TTT: Character Names

This week’s TTT kind of coincided with a previous TTT, only this time, I’m not talking about video game dogs and villains. Now we’re getting to the heart of my characters. And yes, I often do name characters I create after fictional characters. When I’m not naming them after characters I’ve made up, that is.

Yes, a majority of my characters are female. Chances were if I could play female, I most definitely played female.

Top Ten Fictional Character Names I Use for Video Game Heroines/Heroes

Galadriel (The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien) – Because what else would I name my badass elf queen character? I will admit that it’s been a while that I’ve read any Tolkien (like, maybe over a decade, actually), but some characters do stick with you. Galadriel plays a very small role in the trilogy itself, and it’s probably in The Silmarillion (which I’ve read only half of) where we see Galadriel’s shining moment of having fought a Balrog–and won. So yeah, she’s totally my favorite Tolkien elf, hands down.

Zuzana (Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor) – It’s just such an awesome name! And the character in DoSaB is definitely my favorite human ever. EVER. Well, I suppose that doesn’t say much, considering most of the characters aren’t exactly human, but sigh. Zuzana is just the bees’ knees. My video game Zuzana is a diminutive elf archer, though deep down I’m sure she has every desire to make marionettes for a living. She already has the strings for it!

Sa’Kage (The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks) – This isn’t necessarily a person’s name in Weeks’ Night Angel trilogy. In fact, it was a term used to describe an underground organization, but I liked the sound of it enough to name a female character after it (also, note, the Japanese kage translates to the English shadow, so it’s such a handy name to use!). Can’t remember if my character was a rogue or assassin. That said, rogues and assassins tend to have similar character skills in games anyway, so I couldn’t say.

Kheldar and Javelin (The Belgariad by David Eddings) – Kheldar is the name of my favorite prince in The Belgariad, while Javelin’s the code name for his boss. While I christened one of my male space commanders with the latter name, I totally used the former to name one of my first female elven rogues in Dragon Age: Origins. No regrets. And yes, if you noticed by now, I play elves a lot.

Alanna (The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce) – There was always, ALWAYS going to be an Alanna video game character. And she will always, ALWAYS be a redhead. Dragon Age Inquisition made this even more possible, because I managed to make Inquisitor Alanna Trevelyan look like the Alanna I’ve always conjured up in my head. That said, since I couldn’t exactly choose both warrior AND mage, video game Alanna was a human mage. So mote it be.

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender series by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko) – I know she’s psychotic and for the most part not entirely redeemable in the TV series, but I have to admit that I loved Azula in AtLA. She’s just my kind of chaotic evil crazy, and there’s no denying her badassery in all things firebending. So the minute I realized I could make a qunari female character in Dragon Age: Inquisition, I made Azula. She wasn’t a mage, though, but she definitely knew how to wield a few knives as a rogue.

Cybele (Cybele’s Secret by Juliet Marillier) – The book doesn’t really have a character named Cybele. Well, unless you count the goddess in question that seems to have gathered a cult of crazed worshipers. I just like the name Cybele. I mean…provided I pronounce it “Sih-Bill-Ee” and not “Sigh-Beel”. This particular name went to my rather cantankerous female space commander.

Kelsier (Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson) – Why wouldn’t I name someone Kelsier? It’s a badass name. And it has a nice ring to it! I couldn’t tell you who I named this, though, as it was an older video game character. Probably one of my characters in a Bethesda game (either Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, or Fallout 4). I forget.

Morgiana (One Thousand and One Nights/The Arabian Nights) – This one’s a bit of a cheat, because I have written a character named Morgiana (Gia for short) in one of my short stories. That said, because my story is based on the stories from The Arabian Nights, it would be no surprise that I’d use Morgiana. My video game Morgiana is a mage in her own right and can probably fry the forty thieves with one quick flick of fireball from her wrist, but I rather liked Ali Baba’s Morgiana. She was sassy and smart and sexy to boot.

Do you name video game people after other fictional characters? Who’s on YOUR list?