The fact of the matter is, while there are a lot of different names out there, certain names tend to pop up more often than others.

You might have written a story and given the perfect name to your character, and suddenly someone with that same name enters your life.

You might be thinking well, if I pick a more uncommon name, I'll never have that issue.

Not necessarily.

I've had this sort of thing happen to me, and I figured I'd share for those who are worried about this sort of thing.

What happens when you've begun a series and given your characters names? You've got it all figured out, and when your partway through posting a book/series, you meet someone with your character's name.

This one's not that big of a deal, really. If that person reads it, then they probably won't mind seeing a previously-written character who shares their name. I've seen characters with my name, and I usually don't think too much of that as I have a common name.

Have I inadvertently done this myself?

Yes, I have. Tim's little sister from the Perkins School series shares her name with a friend I met last semester.

Do I worry about this? No.

The character and series existed long before I knew my friend, so if she ever reads it, I'm sure she won't think anything of it.

Someone else had this issue a few months back, and asked my opinion on it.

I don't see it as a problem, especially if the name is common. If the name is uncommon, I recommend being aware of character traits.

Don't allow your characters to become fictional replicas of anyone you know in real life. Especially if you're afraid that person might read your story.

Another point worth looking at: you're characters have been planned out for a while, but the story's not posted. What if acquaintances think you stole their names?

This one mainly relates to uncommon names.

One of my readers mentioned this to me last week. She's been working on a story for about a year, and developed the characters early on. Since then, she's met a boy with the same name as her MC, and is worried because it's a rare name.

Should she be worried that he'll read the story when it's posted, and think she stole his name?

For a lot of us, we care far more about our story details than our real life acquaintances do. We've got the right to choose our characters' names, and as long as we don't let them resemble anyone from our real life too closely, name sharing shouldn't be a problem.

I am experiencing this now to an extent. One of the characters from my newest story has a relatively uncommon name. Since I've gotten the idea for her name, and character, I've met two different people with that name (one online and one whom I have class with). Both are writers, and I have to wonder about the perception.

If either of them were to find my book, and read as it was being updated, would they think I stole their name?

Doubtful, but it's still something to think about.

Last but not least, should you name a character after yourself?

Can you? Sure! Should you? No.

I've never done this before, but I know a couple people who have. When naming a character after you, you run the risk of imposing your self concept and traits onto that fictional person. When that happens, and you come to realize it, it may be too late to go back.

If, for example, you're partway through a series, readers may have already connected with that character. Even if the name is changed, readers will likely continue remembering them by the old name and, after the change, might be confused.

If you do make the bold choice of naming a character after you, it's important to remain objective. Like any issue with characters, you should make sure that your own circumstances and qualities aren't being directly projected onto your fictional creation.