I’m a writer blog

Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Naming Characters after Friends/Family

Can you name characters after real people?



Writers worry about using real people’s names in fiction. Even memoirists and nonfiction writers identify people by name and worry about the ramifications. Can writers model characters after real people and name names without getting sued? Yes, they can, with some common sense limitations.

Can I name a character after another character?

Yes. If you name a fictional character after another fictional character, the reader will assume that there is some reason for this, and that they have some connection with each other.

How do you come up with an OC name?

How to Name Your Characters

  1. Consult the phone book. Grab a random name from the phone book to get yourself started.
  2. Grab a baby name book.
  3. Use a random name generator.
  4. Pay homage to famous names from a book or movie.
  5. Make use of root meanings.
  6. Don’t get hung up on finding the perfect name.






How not to name your characters?

Similar endings: Avoid giving your characters names that end the same way, like “Madison” and “Jason,” or worse yet, names that rhyme, like “Shelley” and “Kelly.” Repeated vowel sounds: “Janeen,” “Lee,” and “Edith” all share a long ‘e’ sound.

Are character names protected by copyright?

Similarly, in the United States characters are generally considered independently copyrightable so long as the character is ‘sufficiently delineated’.



Can I base my characters on real people?

Here’s where it can get sticky. Using real people in your fiction—whether they are correctly named or not—can be legally hazardous. If an author includes enough details that a specific fictional character is identifiable as an actual person, that person could possibly pursue legal action.

What should you avoid when creating a character?



Creating Characters: 5 Mistakes to Avoid

  • Mistake #1: All characters talk the same.
  • Mistake #2: All characters think alike.
  • Mistake #3: Characters are mere caricatures that lack real depth.
  • Mistake #4: Characters are flat and uninspiring.
  • Mistake #5: Failure to react keeps your characters out of emotional reach.



Can you legally have special characters in your name?

While some states have strict laws that prohibit obscenities, numbers, and names that are too long, other states have no restrictions. Take laid-back California, which isn’t so laid back when it comes to baby names. In fact, the state won’t even allow accent marks and other diacritical marks in names like José.

Can I use the name of a fictional character?

Just saying the name of a fictional character or showing it in a movie generally isn’t a trademark use, but there could be other issues involved such as copyright infringement.

Can you use real people’s names in historical fiction?

If your characters are based on real people and you are using the names, be reasonably responsible to the originals. You are probably going to have to fill in a lot of gaps in the historical record: you may know from the record what a person did and when he did it, but not why.

Can you legally have special characters in your name?

While some states have strict laws that prohibit obscenities, numbers, and names that are too long, other states have no restrictions. Take laid-back California, which isn’t so laid back when it comes to baby names. In fact, the state won’t even allow accent marks and other diacritical marks in names like José.



Are real names copyrighted?

Under U.S. law you can’t copyright a name, real or fictitious. Copyrights protect authorship, such as short stories, poems, or novels.