I didn't write the codex entry either mind you.
Fuck, it's late. Probably gonna be a restless night too with my brain storming... oh well.
I tend to do names that have thematic alignment with the character. Usually first and last linking together. Case in point: Aislinn O'Meara (as if I haven't blabbed about her enough already, but she's my sole example ). Her first name means (in the context I'm using) "dream, vision" and her last name is actually of dubious meaning, tracing back either to "O Meadrha" into the Gaelic word "meadhar" which means "merry, happy," OR it can trace back in English origin to "O(f) Mara" or "descendant of Mara." Mara means "bitter."
like in Tam-Tam's case, since Fenoxo names every fucking D&D character "Tam,"
I like the look of this project. Wonder if the dragon girl would look like your character pic
-snip-
I tend to do names that have thematic alignment with the character. Usually first and last linking together. Case in point: Aislinn O'Meara (as if I haven't blabbed about her enough already, but she's my sole example ). Her first name means (in the context I'm using) "dream, vision" and her last name is actually of dubious meaning, tracing back either to "O Meadrha" into the Gaelic word "meadhar" which means "merry, happy," OR it can trace back in English origin to "O(f) Mara" or "descendant of Mara." Mara means "bitter."
So you can view the name in a poetic/romantic fashion as meaning "dream/vision of happiness" or "dream/vision of bitterness." Both are equally valid given the murky history of Gaelic and English integration.
Do I put too much thought into character names?
There's no such thing as "too much thought."
Except there totally is, overthinking is bad.
To be fair, I only do thematic names for characters I'm really invested in. When I'm just throwing bodies into something to fill out ancillary roles, I tend to go with setting-appropriate random names. Sometimes I letter-swap/drop for fantasy names if I feel it works, but I usually prefer simple non-English (origin or spelling) names for inhuman characters. Because I'm culturally insensitive or whatever people like to accuse English-speaking authors of being... ¬¬
I'm also inconsistent in my use of etymology. Sometimes I'll use names that call to mind certain imagery based only on the way they sound (with their actual meaning being a non-factor), while other times I'll go digging for obscure symbolism. Really just whatever I feel like doing at the time.