The chicks we ordered arrived a few weeks ago and soon it will be time to give them names. Some of the older hens were named based personality traits they displayed. Like Confusion, a white leghorn who runs in various directions until she figures out where she wants to go.
Some have name because of a physical characteristic . Like Convertible, a Rhode Island Red, who didn’t have any feathers on her back because the other chickens bullied her and pulled them out (eventually they grew back in).
And some get their names because they remind us something. Like The Colonel, a white leghorn rooster who made us think of Colonel Sander’s in his white suit.
How did you name the characters in your current wip?
*Bonus*
This is my new poultry pal. It’s a turkey and needs a name. We don’t know if it’s male or female. If you have any suggestions, please share them. Thanks.
Tales from the Crit 
For my urban fantasy, I researched Ethiopian names. My heroine’s personality wasn’t fully formed at the time so I was looking for a name that spoke to me. I ended up naming her Aiyana. It means Flower Blossom.
My hero was nameless for a fourth of the book because I couldn’t find a name that fit him. Eventually, I settled on Tafari, which in Amharic means “he who inspires awe” and is the birth name of Haile Selassie.
Those are very good names. 🙂
I like Aiyana.
My most prominent WIP of the hour actually started with an odd name and the story flowed from there. His name is Quillion. One lover calls him ‘Lion, the other calls him Quill or “Lamb”. Hence, the story is titled “The Lion and the Lamb”. ~grin~ I like to think it has possibility if I ever get the nerve to approach publishers. As for you sweet little turkey? Hmmm… The coloration, however temporary, makes me think of something along the lines of something golden. How about Sunny? I think it could fit either gender.
Darla,
The name Quillion is super cool and sounds like a hero name. His lovers calling him by two different and opposite names makes me think he acts differently with each one. I do hope you’ll send it out to publishers.
Thanks commenting and for the name suggestion. I’m adding it to the list.
Scritch is a good turkey name. They love to follow you around and will mob your car when you come home just so you’ll scritch their necks.
Amber,
Our chickens do the mob thing. They’ll see us coming around the corner and sprint toward us. They get miffed if you don’t have any food to give them. I’m putting Scritch on the name list. Thank you.
Ashley is a character based very loosely on Lindsay Lohan and I wanted something that sounded close to Lindsey. Ashley, however, is a stage name – her real name is Eleanor Smith. Eleanor is Nora Robert’s real first name (or so I have heard) and in the first Breakout Novel excercise that I did for this WIP, it asks for you to name your hero and ascribe similar characteristics to your heroine…I picked Nora.
The interesting part is, I named her Eleanor Smith about six months ago before I even started the Breakout Novel stuff…aren’t our brains funny?
As for the turkey…playing off Darla’s comment about him being yellow, what about Berhanu, which is Ethiopian for ‘your light’? I thought it was a cool name…
Katrina,
Our brains are funny. That’s a neat story. I now I’m wondering if your heroine has stage persona to go with her stage name or if she was an Ashley trapped in an Eleanor’s body. I can’t wait to hear more about your story.
I’m adding Berhanu to the turkey name list and also to my future character list. I’m thinking it would make a cool villain name. Thanks for commenting.
I put no thought whatsoever in naming my characters. It’s just whatever name trips my trigger at the moment. Twice I’ve changed the heroines name after I was completely finished with the MS. The only exception is Moxie in It Takes Moxie, she was Moxie before I even came up with a plot and couldn’t be anything else.
As for the turkey, don’t get too attached just yet. I’ve raised baby turkeys and they’re incredibly stupid. Don’t name it until it’s beyond the age where it might drown in its own water dish (we’ve lost 3 that way). It looks like it’s going to be white when it feathers up, so maybe go with something like Marshmallow, Snowman, etc.
Delia,
Thanks for the name suggestions. I’m putting them on the list. And thanks for info about the water dish.
hm…every pet (and other stuff) I’ve ever had “had” a really nifty name, but ended up being called “hey cat” or “hey rat”, or my favorite pet, “hey crab”. I currently have a “hey mouse” and a family of “Hey crow” s 🙂
I have the feeling if I had a turkey I’d simply call it “hey turkey”. *sigh* not very original.
I refer to our dog as “The Dog” and those stray cats that adopted us as their host family are called “The Cats”.
Thanks for commenting.