Names and Copyright

What’s in a name?

A whole lot of confusion, that’s what.

One of the most common questions about writing is, “Can I use this name? Is it okay, even though X Other Author used it? Is that stealing? Could I get sued?”

Yes, Yes, No, and No.

Names cannot be copyrighted (at least in the USA). If you named a character Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling couldn’t sue you. You wouldn’t be infringing on her work, but some might see you as trying to leech off of her success, using an instantly recognizable name to draw attention to your work. And besides that, naming a character Harry Potter (or Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Fred Flintstone, etc.) would probably make sure that no self-respecting agent or editor would touch the thing without the name being changed.

In my opinion, character names fall into four categories.

1. Common, run-of-the-mill names like Julia, Chris, Ashley, or Bob. If anyone tells you that you can’t use the name because someone else did, you may smack them. (If however, they tell you that you can’t use the name because your story is set in 6^th-century Mongolia, hug them.)

2. Less common names like Adrian, Hester, Cyri, or Elias. These names are where it starts to get iffy. Some people might think that the other author made the name up himself, and accuse you of stealing.

3. Names that are derived from sources such as nature, mythology, or history. Examples would be Heracles, Freya, Thorn, or Caligula. These suffer from the same problems as names from the second category, although depending on the name, not as much. Anyone who’s completed the fourth grade will probably know that neither Jeff Smith nor Christopher Paolini invented the name “Thorn” (and if they don’t, I weep for our future). However, something like Timur (a Mongol leader) might raise more eyebrows if you use it right after someone else.

4. Names that are completely made up. You can use them, but you’d come off as unoriginal, so you probably shouldn’t.

When it comes to giving one of your characters a name used by another author with a popular book, you should focus less on the names and more on the characters. Take the name “Murtagh”. You might instantly think of Christopher Paolini and Inheritance. Or you might think of Daniel Murtagh, the photographer, or Johnny Murtagh, the jockey. Whatever. Paolini didn’t make it or anything else in his works up. However, the combination of the name Murtagh and the dark, brooding anti-hero character is unique to Paolini, and if you use it, people might think that you’re being unoriginal. If your Murtagh is a wiry little girl who acts like an angel to everyone she meets, you’re fine.