Is it my imagination or is there some sort of unwritten rule that character names in TV and film dramas generally shouldn't exceed two syllables?
AJ
Is it my imagination or is there some sort of unwritten rule that character names in TV and film dramas generally shouldn't exceed two syllables?
AJ
I once had a conversation with a congressman, a Representative from a Pennsylvanian suburb. He could not pronounce three syllable words. If there is a rule, I imagine it's the KISS principle: Keep it simple, stupid.
That's especially true with unusual or foreign, accented names, as most American's can't process the unusual dialects, thus furthering the concern. Two-syllables may be acceptable for traditional American names, yet for anything truly unusual or unexpected, a short one-syllable assigned nickname is probably the best strategy (ex: "Kraut," "Kurt," "Duffus" or "Brain-dead"/"cerebrally-challenged" all seem apropos).
It's not that American are particularly slow, we're just used to everyone speaking traditional English variants to better fit into our multi-ethnic communities (i.e. 'becoming American'). In short, why make anything more complex than it needs to be? A cute accent is generally appreciated, but the odd diphthongs/umlauts are more difficult to process. However, I've often used those to make the printed text or names appear more exotic, yet that's a far cry from processing the uncommon sounds.
Then again, a Congressman who can't process multisyllable sounds strangely fitting, as they tend to oversimplify anything unaccompanied by large 'political contributions' from 'unidentified, untraceable sources'.
There was a short lived tv show with the title brain dead. It was cancelled. Not completely sure it was cancelled because it was too close to the truth to what happens in Washington.
I'm out here in a western Pennsylvania suburb!
As my story is set in 1979, and I graduated HS in 1977, I went thru the three yearbooks from 76-78 and made a list of all the given names, then sorted by how often. I tried to go with the more common, checking them off, and also favored the ones that have since fallen out of favor, to emphasize when the story is set. But yes, stay away from the longer or harder to pronounce. Grandparents are Calvin and Martha. Parents Chris and Meredith, aunt is Janet and her husband Mickey. Then Joe and his cohort - Hannah, Dave, Sarah, Susie, Paul, Matt, Katie, Jenny, Randy, etc
Is it my imagination or is there some sort of unwritten rule that character names in TV and film dramas generally shouldn't exceed two syllables?
That is simply how things work in common language.
I actually had a friend named "Aloysius", but everybody called him "Al". My wife is "Margarita", but everybody calls her "Maggie". And my son "Zachary" goes by "Zack".
I actually had a friend named "Aloysius", but everybody called him "Al". My wife is "Margarita", but everybody calls her "Maggie". And my son "Zachary" goes by "Zack".
They don't count because they're in the real world.
I was wondering whether anyone on SOL has script-writing experience because they might have come across character-naming style guides.
AJ
They don't count because they're in the real world.
Is there really a difference?
One of my main characters is called "Amanda", that is three syllables, but she is normally addressed in the story as "Mandy", which is just two.
If somebody is writing a "contemporary story" or anything even close to it, is there really a difference between real world and story when it comes to names?
Unless the story is set in say the 1800s or earlier, the use of a shortened nickname is just how it is normally done. I'm sure Samuel Adams was addressed as Samuel in a formal setting and among strangers, but as "Sam" by friends and family in an informal setting. That is simply how things were back then.
To be honest, I can't remember the last time I was addressed by my full name. Probably at sometime a few years ago before I retired from the military.
is there some sort of unwritten rule
Yes. I would give you a link to the rule, but it is an unwritten rule. :)
I personally try to keep it simple with first name's only as far as it is plausible. But on occasion, I have indulged in complicated names when it suited me.
Nowadays, you can generate names to order using AI tools. You can modify the prompt below. Remember the more detail you give it, the better the quality of the output.
Here is a prompt for a Popular AI (It should work with any of them:
Generate a list of the most absurd yet real names of real people for a list of characters in a fictional story. Include at least 10 male and 10 female names. The list should include both First and Last Names with optional middle names. The intention is to be absurdly comical yet realistic.
The output is as follows:
Sure! Here's a mix of real names that are absurdly comical, yet still sound plausible in a quirky, fictional universe. The names may seem strange together, but each one could be real somewhere!
