Are stupid outlandish names necessary in sci-fi/fantasy?

[IronParrot]

More often than not, they just serve to confuse the heck out of me rather than absorb me into some make-believe world.

Guys like Tolkien I can understand - he's all systematic about it, and it's easy to glean stuff based on his linguistic patterns and such, and at least he still leaves very Anglicized hobbit-names intact. But all his imitators and emulators make a complete mess out of naming conventions and just seem to come up with the most ridiculously unpronounceable names that are also impossible to remember.

[ArwenEvenstar]

you have a point, but sometimes making up names is fun.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I don't really see a problem with it. What names specifically were you thinking of?

[Linaewen]

Not necessary but it helps
Encarta definition for fantasy : form of literature that describes the impossible and makes little or no attempt to achieve realistic effects.

So it'd be weird if you had this absolutely fantastical world that is just SO different from ours, and you had characters called Bob or something.

[Lief Erikson]

Very good point. They just seem our worldish- they've been around in our world for years. Farther back cultures, like the Saxons or Dains, had their own names and those names were strange. That was still in our world also. Names change with times and places and the names that are current and easily memorable to people now are current and memorable now- that's just the problem. It is precisely because of how normal they are that they make the fantasy story seem as though it's a part of our world. If people in ancient times had the same names as we have now and the names never changed, that time period would feel like our world. It also would be annoying to have Caesar's name replaced with Bob's ;). I think it's because those names feel so modern and so linked to our own time that they simply won't do in a fantasy setting.

So allow some fun poetic license :).

One thing that I personally enjoy about the strange names is that when writing them, I can put some of the character of an individual into their name. The name of the person sounds like the character the person has. It's that way to me in my books, anyway. I was very, very selective about the true name for my primary villain in The Uirlon Cord, for example. He's a very complex character so it was interesting trying to find just the right name for him. He wasn't always bad, you see. So I had to make a name that could work as bad or good :).

[Sylvee Estel]

I think that different names help absorb you into a different world or whatever, but some names just go too far. Some books have really long hard to pronounce names. Those just annoy me.

[Lief Erikson]

The primary difficulty that I've had, as far as I remember at the moment, is with very long and complex names that are very similar to each other in the same book.

[Coney]

Some writers definitly go a little overboard.

I think amongst all the fantasy writers I've read that David Eddings got the naming of his characters the closest to being correct.

He gave many of his characters wildly impressive names and then shortened them when characters addressed each other, as often happens in real life anyway. Many of his characters had working nicknames as well.........for me it added empathy to the characters without diminishing them....

(Polgara became Pol, Belgarion - 'Garion etc)

[ArwenEvenstar]

i agree with Coney i dont remember the name of the book (:rolleyes:) but the names were like this long (___________________) and I got so frustrated I put it down and eventually sold it at a garage sale

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally posted by Coney
Some writers definitly go a little overboard.

I think amongst all the fantasy writers I've read that David Eddings got the naming of his characters the closest to being correct.

He gave many of his characters wildly impressive names and then shortened them when characters addressed each other, as often happens in real life anyway. Many of his characters had working nicknames as well.........for me it added empathy to the characters without diminishing them....

(Polgara became Pol, Belgarion - 'Garion etc)
Actually, Garion wasn't a nickname, so much as a name 'in hiding'. The 'Bel' prefix denoted a sorcerer, if I remember correctly. So, while 'Belgarion' was his true name, he was just called Garion, so that other forces (i.e. servants of Torak) wouldn't know of his heritage. After his name 'Belgarion' was given, he'd been Garion all of his life, so he just stayed Garion. Same with Polgara; her name was shortened to hide her true identity, and when she was revealed, he'd been calling her Pol all of his life, so he kept calling her Pol. I don't remember very many nicknames, actually (unless you count Silk :P).

OT:
I've forgotten a few of the characters names. :( Belgarath's wife was Poledra, and his one daughter was Polgara, and the other was Beldaran, I think, but I'm not sure. Also, the other sorcerers were Beltira and Belkira (the twins), but I cannot for the life of me yank the grumpy old hunchbacks name out! Any Eddings fans remember it?

