Let’s talk about character names.

I’ve boiled it down to four main guidelines:

1. Don’t name your “just passing through” characters.

Don’t give the cashier in a grocery store, the bank teller, the minion in an army of ten thousand a name unless she plays an important role in the story. If you need to add a character to propel your plot forward, consider assigning that character an adjective. For instance, if a thief with a buzz cut appears for one scene and robs your protagonist, call him Buzz Cut. If an auto mechanic with a sleeve of bird tattoos fixes your protagonist’s car, call her Bird Tattoos. Here’s how it could play out:

Gina was greeted by her usual mechanic, a woman with an unusually pointy chin and a full sleeve of bird tattoos that flew and clawed their way up her arm.

“Hey, Gina. I’m surprised to see you back so soon.” Bird Tattoos approached the vehicle and gave it a loving pat.

ALTERNATIVELY: You don’t have to give these characters a name at all. The cashier can simply be “the cashier.” The pony that appears for one scene can simply be “the pony.”

2. Don’t use similar names.

Even if they are clear in your mind, your characters named John and Joe will get mixed up in the mind of your reader. Most of us skim over sentences and only take in major details. Having characters with similar-looking names will likely give your reader pause, which is never a good thing. Any time a reader stumbles, he is pulled out of the story. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a fraction of a second—we’re going for full immersion, people!

3. Get creative.

Say what you will about JK Rowling’s writing, but her characters are fantastic. They are memorable, unique, and they have original names that stick with you long after you’ve finished reading: Horace Slughorn, Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin, Cedric Diggory, Belatrix LeStrange.

Brilliant. Even though she gives us tons of minor characters, they are compelling and have distinct names.

4. Fit the name to the character.

Rowling not only gives us creative, original character names, she also tends to fit the name to the character. Professor Sprout is the herbology teacher. Dolores Umbridge reminds us of the word umbrage, which means “offense or annoyance.” Luna Lovegood is nicknamed “Loony,” which fits her airy, lives-on-a-different-plane attitude.

Fitting your name to your character helps leave an instant impression on your reader. Christian Gray in Fifty Shades of Gray, is a mysterious individual (gray, shadowy) with gray morals. I don’t claim to be a fan of the book or of E.L. James’ writing style (I struggled to make it halfway through book one), but the lady left an impression. She created a character that sticks and part of that sticking power is through his name.

Keep in mind, you can try a different tact and assign a character a name that doesn’t fit at all. A vampire could be named Solarte. A meaty-armed man could be nicknamed Tiny. A bumbling, unlucky idiot could be called Mr. Powers.

Either way, you’re leaving an impression.

Naming (or choosing to not name) your characters is important. They breathe life into your story—shouldn’t you honor the important ones with a fitting name?

BONUS: What are some of your favorite character names? Here are some distinct ones that come to mind:

• Professor X (and most X Men characters)
• Doc Ock (and most Spiderman characters)
• Heathcliff
• Atticus Finch
• Humbert Humbert
• Hamlet
• Dr. Jekyll
• Pippi Longstocking
• Dr. Frankenstein
• Sherlock Holmes
• Katniss Everdeen
• Theon Greyjoy
• Bilbo Baggins
• Ebenezer Scrooge

Kate Bitters is a freelance writer, founder of Click Clack Writing, and author of Elmer Left and Ten Thousand Lines. She regularly writes stories on the Bitter Blog. Subscribe to follow her journey.