You Name-Caller! 30 Historically Accurate Medieval Names {WriterlyWednesday}

So, a while ago we covered medieval fantasy name ideas for characters. Fantasy is wonderful, and totally a fun genre to write, but if you are trying to create a historically accurate Middle Ages story, you don't need names which belong in Lord of the Rings. You need names which reflect the period the characters are from.

So today let's take a look at real, historically accurate medieval names.

Girls:

1. Muriel/Muirgheal- (Proncouned MWIR-yal) This name was brought by the Normans to Brittany. It is the medieval English form of a Celtic name which was probably related to the Irish name Muirgel. Personally I *love* the name Muriel.

2. Aethelu - Derives from English, and means "noble". This is rather unique sounding.

3. Líadáin  - (Pronounced LEE-din, or, LEE-a-din) From what I've researched this can be reconciled as one of the few forms of my name, Leah. Since Leah is Hebrew in origin, it is difficult to convert to Irish but it can be compared to some Irish words phonetically and this is one of them. I like the spelling a whole lot personally. The word itself means "grey lady".  Léá is how the name Leah is written in Irish Bibles. Líoch is pronounced LEE-ukh, which could be another means of saying Leah in Irish. It means "beautiful."

4. Beatrice - Derives from Latin, and means "happy".

5. Siofra - (Pronounced SHEE-fra) A lovely Irish name which could be used in either masculine or feminine terms. Means "sprite, changeling, precocious child."

6. Cecily -  A name which derives from Latin, and means "blind". What a name meaning, right? Well, at least it SOUNDS pretty. Cecily.

7. Áinfean - (Pronounced AWN-f'yun) Another Irish name, which means "storm, fury, violence." Maybe this could be a good name for your fierce female antagonist!

8. Gormlaith  - (Pronounced GUR-um-la) Yet another Irish name. This reminds me of a name for a queen or  prominent female leader figure. It means "blue or illustrious princess".

9. Heloise - Derives from French and means "sun".

10. Margery - A form of Marjorie, a name which derives from English and means "pearl".

11. Reina - Derives from Spanish and means "queen"; also derives from Yiddish and means "pure" or "clean".

12. Rhoslyn - derives from Welsh and means "lovely rose" or "rose valley".

13.  AMÉE - Old French form of the name Aimee/Amy. I think this is an interesting means of spelling the name.

14. Cateline - Medieval French form of Katherine.

15. Uainionn (Pronounced OO-in-yin) Another unique Irish name, meaning "foam-white".

Boys:

1. Ríordán (Pronounced REE-ur-dawn) An Irish name, meaning "royal poet". I really like this one.


2. Alistair - Derives from Gaelic, and means "defending men".


3. Rúadhán - (Pronounced ROO-awn) An Irish name, meaning "red haired." I rather like this one also.


4. Bennett -  This is a common name indeed, but it has ancient ties. It derives from Latin and means "blessed".

5. Gawain - This derives from Welsh and means "white hawk of battle". Very LOTR sounding even though it  didn't originate from a Tolkien book at all!


6. Milo - Derives from German and means "uncertain", perhaps, "peaceful"; also derives from Latin and means "soldier."


7. Constantine - A perfect Middle Ages name, which derives from Latin and means "steadfast".

8. Faolán  - (Pronounced FWAY-lawn) A masculine Irish name which is associated with wolves. 

9. Fearghus  (Pronounced FER-a-gus) Irish, meaning, "strength of a man". 

10. Theobald - Derives from German, and means "brave" or "bold".

11. Odo - Derives from German and means "wealth".

12. Bartholomew - This is a very common Middle Ages name, and one of its first appearances was in the Bible itself.  

13. Borislav  - This name can be traced back to having Bulgarian, Serbia, Croatian, Russian and Medieval Slavic roots. It means "fame in battle" from the Slavic element bor "battle" combined with slav "glory".

