Character names in crime fiction, mysteries and thrillers

Learn about why character names matter, how to approach the ‘hard-to-pronounce’ issue, and practical strategies for making your characters memorable, readable and believable.

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In this article

• Why character names are more than just labels
• Why names matter
• Embracing diversity in character naming
• ‘Hard-to-pronounce’ names
• Helping readers with pronunciation
• Helping readers with naming conventions
• Names as character signposts
• Balancing uniqueness with readability
• The role of nicknames and titles
• Testing names in context
• Other common pitfalls to watch out for

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Why character names are more than just labels

The name you choose for a character is a vital part of storytelling. A well-chosen name can signal personality, social background, culture or even foreshadow events in your story.

On the other hand, confusing, repetitive or inconsistent names can pull readers out of the narrative, making them struggle to remember your characters or follow the plot.
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In this article, we’ll explore why character names matter, how to approach the ‘hard-to-pronounce’ issue, and look at some practical strategies for making your characters memorable, readable and believable.

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Why names matter

A character’s name is often the first thing a reader learns about them. It can:

• suggest age, gender identity or cultural background
• indicate personality traits or social class
• reinforce thematic elements or foreshadow events.

For example, in one of Jeff Carson’s series, the protagonist is called ‘David Wolf’. This evokes a certain intelligence, strength and cunning that blends familiarity with a primal, instinctive edge.

In Chris Brookmyre’s Places of Darkness – a novel set in the future and on a vast space station orbiting earth – the cynical security officer entangled in organized crime is called Nikki Freeman. The first name feels casual and friendly, while the last name suggests autonomy, resilience and someone unbound by convention or authority.

Consider also these two examples from Philip K Dick novels:

• Ragle Gumm – from The Zap Gun. This is a quirky, almost comic name that reflects the character’s unusual circumstances.
• Pris Stratton – from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. This is a memorable and evocative name that blends beauty and artificiality.

Dick’s names often balance familiarity with eccentricity, helping readers navigate surreal, speculative worlds while subtly suggesting character traits or thematic resonance.
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Beyond meaning, names help readers track characters across scenes. In novels with large casts and complex plots, distinct names prevent confusion. 

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Embracing diversity in character naming

Today’s literary landscape is global, and character names reflect that. A name might be culturally or regionally specific, and can reflect both real-world multiculturalism and the inventive worlds of speculative crime and mystery fiction.

Speculative fiction, fantasy, science fiction and other world-building genres have long embraced invented names to convey a sense of otherworldliness or cultural specificity. In crime fiction, mystery and thrillers, readers are also increasingly encountering names from cultures and regions that they may not be familiar with.

Regional branches of the noir tradition in particular – French, Tartan, Nordic, Afro, Asian – are rich and popular, and explore human weakness, moral uncertainty and the darker side of society. With that, we get characters who have authentic names, the pronunciation of which may not at first sight be obvious  to some readers:

Examples include:
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• Mma Precious Ramotswe, the wise and compassionate sleuth (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith)

• Keita Mori, the brilliant and enigmatic Japanese watchmaker with an unusual memory and remarkable abilities (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley)
• Kacper Ryx, the protagonist investigator who tackles theft and other mysteries in sixteenth‑century Kraków (Zły by Leopold Tyrmand)
• Inspector Sartaj Singh, the weary Sikh police officer, and Ganesh Gaitonde, the notorious crime lord (Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra)

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‘Hard-to-pronounce’ names

When thinking the challenges of pronunciation, we need to start with a question: Hard to pronounce for whom?

When we say that a name’s hard to pronounce, we have to recognize that all we’re doing is reflecting our own personal perceptions and language abilities. There is no such thing as a universally ‘hard-to-pronounce’ name.

What I – as a white, British person who’s something of a monoglot and not nearly as well travelled as I’d like to be – might find hard to pronounce is not what someone else might struggle with.

Consider the examples I gave above – Mma Precious Ramotswe, Keita Mori, Kacper Ryx, Sartaj Singh and Ganesh Gaitonde. Those with a more intimate knowledge of life in Botswana, Japan, Poland and India would not need help pronouncing those character names in the way I would.
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The answer isn’t to choose alternative names and rip the authenticity from the novel in service of Western European or North American readers' comfort zones. Instead, authors wanting to help out their audience and maximise engagement can take various steps …

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Helping readers with pronunciation

It’s great to see diversity in the genre because this reflects the diversity in the readership base. Authors, however, do have to recognize that naming characters in ways that are universally accessible (at least on first read) is an impossible task.

That diversity will necessarily introduce challenges for some, and names that feel unfamiliar could trip them up and cause disengagement, no matter how brilliant the plot.

The solution is to offer gentle cues that feel natural to the story, rather than forcing explanations on readers. That way, authors can maintain the narrative flow while helping readers engage.

Some strategies could include:
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Phonetic hints in dialogue
Show characters correcting pronunciation naturally. For example:

‘It’s pronounced “Ah-LEE-ah”, not “Alia”,’ she said.

That’s the approach Pulley takes in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street to help readers pronounce Keita Mori’s name.
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Contextual clues
You could use other characters’ reactions or narrative descriptions to reinforce pronunciation subtly. For example, a viewpoint character’s narrative might go as follows:

Again, he stumbled over the guy’s first name as he called it out. Corrected himself – tee-BOH – and glanced over at the new recruit. Thibault didn’t seem to mind, just nodded and smiled.