[Coney]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
Actually, Garion wasn't a nickname, so much as a name 'in hiding'. The 'Bel' prefix denoted a sorcerer, if I remember correctly. So, while 'Belgarion' was his true name, he was just called Garion, so that other forces (i.e. servants of Torak) wouldn't know of his heritage. After his name 'Belgarion' was given, he'd been Garion all of his life, so he just stayed Garion. Same with Polgara; her name was shortened to hide her true identity, and when she was revealed, he'd been calling her Pol all of his life, so he kept calling her Pol. I don't remember very many nicknames, actually (unless you count Silk :P).

OT:
I've forgotten a few of the characters names. :( Belgarath's wife was Poledra, and his one daughter was Polgara, and the other was Beldaran, I think, but I'm not sure. Also, the other sorcerers were Beltira and Belkira (the twins), but I cannot for the life of me yank the grumpy old hunchbacks name out! Any Eddings fans remember it?

Beldin;)

Keldar used half a dozen different nicknames....Belgarath had quite a few as well.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Of course, Beldin! *smacks self*

Kheldar, Silk, it's all the same thing. :P I don't think Belgarath really had all that many, did he? Just 'Mister Wolf' and 'under-cover' names.

[ArwenEvenstar]

what books are u people talking about?

[Gwaimir Windgem]

The Belgariad and the Malloreon, two five book series by David Eddings. Quite entertaining, indeed. :)

[sun-star]

More often than not, they just serve to confuse the heck out of me rather than absorb me into some make-believe world.

I agree. Too often complicated names feel like self-indulgence on the part of the author - fun to write, but no fun to read, IMO. In Tolkien, the names all make sense and I can tolerate them, but still I prefer the ones which are closest to our world but not quite the same - Samwise, for example. But generally, pretentious names and manners of speech are the reason why I don't read fantasy that often.

The only exception is Narnia. I love the name "Caspian" :D

[Belle]

Awww, Narnia, my dad read that to me when I was small, and I recently read them again. There was so much a didn't understand first time round, and now the parallel with the story of Jesus is so obvious.

[Blackboar]

I often put strange names in my story, but I keep them short and simple, and they have a meaning, they are usually combined Old forgotten English words.

But going through my stoy again, I think I might change some names.

[FrodoFriend]

"Fantasy" sounding names usually just tick me off. I think it's a good idea if there's some sort of system to it - for example, Orson Scott Wells in one of his books give all his characters Russian-sounding names, because they are the descendants of astronauts on a Russian spaceship who colonized another planet. This is cool because it makes sense and makes the names distinctive. But authors who just come up with random blubberish - well, that's lame.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Would you prefer elves named Jimmy and dwarves name Joe-Bob?

[Elvengirl]

I like the unique outlandish names. It helps tranport you to the world. Though some authors do get carried away.

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
Would you prefer elves named Jimmy and dwarves name Joe-Bob?

:D Can you imagine Gandalf having a name like Billy-Bob :D

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Completely agree with you. The 'outlandish' names are quite good, in my opinion. Though I also agree that sometimes authors get carried away.

[Rána Eressëa]

I like it when you base futuristic names on ancient names. Taking something that already exists and altering them, but have them keeping their roots. Or just any names for that matter. Take something that already exists (doesn't matter from what culture) and change it some - or a lot. Just keep its roots. ;)

[IronParrot]

But Tolkien succeeds in using outlandish names because he has a consistent model. Even before I understood anything about Elvish or whatnot, the first time I read LOTR, I noticed that the Orcs had certain rough-sounding aggressive names, and the Elves had more appealing names (many of which began with "El").

Tolkien's imitators, having not taken the time to actually construct a whole bunch of languages, aren't so successful when they just pick names out of a hat. Or a bag of Scrabble tiles. Or something.

[Elvengirl]

Originally posted by IronParrot
But Tolkien succeeds in using outlandish names because he has a consistent model. Even before I understood anything about Elvish or whatnot, the first time I read LOTR, I noticed that the Orcs had certain rough-sounding aggressive names, and the Elves had more appealing names (many of which began with "El").

Tolkien's imitators, having not taken the time to actually construct a whole bunch of languages, aren't so successful when they just pick names out of a hat. Or a bag of Scrabble tiles. Or something.

