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Q&A Giving a character a name that is based on his storyline [closed]

I'm trying to find an appropriate name for my main character. I want his name to reflect his personality and symbolize certain aspects of his past. For example, for a character who has supernatura...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Cindered Soul‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:21:54Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/34467
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Cindered Soul‭ · 2019-12-08T08:21:54Z (almost 5 years ago)
I'm trying to find an appropriate name for my main character. I want his name to reflect his personality and symbolize certain aspects of his past.

For example, for a character who has supernatural control of fire and whose home was destroyed in a fire immediatle after his birth there (as if his birth caused the fire) might be given the name Aiden, a name of Celtic/Irish origin meaning 'the fiery one' or 'born of fire'.

Is it a good idea to use the etymology of a name in this way? Will readers even know the etymology and understand the symbolism? Or how else can I find a telling name, without it being cheesy? I don't want to directly name the protagonist "Fire", for example.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-03-21T10:06:50Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 3