Pick a Name
semiticgoddess
Member Posts: 14,903
in Off-Topic
I'm trying to decide on a name for a character in a book and decided to reach out to you guys to see if you had any opinions. Use any criteria you like to make your choice.
- Pick a Name24 votes
- Indra Coy37.50%
- Shelby Coy37.50%
- Indra McBee12.50%
- Shelby McBee12.50%
1
Comments
Shelby McBee rhymes too much, and depending on the age of the person Indra, doesn’t sound like a common name.
But age, ethnicity, family background, region of birth and parents conservative level “not political, but more exhibition/flashiness” lplau a large part in a person’s name.
But aside that, as a writer you need to choose a name that would fit a character. I think you are the only one here that understands that character, but I on the other hand, have no data to work with. Nothing about character, nothing about the setting. So I can't help you there.
From "that sounds good" standpoint, Indra sounds good to me. McBee is a surname I wouldn't want to name my characters, had I ever wanted to write my original story.
To expand a little, Indra Coy is interesting. I have never heard the name Indra so I don't know if the character is a man or a woman. Coy is also interesting because I have never heard it as a surname but it sounds like it plausibly could be one. It is also interesting because I assume that it is one of those names that will prove to be ironic - the character will be anything but coy (like calling your hero Coward or calling a big guy Little).
To me Shelby is an old guy name (the only Shelby I have ever heard of is Shelby Foote). Shelby McBee sounds like a sidekick name or a down at heel attorney. It is a comic character name.
Indra Coy could be a private eye, a society hostess, a female action hero or a millionaire playboy and I would buy them all. It's a really cool name.
Indra sounds made-up, as well as possibly belonging to a severe personality.
McBee is fantastic, but it gives me the same feeling as "Shelby", so its comes across as redundant.
This said, at par with writing genius of Peter O'Donnell it could be picked.
He specifically juxtaposed Modesty Blaise's first name to the gumption and sovereignty of her character, and very coolly had her pick her surname "Blaise" in reference to the tutor of Merlin, a wizard.
Just wow how loaded that name is, narratively.
Coincidentally, until picking up Wasteland 2 very recently, I have actually never had to name a full party, save my lead hero that honours my best friend and Mme de Staël.
Pièce de résistance of my squad was the soldier boy "Kylion Dunlop."
Informed by "In Cold Blood" - this is how American white male not highly privileged and somewhat evangelical enlisting in the army named himself in my post-apocalyptic head-canon.
I might be a sadist.
She’ll be coy!
...y ...y = too much y
McBee reminds me of McGee - which reminds me of Anchor man and the surname you give random people you don't know, like old Jim Baldymcgee down the road.