Character Names

[indicinderelly.livejournal.com]

Hi all. I was hoping for advice on some character names (I don't have little ones, or little ones on the way, so I hope character names are okay).

I like knowing the meaning of names, as it helps with symbolism, and occasionally, imagery. I like creative/unusual names, and have recently gotten "into" combined names (i.e. Sarah + Elizabeth = Sarelizabeh. Apprently I had a doll when I was like 3 with this name). But I'd like to open myself up to more possibilities and not limit myself to what sounds great right now, but doesn't stay with the story.

I was hoping I could get some honest feedback (and, as I'm aware of recent drama in here over asking for honest feedback, I *DO* want honest feedback, even if it means I suck at my name choices right now lol) on some names I have already picked out.

I would like to ask, if you can, that if you obliterate a name choice, could you offer a replacement of sorts? I'd really appreciate it.

So here are the names I'm questioning right now:

Peter Alan (oldest)
Zachery Curtis (middle)
Joshua William (youngest)

Calandria Mariana (oldest of 12 brothers and sisters)
(This is a name I know I could use help with. I thought it was *so* cool and *so* edgy when I was in high school, but it doesn't seem so anymore. I need a name that can have a couple differnt nicknames, but that isn't completely laughable when said aloud).


Thanks all.

Edit to add: The boys are in a totally separate story from the girl. Also, this is not for a fanfiction. These are both from novels I hope to publish soon.

Comments

[joereaves.livejournal.com]

I second the first commenter - unless your story is set in some kind of fantasy world then your girls name really is a little OTT. If you must use it (and assuming you're in a real world setting) at least have people react to it in the way they would in RL ie they will remark on it, they may ask where it comes from or they may be rude about it, they certainly won't spell it right very often etc. Obviously most of this tops holding true if you're in some kind of fantasy or sci fi setting where odd names are the rule. I would ditch at least one of the names and replace it with something more 'normal' if I were you.

Oh and if you're writing fanfiction rather than original fiction ignore that advice and just for the love of God don't use it. It will make people assume she's a Mary Sue and hit the back button immediately (except those readers who get all OM I luv u, liek rite more now!!!1!! and they probably aren't the kind of people you want to be listening to judging from the fact you care enough to be thinking about this at all)

[indicinderelly.livejournal.com]

I wanted a name that can have many nicknames, so that she could go by one or several of the NNs and have her whole name come out rarely, and it would get attention, both good and bad. I'm not in love with the name anymore, but I do still want the same general feel of an unusual name, shortened into a more common nn.

It's not a fanfiction. It's a fiction [novel]. I hope to publish it within the next year (or two?) and it wasn't ever based on a fanfiction I wrote. It will [hopefully] be a book sitting on shelves in bookstores across the country, that one can pick up and read, then purchase. It's not an internet story based on real celebrities where one hopes to be involved in their lives.