Right now I'm getting ready for Nano and one of the things I have to do, now that I know who I'm writing about, is to find names for my new characters. It's important because it's part of their character (check out 8/13's post talking about the Name Game for more info).

Where do I go for a name? The writer's best friend is the baby name finder. No it's not just for parents to be anymore. I love the baby name finder. I've gone to the library for baby name books, but after getting so many strange looks from the librarians and finding that most baby name books are following current trends instead of simply listing names, their origins, and meanings. The baby name finder websites give you all of that and make the searching process a lot easier.

I have a love affair with Celtic, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish names and looking through a baby name book made finding those specific names almost impossible. Rhoswen's name comes from the Gaelic for white rose (yes that was intentional). It also means rose in Welsh. I found it on a baby name finder.

My advice to you would be to find a baby name finder that you're comfortable with. You find it easy to use, easy to understand, and the meanings of the names are more universal. Meanings can change from finder to finder sometimes, so make sure you try to use one that has meanings that are commonly accepted. Bookmark it, put it in your favorites, whatever. Just make sure you don't lose it.

When it's time to create a new character, the name is sometimes the hardest part. But if you know where to look, at least that's part of the battle that's been won.