Glossaries or appendices
It’s not uncommon in fantasy and science fiction to include glossaries that list pronunciation alongside character names, locations and worldbuilding terms. This can be an option for crime and thriller writers too.

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Helping readers with naming conventions

Some readers may be unfamiliar with naming conventions in other parts of the world. These can signal:

• power dynamics (boss versus subordinate)
• respect, familiarity or insult
• cultural hierarchy within police forces, gangs and families.

​Example
In Jar City, Arnaldur Indriðason's detective and criminal characters refer to each other by first name, which reflects the patronymic naming convention in Iceland and how first names don't always indicate social intimacy.​

Explaining to readers
Crime and thriller writers can follow Indriðason's approach by including an explanatory note for readers in the front matter of the book.  

This helps the audience understand social nuance, hierarchy and cultural authenticity, which are especially important in novels where status matters.

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Names as character signposts

Names can also act as subtle character signposts. They can hint at personality, social standing or plot function.

• Personality: Short, punchy names can suggest energy or sharpness, for example ‘Max,’ ‘Tess,’ ‘Jack.’ Longer, more formal names might convey authority, tradition, or aristocracy, for example ‘Bartholomew’ or ‘Alexandria.’

• Role in story: Villainous characters sometimes have harder, harsher-sounding names that can echo danger, like ‘Malvolo’ or ‘Draven.’ Protagonists might have smoother, friendlier-sounding names. Think about your subgenre and audience and be careful not to overdo it! Transgressors don’t usually walk around announcing their bad intentions – they look like regular people and are named like regular people.

• Cultural or historical grounding: Carefully chosen names enrich characterization without requiring exposition. A character’s name can reflect their heritage, era or social milieu, which can add realism and depth. For example, the last name 'Singh' could be used to denote a person’s spiritual identity and commitment, and the community to which they belong. 

• Reader tracking: In crime fiction, a memorable name helps readers track multiple suspects and allies. If there’s a crossover into speculative fiction, names can help establish cultural identity for different kingdoms or species.

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Balancing uniqueness with readability

The trick is finding the sweet spot between authenticity, uniqueness and readability. Here are two practical tips:

Distinctiveness
Distinctiveness is particularly important in crime fiction, mysteries and thrillers so that readers don’t end up confusing suspects, detectives and witnesses.

• Avoid having characters with the same name: Your reader won’t thank you if there are four people with the name ‘John’.
• Consider whether your characters’ names sound too similar. For example, a ‘Sara’ and ‘Sarah’ in the same novel could confuse readers. So might two characters with the last names ‘Swainston’ and ‘Swanton’.

Pronounceable structure
Names should be speakable, even if that means helping your reader learn how to speak them (as discussed above). 

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The role of nicknames and titles

A carefully applied nickname or title can prevent confusion while reinforcing personality or status, especially in ensemble casts.

Nicknames
These can make characters more approachable or signal relationships. One of my authors, whose characters were Polish, took this approach and it was very effective. A police officer with the last name ‘Cherniawski’ was often referred to in narrative and dialogue as Cheri, when it was appropriate to do so.

As well as signalling intimacy between characters, it also helped Western European and North American audiences shift their attention away from pronunciation and towards character action.

Titles or ranks
These are especially useful in crime, military or political fiction, for example ‘Detective Rivera’ or ‘Captain Leong’.

Aliases
These can add mystery or misdirection, particularly in thrillers and espionage.

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Testing names in context

Before finalizing names, test them to make sure they work.

Read them aloud
Reading aloud is a valuable exercise in crime fiction and thrillers, where names will appear frequently in dialogue, police reports and investigative notes. A character’s name should flow within the prose rather than interrupting it.

Ask beta readers
Can they pronounce the characters’ names easily? If they’re struggling, but you’re committed to retaining the name for the purpose of authenticity, check whether there are cues you can introduce to help readers learn quickly.

Check context
Do the names you’ve chosen fit within the cultural or regional context of the novel?

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Two common pitfalls to watch out for

When naming characters, watch out for:

1. Unintentional associations
You may have created characters whose heritage is different from your own. Do some research to ensure that your characters’ names don’t inadvertently evoke real people, brands or stereotypes, particularly if those conflict with the character’s persona.

For example, unless you’re writing satirical crime fiction, it won’t make sense to call a lazy, overweight investigator ‘Venus Williams’. The reader will all too frequently end up thinking of an athletic superstar, and your characterization will be undermined. Google Search is your friend here.

2. Inconsistency (especially across series)
Check that characters’ names are spelled consistently and that their titles are consistent. Ms Abi Starling shouldn’t become Miss Abby Sterling.

Maintaining a character list or spreadsheet with name spellings, nicknames and relationships can help you keep track of consistency, especially if you’re writing a book series.

A handy little tool you can use for this purpose, if you’re working in Word, is a macro called ProperNounAlyse.

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Summing up

A character’s name is one of the first things a reader encounters, and it often lingers long after the story ends. Thoughtfully chosen names improve clarity, reinforce characterization and deepen immersion.

Even hard-to-pronounce or culturally specific names can work beautifully when authors provide cues, context and consistency.

In short, the best names are:
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• Memorable: Readers recall them easily.
• Consistent: Spelling and usage never shift.
• Authentic: They fit the character’s culture, background and story world.
• Readable: They flow in prose and dialogue without tripping readers up.

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About Louise Harnby

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

• Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
• Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
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