Yeah, it's funny what some people come up with and a bit unnecessary.
Though I must admit I used to (well, still do:D ) get so confused with all of Tolkien's characters; so many names are so similar. But, you can see a difference in the names of different races. The Elven names are so beautiful:D

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Most people do use patterns for their names. I. E. A few Elvish names in DragonLance: Laurana, Gilthanas, Thanthalas, Solostran. See? They are similar in ways like Tolkien's name. Now if people named their character Iggle-boogie-bug, that would be ridiculous. ;)

[IronParrot]

I'm not quite catching the patterns and similarities you're referring to there, other than the dominating presence of A's and N's. Could you please explain how this is any less ridiculous than "Iggle-boogie-bug"?

[Gwaimir Windgem]

*shrugs* I don't know. They just sound good to me. They seem similar; in fact, I believe that they were actually developed from an invented language as well.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Oops. I put Thanthalas; it should be Tanthalas. My bad.

[Starr Polish]

:eek: Someone on Amazon.com is trying to say that the Belgariad series is better than LOTR. Hmmph! I haven't read anything by David Edding, but I want to.

I have fallen victim to ridiculous fantasy names, but that was three years ago. :)

[Gwaimir Windgem]

How 'ridiculous' are we talking?

BTW, I would definitely recommend it. His Belgariad and Malloreon are awesome (haven't read the others yet).

[Starr Polish]

They weren't too bad. Some of the main characters names weren't really bad at all. Alani, Lela. But we did have Sir Giambale Clametio, and then Barmiona. Some of the names, of people, places, and things, were based on a primitive language I was developing at the time, based on what little latin I knew and made up letter combinations. Mind you, this was years before I got interested in Tolkien.

Other outlandish names, some good, some bad:

Haresce
Amaron
Cormoria
Ilunaj
Ilinam
Abesut
Nibasi
Malachianian (that's the worst, I think)
Darmisen
Gervase
Duke of Malrion, Luke DeDammerin
Tsuguae
Onimana
Syrinam
Cremalonary
Yvinneta
Invar Un

Don't steal 'em though! They are all mine.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Don't worry, I like making up my own outlandish names. :D

[ArwenEvenstar]

Star those are eally awesome names, I have some, but I'm to lazy to post all them;)

[Melko Belcha]

I do really like the use of made up names in fantasy, but as many has said, some are way to far out there.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I suppose I may as well post the ones I've come up with, as well. ;)

Prepare to be Completely Bored! In cases where apply, I may include a primitive etymology.

Keyos (Kanrath/Nesai)
Entrioc (Kanrath/Nesai)
Seingath (Kanrath/Nesai)
Shanarien :p (Elvish; shan "spell" ara "lady" ien (feminine name ending)
Elontar (Elvish; elon"soul" tar "bright") (this one has a fairish chance of not staying as is)
Dorelas (Elvish dorel "river" elas "bow)
Kalin (Dwarven)
Talin (Dwarven) (these two will almost certainly be kapoot, as I began a Dwarvish language)
Jankagar (Barbarian/Vikarzik)
Shindagra (Barbarian/Vikarzik)
Kensoth (Kanrath/Nesai)
Enstar (Kanrath/Nesai; possibly Centaurian)
Daraec (Gnomish [Gnomes may be excluded from my world] )
Fallos (Kanrath/Nesai)
Sharlen (Kanrath/Nesai; Half-Elf)
Rulgan (Kanrath/Nesai)
Eigath (Kanrath/Nesai)
Kwinetha (Kanrath/Nesai)
Arsun (Kanrath/Nesai)
Gulstan (Cthalgar)
Vanyadir (Elvish; originally 'elf-path-light'; but it came from my Elvish that was on the disk I lost :( so I'm not quite sure about the specifics)
Estayen (Elvish; originally 'star-rider'; see above; I think esta "star" ayen "rider")
Tindorel (Elvish; orginally 'autumn-river', I think: see Vanyadir)
Teralon (Elvish; unsure on origin)
Ectaren (Elder Tongue; ectaren "consecrated")
Teran (Kanrath/Nesai)
Taldry (Gnomish; see Daraec)
Deran (Kanrath/Nesai)
Kuslen (Kanrath/Nesai)
Kinella (Kanrath/Nesai; Half-Elf)
Dalim (Dwarvish; see Talin and Kalin)
Ardast (Kanrath/Nesai)
Tigoth (Kanrath/Nesai)
Lentarec (Elder Tongue; from Elder Tongue notes on the disk, which have been lost)
Shanenessa (Elvish; shan "spell" anen "silver" essa "she of" suffix)
Originally Shanlanessa, with anen being replaced by anlan, an earlier word for silver.
Arulas (Elvish; arul Goodly or Supernatural Light ulas night; physical darkness)
Armine (unsure)
Tara (Elvish; tar "pure" ara "lady"; see Elontar)
Kadrilynn (Gnomish; see Daraec)
Ellac (Kanrath/Nesai? probably)
Saroth (Kanrath/Nesai? probably)
Bloodrain (Vampire)
Gorthogh (Demon)
Damin (Dwarvish; see Talin and Kalin)
Rugil (Kanrath/Nesai)
Trenett (Kanrath/Nesai)
Endon (Kanrath/Nesai)
Dalinor (Dwarvish; see Talin and Kalin)
Shan'lomen (Elvish; shan "spell" lomen (from previous Elvish, unsure if "word" or "golden")
Alganon (Kanrath/Nesai)
Teigost (Kanrath/Nesai)
Elton (Kanrath/Nesai)
Sagor (Kanrath/Nesai)