14.  Dmetrei  Old Slavic form of Dmitry or Dmitrie. 

15. Dragomir - Now, you may be thinking this sounds an awful lot like Boramir, or Faramir and perhaps it does. BUT it is a real, historical name! It means "precious and peaceful" from the Slavic element dorgu meaning "precious" combined with mir meaning "peace" or "world". It has Serbian, Croatian, Romanian and Medieval Slavic roots.

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SO. There you are! I'll acknoledge that I put a lot of emphasis on Irish names in particular. Originally I didn't intend to do this but the more I researched name etymology in this language the more I decided I loved some of the names and needed to included them here. I've been sort of obsessing over what my name would be converted to in Irish. As I stated above, under Líadáin, it has been very difficult to determine how to do this and what exactly the results are. Liamhain is another feminine name which sounds similar to Leah, it is pronounced LEE-a-vin. I like the spelling better on Líadáin  but the meaning of it is "grey lady", and the meaning of Liamhain is "comely,beautiful", so...I don't know. :P Won't lie, the meaning of the latter sounds nicer than the former! Laoise is another which sounds phoenetically like my name, somewhat. it is pronounced LEE-sha, and means "radiant girl."

If you would like to know a general converted form/equivalent of your name, let me know in the comments! I love researching names and languages. Actually, I'm even considering dual enrolling in Spanish. But that's another topic for another day!

Hope y'all found this useful and beneficial!

Blessings,

(Also known as Green Tea Girl or just plain ol' Leah Kathryn ;P)

You Name-Caller! 25 Princess-y Character Names {WriterlyWednesday}

 

To start off, I wanted to share with y'all a couple articles I've written for Randomosity Writers, which you might find useful.

 

Love Triangles {The Do's and Don'ts of Writing Romance}

The Do's and Don'ts of Writing Romance {part one}

5 Tips on Staying Inspired and Motivated 24/7 

 

After much pondering I decided to do another You Name-Caller! post thanks to getting the idea from Elizabeth L. *smiles at you, Elizabeth.* Thanks for the inspiration!

 

THIS time, we're going to grab a cup of tea, don our big, fluffy pink dresses (ha! Who am I kidding? Fluffy pink dresses? Ick, nooo.) and take a look at some names fit for a fairy-tale princess.

 

Hold on just a sec as I grab my character names notebook...

 

 

1. Ahealea/Ahaelia

2. Adelaide

3. Estelle

4. Florencia

5. Garnet

6. Docia

7. Carnation

8. Jewel

9. Irisia

10. Odessa

11. Natalia

12. Topaz

13. Winerva

14. Wysteria

15. Sapphire

16. Emra

17. Nadina

18. Magdalena

19. Guinevere

20. Zira/Zyra

21. Anastasia

22. Caprice

23. Elodie

24. Cosette

25. Evanthe

 

 

I don't know about you, but I can picture a fantasy-story princess standing behind any of these.

Do you have any favorite "princess" names?

 

 

Have a very blessed Wednesday!

You Name-Caller! Unusual Character Last Names {WriterlyWednesday}

 

 

So, in the last two WriterlyWednesday posts, we covered first name ideas for characters. Today I thought I'd switch things up and list some interesting, unusual LAST names. Some may be slightly bizarre, even.

 

I don't know why, but for some odd reason I'm drawn to the names which are crazy sounding. Different. Unusual. Peculiar.

 

Whoever thought last names of characters had to be boring? Last names can be as fun as first names if you let them be.

 

Here's a short sampling of unusual last names, for your writing pleasure.

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Zule

Harper

Redpath

Fowler

Everly

LaVonda

Ferry

Rowe

Phox

Marlow

Reed

Damascus

Gunnar

Langston

Wood

Hawthorne

Greenlaw

Duncain

Hawshank

Torrence

Ashby

Skene

Skyne

Toires

Brindle

Morley

Chamberlayn

Mallowburne

Pole

Yancey

Pratt

Wishart

Zander

Sparrow

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What are some of your favorite character last names? Do you like to use different sounding last names or stick to more traditional, 'normal' ones?

 

 

Have a blessed Wednesday!

