: I want to name a character something but j feel like people would say I'm copying Veronica Roth, my favorite author. What should I do? I have a problem. I want to name a character (the main

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I think of Tobias from Arrested Development. I think enough people have a variety of Tobias examples that it may not immediately link to the other guy.

If that is a worry, think about what part of the name you like -- is it the rhythm, links to what the name historically means, the strong 2nd syllable, starting with the "T" or the "Oh" early on? That it's a biblical name? Playing with Naming Dictionaries may help you come up with some alternatives that match some of those characteristics.

(history of Tobias from Oxford Reference)
www.name-generator.org.uk/?i=4la7sww (100 TO+ starts) (100 +AS ends)

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Ditto What: I have never read anything by Veronica Roth, but if you're writing a story that is similar to her books, AND the characters have the same names, then yes, that looks like you're copying. If the story is nothing at all the same, if her books are "young adult dystopia" (as What indicates) and yours are historical romances for senior citizens, the fact that a character has the same first name would probably not even be noticed. I'm sure there are lots of books with characters named "John" or "Sally". :-) At least, as long as the name isn't made up or extremely rare. If you wrote a book with a character named "Darth Vader" or "Dumbledore", people would notice. But "Tobias" is a real name that real people have.

That said, you talk as if the only possible names for your character are Tobias, Miles, and Christopher. There are thousands, maybe millions, of names out there. Get a baby name book, or look up a list of common names on the web. If you think there's even a small chance that this name will cause you trouble, there are plenty of other possibilities.

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