HELP!

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

 My friend and I are writing a story.  I need a good name for a villain in our tale.  Something cool, dark, mysterious, etc.  Please toss out any ideas.  I'm tapped out on names at the moment.



Lucia Evangeline "Lucy" Hawthorne & Helena Rosamund "Beau" Beaumont - our story's heroines and main characters

Benjamin & Diana - Lucy's parents
Oliver & Elliot - Lucy's elder twin brothers

Henry & Celia - Beau's parents
Christoph - Beau's younger brother

Alice Dodgson, Norah Grey, and Charlotte Newbury - Lucy and Beau's childhood friends
Noah & Sophie - Alice's children
Felix Everett - Norah's boyfriend
James Rowan - Charlotte's fiancé

Ezra & Jane Monroe
Milla & Deacon - Ezra & Jane's children

Lucas Abbott, Grant Park, and Fox Marlowe - Lucy & Beau's co-workers (in a sense)




Thank you in advance for any help!

Comments

[retrodancekitty.livejournal.com]

Eric
Marlon
Devon
Miles
Merrick
Ross
Stuart
Robin
Jackson
Garrett
Nathaniel

[iluvbroccoli.livejournal.com]

Vincent is the first name that came to my mind.

[skittles22088.livejournal.com]

Maddox
Xander
Justinian
Devlin
Sandro
Beckett
Sirius
Antares
Ferdinand
Acharon (Akaron)
Orion
Stellan
Eli
Canis
Draco/Drake
Rigel
Arcturus
Pollux
Wolf

(Can you guess my inspiration for most of these? lol)

[arrien.livejournal.com]

Desmond and Dimitri were the first two that came to mind. Errrr...assuming the villain is male?

[the-pyre.livejournal.com]

Victor

[the-pyre.livejournal.com]

Cain

[pleasure-past.livejournal.com]

Hm... From one writer to another, may I suggest something? Don't worry too much about the name being "dark, cool, mysterious," worry about it fitting with the character's background. If you try too hard, it's going to be really obvious to your readers. Granted, you don't want the name to be something that will totally kill the mood you want associated with the character, but I shouldn't be able to look at list of character names and tell you who the villain is without knowing anything else about them, particularly if there is supposed to be any mystery about who the villain is. Yes, I know that J.K. Rowling kicked this rule to curb and spat on it before she slammed the door but even she didn't completely get away with it and, let's face it, we're not J.K. Rowling.

The other names (Excluding the last two. Is there an explanation there?) give me the feeling that this is set in England a century or so ago, so my suggestions are going to keep with that feeling.

Victor: It's already been suggested, but I wanted to second it. It's a simple, elegant name that also has a rough feel, so it works with many types of characters in many different situations. It won't stand out from the crowd, but at the same time you're readers are unlikely to forget it the instant he walks "off-screen."

Percy: This really is a great name, but I would like to add the footnote that, because it's not quite as common as the other names on this list, it comes with a lot of baggage. The first two people that the average American or British teenager/young adult is going to think of are Percy Shelley and Percy Weasley, and I would hesitate to use it if the character in question doesn't have the right sort of personality to blend in with those people. This name doesn't imply "bad guy" (neither of the men I listed were Bad Guys, though perhaps they weren't very good guys) but it does imply a certain type of haughty intellectual. Again, it depends on what type of "mood" you want associated with this character.

Charles: This name has the same advantages as Victor, in that it's a very noble name, but at the same time if you need it to be a bit less regal, you can always just shorten it to Charlie. It can be used in a lot of different settings on many different types of characters.

Arthur: See "Victor."

William: See "Charles."

Thomas: See "Charles."

Edward: Much like "Percy," the fact that this name has fallen out of use lately means that it actually has a lot of baggage attached to it. You know where the baggage in this case is going to come from. This baggage can work for you or against you, depending on what type of character he is.

Vincent: This one has a very elegant and upper-class feel and it's difficult to make it work in rougher contexts, but it might be just what you're looking for insofar as it's dark and mysterious without sending up neon "This Is A Bad Man" flares.

Nicolas: This one has several different nickname possibilities (Cole, Nick, Nicky) and can work in many different contexts.

I hope you and your friend find the name you're looking for. I know what it's like to agonize forever over a name because somehow nothing feels right. (I have one character's gone through five name-changes since I started writing him!) For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure this is something that writers worry about a lot more than readers ever do. :) The name doesn't have to be perfect. Let the character make the name and don't stress about the name making the character. Good luck!