Friday, January 29, 2016

technique - Inventing names for Sci-Fi characters


How can I invent names for fictional characters in a future-setting Sci-Fi story so they won't be connected to any existing culture?


I considered the following options:




  • Invent some random names. This has a disadvantage in that such names are often difficult to pronounce and sound unpleasant and unlikely to be used by people.





  • Use names from some obscure languages. This makes a connection to Earth's history and is difficult to explain, given that these cultures have already vanished now, not to say in the future.




  • Use names from some Classical languages such as Latin, Greek, Proto-Indo-European or similarly-sounding ones. This does not make sense if we are speaking about non-human cultures. Take for example "Stroggos" and "Makron". How on Earth can an alien nave have the Greek ending -on?




What are the advantages and disadvantages to these techniques? Are there other options and techniques that could help me?




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