You Name-Caller! 24 Unusual Medieval-Fantasy Names {WriterlyWednesday}

Hey there, peoples! How have y'all's weeks been, so far?

Today for WriterlyWednesday we're going to continue the You Name-Caller! mini-series and I'm going to share 35 of my favorite medieval fantasy-themed character names.

When I say "medieval fantasy", I'm referring to names which would fit in books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and other similar volumes. Basically, medieval fantasy, in my opinion, is a clash between mixing medieval assets and traits, with idealism and not-so-realistic details. It isn't true Middle Ages history. Look at The Chronicles of Narnia. The outfits, weapons and accessories described almost belong in King Arthur's world, don't they? But at the same time, they don't, because the Chronicles of Narnia is obviously a whole world unto itself.

 Medieval fantasy is fun to write because it can hold a level of historicalness about it, yet it is completely fictional and completely fantasy. You don't have to research for it, but at the same time, many fantasy authors do research for certain tidbits in their novels.

 The realm of fantasy is limited only to your imagination. Perhaps this is why it is such a popular choice to write from and about. Fantasy is such a broad topic, I dare not try to cover every sub-genre and category within it, today. That's why we're looking at medieval fantasy names in particular.

GIRLS:

1. Eadowyn - (pronounced EE-do-win.) You can also spell it Eaedowyn, making the pronunciation. (EY-do-win) To my present knowledge, I created this name. (But it wouldn't surprise me if the name actually existed before I thought of it! It probably has!)

2. Gwendolyn - The image of the perfect medieval fantasy girl name.

3. Ahealea - (pronounced ah-HAY-lia) To my knowledge, this is also my creation...I first thought of it in a ridiculous little short medieval story I wrote when I was about 9 years old.

4. Kelita - This is actually a Biblical male name, ironically. However, when I first happened upon it in the Old Testament, I thought it could be used as a fantasy-theme girl's name as well. I personally like this one a lot, and have used it in a medieval fantasy screenplay I'm working on.

5. Sholan - Another name I created (or so I think, at the moment) for a character in my medieval fantasy screenplay. I twist on the name Shalom, although it is actually pronounced sho-lehn.

6. Larkspur - Very fantasy-sounding, in my opinion. This is actually the name of a flower.

7. Winerva - Another very fantasy-sounding name. Not sure where I found it or where it came from.

8. Natise - (pronounced nah-TEES) Once again, not sure whether I 'created' this or found it elsewhere. :P

9. Rynn - As far as I know this is one of my creations as well. I think it sounds like a tough-girl kind of name...maybe for the female assassin character, or the daunting young spy?

10. Melothria/Melothri - I have used this as a medieval fantasy location name, but I think it could also be used as a character name.

11. Florivel - To my knowledge this is a creation of mine. I have it for a young girl in my medieval screenplay.

12. Virgata - This is actually taken from the Latin name of a plant, which I can't remember exactly at the moment. -_-

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BOYS:

1. Atlas - Simple, yet masculine.

2. Oceanas - (pronounced oh-she-AN-us) An interesting name referencing the high seas.

3. Talon - I find this one particularly cool. Another author friend used it for one of her characters.

4. Archer - One of my all-time favorites.

5. Skene - I don't know where this one came from. But I think it's pretty unusual.

6. Hawshank - Another unusual one, more commonly used as a last name.

7. Aristian - (pronounced A-RIST-ee-an) Another name I found in a little short story I wrote back in early childhood. I think I made this one up, too.

8. Trodan - This was in the same little short story above. To my knowledge this was my 'creation' also.

9. Ronan - Very masculine sounding, in my opinion.

10. Arden -  I have a main character in my medieval fantasy screenplay with this name.

11. Rosyar - I find this extremely fantasy sounding.

12. Varchess - One of the most ultimate "bad guy/villain/evil king" names in existence.

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Did you recognise any of these names? Have any you would add to the list?

What are YOUR favorite medieval/fantasy names for characters?

P.S. Some fellow writer friends of mine started a new writing blog of which I will be helping to contribute to, every Wednesday! Check it out here.

