I created a group of characters about a year and a half ago, they were all terrible mary sues and they were each named with a random Japanese name generator (Except for Luna). Fast forward to today, I'm thinking of using them for a little comic/manga series and I realize that none of their names really fit, I need new ones. The characters I'm worried most about are Akira and Luna, Akira because she's a very girly girl yet she has a boy name, plus the name means "Bright" and she's an airhead, so that doesn't fit at all. And Luna because let's face it, that's the most overused name in history.
Hi, I am also in the process of writing a comic. Naming characters can be difficult, and unless the name strikes me right then and there, I usually have to do some research to find a fitting name. This is how I usually do it. First of all, remember your characters personality. A heated and tough female character wouldn't fit the name Daisy, for example. Exotic names usually fit edgy characters, flower names are good for kind or timid female characters, so on so forth. The name of your character is kind of like the embodiment of their personality. My main character's name is Rosetta. I chose this name because Rose sounded a bit too basic, but I still wanted to fit her personality. She's a awkward and timid girl who's always afraid of messing up, but has a heart of gold. Plus, the entire theme to her character is self love and reflecting love towards others. A rose is a symbol of love. Rose is a feminine name that reminds people of something beautiful and delicate, and breakable. Rosetta is very breakable, and hasn't reached the beautiful part yet. She's like a Rose waiting to bloom, to become something beautiful. Likewise, another one of my character's names is Leon. He's determined and doesn't take crap from anyone, and makes a great leader. Leon means Lion in french. Leon has a lion-like personality, proud, strong, but tends to overlook little details. I think the trick to naming characters is that you really have to think about their own personality. It's good that you've also relised that naming them random Japanese names might be a problem. It's totally fine to give your character a name from a different language, but the name really needs to tell something to the audience about your character. It can be harder to do this with Japanese names since most people in the North America audience speak English, (of course if that'snot the audience you're targeting towards go right on ahead otherwise,) and unless that Japanese name has that certain "it" factor that really brings your're character to life, it's better to stick to English names that remind people of specific traits. But hey, this is all my own personal experiences and opinions. Do whatever you feel is right.
To be fair names don't necessarily have to fit perfectly - after all, it's the parents that pick the names way before they know what the child's personality is. To some extent I think it's almost more unrealistic for everyone to constantly live up to their name, if that makes sense?
It is possible to give your character a name that doesn't necessarily fit them and then have their reaction to it reveal more about their personality (if they go by a nickname, if they go by their middle name, or stuff like that)
