I need help. Not psychologically or anything...Okay well, yes, but that's unrelated. I'm having a bit of trouble naming my latest hero.* And by "a bit," I mean "a metric ass-ton." That's a technical term.
So far, this hasn't been much more than an annoyance, since I'm not writing right now and all. (We'll ignore that short story I started and the novel scene I wrote.) But my hiatus is almost up and I Still. Have. No. Name. If I can't name him by Friday, there may be an isolated incident of seppuku making the New England news.
The good news is, you can help! (No, really. It's good news. Just go with it.)
In the side bar over there, ===> there's a poll. And all you have to do is (wait for it...) take the poll! That's it! Most easily avoided seppuku ever.
Now, these names have been systematically chosen for reasons relating to the story, but none of them are full-on ringing my bell, y'know? So please feel free to make your case for or against any name in the comments. I welcome your opinions with open arms and a cookie. Oh, and if you have other suggestions, really, I'm open. Fire away.
*Seventeen years old, more nerd than geek, bad at science. Go!
I tried to vote for Calvin but I don't think it took. Why Calvin? 1 - I haven't heard it recently. 2- and Hobbs.
ReplyDeleteHa! See? My reservation about Calvin has been 1 - Bet Me and 2 - and Hobbs.
DeleteI like Calvin, too. Well, it was between Calvin and Elias (which I also really like) but possessives are annoying to write with names that end in "s."
ReplyDeleteOTOH, Elias does open up some good name-calling options, if you want other guys to razz him. Like "Eli-ASS." ;)
You know, I hadn't thought of the possessives problem, but I had thought of the razzing problem. This will take some mulling.
DeleteI went with Elias since it was the one that felt most fitting for your character description. Calvin would have come in second for me. But not Cal. Cal is too macho for a 17 nerdy kid.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny the associations people have with names? I wouldn't have thought of Cal as macho, because I tend to reference Cal with Calvin O'Keefe from A Wrinkle in Time. Most decidedly not macho.
DeleteI apologize most sincerely but I don't like any of them. Don't ask me why, it's a gut thing (and highly personal so don't be offended. It's my crazy brain.)
ReplyDeleteHere are some I thought of:
Henry
Parker
Sam
Derek
Edward (I know, Vampires, but it's my geeky Nerd brother's name)
Alex
Daniel
Wes
Feel free to blow raspberries at me.
Hmm...Parker might be a contender. The rest, unfortunately, no. (Especially Edward. ;) )
DeleteIf none of these names are grabbing you then none of them are right. Have you tried asking your character? Chances are he'll know his own name but maybe it's not something you've thought of.
ReplyDeleteThey're all "right" within the context of the story, but I'm incredibly fickle with boys names. (Just ask my husband.) I have done the interview thing, but it doesn't usually help me. We shall see.
DeleteI picked the most out there name... Okay I am just kidding. I would have picked Mason - but all I think about is a 7 (and three quarters) little girl when I hear that name. And Calvin to me is too much of a dumb jock's name (thank you high school classmates). Then there is the whole I hate the name Issac and Morgan is I just don't even know LOL. Which means to me, the most obvious pick is Elias =)
ReplyDelete~Ashleigh (I am at work so I can't log into my account-- But have a good day!)
Is Elias the most out there name? Because these were the tamest names on my list. :)
DeleteI liked Elias because you could shorten it to Eli. However, are his parents nerds? Would they have given him a strong name that he can't live up to (Hunter, Jake, etc.) which would make him feel lousy enough to go by his middle name? (Which would be after a grandparent, as in Grandpa Elias). Or worse, his cool parents learn early on there's NO WAY he's a Hunter, so they call him by his middle name? Or he feels superior to every Hunter in the school, so he wants to distinguish himself? I don't know why those thoughts popped into to my brain, possibly because I named one of my kids without realizing it meant "fire," and he turned out to be a real firecracker. Research is good.
ReplyDeleteCookie, please?
The list was completely derived from his parent's POV, so I've got that covered. I hope you like chocolate chip.
