Names for characters in a book. Feedback, constructive criticism, and suggestions all appreciated.?

Question

I'm writing a novella for a school assignment (I'm homeschooled), and I'm having a heck of a time nailing down names for my characters.

Here's a bit of background on the story: Starts out happy family in suburban, soccer mom-type setting. Because no good books are written about happy families, the father leaves his wife and runs off to Thailand---for the brothels. The wife subsequently loses her mind and the five children fight to stay together---and safely off the state's radar. I know, a bit of a cliche plot, but this story will not have a happy ending, so at least it isn't terribly predictable.

I've narrowed down the name for the jerk of a husband: Jim. But I can't settle on names for the mother or children. The mother will be relatively young (one of those married-right-out-of-high-school types), so I'd like for her to have a name that could conceivably come out of the mid-late 70s but isn't too popular; I want a name that can stick in people's minds without sounding ridiculous. So far I have Jacqueline (nn Jackie), Monica, Karen, Christine, Mary, Amy, Laura, and Alice as possibilities for the mom.

Naming the kids is even harder. There will be three girls and two boys. Again, I want names that are realistic, yet still leave an impression on the reader. I also want names that flow well together and have similar styles without sounding matchy.

Here are the my ideas for girls' and boys' names, respectively:

Girls

Audrey

Marissa

Rose

Charity

Elizabeth (nn Beth, Ellie, or Ella)

Bethany

Lorraine

Arielle

Helena

Holly

Molly

Elodie

Marley

Felicity

Janna

Jill/Jillian

Eloise

Katherine

Mercy

Caroline

Boys

James (named after the father)

Luke

Lucas

Simon

Weston

Reuben

Micah

Spencer

Samuel (nn Sam or Sammy)

Matthew (without Matt as a nn)

Andrew

David

Gabriel (nn Gabe)

Mark

Kenneth (nn Kenny)

So, seasoned writers and name nerds, which names sound best together and suit my story line best?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

for the mom i like Laura

for the girls i like Elizabeth,Arielle, & Katherine

for the boys i like Matthew & Andrew

Answer 2

thought this might help you. its a list of the most popular names of the 1970's.

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/decade...

as for your list:

mom: how about brigette (or bridget)

daughters(in age order): donna, celeste, and karen

sons(in age order):dane, alan and marshall

Answer 3

The mother definitely sounds like either a Karen or a Laura.

Marissa sounds good for one of the girls.

Katherine is really nice and goes well with Marissa.

I know this name isn't on here, but I think that Louise would be a good name for the third girl.

Spencer and Luke stand out to me as being good boys names for your story.

Good luck and happy writing! :o)

Answer 4

For the mom, I think either Jackie or Karen would work well.  For the children, here's what I think would work:

Elizabeth (Beth), Marley, and Katherine (I like Katie as a nn), especially if one girl is given more attention in the story.  Elizabeth and Katherine are those strong, traditional female names, while Marley is more original.  If you want to keep them all similar, I like Elizabeth, Katherine, and Caroline (maybe use Carrie as a nn??)

Boys, I think Samuel (Sammy) and Luke work well for the boys.  My other favorite combo for the boys is Samuel and David.

Hope I've helped you, and happy writing :-)