I
like unusual names for my characters. Yes, I have typical things like
Jack, Jason, Jeffrey or James, but I like interesting names like Velda,
Vivica Victoria and Viktor.
I've
noticed over the years, I tend to favor certain letters for character
names. The numbers below only include the main characters, or strong
support characters, not the entire cast and crew of each story. It
would take too much time to go through the lists, and I'm not quite
that OCD.
A
– 16 (2 Amanda)
B
– 13 (2 Barry, 2 Ben)
C
– 25 (2 Cynthia, 2 Clay)
D
– 19 (2 Deacon)
E
– 11 (2 Emma)
F
– 5 (2 Fritz, 2 Frank. The only holdout on the repeat is also the
only girl.)
G
– 8 (2 Greg)
H
– 8 (2 Hal)
I
– 2
J
– 17 (2 Jasper, 2 Jason, 2 Jeffrey)
K
– 12 (2 Kirk)
L
– 8
M
– 29 (2 Madelyn)
N
– 4
O
– 0
P
– 5 (2 Paige)
Q
– 1
R
– 19
S
– 16
T
– 14 (4 Tom)
U
– 0
V
– 4
W
– 4
X,
Y – 0
Z
– 4
I
found these numbers a little surprising (Except for M, I knew I had a
lot of those) What I find really interesting is that of 5 P names, I
have 2 Paige. Of the F names, Fritz and Frank are very popular for
some reason. I'm really not sure why. The only hold out is Fiddlestix, and the only female. Four Toms seems excessive. I
may need to go back and change a few names around.
Once
a name has been given, I have a difficult time changing it. If it's a
minor character, it's no big thing. However, with a main character,
it becomes a part of him or her. I don't think I could change their
names. I have tried, but it doesn't feel right.
I
do have to be careful with minor character names. I once had a story
where my characters met two guys named Mickey. That, of itself, isn't
all that unusual. I mean, think how many people you know named Mike or
Mickey—a lot, right? But not only had I given them the same name,
they were brothers. Uh. . . No. Although, I do know a family where the boys are
named John and the girls are all Mary, with different middle names.
But how often does that happen? (By the way, the parents were John
and Mary as well. Always seemed egotistical to me.)
I
was a little surprised that I had so many Z names. Likewise, W and V.
I shall strive to stay away from M names from now on, but I have a
feeling that I will probably keep coming back to that. I am nothing,
if not consistent.
©
Dellani Oakes 2015
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