Picking unique names for book protagonist isn’t easy.

Picking unique names for book protagonist isn’t easy.

 

I find it hard to think up names for the characters in my novels. I’ve even used my own name as a fill-in until I could come up with a name I like. Things I consider are ethnicity if the character is from a different country, or maybe a different spelling of a name. Today the name Rebecca can be spelled many different ways.

Some names are more popular in different decades. Linda in the 1950’s while Erica in the 1970’s. I have to think whether there is a history behind the name or if someone else has already used it, like Alex Cross by James Patterson, or John Corey by Nelson DeMille. I once used the list from the Italian baseball team when it was touring the United States to find names. The more character names I have, the more difficult it is to keep track. For my second book I had to make an Excel spreadsheet so I could keep track. Then of course some have to have nicknames…..

 

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