My character has the wrong name - please help

[Albaalba]

I'm 100,000 words into my mainstream novel, and my hero is called Adrian. I've always been dubious about his name, but now, at the end of my first draft, I think it's wrong for him - too... wet,,, and it's affecting the story. Can you naming experts help please?

Is 'Adrian' a suitable name for a middle class, sporty doctor, aged 35, who is fundamentally nice but a bit misguided? He's masculine, but not excessively so. Is it suitable for a romantic hero, or do you sort of wrinkle your nose when you hear it?

If you don't like Adrian, why? And can you come up with any alternatives? A multi-syllabled name would be good, as the other main character's name is short (makes it easier on readers). Names beginning with A would be helpful (to avoid my head exploding with confusion), but I could live with a non-A name. Name cannot start with 'M'. That's taken.

Please help. Are my instincts right here?

Toby?

Asa has always been a favourite of mine.

His sporty mates would, of course, call him Ace.

Alex is much more cool and manly!

I have a relative called Alex so can't think of that as a romantic hero my problem

I like Aiden, Ted (Edward), Scott, Tom, Ben.

Mostly one syllable, don't know if that's relevant?

Tristan?

I also like Oliver but maybe slightly wrong for the age mentioned.

All literary Adrians live in the shadow of Adrian Mole.

Quite right too. Love a bit of Adrian Mole.

If you want the name to be an obvious separation from the Scottish, how about a different regional name? Maybe Cornish?

Various websites with lists, eg here

Ewan, Spencer, Adam, Owen

Ben (short for Benedict). Or Adam. Luke?

^All literary Adrians live in the shadow of Adrian Mole.

Quite right too. Love a bit of Adrian Mole.^
Me too, AM would be my Mastermind specialist subject. But - his is probably not the personality that the OP wants her readers put in mind of.

'I have realised I have never seen a dead body or a real female nipple. This is what comes of living in a cul-de-sac.'

That quote always makes me laugh.

But yes, wonderful as his is Adrian Mole and therefore Adrian doesn't exactly yell 'heroic protagonist'.

Lots of Bens in Scotland though - but I don't think Benjamin is wet at all; classic name

Tom doesn't sound right for a 1980-ish birth to me.

William, Daniel, Jonathan or Richard would seem fine. But what's the problem with using family names? You'll be ruling out a lot of decent names if you have a big family.

Tom is bang on for that age. I have three friends with husbands called Tom. All around 35.

I know a Sam (Samuel to mum) who fits this description in rl.

Not an A name though.

Aidan or Adam
Not Adrian

Ah well, clearly our area is behind the times in naming trends.

Mind you, we have a primary school full of Simons and Pauls and Jasons, so that figures.

Thanks everyone! Some great names here from the right era, so I will be trying a few of those out.

Yes, I think Adrian suffers from Adrian Mole syndrome. I picked it because it sounded possible (rather than right) and I wanted to get on with writing the story, but it has never felt right to me.

Family names are a no (especially close) because (1) writing a romance or sex scene with, say, my brother-in-law's name for my hero, would be impossible. I just couldn't. It'd give me serious writer's block. (2) My sister might get a bit upset. (3) My bil etc might be a bit upset. Or big headed. Who knows.

And to the poster who said I should try to buck trends and my writing should stand up on its own, I kind of agree, but his name doesn't feel right to me, never has done, Also there are a couple of other aspects which could also threaten to make him a bit 'wet', and which are harder to change as they are plot-important, so he needs all the help he can get.

Character names are really important, not least for symbolism and as a sort of shorthand. I read a book recently with a hero called 'Tim'. The book wasn't bad, but I couldn't get over the name. I'm afraid the catchphrase 'Tim, nice but dim' just kept playing in my head.

You could give him a short name that stands for more than one thing, if you want his mother to be able to embarrass him with the whole aspirational name at intervals:
e.g.
Ben - known only to his mum as Benedict
Chris - full name Crispin ( I know one of these!)
Nick - Dominic rather than Nicholas
Ted - Edmund/Edwin rather than Edward
Rob - Robin rather than Robert

ermmm

Will(berforce)?

No, I've just seen that you wanted multiple syllables to avoid confusion, and as an easily confused reader, I salute you for this.
Hmm, back to the drawing board.

He sounds like an

Adam
Hugo
Sebastian
William

His name is Aaron, but the Scots generally assume it's Arran, and he generally doesn't correct them. Might create another dimension to his internal struggle with being an outsider. He'd rather they assumed he belonged, but then he feels a fraud. Just a thought