Deities, Powers, and Supernatural Beings:
Eltarn (Elder Tongue; eltarnost "He who blesseth"
Camras (unknown)
Lutas (unknown)
Kleptia (unknown)
Valrin (unknown)
Tarios (unknown
Galtir (unknown)
Sacrilla (unknown)
Lennia (unknown)
Delitia (unknown)
Ranwyl (unknown)
Arthil (unknown)
Karin (unknown)
Vilkroth (believed to be from Duorgothi, though unconfirmed)
Vuu'ora ("Lord of Blood" derived from Dark-Elven vuth "master" o'ora "blood", in the sense of drained or being drained)
Agrilzn (unknown)
Korzagazh (Dark Dwarven; "King of Hatred"; exact etymology unknown)
Seenai (presumed to be goblinic)
Sanroc (presumed to be goblinic)
Urgond (A barbarian tongue; "Chaotic")
Zakrazak (A barbarian tongue; "Warlord")
Tograku (A barbarian tongue; "Death-Doom")
Khulga (A barbarian tongue; "Life Master")
Zharha (Dark Elvish; zhar "spider" arha "queen)
Thu'iakh (Dark Elvish; thuu "master iakh "suffering")

There's a few more, but I don't feel like dragging up all of them. :p

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Told you you'd be completely bored. :D

Anyone else have any names they want to share?

If we get the forum, methinks we may need a topic for this. ;)

[Elvengirl]

That's pretty cool.
Did you make those up?

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Yes indeed. Every one.

Also, another kinda name; my brother uses it for a screen-name, but he got it from my Dwarvish language.

Kazoron (Dwarvish; kazo "strong" oron "father")

[Elvellyn]

Thats ALOT of names, Gwaimir.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Yep, that's what happens when you plan a half dozen or so books, and don't write any, as well as doing some world building. :p

There's also one, not really a name, but a handle my brother goes by, derived from my (very rudimentary) Dwarven language:

Kazoron (Dwarvish; kazo "strong" oron "father")

Also another one I think I forgot:

Shelant (Kanrath/Nesai)

EDIT: Also in my early days, I gave surnames to most characters, a practice which has been discontinued; but Estayen was originally a surname for Vanyadir (both of which were religious names), and many of the Kanrathi/Nesai names were surnames. ;)

[jerseydevil]

Missing posts...

Elvengirl...

Re: Sauron comparison with Finrod Felagund
Originally posted by Maedhros
First, lets see a little background on Sauron:
Sauron was one of the Ainur, and was noble and good at the beginning. Of course Sauron was a former maiar of Aulë and had plenty of skill as a craftsmen, unlike FF.

Finrod did have skill as a craftsman. Why do you think he was called Felagund. Tolkien does say that he was more interested in matters of thought than with skill of hand though.

He like Finrod Felagund, followed other beings. Sauron followed Morgoth, and Finrod followed Fëanor to Middle-earth.

Finrod did not follow Feanor, he followed Fingolfin and his sons who followed Feanor.

Both Morgoth and Fëanor were mightier beings than Sauron and Finrod.

How could Feanor be mightier than a Maia?

Finrod was of the house of Finarfin, and had golden hair, yet Sauron as en ëalar, could take any form he wished to appear, so he could look fairer than Finrod Felagund.

Why is this significant? Sauron was a Maia and had the ability then to assume any fair form he wished, but in the end, Meadhros, who was the fairest?

