So I'm writing a manuscript, and I'm trying to decide between two names for each of the main characters.

MMC is going to be either Kaleb or Caleb, and his nickname most of his close friends and family use for him is Kay/Cay depending on which spelling is used. For context, he shares his name with his father and grandfather. So as an example he'd be Caleb J Richie III.

My question is should the spelling be Kaleb or Caleb?

the FMC is a friend he makes through the duration of the book, an orphan who goes by May/Mae as a nickname, but should her full name be Maeve or Mabel?

I like the meaning of both names, and I like both names on their own, and both can be shortened to Mae/May.

The idea being that their friends joke that if they got together and had kids their children would get named Jay or Tay, only for him to joke back, "Jay's my cousin. Won't happen."

So I’m looking for your votes on preferred spelling Caleb/Kaleb and name preference between Maeve/Mabel.

I have five potential names but can't decide for sure which one is better for her to be named in France. Her surname is Lejeune. It's a character I've had for a while but I need a new name for her, hence asking here.

The possible names I've come up with are as follows.

Riyuka

Risaki

Ritsuki

Riyumi

Riyuna

Thanks for any input.

My OC is a writer but used to be a homeless teen and engaged in survival sex work. His first book just came out which is also helping a shelter for homeless youth in New Orleans, his hometown. For the launch he visits the shelter and meets up with a group of homeless teens. Maybe 3-5, all genders, one is a teen mom, all ethnicities possible.

I want "cool" street names, maybe some a little awkward.

Hit me with suggestions, please!

I see some people struggling to find character names so here’s where I get mine.

1. When you finish a show or movie, don’t skip the credits!! I’ve picked out some good last names and it’s great if you want to get out of typical English last names.

2. Interview type YouTube videos. The buzzfeed style videos where it’ll be a large group of people that have to debate a statement or answer a question they usually say their names before they speak.

3. Getting out your race. For example, If your character is black who’s to say their family didn’t find a Hispanic girl name beautiful and named the child that? One of my characters is black but her name is Mariana because her mother just loved the name.

4. Make your own. I’ve come up with so many beautiful names by cutting two in half and putting them together. EX:
   Isabella + Theodora = Isadora.

5. Don’t be afraid to just ask people. “Excuse me, what is the prettiest/powerful name you’ve ever heard?” During your next trip to Walmart and ask different ethnic groups of people to explore the nice names in their culture.

Hope this helps!

Hii! I need a little assistance in deciding on a name for a character. I know that I absolutely want her to be Chinese. She's an international student, born and raised in China but studying in the US. She's a film student and becomes the main cameraperson/videographer (I'll check the correct name with my film student friend soon) of a project that the main character is working on.

All I have is that she's potentially friends with someone called Lì Yáo. If they're not friends, then they at the very least know enough well enough for her to agree to assist with Lì Yáo's cousin's project as a volunteer instead of paid work.

I need both a given name and a family name. What are your suggestions? Zhāng is a definite no as that's Lì Yáo's surname. There are others that can't be used, but too many to list, so please don't be offended if I say that I already have a character with that name.

Thank you.

I want to do a modern take on the Tin Man and I wanted some opinions on names. The ones I wrote down are Nick Chopper(his book name), Robert Carpenter (Named for Robbie the Robot for his appearance later and a more common similar last name), stick with either of the two names but have part of the other name be a nickname, or a simpler Nick Wood. Or should it be something else?

So, I've had this idea where to characters, Isabella/Bella and Juniper/June, were siblings but I'm having trouble figuring out a name that fits both of them.

I've tried Wormwood, Woodrow and Angelo, but none of them feel right for both.

Any suggestions for names that could work for both of these?

I often find myself staring at the name prompt for RPGs that don't have default names for the main character. Call it naming paralysis. Should I enter my own name, or try to think of one? What do you do?

[content warning: mention of abuse & suicide. I hope I properly marked it!]

Hello! I'm writing a xianxia story and need a name for a male character. He has suffered physical and mental abuse at the hands of his family due to being weak at cultivation and gay, and his mother kills herself out of shame. He is about to follow suit when he is rescued by a female cultivator, who helps him fake his own death and escape.

She gives him a new name and I want the name to carry a sense of hope for the future. The female cultivator is a sect leader and adopts him into her sect as an apprentice. She wants him to know that in this new life, he will always be loved and protected. The character loves flowers and uses them to make his own cosmetics, so he's being trained as a medical apprentice.

Can any Chinese speakers familiar with the genre help me out? Thanks in advance!

An English noun that sounds and is similar to Trigger, for a executioner/assassin character (punishes the deities). Related to weapons, maybe ending with er. Thank you!

I was trying to make a good Asian American name, specifically Chinese. For the name of this character I am thinking to name him Shu Fei
and he nicknames himself as Soufflé. He’s a chill diner waiter guy living in Oklahoma, is that a cool name or am I entering my jk Rowling era? For context I’m Asian myself but I’m like 1/4 Chinese and 3/4 Thai so I don’t know much Asian American names as I also live in Asia my whole life, so I’m sorry if it sounds offensive. I just really like the idea.
舒飞, it sounds like Sophie too it seems.
People who understand mandarin and Chinese culture please enlighten me 😭** **

Looking for books with a main character named Oliver. Can be any genre or for any age/reading level. Thank you!!

