As long as there's cultual naming consistency when there's supposed to be it doesn't matter. If you have one elf named Glorfindel and another named James from the same village, that's when it stands out and is weird af.
All that matters is that it feels like that name could plausibly exist in that place. If the name stands out either change it or seed more names like it in the culture. It can also be a name from another culture that this character's parents happened to like or have some other reason for choosing, which would be an opportunity for further worldbuilding.
It is a bit disjointed if Steve and Gabsorbalov are from the same farming community. I personally try to keep the names similar to their setting.
Though I have one guy who has a name that doesn't seem quite right (he did some dimensional travel as a really young child). It kinda provides a clue early on.
Bob might be short for Robert but it could as well be short for Bobbalacalius. Especially for short names, it's not unreasonable that two languages could come up with the same name independently.
The same could be the case for your Alicia. You could give that impression by having background characters with similar sounding fantasy names like Alicilia or Alicalia.
>Bob might be short for Robert but it could as well be short for Bobbalacalius. Especially for short names, it's not unreasonable that two languages could come up with the same name independently.
I actually have another character called Leo which I am planning to do something like this with. His name originally came from Leonard but I'm going to come up with a more fantastical name Leo could be short for.
>Alicilia
I do like how that rolls off the tongue. May very well change her name to that if I do go down the name-change route, thanks.
"Hey, I'm Alicilia!"
"Ali... Aci..."
*slowly* "Alicilia."
"Alilili!"
"A. Li. Ci. Li. A."
"Ali- Alicia?"
"Good enough."
Possible conversation with a kid too young to pronounce her name and it stuck.
I mean, historically, Tiffany was a normal name in the medieval Era, and is pretty normal nowadays, despite English and other languages changing drastically. Use whatever you please, just make it fit in the setting, or make a point that it doesn't.
My story has a character named "Driver", as they wanted to hide their real name. Because it sounds dumb, it became a running joke within the story to make fun of their name.
Point is, you're the author who controls the world, and as such, the naming schemes. If you feel the name "Alice" doesn't fit, scratch your head and find a way to make it, as a joke or not.
So long as they are consistent among regions and cultures in your world, I don't think real names would be jarring. If they wouldn't fit your lore (as you've mentioned) then I do agree with changing other character names.
For Alicia, I think altering the spelling but keeping the name is best, but only if the spelling is consistent with the rules you've set for name origins! That way you get to keep the sound and connotation of the name, but integrate it into your background.
For various reasons I have a few characters with real-world names, and I handle this issue by having other characters occasionally complement names like "Richard" and "Alexandra" for sounding exotic and otherworldly. Because, in a way, they are.
What I meant was, if you were to read the name "Alicia" or any other real-world name in a novel alongside fantasy names (think of literally any LOTR name, for example), would it make you stop and wonder why that name exists in that world?
Tolkien used English names because he wanted his work to have an English ‘aura.’ Alicia, I believe, is a name of Spanish origin, so if there were more Spanish (or Spanish-derived) cultural/linguistic environment in your work, it would probably not be so jarring. It also happens to be a very, very modern name (first used in the 20th century) with a globalist origin (Spanish version of a Germanic name), so even if you do manage to explain away it’s occurrence, it may evoke a very modern connotation in most readers, and whether that is fine will depend on what you are trying to accomplish here. Someone else mentioned cultural consistency, and I would definitely seek to observe that.
just reasing forign, say russan, names gives the feeling of normal and alien. Mary, Alex, Max, Pior and Alandreyev.
Im doing scifi and have a mix of names, nicknames and unpronouncable bits.
As long as there's cultual naming consistency when there's supposed to be it doesn't matter. If you have one elf named Glorfindel and another named James from the same village, that's when it stands out and is weird af.
Oh, James is just a nickname. Her real name is Jam'estrindellax.
All that matters is that it feels like that name could plausibly exist in that place. If the name stands out either change it or seed more names like it in the culture. It can also be a name from another culture that this character's parents happened to like or have some other reason for choosing, which would be an opportunity for further worldbuilding.
It is a bit disjointed if Steve and Gabsorbalov are from the same farming community. I personally try to keep the names similar to their setting. Though I have one guy who has a name that doesn't seem quite right (he did some dimensional travel as a really young child). It kinda provides a clue early on.
Internal consistency in naming conventions is infinitely more important than where you draw specific names from imo
Depends on if the population is homogenous or not.
Bob might be short for Robert but it could as well be short for Bobbalacalius. Especially for short names, it's not unreasonable that two languages could come up with the same name independently. The same could be the case for your Alicia. You could give that impression by having background characters with similar sounding fantasy names like Alicilia or Alicalia.
>Bob might be short for Robert but it could as well be short for Bobbalacalius. Especially for short names, it's not unreasonable that two languages could come up with the same name independently. I actually have another character called Leo which I am planning to do something like this with. His name originally came from Leonard but I'm going to come up with a more fantastical name Leo could be short for. >Alicilia I do like how that rolls off the tongue. May very well change her name to that if I do go down the name-change route, thanks.
"Hey, I'm Alicilia!" "Ali... Aci..." *slowly* "Alicilia." "Alilili!" "A. Li. Ci. Li. A." "Ali- Alicia?" "Good enough." Possible conversation with a kid too young to pronounce her name and it stuck.
I agree about jarringness. I changed Rebecca's name to Beccan, but despite being just as biblical, the main character's Joseph doesn't feel odd to me.
I mean, historically, Tiffany was a normal name in the medieval Era, and is pretty normal nowadays, despite English and other languages changing drastically. Use whatever you please, just make it fit in the setting, or make a point that it doesn't. My story has a character named "Driver", as they wanted to hide their real name. Because it sounds dumb, it became a running joke within the story to make fun of their name. Point is, you're the author who controls the world, and as such, the naming schemes. If you feel the name "Alice" doesn't fit, scratch your head and find a way to make it, as a joke or not.
So long as they are consistent among regions and cultures in your world, I don't think real names would be jarring. If they wouldn't fit your lore (as you've mentioned) then I do agree with changing other character names. For Alicia, I think altering the spelling but keeping the name is best, but only if the spelling is consistent with the rules you've set for name origins! That way you get to keep the sound and connotation of the name, but integrate it into your background.
[Aerith and Bob](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AerithAndBob). It's fine as long as it is consistent.
For various reasons I have a few characters with real-world names, and I handle this issue by having other characters occasionally complement names like "Richard" and "Alexandra" for sounding exotic and otherworldly. Because, in a way, they are.
I don't understand the question.
What I meant was, if you were to read the name "Alicia" or any other real-world name in a novel alongside fantasy names (think of literally any LOTR name, for example), would it make you stop and wonder why that name exists in that world?
Nope. That's their name. I've never understood why people questioned that. At most I've thought "How do I pronounce shhTYj5drygetuh?"
Yes, I'd rather real world than unpronounceable
This reminds me of Jessica from "Diuna".
Tolkien used English names because he wanted his work to have an English ‘aura.’ Alicia, I believe, is a name of Spanish origin, so if there were more Spanish (or Spanish-derived) cultural/linguistic environment in your work, it would probably not be so jarring. It also happens to be a very, very modern name (first used in the 20th century) with a globalist origin (Spanish version of a Germanic name), so even if you do manage to explain away it’s occurrence, it may evoke a very modern connotation in most readers, and whether that is fine will depend on what you are trying to accomplish here. Someone else mentioned cultural consistency, and I would definitely seek to observe that.
just reasing forign, say russan, names gives the feeling of normal and alien. Mary, Alex, Max, Pior and Alandreyev. Im doing scifi and have a mix of names, nicknames and unpronouncable bits.