“Names are powerful things. They act as an identity marker and a kind of map, locating you in time and geography. More than that, they can be a compass.” ― Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also a Star
I was searching for something to post about last weekend and looked back at some of my first posts in 2008 here on One Writer’s Journal. And yes, I’ve been coming up with this and that posts here for fourteen years. That is a lot of words spilled out across a computer screen. In fact this post will be my 1,678th post. I’m a little amazed when I see that number. Of course, that does include all the posts here on One Writer’s Journal and Jocie’s posts on her Heart of Hollyhill blog. Jocie used to be more diligent about writing those but then she got older and well… Maybe she found a boyfriend. She still comes to life and posts now and again. But I focus more attention on this blog and love it when readers comment. I do giveaways here, usually books, and sometimes we play games. I have a birthday coming up before long. I’ll have to think of something special to do here to celebrate.
But back to names. That’s what I’m supposed to be writing about and not meandering off down some rabbit trails. When I was poking around in those old posts, I found one that I wrote when my twin grandsons were on the way and expecting to make an appearance any day. In one of the posts, I mentioned that if my son and daughter-in-law had picked out names, they hadn’t shared them yet. That was before expectant parents started named their babies way before they were born the way they do now. Anyway, I had asked my five year old granddaughter if she knew what her little brothers were going to be named. She said she was pretty sure it might be Cyborg and Robin. I think they were Teen Titan cartoon characters she loved to watch. Needless to say, I do not have twin grandsons named Cyborg and Robin. Their parents went with the more traditional names of John and Matt. It looks like, from the picture here, that my granddaughter was okay with the different names.
That story brought to mind a baby name story that my niece tells about her two sons. The older boy was in first grade when his little brother was born. So after all the excitement, he went to school and told his teacher about his new baby brother. She asked the baby’s name as we all do when we hear about a new baby, and he said Nicholas. When he got home, he heard his mother calling the baby Nathaniel. Oops. He’d gotten the name wrong. So, he asked his mother if they couldn’t just change the baby’s name to Nicholas. To him, that seemed the best way to straighten things out.
Naming a baby is a sweet experience for parents. Years ago, before the doctors could tell you whether you were having a boy or a girl months before the baby was born, parents would bandy about names for months. I know my husband and I did. Well, except for my daughter and we had a girl’s name picked out before we even got married.
One of the fun things about writing a novel is getting to name your characters. In my 1600+ posts, I’ve posted about that several times. I’m at the beginning spot of a new story now and names are beginning to jump out at me while I’m doing research. I saw Nicey as a name on something last week. I just might have to have a mountain woman named Nicey in my book. I’ve picked Almira and Mira for short for my main character. At least that’s so right now. Sometimes once I start writing and my characters come to life in my head, they tell me a better name for themselves. That happened with Francine (Fran) in These Healing Hills. She started out as Madeline (Maddie), but that just didn’t fit after a while. Actually, I think she may have had a different name before Maddie, but if so, I’ve forgotten what it was.
“Names are a way to keep people in your mind” ― Maggie Stiefvater, Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception
Strangely enough, most baby names do fit after a little while. Even those that when you first hear them you’re wondering where the parents ever came up with that name. The first few times you give the name a try, it can feel awkward, but then it usually turns into a perfect name. That’s how I want my characters’ names to be. Perfect for them. Perfect in the eyes of readers. A name that fits and couldn’t be anything else. Like Tansy Calhoun and Perdita Sweet in Along a Storied Trail. Like Calla and Sienna in When the Meadow Blooms. So now I’m hoping that I will find the perfect names for my new characters. Picking the right names is a way of getting to know my characters. And sometimes an author can use a name to make you smile like the two authors below. Hope you enjoy the quotes.
“Letitia! What a name. Halfway between a salad and a sneeze.” ― Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight
“Jason scratched his head. “You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?” ― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero
Do you like traditional names or unusual names for the characters in the stories you read?
Comments 8
I like the more unusual names in a story, I think it makes you associate the name with only this one story.
Author
That’s a great point, Connie. Maybe I pick unusual names sometimes because it makes my characters stand out and give them a certain uniqueness.
I love the names you come up in your stories that are unusual; however, if I were naming a baby of my own, I would go with traditional. I never got the opportunity to name a child, so I can’t say for sure.
My own name was changed when I was between 1-2 years old. I was always told it was because my parents knew someone who lost a child that had my original name. Then a year or so ago I spoke to my aunt who told me my grandmother named me and was very upset when they changed my name. So who knows. She also told me that my grandmother’s name had been changed at an early age too. So I guess name changing runs in our family.
Author
That’s interesting, Amy, about you and your grandmother both having a name change at an early age. My grandmother changed her name – legally – after she got older. I guess she’d never liked her name, Rosalie, and changed it to Rose Lee. Maybe she just wanted to have a middle name. My mom named my sister Rosalie. I always wondered what my grandmother thought about that, but never asked.
I like thinking about names and naming my characters helps me get to know the kind of person they are going to be in my story. The main female character in my first published book many years ago was named Sarah. Very traditional. Sometimes though I’ve reached for different sounding names. In my book that will be out next year, I named my female lead Jacci. Definitely not very traditional. Maybe I’ve just named so many characters, I’m having to reach for something different now.
I am probably a more traditional name kind of person but I have to admit that I have loved the different names you have given your characters such as Adria, Tilda, Willena, and Twila in River to Redemption. I l have loved watching characters come to life in your books over the last few months!
Author
I’m glad you liked the names of my characters in River to Redemption. The names might be a little different, but as I told Jolynn, not too different. I liked the name Adria. Not sure where that came from.
It makes me happy that you are following my characters down some story trails. Thank you, Pamela.
I like the traditional names, because then you know how to pronounce it! I’ve read books with uncommon names that I’m not really sure how to pronounce. So, in my head I’m reading it one way, then I realized it could be that other pronunciation. So then I change it when I read it, just in case it’s pronounced the other way. Very confusing.
Author
I don’t worry about how the names are supposed to be pronounced when I’m reading, Jolynn. I just pick whatever sounds good to me. The author ever tells me it’s different, then I might change. Might. Sometimes I’m not all that sure how to pronounce the names I pick for my characters. Well, that’s not exactly true. I do know how I think they should be said, but then when a reader says them a different way, then I second guess myself. LOL. Now, that does sound confusing. Our preacher once said that his Sunday school teacher let them substitute Bill and Jim or some like name for some of those really hard names to even begin to know how to pronounce in the Bible. I’ve never done that when reading a book, but I have sometimes struggled to remember who was who if the names were too different. I try to pick different names but not that different.