Writing Question: How do you come up with character names?

This is one of those questions I love to see professional writers answer because the responses are so interesting. For example, here’s quote form Paddy Chayefsky:

“Names are fun. In Hospital I used a lot of mystery writers. Had a nurse named Christie. A doctor is named Chandler. Sometimes I go to baseball box scores and pick out names. Sometimes I keep characters from one project to another. Arthur Landau, a lawyer, runs through a variety of things.”

That’s an arbitrary choice when it comes to names. But you get bonus points if the name reflects something about the character or conveys some thematic importance.

For example, the last name of the superhero family in The Incredibles: The Parrs. As in ‘par.’ Average. A perfect name to give them seeing as that sums up the struggle Bob, Helen, Dash, and Violet have trying to hide their superpowers and appear normal.

In the movie currently in theaters Edge of Tomorrow, the Protagonist is named Cage. Again relevant to the plot as he is trapped in a ‘cage’ of being forced to relive the same day over and over and over again.

So how do you come up with character names?

And while we’re at it, what resources are there to consult when trying to brainstorm or generate names such as baby names?

Finally what are some movie characters names that convey something of importance relative to plot or theme?

See you in comments.

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