In the end, Sauron slayed Finrod Felagund in a battle of songs of power but what a way to loose his hröar than to someone who resembled him in a relatively equal way.

Sauron did not slay him in a song of power. Finrod was slain by a wolf in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Sauron did not resemble Finrod in any way.

The principal difference that I see is that Sauron never repented for his sins, while Finrod I would assume that he repented for following Fëanor into ME.

Finrod was like all the Noldor that went into exile, under the curse of Mandos, and I believe that he may have only repented for defying the Valar and going into exile, not for following Feanor. Finrod was released from Mandos quickly.:p

[jerseydevil]

GW...


Och, that makes sense, are you're being an Elvengirl. ;)


Elvengirl...


Ok, this might sound strange. I replied to you, Gwaimir, with a few names that I liked, but the computer shows that I wrote something about Finrod and Feanor, which I did not write. Does your computr say that? I don't know if it is just a glitch in my computer or what.

In reply to Gwaimir
Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
Och, that makes sense, are you're being an Elvengirl.;)

Can I help it?;) But I do like the other names too:)

Question: what does Kanrath and Nesai mean?


GW...


Well, that is strange...Before, it said there were three names (Elontar, Estayen, and Tindorel, I think) that you liked; as they were Elvish names, that precipitated my Elvengirl comment. But then when I saw your other post and went to look back, it said the long post about the Elves of Middle-earth. Odd, indeed.

Anyway, I've told a fairish amount about Lisman (my secondary world) in the fantasy writing topic, starting on the sixth page; here is the part that applies to your question:


In a generally central location is the land of Canrath, the most cultured and 'highest' human kingdom; it is in it's capital city of Gondel that the Temple of Eltarn lies. On the borders of Canrath is the Federation of (Nesai/Naros?), a group of several small kingdoms, duchies, etc. compiled into one country; they are the allies of Canrath. They are less cultured, and are something of a farming country.


I'm debating between Canrath and Kanrath (Actually, not debating, more like have no idea :p)


Elvengirl...


OK, I'll check out the other thread.

I personally like Canrath over Kanrath. I can't give you a good reason why. Canrath looks more... appealing (if that fits) for a human city. The K gives the name a dwarvish look, just my opinion though....

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Thanks much, JD. :D

Elvengirl, opinion is what I want. :D

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
Thanks much, JD. :D

No problem. not sure why all the posts ended up getting lost and why I was able to see them on Netscape.

[Elvengirl]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Elvengirl, opinion is what I want. :D

Glad I could help :D

[Gwaimir Windgem]

:D When I share stuff, I'm always happy for some good constructive criticism. :) But if it's too constructive, I may bite your head off! ;) :p Just kidding, of course.

[Legoles]

You know you are an unimaginitive@@$@&)(*&$%@@P(*&#
IDIOT

[Gwaimir Windgem]

O.o

Okaaaaay...

[Elvengirl]

Originally posted by Legoles
You know you are an unimaginitive@@$@&)(*&$%@@P(*&#
IDIOT

Whaat? :confused:

[Aeryn]

IronParrot, I understand where your coming from *note: I didn't read anything from this thread but the first post, hate me all you want* People who do it from backround are one thing, but it can be really confusing otherwise.

I think people take "poetic license" if you will. If they are going to write, or make a series or whatever, then they are going to do it their way.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Yeah, IP, what do you want? "FEAR ME! I AM THE EVIL SORCERER, JIMMY JOE-BOB!"

[IronParrot]

Well for starters, "Luke Skywalker" wasn't so bad.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Okay, that's one. Too bad it's taken. :rolleyes:

[Aeryn]

His first last name was

"Starkiller"

Did you know that?

I read it on Trivial Pursuit genus 5

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Actually, I did know it. Not that I still remembered it...

[Aeryn]

Oh, kay then....

Jeez, you are WAY to into Starwars...

I only know Starkiller because I played that game tonight, I mean the only real thing I remember from the movies *first and only time viewing* is Darth's voice and the Lord of Sith *that was star wars?* and he was his father....

[Gwaimir Windgem]

You should see me and fantasy, especially Tolkien. :p

Or my brother and Star Wars... :eek:

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Just like the folk who think war is never excusable:


"Your way is wrong!"
"Any suggestions for another way?"
*silence*

[IronParrot]

Actually, that's not quite true. There is another way.

