Fantasy names are getting out of hand

Are we getting too free and loose with the X, Y, Z keys?

There’s a naming phenomenon happening in sci-fi and fantasy. Authors are getting so free and loose with the X, Y, Z keys, I’m starting to think Frank Herbert was being subversive when he named his Dune protagonists Paul and Jessica.

“You’ve met Jessica, right? We were hallmates at Bucknell. Small world! Her and her hubby, Paul, started Y Combinator. What’s that? You like his shirt? Oh yes! I think it’s Bonobos. Anyways, they have prophetic visions and mind-controlling Voice powers.”

(This is a bit where I pretend I’m introducing you to my friend, Jessica, who would seem out of place in a dystopian sci-fi novel like Dune. It’s layered, okay? Because in real life the founders of the Y Combinator tech accelerator are actually named Paul and Jessica. You can understand that this is funny?)

I’m going to start my own company called Y Combinator, except it’s a Fantasy Name Generator for Y names like Yobsydian, Yggdrasyl and Yorcal Ninky. (Do not take this idea, it’s all I have).

Back to the problem at hand. This is a good time to say I’m a native English-speaker. I live in the United States, and the world doesn’t need me or anyone else campaigning for more Eurocentrism in speculative fiction. What I’m talking about today is not linguistic diversity, but rather the invented names that prioritize originality over legibility. If you want to create an immersive world, don’t keyboard-smash your character names as a shortcut for creativity. Take the time to world build.

This all has me thinking, maybe my idea of a “real” name is small-minded. Does a name become a name the moment it’s written? I don’t know, I’m just a baby.

Straight to Azkaban

Don’t worry, I’ve come with receipts. Over the years, here are some names I’ve beeped out in my mind so I didn’t have a medical emergency while reading. I will say, some of them are cool and stylish. Maybe all of them are, in their own way.

• Csorwe "SOR-way"

  • The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

• Kvothe "KVOH-th"

  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Pronunciation is still heavily debated due to this explanation from Pat: “Kv + Quothe = Kvothe. Simple.”

• Fflewddur Fflam "Ffl-oo-thurr Flam"

  • The Book of Three, Lloyd Alexander. Okay fine, I love this one.

• Phalue

  • “FAY-loo”, The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

• Xaden Riorsen

  • "ZAY-den REE-or-sen", Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Okay, I know Xaden isn’t so bad. But there is something millennial-influencer-baby-name about it

• Tvlakv

  • "T'VLACK-v", The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Is that pronunciation guide helpful?

• Yskander

  • "IS-kan-der" A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. Maybe we could’ve just used the traditional ‘I’ here?

• Sgaeyl

  • "SKAY-uhl", Fourth Wing again. A dragon named Scale. Do you get it?

    

• Honorable mention to Elon Musk’s children in our IRL dystopia

  • Exa Dark Sideræl — "EH-ksa Dark Sigh-der-EE-el"

  • X Æ A-Xii — obviously pronounced “Ex-Ash-A-Twelve”, and nicknamed Tau Techno Mechanicus (Warhammer/Red Rising/Mad Max-coded)

Here’s real footage of me in a reading flow-state, meeting a side character named Zzyzx:

So what’s a writer to do?

There are so many sounds, words, and names available to you to create the fantasy world of your dreams. Here are some practices that may help you create a delightful naming landscape without needing to provide a glossary.

1. Names that already exist. This is the easy way. And there’s nothing wrong with the easy way. In fact, it might be the path of least resistance for your reader too. Think Harry Potter’s Harry, Ronald, Dean, Fred, Colin, Minerva. Or Poppy War’s Nezha, Jiang, Wu, Fang, Altan. These stories contain plenty of invented names too, but the yearbook is balanced out with some shots down the middle.

2. A Consistent Linguistic style. It’s helpful to establish naming conventions based on real languages or linguistically accurate vowel and consonant pairings. Coming from the branding world, it’s not dissimilar from having a “brand kit” with colors codes, logos, and fonts you use for visual consistency.
   
   Notably, Red Rising uses adapted Greek, Roman, and Norse mythological names like Mars, Venus, Tactus, Daxo, Pliny, Ragnar Volarus. Or Avatar: The Last Airbender takes phonetic inspiration from the East Asian, Inuit, and South Asian languages with invented names like Katara, Zuko, Azula, and Appa.

   
   Problems only arise when the chosen style is inconsistent, poorly researched, or simply too complex for a reader to distinguish or remember character’s names.

3. Go crazy (sort of). Some speculative worlds are so expansive and diverse, they are a mashup of pre-existing names, loose linguistic styles, and indiscernible blends. In these cases, it’s best for different fictional groups and cultures to have at least some phonetic consistencies as a signpost to your audience.
   
   One of my favorite examples of this is the Star Wars world (flawed as it is, I know):
   The Empire: colder, rhythmic sounds like Vader, Tarkin, Palpatine
   Droids: numbers (duh): R2-D2, C-3PO
   Aliens/Creatures: Lots of B’s and gutteral monster sounds like Chewbacca, Jabba, Greedo, Watto

What if hard-to-pronounce is a good thing?

Writing this has given me a chance to reflect. Because the truth is, I love encountering creative and challenging ideas when I read. Could linguistically intricate names in fiction be a beautiful path to open-mindedness in real life? Maybe the richness of unusual phonetic combinations can actually serve to subvert Eurocentric fantasy conventions, even if the names themselves are completely invented.

At the same time, we can’t be making cheap attempts at originality when there is a world of inventiveness available to us down richer avenues—story arc, depth of character, textured dialogue, religion, lore, magic systems—all the time-intensive and delicious delights of worldbuilding. If we can spend as much time creating thoughtful naming conventions as we do every other area of our stories, we can have our Kvake and eat it too.

The Fantasy Name Hall of Fame

I’d like to end our time here with a celebration of my favorite universe of fantasy names: Mad Max. Soon, I’ll dedicate a full newsletter to this, but here’s a teaser that sort of sounds like an Eminem bridge:
Mad Max Rockatansky, Immortan Joe, Doof Warrior, Scabrous Scrotus (insane), The Bullet Farmer, Toast the Knowing, Cheedo the Fragile, The Organic Mechanic, and my personal favorite: Rictus Erectus.

Delightful! Gross! Cohesive! Memorable!

And finally, I’d be remiss if I did not mention the greatest naming offender in the history of speculative media, from my favorite film franchise of all time. All hail, Renesmee. (I’m a Twilight apologist. I recognize that this delegitimizes everything you’ve read up to this point.)

Renesmee <3

I hope you had fun at Fantasy Camp™ today, and please share your thoughts (especially your favorite naming offenses).

Love, laugh, live by the Sword,
Ymadeleine