I’ve have a new nephew and have several friends who have new babies in their families too. After all the oohing and aahing, the little one’s name is almost always discussed. Were they named after a family member? A popular character in a movie or book? (I actually named my daughter after a character in a romance novel.) Or, perhaps, the parents were determined to find an unusual name with an unusual spelling. I’m guilty; I spell my son’s name Travess.
That got me to thinking about names in general. I know a few people that waited until after their baby was born to name him/her, but generally the name is selected before the baby arrives. As parents, we spend hours poring over name books, websites, discuss possible names, and then discard them for one reason or another. I wanted to name one of my son’s Seth, but my husband knew someone he didn’t like with that name. So, into the circular bin it went—figuratively. I named one of my heroes Viscount Sethwick, though. So, in a round-about-way, I did get to name someone Seth.
How do you name your hero, your heroine, your secondary characters? Do you find a name that represents your perception of your character, or do you define your character based on the name you select for them? Do you name an evil antagonist after someone you don’t like or do you make up silly names? I have the name Cordelia Daisywagon in one of my books. I know someone with that delightful last name and it tickled my fancy.
I play with a name until I find a combination that has a nice ring or flow to it, for characters I like. Names do indicate character traits, at least I think they do. I named an evil female antagonist Lucinda because it was similar to Lucifer and name one Helene because she’s a witch from hell. In one of my books, I named a gossipy matron Lady Clutterbuck and a cook, Mrs. Plumperbuns. My sense of humor might have influenced me selecting those name a bit. Only a bit mind you. I’ve a few other obnoxious names in my treasure trove too. Mr. Stumblington, Mrs. Windbaggum, oh, and Mr. Tippington…a slightly soused cleric.
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| Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
I was encouraging a class of third graders to come up with names for book characters. Two of my favorites were Mrs. Hopplescot and Wigglesworth Mumford Gunderbus. The kiddos decided his wife would call him Wiggly Mum. Ouch!
I know there are some rules for naming characters, but truthfully, I don’t abide by them. I also don’t like it when I read books where current fads names are used or character’s names are spelt really odd. I get enough of that as a teacher, and it drives me bonkers. Here’s an example: Jaedynn, Jaydyn, Jaeyden, Jaydin, Jayden, Jaydyn, Jaeydein, Jadyn, Jadin, Jadeyn. No, I’m not kidding.
I keep a list of names that strike my fancy. They can be ones I heard on T.V., read somewhere, saw on a street sign . . . Or one I found doing research. But, I also look up ethnic names for my Scot’s, French, and Romani characters. No resource is off limits when I’m trying to come up with a name for the beings I’ve birthed from my imagination.
Wait. . . that’s not true. I don’t use hospital posters.
My sister-in-law is a OBGYN Nurse Practitioner. She tells a true story of a woman being wheeled to the delivery room, and as she passed a poster in the corridor, the pregnant woman saw a name she fell in love with. Her baby was born, and the proud new mother named her daughter the name she’d read on the poster.
She pronounced it, Gah- nor- iah spelt, Ghonneria. Yikes!