If fantasy writers are going to go overboard with unpronounceable names filled with apostrophes (the examples you guys have come with so far are relatively tame), that just becomes confusing and hard to follow. If it turns the audience off, it's simply not good writing.

Option One: they can be at least somewhat consistent about it, and frame it in some sort of model. Maintain some sort of consistent sound that implies united cultural and linguistic roots or something. I'm not saying they need to be as good as Tolkien, because they probably couldn't if they tried. It's just that there's a line that needs to be drawn between the reasonable and unreasonable.

East Indian names just have a feel that sound Indian. Roman names sound Roman. Even Elvish names sound Elvish. That's what I mean by a consistent linguistic model. Once again, you don't need Tolkien-calibre precision, but that's the right direction.

Option Two: Anglicization is not such a bad idea. If you look at the Chinese historical epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, for example, you will see two different kinds of translations out there - one that maintains the original names phonetically, through pinyin - and one that takes the names and translate them into their literal meanings. (The second, of course, is far more accessible.) It's like what's already done with Native American names on a regular basis.

At least make the names mean something. Leaving them as decoration isn't much of an excuse for having them.

Several of you have ridiculed the alternative as being naming everybody "Sir Billy Joe Bob the Green Knight" or something, but that's simply not the case. You'd be out of your mind to name someone Billy Joe Bob in a non-fantasy novel, lest it were to prove a point. The same applies here. There's a certain level of outrageousness at the other end of the spectrum, too.

Furthermore: this only really becomes a huge problem when there are lots of characters to deal with. Often, this is perhaps a problem with the fact that they weren't very well-drawn characters to begin with, and that's a different issue in itself, though confusing names make it worse.

I realize the need to make things look "otherworldly", but the work is still written in the English language, and that still binds the work to our world. An author who forsakes a decent connection to the audience isn't much of an author.

The impression that I get from people who go overboard on "fantasy-like" names is that they are cheap Tolkien imitators. Which, unfortunately, a lot of fantasy writers are.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

O well, at least most of my names fit under Option One; i.e. deriven from a primitive, rudimentary linguistic structure. The Canrath/Nesai and Gnome ones are just meant to sound similar.

Out of curiosity, which authors do you see as "nonsense" name-makers?

[Earniel]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
Deities, Powers, and Supernatural Beings:
Kleptia (unknown)
Sacrilla (unknown)
Delitia (unknown)

Gwaihir, you must forgive me here. But I saw this post and spontaniously some translations came to my mind. :p

Kleptia, Goddess of Incorrigible Thieves
Sacrilla, Goddess of Sacrificial Parties
Delitia, Goddess of Lost Posts

:D *hides under the table until Gwaihir promises not to kill her anymore*

[Gwaimir Windgem]

O.o

You got kind of mixed on the deity's domains, there. :p

[mithrand1r]

Originally posted by IronParrot
Actually, that's not quite true. There is another way.

If fantasy writers are going to go overboard with unpronounceable names filled with apostrophes (the examples you guys have come with so far are relatively tame), that just becomes confusing and hard to follow. If it turns the audience off, it's simply not good writing.


IronParrot,

In general I agree with you. I am guilty of this to a certain extent. When I make up a name (For D&D, GURPS [a Steve Jackson Game system], etc.) I have used names that sound nice, but don't make much sense. (ex: Kelvin, Belrain)

For me the biggest offenders are Star Trek and Star Wars. T'Pol for example from Star Trek.

If the story is good, I can gloss over unpronounceable name. This gets more difficult if the story uses too many characters with apostrophes or odd spellings in their names (especially if little or no thought has been put into their naming).

I'll usually read as follows. Luke looked at *&^*&$^ and could see that *&^*&$^ would not stop writing characters with stupid outlandish names.

Although a bunch of stupid outlandish names could be better than having a bunch of stupid common names. ;)

Sincerely,
Anthony
:cool:

[Gwaimir Windgem]

And how do you know whether or not thought has been put into the names, if I may ask?

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
O.o

You got kind of mixed on the deity's domains, there. :p


Wow...I passed up on an opportunity to do a bit of Lismani babbling. Must have been feeling exceptional kind, and not wanted to burden you poor souls by my boring ramblings. ;)

[IronParrot]

"For me the biggest offenders are Star Trek and Star Wars."
Reason #1138 why I don't read any of that Star Wars "literature", as much as I adore the films.