Surname Maps

[ysabetwordsmith]

janetmiles and my partner Doug tipped me to this cool resource showing surname maps.  So, if you're a writer and you want to name an ordinary character from one of these places, you can pick a surname from the relevant place and it will fit.  This is a very discreet and effective trick with local color.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>I'll probably google if the need arises,
but are then region-specific RNGs?
Period-specific?
Ethnic-specific?<<

I have seen some. I usually go out hunting resources when I'm going to need a batch of names in a particular flavor. If you look around, you can find ones that suit your personal needs.

>>Previously, I got names of Jewish characters
from Remarque's novel about Jewish refugees in the US,
and for the novel set in the 1850s,
I got names from slave narratives
and Uncle Tom's Cabin,
since those could be assumed accurate for time and place.<<

Yeah, I've used slave narratives too, along with African name books. (I have one character who doesn't hold with renaming unless the original is hopelessly unpronounceable.) Some of my desert characters are named out of the 100 Magnificent Names of God, or the lists based on "If you have 100 sons, name them all Mohammed."

>>Smith is a common name because it was a common profession,
and Ferrar, Ferrari, and Kovacs, are all just Smith in another language.
Also, most surnames ending in -er are of occupational origin.
Anyway, if you've got a world you've created and a language to go with it,
whatever that word for "smith" is will probably be a common surname in the world.
Same with farmer, miller, booker, and so on...<<

Now THAT is brilliant. I've done it inadvertently, I think. But I shall suggest this purposely for Torn World. Characters there don't use surnames, but the Empire does use titles. So effectively we could have Smith So-and-so instead of the other way 'round, and the trick still works.

Re: Thoughts

[msstacy13.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I really like it when someone says an idea of mine is brilliant.
:)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

From what I've seen, your levels of discernment and extrapolation far exceed the usual. That contributes to excellent writing, because it means you get the subtle details right. If your plot is going to do flips, you want it to start out standing on a very solid foundation.

*chuckle* One of the more interesting tidbits I worked up for Torn World was a Northern "bird clock." It lists a number of surviving bird species and the time when they would be calling. That was after I had to rip out a whole string of time cues from "Fala the Leader" because I'd forgotten to account for the extreme latitude and its effect on day/night proportions, so I had all the wrong birds in gear. *facepalm* *researchresearchresearch*

Re: Thoughts

[msstacy13.livejournal.com]

Oops...
:)