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Help[Opinions] How does this name set seem for a group of friends?
For my book, I want seven teenagers who are friends to save the kingdom. Here are my names for them so far:
Elona: Female, means oak tree in Hebrew, or it can be a form of Elena.
Candace: Female, means queenly, also means shining or bright
Omid: (Male) means hope in Persian
Luke: (male) Means bearer of Light
Oaklynn (female) means oak, I want it so show strength
Valeriy (male) Ukranian form of Valeriy which means strength
Archie: means brave, courageous
All these names mean light or strong, which are virtues in my story
What do you think?
I ask kindly to keep politics out please 😊
Elona: Female, means oak tree in Hebrew, or it can be a form of Elena.
Candace: Female, means queenly, also means shining or bright
Omid: (Male) means hope in Persian
Luke: (male) Means bearer of Light
Oaklynn (female) means oak, I want it so show strength
Valeriy (male) Ukranian form of Valeriy which means strength
Archie: means brave, courageous
All these names mean light or strong, which are virtues in my story
What do you think?
I ask kindly to keep politics out please 😊
Replies
Perhaps seven characters, all with names that mean much the same, might be a trifle too obvious. If you need courageous characters, rather give them something to be courageous about. Elona and Oaklynn having names with identical meanings seems doubly overdone.
Cute, I like them. I think Oakley is better than Oaklynn but that's a me issue.
I think Oaklyn really stands out as not quite working within the set. All the others have a much more sophisticated, sometimes international vibe, but Oaklyn just sounds vapid and trendy. It wwouldn't be very believable for anyone much older than early childhood.
The more international of the names only work well on people of those ethnicities/religions.
Please, whatever you do, don't explain to the reader that the names mean oak or strength, because that's a very amateurish mistake and unnecessary to the story. Frankly, the meaning of the names is irrelevant and if all seven kids have similar meanings to their names and they all save the kingdom, it's too convenient and contrived.
The more international of the names only work well on people of those ethnicities/religions.
Please, whatever you do, don't explain to the reader that the names mean oak or strength, because that's a very amateurish mistake and unnecessary to the story. Frankly, the meaning of the names is irrelevant and if all seven kids have similar meanings to their names and they all save the kingdom, it's too convenient and contrived.
They don’t really fit with each other, but I don’t see this as an issue. Oaklynn just feels really out of place though.
From what I've gathered about your story from previous posts, your story is meant to be fantasy-esque and not set in the world we live. From a western standpoint, then, any slightly unusual name that sits outside of current trends could probably work. Therefore, Elona, Omid, and maybe Valeriy and Archie could work. I think it would be really cool if Archie was a nickname for Arch.
Unless Candace was magically taken to another world, like New_Chloë said, it would take me out of the story because it feels far too tied to the world I know and the 80s (I suppose) than to any fantastical feel.
For some reason, I don't feel quite the same way about Luke, but a lot of other people probably would.
As for Oaklynn, it just fits far too into current naming trends.
I'd suggest changing the names slightly while still maintaining what you like about each name:
Candasa/Kantis*/something for Candace
Lux/Luc/something for Luke
Aukhlyn/Ohlynnia/Ohklin for Oaklynn.
These aren't the best suggestions, but an example of what I'm talking about.
*I wouldn't specifically recommend this one due to the similarity to Katniss.
Ultimately, though, it is your story, so do whatever you want.
Unless Candace was magically taken to another world, like New_Chloë said, it would take me out of the story because it feels far too tied to the world I know and the 80s (I suppose) than to any fantastical feel.
For some reason, I don't feel quite the same way about Luke, but a lot of other people probably would.
As for Oaklynn, it just fits far too into current naming trends.
I'd suggest changing the names slightly while still maintaining what you like about each name:
Candasa/Kantis*/something for Candace
Lux/Luc/something for Luke
Aukhlyn/Ohlynnia/Ohklin for Oaklynn.
These aren't the best suggestions, but an example of what I'm talking about.
*I wouldn't specifically recommend this one due to the similarity to Katniss.
Ultimately, though, it is your story, so do whatever you want.
This message was edited 5/6/2025, 12:14 PM
Is it a story where a bunch of ordinary kids is taken magically to another world? Because that's what a lot of the names sound like.
If that's not the premise, I'd advise changing the more recognizable names. Omid, Elona and even Valeriy could work in a fantasy world with kingdoms, but Candace, Luke, Oaklynn and Archie would be WAY too distracting for me.
If that's not the premise, I'd advise changing the more recognizable names. Omid, Elona and even Valeriy could work in a fantasy world with kingdoms, but Candace, Luke, Oaklynn and Archie would be WAY too distracting for me.
I like all the names by themselves, but together they don´t seem to fit. However, I don´t know the setting of your book and if you not going for the generic medieval-fantasy feel (which is what vibe I´ve gotten from the names like Elona or Archie) it could work very well.
The book will be similar to the Disney movie Wish, sans the sorcery and cute little star. I'll explain later.
Did you use their entries on here to gather the meanings? I'm not seeing anything on here about Candace meaning "shining or bright" or Luke meaning "bearer of Light."