The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook (Hardcover)

~ Sherrilyn Kenyon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Writers give as much thought and consideration to naming characters as they would to naming a newborn child. This trusted writing resource takes the uncertainty out of the process with a brand new edition. It's packed full of features--both proven and new--with:

-More than 25,000 first and last names organized by meaning and ethnic origin -Invaluable instruction on naming strategies and creating original names -Lighthearted sidebars explaining famous character names from literature -A look at how best-selling novelists, like Elizabeth George, Marian Keyes and more, name their characters

Now all types of fiction writers can add more nuance and meaning to their work with the perfect names!

About the Author

Sherilyn Kenyon is a bestselling author. Along with her work in fiction, she also contributed to The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference, both published by Writer's Digest Books. Her work has appeared in dozens of magazines and journals worldwide.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; 2 edition (May 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582972958
• ISBN-13: 978-1582972954
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #187,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable!, February 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook (Hardcover)

If you're a novelist then you need this book. Its the best character-naming book I ever found. The name lists are conveniently organized for easy access, into categories like Anglo-Saxon, Arabic, Native American, Welsh, etc, and each chapter gives you a general idea of last names too. There is even a chapter for Arthurian legend names!

This is a thick book and probably all you'll ever need for giving your characters authentic names. Hopefully, this book will make it less likely for us to see a Russian character with the Swedish spelling of the name Sonja. There are so many names that sound the same in different cultures, but a simple difference in spelling can make all the difference for an authentic character.

The name Valerio sounds so Italian, does't it? There are a lot of Native Americans that might argue with you about that. You might want a "very English" character to have the name Brit . . . but you're actually giving that character a common Norse name. A lot of Americans assume its British, but you'll have a hard time finding many British people named Brit. How do you spell and pronounce Nicole? The Greek way or the French way? I could go on and on with the value of this book.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's in a name?, July 6, 2000

By	Victoria Tarrani "writer, editor, artist, des... (Betwixt FL and CA, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook (Hardcover)

This book is not just for writers, but for researches or anyone who wants to know the history and meaning behind a name; their own name or that of a child soon to be born.

Beginning with The Importance of a Name you discover ways to make people care about the person simply by choosing a name. Next is the importance of Characternyms, or what does the name impart? One of the examples is Magnum from the Hawaii based TV series starring Tom Selleck. Magnum is not only a wine bottle that holds twice as much as a normal liter, but it is also a very powerful bullet. We are presented with a hero that is "bigger than life" but who also is effervescent, strong, and brings the ring of sex appeal that champagne, laughter and a stunning force carry with them. It was a masterful name selection.

There are names by genre, gender, country (including illusive Native American, Latin, Greek, Russian and more) as well as notes in how to use the names to create the right impression: for example "...the Norman invasion in 1066...English were referred to by occupation...Aiken the Miller or Aisley of York."

Character Naming Source Book is filled with gems and is far more than a general account about names. For example Victoria (my name) is Latin and means triumphant. Feminine derivatives are also Viktoria (Hungarian-victorious, Swedish-victory) Vittoria (Spanish-victor), Victrix, Vincentia, Victrixa; in Scottish Vika is "from the creek" and Torra is "from the castle." It would appear that I am a triumphant female from the castle by the creek. This is only a small sample of the wealth within these pages.

Without doubt this is one of most complete histories of names that I have ever read, and I have about five books just on naming. I recommend this book unequivocally.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quick-Fix Character-Naming Book, February 12, 2006

By	Antonio D. Paolucci "Collector of Entertainment" (Beaver Falls, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Anyone who has been writing for some time knows just how difficult it is to come up with meaningful character names. Yet having a meaningful name, one relevant to the story, is as integral a part of the plotting process as the actual outline itself. Naming a character who is a free-spirit Todd is just wrong; it reflects nothing but laziness on the part of the writer. Francis, which actually means free, is a much better alternative, and matches almost perfectly.

Another thing this book is good for is for fantasy writing. How many of you have a read a fantasy story and found the names of characters so strange that it could only have been made up? This book actually tells us to use established names and warp them or combine them to give more suitable fantasy names.

This book also has a huge selection of nationalities, from African to Welsh, and everything between, including dead languages such as Latin, as well as Asian nationalities like Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. It provides male and female names as well as their meanings, along with common family names.

Though The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook obviously isn't meant for every writer, it's definitely an important book for fiction writers. It helps to legitimize a story's plot or theme by providing meaningful names, and also shows that a writer is willing to do some research in order to succeed in his or her writing. So, if you you're a genre writer, I'd highly recommend this book, and put the phone book back where it should be: next to your phone.