You’ve come up with your concept. You have a rough outline, or at least a few turning points in mind. Maybe you have a really cute title. But you just can’t name those darn characters! Here’s how I do it…
1. Consider the time.
If you’re writing a historical, you probably need to do this first, but it doesn’t hurt if you’re writing a contemporary either. If you’re writing about your heroine’s grandmother, her name’s probably not going to be Tiffany, for example. Check out the Name Voyager at BabyNameWizard.com. It goes all the way back to the 1880s. (Remember, think about the year your character was born, not the current year of the story.)
If you need to go further back than the 1880s, the lovely Sabrina Jeffries has some advice:
I use The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (which, I believe, is out of print, but sometimes you can find used copies). I love it because it details exactly in which centuries the names were used or were popular. You can’t possibly choose a name which is unlikely.
2. Consider the parents.
