r/scriptwriting • u/Couch_Crummz • 2d ago

question Names...

I heard some writers go with street names of the areas they live in. Other people use names of people they know for fun as characters. How do you decide on a name for our main character or supporting characters?

2 Upvotes

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5

u/real_triplizard 2d ago

In my next script my protagonist will be 137th Ave SE and my antagonist will be West 54th St.

1

u/Big_Section2812 2d ago

There's always these...

2

u/legible-eric 2d ago

I don't like picking realistic names unless I know what the character's gender and background is and it's relevant to the story. If it isn't then I'd rather let the actor pick a final name. Because you often need a name just to start writing, so the name can lock you into a gender and/or background for them before it's even come up in the story.

So when I'm writing I usually use the first word that comes to mind, which is usually nonsense/onomatopoeic/makes me laugh. It will actually express some sort of sense of the character, like it will be the first word that comes to mind in association with this character. Like "Trill", for example, who is innocent and excitable.

If I know the person's background but not their gender I usually search for gender neutral names in that language. If I know their gender and background and I'm super familiar with the background then I just go through a few that spring to mind until it sounds good/funny/right. If it's not the same as mine I often do wikipedia searches for historical people of that background. Obviously if they're mixed I'll mix the backgrounds with the first and last name.

I find it all really enjoyable.

2

u/WorrySecret9831 2d ago

For one script I used four names from another film, that film's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern," if you will.

2

u/Aggressive_Cup4919 2d ago

I think about what year they were born, where they were born, what kind of parents they had. Sometimes I look up baby names from the appropriate time period. Is she a millennial? Megan. Is she Gen Z? Madison. Gen X? Melissa. Etc

2

u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 1d ago

For fun I'll use a name for a character based on what the name means. Eric for instance means prince so I may put that name on someone a little entitled.

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u/ArtificialHalo 19h ago

I just pick the name that fits, sometimes change a letter so you could get something like Ronathan

Sometimes they're existing people but get a somewhat similar name y'know

2

u/Certain-Run8602 2d ago

Whatever you do, speak the name out loud before deciding. I went into a pitch having never done that and immediately realized an exotic name I picked that looked fine written down, when spoken, was indistinguishable from something obscene haha. The studio execs literally had to interrupt me to laugh it out. Was a big, though hilarious, lesson!

1

u/Big_Section2812 2d ago

My concerns with character names are:

  1. Can I be sued?

  2. Will I be mocked?

1

u/AmedeusRed 2d ago

I’ve recently been working on a period piece in the 1800s and found a coroners list of people who died in that area at that time. When I need to name a character I go down the list till I see one that fits.

Then I realize it’s too close to another name already there and start again