You Name-Caller! 30 Dystopian Character Name Ideas {WriterlyWednesday}

{1st post in the new WriterlyWednesday mini-series You Name-Caller!}

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Picking names for your characters can be one of the most fun parts of building your story. For me? It's something I have spent hours on for some particular characters. That may sound a bit obsessive, but a name can say a lot about a character, and even describe a bit of their personality. So why not obsess over names? You want your MC to have an awesome name which fits his character to a T, don't you?

Name-choosing can be an art in itself, if you let it. Or, it can be something totally random and serendipitous.

Today, I thought we could look at some neat examples of different dystopian names since so many people I know are writing novels set in that time era.

GIRLS:

1. Eyva - A twist on the traditional Eva, pronounced phonetically, instead of the traditional pronunciation Ee-va.
2. Flair/Flare - A twist on Blair, and making use of words which aren't traditionally used as names.
3. Gliese  - This is an interesting one, and I believe it to be pronounced glees.
4. Bryony - I personally think that this one sounds a bit Irish. It is a twist on the traditional Brianna. Pronounced bree-ahn-ee, to my knowledge.
5. Indigo - Once again, making use of commonplace words. I like this one a lot. It could be used as a boy's name as well.
6. Kae - Basically just a funky way of spelling Kay. Pronounced the same way.
7. Wren - A number of bird names can be used as names, and this is one of them. I picture this as particularly effeminate sounding, personally.
8. Meav - This is actually more traditional than the others, but I think it could easily be a post-apocalypse era name easily.
9.  Laine - Pronounced layn. A pretty variation of the male name Lane.
10. Willow  - A lovely use of the tree name.
11. Raine - A twist on the commonplace word rain. Pronounced in the same fashion.
12. River - The first thing I thought when I heard this, was of the character from Firefly which bears the same name. But if you can get past that connection, it's really a lovely dystopian-sounding name.
13. Cherisis - To my knowledge this has not been used before, thus I created it maybe? *grins sheepishly* Well, whether or not that is valid, it is a variation of the name Cheris. Can be pronounced a variety of ways, but I prefer shair-eh-siss.
14. Carolina - Dakota has been used as a name, why not some of the other states, too? I like Carolina in particular because it could also be a twist on the traditional Caroline.
15. Rynn - This could be a fantasy genre name too, in my opinion. A simple name fit for the strong heroine who has been through all to save her country. Pronounced rin.

BOYS:

1. Archer - This is one of my absolute favorites for boys' names, in general. Making use of commonplace words/occupations/sport titles.
2. Eames - If you've seen the film Inception, you're probably recalling the gangster-like character therein with this name. Setting aside that connection, I think this is a very dystopian-sounding name which traditionally has probably been used as a last name. Pronounced eems.
3. Damascus - Making use of location names.
4. Forest - Ignore the mental connection you might be making with the film Forest Gump for a moment, and picture how this might sound as a nice guy's name. Very earthy and raw, rich and full.
5. Griffin - Another personal all-time favorite. Making use of mythological creature names. I think this sounds very masculine.
6. Tiyev - I think this sounds rather Russian. Pronounced tee-yev.
7. Zander - A name with a very strong dystopian aura. I am not sure what origins it descends from.
8. Reed - A variation of the traditional Reid.
9. Yancey -  I saw this in a novel, used as a last name, but I can picture it easily being a first name, pared with a single-syllable last name.
10. Shiloh - Making use of location names, once again. I really like this one. Another earthy-toned, full sounding name. Pronounced shy-low.
11. Tavis - A play off of traditional Travis.
12. Mungo - A Latin-sounding name which reminds me of the character Thresh from THG.
13. Ash - Another use of a commonplace word. I like this one, too.
14. Lance - This may be a contemporary name in use commonly today, but I still think it sounds rather dystopian.
15. Ronan - Similar in sound to Nolan.

Hope this short list was helpful to you! I could list a dozen more names but I'll save that for another time.

Next WriterlyWednesday, we'll continue the You Name-Caller! mini-series with a post containing 30 Civil War names.

Blessings, y'all!