Choosing Character Names and Making Up Fantastic Words
It’s a little difficult to admit this, but I’m not a super creative person when it comes to choosing character names or making up words. I’m not able to sit on my couch and have words like “muggle” (non-magical human) or “dinglehopper” (a made-up word for “fork”) pop into my head. Those are two words that many of us know thanks to Harry Potter and The Little Mermaid, but they’re not “real” words. They’re completely made up, yet they sound convincing and have become part of our vernacular.
This has been an insecurity of mine for as long as I’ve been in this business, so over 13-years. But you know what this has made me? A super sleuth of etymology and an obsessive researcher. I may not be able to pull cool names and made up words out of the air, but give me a little time to dig into my favorite etymology Website and mash up some words, and I’ll come up with words that sparkle and fit my story.
Your character names and made-up words should add meaning to your story.
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When I write any genre, especially fantasy, I want my character names and any words I make up to have meaning to the story. A nod to the theme. A wink to a reader who might decipher the root of the perhaps uncommon word I’ve introduced to them and be able to figure out its meaning.
None of the words I use are supposed to sound smart or clever, but they are meant to pair well with the story and add another layer of detail to the world I’m building. Read on for my top five tips for picking names and making up words.
Tips for Picking Great Character Names and Making Up Cool Words
1. Use an online etymology dictionary.
My go-to favorite Website is Online Etymology Dictionary. This comprehensive Website will give you everything you need to start making up words and character names. You’ll be able to find the origin of any word you like and recommended words will be suggested as you dig into the search results. There are even handy iOS and Android apps if you’re on the go and away from a computer.
2. Keeping your book’s mood and tone in mind, mash words together.
Let’s say I’m writing a fantasy and I want to come up with a new word in this world for “king.” First, I’ll look up “king” in the online etymology dictionary. What stands out to me is, “It is possibly related to Old English cynn "family, race" (see kin), making a king originally a ‘leader of the people.’”
I’ll write down cynn and then think about what kind of king mine is. Is he benevolent? Harsh? Fearful? Once I decide what kind of king he is, I’ll search that word, too. For this example, my king is evil.
When I search the word “evil,” this is what gets my attention: “Old English yfel (Kentish evel), from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz (source also of Old Saxon ubil, Old Frisian and Middle Dutch evel, Dutch euvel, Old High German ubil, German übel, Gothic ubils), from PIE *upelo-, from root *wap- "bad, evil" (source also of Hittite huwapp- "evil").”
I now have cynn and I’m choosing evel from the list of since it’s most like our common English-language spelling of “evil” and would be much easier for a younger reader to guess the meaning of the word as opposed to some of the other language origins.
Now, let’s mash them together!
Cynnevel
Evelcynn
Those are two options of words for my evil king. They’re not completely made up since they have roots in Old English, and I’ve stuck with that same origin for both halves of the made-up word. I didn’t have to stick with Old English for both, however. I could take cynn and Old High German’s ubil to make . . .
Cynnubil
Ubilcynn
There are no hard and fast rules to which mashed up word you have to choose. I tend to lean toward whichever one looks aesthetically pleasing and sounds best when spoken aloud. It’s okay if they sound different at first—they’re brand new words and they’re going to sound a bit odd! When you find the right combination, though, you will know.
3. Research your book’s main topic and do a related-word search using glossaries.
Glossaries are your friends! They make it easy for me to find words related to my topic that I can use to give characters, places, pets and anything else I choose meaningful names. If I’m writing a book about space, I’ll search “glossary of space words” and use it to scan for names of stars, planets, moons, galaxies and more that I could use for inspiration.
4. Search in different languages.
If I’m writing a book about a character who has some tie to the sun, I’ll use the In Different Languages Website to search the word “sun” in various languages. A quick search will show me the word from Albanian to Yiddish and it might give me a cool, different name for my character. For example, maybe her nickname is “Sonne” which is German for “sun” and it’s a nickname passed down from her German grandparents. You can research character names with almost any language you like.
5. When possible, relate your character/town/city names to their role in the story.
In my first book, I purposefully chose the name of my wealthy mean girl and her horse very carefully. Heather Fox and her horse, Aristocrat. Their character names sound quite snooty, especially with a horse named Aristocrat.
When I’m working on cities and towns, I wouldn’t name my sunny beach-side town “Dreary Village,” my super-populated city “Loneman City” or my vibrant London city “Smithville.” Those names are either the exact opposite of the feeling I’m trying to convey or they’re flat out boring.
Instead, consider names that make you think of a certain place without knowing anything about it beyond its name. When you read “Coral Grove Island,” do you think of something tropical? Probably. Coal City reminds me a small mining town. Give your city a name that makes a strong first impression in the right direction which is a nod to its role in the story.
Now, it’s your turn!
Those are my top five tips for picking character names and creating made-up words and I hope you find them useful. Give the above Websites a try and have fun! I’m sure whatever you come up with will add fantastic flavor to your work.
—Jess Burkhart
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