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deadly kisses of love (deadlylovekiss) wrote in rp_tutorials,
@ 2011-02-02 21:10:00

Entry tags:

question: character creation

I don't know if this is something that would be allowed on here, but I have another question.

How do you pick a name for a character that's in reason? I prefer names that are a bit unique, but sometimes I feel that my name choices could affect how people look at my character. If that names sense.

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irreparable_mod
2011-02-04 12:14 am UTC (link)

I have a few stand-bys that I go with:

Bookish, educated parents-- a strong name, but something that may be a reference to literature. Authors, Shakespeare Characters, etc.

Pureblood Wizards-- Stars, emperors, or Mythological figures.

Middle-class, down-to-earth parents-- a sturdy common name. Sometimes I try to Google the census for the origin of the family. This helps come up with good surnames, too. Even if I end up with Iphigenia because her parents were out there, I can pair it with Taylor, which is a common English surname.

Babynames.com is good for meanings and for looking by ethnicity. Babyname wizard has a great feature where it lists common names of siblings. This helps you come up with first/middle/sibling names that seem to go together.

Just remember that just as in real life, if you take a common name with a unique spelling, everyone is going to roll their eyes and assume that your parents think you are the greatest child ever. Ashley vs Ashlee, Mandy vs Mandi. It's proven in studies. If you want that for your character, it's best to mention in the bio that the parents thought it was unique and acknowledge that it may be out-there.

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	deadlylovekiss 2011-02-04 12:47 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for the advice! I never really thought about it, until now, but in some ways I do pick names based on social class. Even if I don't realize it. Lol. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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