How to Name Characters in Short Stories

How many times have you read a story and remembered the plot, but forgot the names of the characters? Don't let your characters turn into forgettable "Johns" and "Janes". Use these tips to come up with memorable, meaningful names that your readers won't forget.

Naming Characters with Latin, Greek, or Other Language Roots

This is easier than it sounds. Thanks to the Internet, you don't have to actually know another language to use it for naming characters. Here's an example: Recently, I was working on a short story about a boy born with a sixth toe. I wanted to give him a name that would subtly remind a reader of his distinguishing characteristic, so I started Googling related words.

I tried both the Latin and Greek for six. I got "sex" and "hex," neither of which I thought was an appropriate name for a little boy. Randomly, I tried "Hungarian for toe" and got some terrible and unexpected animal pornography. "Latin for toe" got me "digit." Okay, I could work with that. A slight modification later, and my character became Digio.

Naming Characters from Religion and Mythology

Giving a character in a short story a name from another story is a great way of influencing how the reader will interpret that character's place in a story. It can also be used as a subtle way of foreshadowing a character's fate. Now you probably can't get away with naming a character Job or Athena unless you have a very, very good reason. But Abraham and Isaac are both familiar enough names that bring to mind Biblical associations.

Don't be afraid to research and use mythical names outside of your own culture. For example, Zeinab (the granddaughter of Mohammed and hero of Shia Muslims) and Nova (Hopi for "butterfly chaser") are both beautiful and associative names for women. If you look hard enough, you can find a myth and name that tie in to the heart of any short story you're trying to write.

Naming Characters using Sound Associations

Sometimes a character's role in a short story will suggest a name. For example, I gave a character the name "Ramona," because she brought old-fashioned romance into an otherwise drab office environment. Get it? Ramona sounds very similar to romance.

You can do this with many defining characteristics. Perhaps "Lourdes" lords things over her inferior friends. Maybe "Mumford" has a terrible mumbling problem.

Naming Characters by Stealing from Casual Acquaintances

If your best friend has a great and unusual name, it's probably not wise to use it. After all, she'll catch on pretty quickly. But if you once knew a guy with the last name "Zastro" and you want to use it, go ahead. Sometimes the names that feel real are the ones that actually come from real life.

Naming Characters from Nature

The natural world has inspired so many poems, why not let it inspire a few names? My personal taste runs toward geological names like Opal and Hematite. But there's no limit on what you can use from nature. Flower names, star names, and meteorological names are all yours for the taking. Spend some time looking at illustrated science encyclopedias for inspiration.

Naming Characters by Professional Field

Any specialized profession has a vocabulary attached to it. Even if you're not well versed, take a hint from a character's profession as to what you should name her. A classical musician could be "Clara" to suggest clarinet, or "Pia," to suggest piano. A research scientist could be "Bunsen" to suggest the gas burner. (I just made those up with very limited knowledge. Imagine what you could come up with given a little research!)

Naming Characters by Place

Do your character's albino eyes remind you of the red dirt of Georgia? Well, now you've got a name, an association, and a reason to go with it.

Naming Characters by Nickname

Shaky, Slim, and Doe Eyes are all goofy nicknames. But when you give your character a goofy nickname, it often becomes more memorable than any real-sounding name. Does anybody know if Rocky Balboa had a "real" first name? Who cares? Everybody knows Rocky.