forum Ominous Names that aren't outright eil
Started by @Williamnot group
tune

people_alt 60 followers

@Williamnot group

I have a character who should have a name that doesn't exactly sound like daisies and roses, but still sounds ominous without being like Murdock the Skull Crusher
Let's hear some ideas and opinions :)

Deleted user

You could use pretty much any name, and then let the impression of 'bad guy' sink into the name throughout the story letting the way they're characterized integrate itself into the meaning of the name

Deleted user

So, something I like to do is go to google translate and see what some fitting words are in other languages. Ex: Stasujin means murder in Japanese and I named my villain that.

@Starfast group

A couple suggestions

  • When I was naming my villain, I wanted him to sound powerful but not have the obvious "evil" name. I ended up looking at the names of historically powerful people. I ended up settling on Alexander (like Alexander the Great) because it has that connection to a powerful figure but it's also a common enough name that you might not immediately make that connection. (Obviously, this only works if you're not looking for a made up name, but I've also heard of combining names to come up with a made up one. I've never done it, but you could try it).

  • You could also look at root words or name meanings. I know it's cool to (rightfully) hate on JKR, but there are a lot of good examples with her characters. Like the last name "Malfoy" comes from the French "Mal foi" meaning "bad faith." It doesn't sound like roses and daisies, as you put it but it still does see a little bit ominous.

  • I think that @Ledger had a pretty good suggestion too. You used the example "Murdock the Skull Crusher" but that character could also easily be "Murdock the Gentle" or "Murdock the Brave" and it doesn't really sound wrong, imo.