m] feels more cohesive; [name_u]Ashby[/name_u] is a soft name, so I feel like a middle with only a few harsh sounds would work better with it. [name_m]George[/name_m] just sounds clunky and abrupt to me. [name_u]Ashby[/name_u] and [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], and [name_u]Ash[/name_u] and [name_f]Lena[/name_f] make a sweet sibset as well.

My second choice would be [name_m]Lucian[/name_m]. The only thing I don’t like about it is nickname “[name_m]Luc[/name_m]”, because I feel like it could easily be misread as ‘[name_m]Luck[/name_m]’, especially if it’s what the character primarily goes by.

The rest of the names either feel just average or too modern, at least from an American perspective. I don’t know where you live, so if these names work there, by all means, just ignore me. [name_u]Emerson[/name_u], [name_u]Everett[/name_u], [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], and [name_u]Harper[/name_u] sound too new. I would see them working better for a young child, because only recently have these names started to get popular. If your character is in his mid-to-late 20’s, then these names would be very unusual on him, and maybe even sound out of place. [name_m]Matthias[/name_m], [name_m]Miles[/name_m], [name_m]Philip[/name_m], [name_m]Reuben[/name_m], and [name_m]Grant[/name_m] all seem average to me. Not upper class at all. The rest of the names, [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]George[/name_m], and [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m], are all classics, so I think they would be your best bet if you wanted to go for a more timeless first name or a stable middle.