### Male Characters:
1. **Lancelot Butterworth-Swizzleton**
2. **Chuckles McGravy**
3. **Balthazar Puddingstone**
4. **Cecil Jamboree-Slaughter**
5. **Hobart Marmaduke Picklebottom**
6. **Thaddeus Tater-Tot Finnegan**
7. **Montague Cheeseborough**
8. **Reginald 'Rex' Pickleford**
9. **Percival Waffleman III**
10. **Quentin Dingledorf**
### Female Characters:
1. **Penny Wafflehouse-Biscuit**
2. **Marigold McSnortington**
3. **Felicity Squashmuffin**
4. **Prudence Cheesewiggle**
5. **Zelda Buttercup Puddleworth**
6. **Evangeline Mumblewhisk**
7. **Gwendolyn Snickerpuff**
8. **Beatrix Quackenbush**
9. **Esmeralda Higgledy-Piggledy**
10. **Clementine Fizzlepuff**
These could be fun to weave into a whimsical story. Would you like me to help create backstories or a plot for these characters?
I think I sense a pattern here:
Butter, Swizzle, Gravy, Pudding, Pickle, Tater-Tot, Cheese, Waffle, Biscuit, Squash, Muffin
Then there are a few parts like Wiggle, Snort, Snicker, Mumble, Quack, Fizzle, and Higgledy-Piggledy.
In a sex story, Quackenbush, or any kind of "Bush," could be a good name (Fanny Bush is a perfectly plausible name) as are names like Cunthorpe and Quimming.
Sure! Here's a mix of real names that are absurdly comical, yet still sound plausible in a quirky, fictional universe. The names may seem strange together, but each one could be real somewhere!
I have done that, but in the story those were pseudonyms that the characters would use and not their actual names. Amanda Hugankiss, Holly Wood, Phillis Wood, Connie Lingus, Harry Azcrack, things like that. But never as actual character names.
There are a fair number of common exceptions.
For instance, 'Jennifer' is often fully said. Ditto 'Elizabeth'. Or 'Christopher'. Some are short, but still three syllables: 'Amanda', 'Miranda', 'Caroline', 'Anthony', 'Adrian'.
I can think of movies and/or TV shows with many of those.
But the majority tend to be shorter, I agree. People seem to prefer that.
And, of course, there's (four-syllable) Indiana (Jones), but he does go by 'Indy' a fair bit of the time.
Some are short, but still three syllables: 'Amanda', 'Miranda', 'Caroline', 'Anthony', 'Adrian'.
Is 'Daniel' two syllables or three, or does it depend on culture? I was watching a US TV movie last night and 'Daniel' was the only white/black American character name that might have been an exception. Some of the characters had longer names when they first appeared on the police suspect-list board, but thereafter they were always referred to via a diminutive form of their name. Names of other ethnicities seemed to be exempt eg 'Gonzalez'.
AJ
Obviously I was using my prompt as an example.
You can ask the Gen AI.
Asking AJ's question popped up this link.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneSteveLimit
It has some helpful suggestions.
If you modify my previous prompt to the following, you get a more reasonable output.
Generate a list of simple two syllable character names for a story. The list should include both first and last names. Generate 10 male and 10 female names.
Here's a list of 10 male and 10 female two-syllable character names for your story:
**Male Names:**
1. Ethan Cruz
2. Mason Lee
3. Logan Gray
4. Caleb Reed
5. Dylan Boyd
6. Oscar Hale
7. Aaron Kane
8. Jonah West
9. Tyler Snow
10. Lucas Cole
**Female Names:**
1. Emma Rose
2. Lily Stone
3. Clara Reed
4. Sophie Hayes
5. Ruby Knox
6. Ava Brown
7. Nina Gray
8. Daisy Brooks
9. Tessa Cole
10. Zoey Hale
Would you like more options or help with any specific characters?
Would you like more options or help with any specific characters?
No, thank you. In the subject, I specified 'off-topic-ish' because, if there is a rule, I've never had problems through breaking it. It's not as if Hollywood is about to call wanting to make a film of one of my stories.
OT I imagine 'Dick Fuchs' is a pseudonym, which is mildly disappointing. It would be something to have on SOL a relative of the person after whom the plant genus 'Fuchsia' is named.
AJ
That last sentence was not me. That was the output of the AI. And Richard Fuchs is my real name. My origins are in Bavaria, Germany.
You can also find male and/or female first names, as well as last names, sorted by decade by searching for the US Census data. They list them by percentage or alphabetically.