DeleteElias is too... difficult. Too many syllables and ends in 's'. Eli is better, like Megan said. There are several girls named Morgan at Sam's school, which you could use to advantage if you wanted to bring gender confusion in. Or exasperation about gender confusion. I voted for Calvin, I've always loved that name, possibly because he was the hero/male sidekick to Meg in those Madeline L'Engle books. Other thoughts: Austin, Cooper ("Coop"), Darin, Gavin, Colin-- met an extremely nerdy Colin in one of my seminars last year (pronounced Collin). Megan got me thinking about his parents-- would they go for a poet's name? Emerson (or Waldo, Emerson's middle name), Shelley (although that brings up Sheldon from BBT), Byron, Walt (Whitman), Sidney (Sir Philip), Edmund (Spenser). OK, I'll stop now. This site is fun for poking around: www.babynamecentral.com
ReplyDeleteThat had been a concern of mine with Morgan. Even though it started as a male name, it's gone gender neutral in recent years, so it's difficult. This is going to be harder than I'd hoped. *sigh*
DeleteI went with Elias. Of the ones listed, it just seemed to fit with your description best. No real reason, though. Just a gut feeling.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with the person/people who said above that if none of these are really standing out to you, keep looking. You can always use a placeholder now, and change it later. In one of my books, my MC's name changed about 15-20 times (and no, that's not an exaggeration). I had the whole book finished and was on my third round of edits when I saw a movie with a character named something that was just perfect for my girl. I went through my MS with Find/Replace and fixed it that very night.
Unfortunately, my brain doesn't function well enough to use placeholders. I'll email you about it. :)
DeleteI vote for "If none of these names are grabbing you then none of them are right." This is what came to mind when I first saw this post. I am not grabbed by any of these names either. "Gavin" did pop in my mind before I read BarbN's response. Just saying ... ;) Pat
ReplyDeleteI like Gavin, but it just doesn't fit the context of the story and I can't make it squish. Also, I have a character in another story named that, so... :)
Deleteah, well ... he is your brain child ... you shall have to baptise him ... ;)
DeleteMy DD also did not pick from the poll and suggests "Irving" ... that's all I got ;) Pat
ReplyDeleteIrving? Like the gas stations?
Deletelol ... she did not say ... since she is a musician I could speculate more Irving like Berlin ... ;) ...hmmmm ... how about "Irvin" ... as in the Gaelic form ... means green water places, I think
DeleteCalvin seemed to fit whtat you described IMHO.
ReplyDeleteNames are always hard. Best of luck.
Thanks, Judie. I'm gonna need it.
DeleteNames are tough. I went through a couple for my MC on my current work and finally got the right one from a friend. I think the poll is a great idea and I chose Mason, but some of the others have had good ideas. I like the placeholder idea, which I'm using for a secondary character right now until the right name pops up for me. So good luck on this.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that you have a current work. :)
DeleteI don't know why, but Mason did it for me.
ReplyDeleteJust don't choose the same starting letter as someone else who's on screen a lot. (Fricking Sauron Sarumon.) !!
My first novel had a junior in it. Like, father and son both had the same name and were both active in the story and everyone called son "Junior," except father, who hated it and always called him by his first name. Talk about confusing. Never. Again. It's the only character whose name I ever changed after the fact. (And in my head, he's still Junior.)
DeleteI voted. Might even have been the first one.... but, if none of these grab you, none of these are the one. Do the baby name sites help or hinder? Did you listen to Han's podcast with the Social Security people's stats about baby names? Hilarious kid I have, or it could just be me, being all Mom-ish.
ReplyDeleteAnyHOO, good luck. (The poll was fun!)
The baby name sites definitely help...most of the time. For this one, it's been tough because his name is more a part of the story than usual. Also, I have had the Social Security site bookmarked for as long as I can remember. And ParentConnect. And Nameberry. And five or six name books. And...well, you get the picture. I've always been something of a name geek. Thanks for your vote. ;)
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