Choice of character names

[Lucius]

I often pick names based on meaning, and then sometimes I use a elven name generator that I like where each part of a name can have a meaning but it only matters and is only used by me if the name also sounds and looks like I want it to, and sometimes I just pick a name based on its sound or meaning from the real world, sometimes from a culture I want to bring to mind in a story...

Can't help myself but wonder -- was Natira's Reza somehow inspired by the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran?

[AdmiralPiet]

I guess I'm the Luddite here -- I'm not sure one can rely on the generators to account for social and regional factors in naming. It's books and articles on onomastics for me, sometimes extremely involved, as well as websites listing names popular in this or that year.

Some Name generators like Fantasy name generators are quite extensive, but I just tested it:
The roman names don't seem to be true roman names, but rather roman sounding like Maximus Decimus Meridius from the Gladiator movie.

So if you care about true names you have to consult other sources.
Galerius Sempronius Secundus was created by using Wikipedia and I think MS Copilot to search for authentic names.

But Roman Names have one pro to them: You can technically take a famous roman and use that. Just say he is another guy of the same name
Wiki lists 6 guys named Publius Cornelius Scipio, and 11 more with the same name + extras.

[Vela Nanashi]

No, I picked Reza for four reasons, persian as I wanted to evoke culture adjacent to that, meaning of name, look and sound of it

[Lucius]

So if you care about true names you have to consult other sources.
Galerius Sempronius Secundus was created by using Wikipedia and I think MS Copilot to search for authentic names.

No generator can handle the changes in Roman naming. Just an example, Galerius Sempronius Secundus works fine for circa 3rd-4th century CE, but if there's an unknown praenomen or two dropped along the way, it fits the 1st or 2nd century CE setting as well.

But Roman Names have one pro to them: You can technically take a famous roman and use that. Just say he is another guy of the same name
Wiki lists 6 guys named Publius Cornelius Scipio, and 11 more with the same name + extras.

Right, there was a well-to-do family of Tullii in IIRC Paestum where men often went by M. Tullius Cicero.

[Lucius]

No, I picked Reza for four reasons, persian as I wanted to evoke culture adjacent to that, meaning of name, look and sound of it

'I can't get no Reza'? Okay, this line doesn't fit any Vela's story, that's for sure.

[AdmiralPiet]

No generator can handle the changes in Roman naming. Just an example, Galerius Sempronius Secundus works fine for circa 3rd-4th century CE, but if there's an unknown praenomen or two dropped along the way, it fits the 1st or 2nd century CE setting as well.

Well in that case the name barely fits since the story is set days after the Battle of Teutoburg Forrest in 9 CE.
So Galerius would have to be born around 10 BCE

[Lucius]

Speaking of the Romans -- an excellent scholarly article, free to access, is linked below.

What's in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700

[Lucius]

No generator can handle the changes in Roman naming. Just an example, Galerius Sempronius Secundus works fine for circa 3rd-4th century CE, but if there's an unknown praenomen or two dropped along the way, it fits the 1st or 2nd century CE setting as well.

Well in that case the name barely fits since the story is set days after the Battle of Teutoburg Forrest in 9 CE.
So Galerius would have to be born around 10 BCE

There's a perfect real life counterpart in Sex. Te(i)dius Valerius Catullus, one of the suffect consuls of 31 CE, so born circa 10 BCE as well, given that the normal age for obtaining the consulate under the Empire was 42. We drop the praenomen Sextus, and it's the same 'Nomen + Nomen + Cognomen' model.

[HumiliationInc]

Names can be a very fun part of a story. There are some times it can be a little off putting if it's an uncommon name I associate with someone I know IRL. But, without getting into a bunch of Barthes, it can also be a code for a certain type of person. Speaking from a purely US-centric perspective, a female character named "Madison" or "Peyton" automatically infers they're some sort of prissy rich girl, which can be very enticing when it comes to the primary subject matter of this board.

[Shocker]

Names can be a very fun part of a story. There are some times it can be a little off putting if it's an uncommon name I associate with someone I know IRL. But, without getting into a bunch of Barthes, it can also be a code for a certain type of person. Speaking from a purely US-centric perspective, a female character named "Madison" or "Peyton" automatically infers they're some sort of prissy rich girl, which can be very enticing when it comes to the primary subject matter of this board.

Yes absolutely, names are a code that gives the reader a very different setting. It makes a huge difference if somebody is addressed as Penelope or as Penny.

Also the names Madison and Peyton, conjure up the all American girl image, before moving to the US I never had realized that a huge number of American girls aspire to the same look. Long, blond, straight hair being the most common feature. It’s going so far, that it’s difficult of keeping them apart as separate people. It’s usually in the age from 16 to 18 that they, almost as a rebellious act do change, wanting to look different. The Madison’s and Peyton’s on the other hand preserve that look far into adulthood.