Settling on a name
Recently I've resumed work on the final story in Ragnarok Rising and I've hit a small snag, I can't decide on a certain character's name .
Normally I don't have this problem. I'll generally pick a name and be satisfied with it, at least when I first chose it. Sometimes when a character evolves beyond the way in which I original envisioned I will change his/her name.
This whole thing is rather grating to me and I've spent hours upon hours combing through various name sites trying to find a name that I think fits the character. I want a female name of Scandinavian origin that sounds regal, but that also has a diminutive with a much less formal sound to it, but isn't overly feminine.
EDIT: I'm trying to avoid names that begin with an A.
Comments
If you don't find one, make
If you don't find one, make one up... or change a name you like so it fits the character.
Like Lisa -> Lisanna, Lasa, Lasanna, Lasagna (ok lol)
I guess you get what I mean. Or you can try to find a skandinavian person to give you pointers.
Thanks, but
Generally I have no qualms with creating my own names, but for whatever reason I feel strongly that I should use genuine names.
As for finding a Scandinavian, I don't know any. There are people around these parts who have Scandinavian ancestry (like myself), but in a all too common American fashion they have little interest in their heritage.
Have delightfully devious day,
Lasagna
Name a girl Lasanna, they'll torment her, calling her Lasagna. (Snicker, I admit.)
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)
Egads
Egads, no I'd never do that! :P
Have delightfully devious day,
Gunnhildr
With about eighteen variations, Gunnhild, Gunnhildr, Gunhilde, etc. means something like "Fighting Warrior Maid" and has the simpler nick name "Hilda" which is female but not all that feminine to modern ears. Gundel, Gunnel, Gunnil or Gundela is another possible nickname.
Adelgunda is a similar name meaning "Noble Fighter" with similar nicknames. Adelfina means "Little Noble Wolf". Dela is a nickname for any name that contains Adel.
Randfrithr means "Beautiful Shield", nick name Randa or Frida. Adelrand means "Noble Shield" and "Adelfrith" means "Noble Beauty".
Here's a link to a site with tons of names like those: http://www.nordicnames.de
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Thank you...
Thanks for the suggestions
Gunnhilde is a name I have considered, but it just doesn't seem to fit the characters name. I kind of like Randfrithr, especially the nickname Frida.
I haven't actually visited that site. Thanks for the link.
Have delightfully devious day,
Random thoughts ...
You may have already tried these, but Googling "random name generators" will turn up a variety of sources, from both fantasy-world and real-world (census information) sources. Many of them let you zero in on the specifics.
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php
http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/
http://www.behindthename.com/random/
http://www.squid.org/rpg-random-generator
Just generate away until a name sings to you!
Karin (not random)
I hadn't thought to use...
Thanks! I hadn't thought to use name generators. I've seen them in the past, but I've never had this much trouble coming up with a name before and thus have never actually had need of one. ^_^
Have delightfully devious day,
Two off the top of my head
#1 Kirsten Note it is not pronounced the way Kirsten Dunst pronounces hers, with a Kur-sten; it's like Kear-sten. The diminutive would be Kir.
#2 Katerine Diminutive of course is Kat.
EDIT: I used the names of some of my relatives, but I if you look at the Old Norse Female names (on the website Erin linked) I think you'll find a goldmine of suitable names.
http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Category:Old_Norse_Female_Names
My fav is Dagmaer (with the Scandanavian ae), easy pronunciation is Dag-mar and the diminutive is Dag. It's my grandmothers name, she and her sisters came to the U.S. as children, brought by their parents.
Of course, Karen is a good Norwegian name also! ;-)
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
Dagmar
Thanks for the suggestions
I knew a girl in High School who was named Dagmaer (she spelled it Dagmar if I remember correctly) and she absolutely hated it. She went by Dana ^_^
Have delightfully devious day,
I suppose that I have it easy
With few exceptions my characters are named after streets in my own town or towns nearby. This gives me hundreds of names to choose from. For example, one of the young receptionists at GSD (UK) Ltd., is named 'Amy Street' and another character, in a different story, is named after my vacuum cleaner. The name should still 'fit' the character.
Foreign names can be a challenge though, thankfully, there aren't too many of those in my stories.
Susie
There's an interesting idea
Street names, I might have to start paying attention to the streets hereabouts.
I don't usually have too much trouble with foreign/exotic names, but for reasons I can't go into without a major spoiler I want this name to be special. Of course, Ragnarok Rising has a few rather interesting names.
Have delightfully devious day,
Google Finnish Girls names
There are plenty and they aren't like those everyday scandiavian names. Best of all Finns are strong, intelligent and beautiful. I'm not just saying that because I'm 100% Finn, well maybe, Arecee
Chosing a name...
I think I may have settled on Brynhilde (perhaps Brynhilda) and Bryn as a diminutive. I'll going to mull it over and see if the name sticks.
Thanks all for the ideas and suggestions.
Have delightfully devious day,