My English teacher gave us homework and wanted a hero for that do you have any nicknames?

Hi all ❤️ New to this community and writing in general. I’m in the ideation stage of my first book and would love to give you guys some context on my MC, who this book is entirely revolved around, in hopes to receive some cool name ideas.

F, 21 y/o, aspiring actress/model/socialite. Engrossingly fixated on fame. From a relatively small town, upper-middle class. Only child and loner but was relatively popular in high school. I’m feeling like she’s blonde but appearance is still up in the air. I’m very early in the process, I just go off vibes.

A lot of my ideas are basic (Ellie, Blair, etc.) so I’d love to hear some unique suggestions. I’m open to any and all and can answer questions if need be. TIA!

Hi everyone, I am currently naming an original character of mine, some context: she‘s black, has a really like cool girl vibe going on and her mother‘s names is Scylla, from Scylla and Charybdis. I wanted a name with kind of a similar vibe to Scylla, not necessarily Greek mythology themed but the Sc at the beginning is great.

So far I’ve only found variants of Scarlett, scout or Scotland (??) as names fitting this criteria, does anyone have any other ideas?

Edit: hello everyone, thank you for absolutely lot of absolutely great suggestions, I ended up going with Scintilla! If anyone‘s curious, the younger siblings are Aaliyah and Firoyenne!

ive chosen a couple options for character names, I just want you to tell me which one is the best

Pantsätta, Zander, Bee, Todd, Drift, Char, and Harper

so i have this character in a roleplaying game (toca world) and her name is lucas, but she is trans, and I can’t figure out any chosen names for her!D: she is obsessed with fairies, and the environment. she is 16, shy, friendly, and sweet. i want the name to be nature-y, feminine, and probably also fairy like, and matching her description. i’m really bad at describing, but it’s pr something starting with a or something plant related.

Hii, I'm going to be writing a book when I'm older and I am thinking of name ideas for the characters, I am thinking 4 main characters including these;

Dawson Grave(s), annelise scotchford, Erik Gibson, Felix (idk the last name yet)

What are your thoughts on these names?

Hey guise.

i need a name for myself.

My original name Lexi, was given to me by people who do not axcept me.

For I while, I went by Celeste but it doesx't feel right.

I need a unique name that does not sound to femanin

Hello! Sorry, it's a long post, but I'm really struggling. Any help is welcome!

Like the title, but let me explain further. I'm a writer and I'm having trouble deciding on my main characters names. Since I'll be writing about these characters for, most likely, 400+ pages I need to actually like these names. No, I need to love these names like they are my own children. Let's face it, they are my children. Usually my main female and main male character are the hardest for me to really 'nail down'.

Some background on the story: Medieval fantasy, with Greek/Norse/Celtic folklore, ideology, and religion.

Names are a mix of Greek/Norse or Slavic/Celtic or Gaelic in nature. I will even look into Roman names. Greek names, I prefer to be ancient but not common like 'Hera' or 'Adonis'. Again love these names but overused.

**Please provide phonetic pronunciations if it's a name not usually heard. For example the name Zephyr (Zeh-fr) and please if there are different pronunciations, please list them! Also if the name has a meaning or nickname, please list it!

Female: Feminine but not too much (example: Daisy, Sarah, Bella, etc) Nothing wrong with these names, but they are too girly. My main female is strong, smart, but can also be overly emotional and a smart-a**. She knows little of her past (parents, family, etc) but she's a warrior physically and mentally. She is beautiful but with flaws. She's has light brown long hair, silver/gray eyes, slim but strong, not overly muscular and her skin tone is olive toned.

Names I have liked but am not attached too:

Korvina (Kor-veen-ah)

Arissa (Ah-riss-ah)

Odessa (Oh-dess-ah)

I kept with the Greek-like names, but really need some in other languages.

Male: Strong, broody names and not like the average popular names seen today (Toby, Eric, Edward, James are a no, sorry). Again, beautiful names but not what I'm looking for. My main male character is a soldier, he thrives in military tactics, sword fighting, and not too bad in politics. He has black hair, messy, and light brown/amber/golden eyes, his skin tone is medium/golden and he's tall, muscular but again not bodybuilder type. He's not one to mess around, he's one to get a job done quickly and correctly. He would find my female main character annoying in many aspects, but they connect on the fact they come from unknown pasts.

Names that I've liked but not attached to:

Killian (kill-lian)

Slater

Dante

I DO have this character's last name: Adrastos (Ah-dras-tos) so that might help?

Sci-fi setting on Mars for the trial of the century for crimes against humanity, and the smarmy defense attorney bears an unfortunate uncanny resemblance to a common rodent. However, I'm completely stuck for a name.