Names
When we give a name to something, whether it’s a child, a fictional character, or a computer (c’mon, I know you have a special name for your PC/Mac… especially when it doesn’t do what you want it to do!), we do so intentionally. There’s a reason why we pick a particular name. For today’s A-to-Z Challenge post, I want to briefly explore some of these reasons:
What the Name Means
Sometimes we choose names based on their meaning. J. K. Rowling was particularly conscious of meanings when choosing her characters’ names. Either the names tell us about their character, or foreshadow something about their part in the story. For example, Albus Dumbledore: “Albus” is Latin for “white,” in the sense of “good” here, and Dumbledore is an archaic word for a bumblebee (Rowling says he likes to hum, and loves music). Or Remus Lupin: Remus was the legendary co-founder of Rome who, with his twin brother brother Romulus, was raised by a wolf. “Lupin” is from the Latin “lupus,” meaning “wolf.”
For the most part, we gave our children Hebrew names based on their meaning. One exception to this was the name “Rebekah,” which I liked the sound of. The meaning of this name is hard to pin down. Many places say it means a “noose” or a “heifer”–hardly very complementary. I have a difficult time imagining Laban calling his precious daughter “heifer”! It’s possible the name comes from the Hebrew verbal root rbq which means “to tie” or “to bind”–a bit better. I wonder if there’s maybe an underlying Ugaritic or Akkadian name that the Hebrew is transliterating. This is something I’d like to look into if anyone has a Ugaritic lexicon lying around…
How the Name Sounds
Sometimes we’re drawn to a name because of its rhythm or sound. “Severus Snape” has lots of sibilants, like a hissing snake. It also has an easy rhythm that helps it roll of the tongue. (Names that are easy to read are a blessing–do you hear me, fantasy writers?). As I mentioned above, I like the sound of the name Rebekah, which is why we chose it for one of our children.
Family Significance
Some people give their children names that are common to the family. Robert is one such name in my family–it crops up as a first or middle name from generation to generation. Sometimes sons are named after their fathers, so you have John Brown II, John Brown III, etc.
For Comic Effect
There aren’t a lot of real life examples of this (though I’m sure we know people whose names have unintended comic effect… or maybe intended–some parents are strange). But there are plenty of literary examples: Cohen the Barbarian from Terry Pratchett’s Discword series, or Mike Teavee–and all the other misbehaved children–in Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.
How do you go about naming characters/children/inanimate objects? Which of these reasons matters most to you?
I’m not particularly keen on names with meaning that somehow relate to the plot. If I ever do, it’s complete coincidence! I take forever choose names, but I have to feel in my gut that it’s right. Once I get that feeling, the name sticks forever.
I must say, I understand what you mean, Cole. It’s better to pick up on plot from the story, rather than figuring it out from the character’s names. But it can be an easy out if you’re totally stuck on what to call someone! 🙂
I tend to name characters simply because I like the name. However, my main character in my failed NaNoWriMo attempt has a made up name. The main character in another story that I am quite far along in is called Rhiannon, firstly because I have always liked it, and then when I checked on my favourite names website, I discovered its meaning actually fit the character perfectly.
As for children’s names, I have always loved Eowyn (LOTR is my favourite book/film series), but I think my mother would never forgive me if I called a future daughter Eowyn.
Is Eowyn pronounced like “Owen”? In novels, I think you need to be careful with names that have unusual spellings. I like the way JKR dealt with the pronunciation of Hermione’s name in book 4. Remember the scene with Krum and Hermione where she’s trying to teach him how to say her name? I believe that scene came about because JKR had heard fans mispronouncing Hermione’s name so often. 🙂
I think Eowyn is pronounced “Ay-oh-win”. It is in the films at least! On a side note, my baby cousin is called Hermione, and my dad annoyed his sister by pronouncing her name the way Krum did, the Hermy-o-ninny way, for the first few weeks of her life. Even though he taught me the correct way to say it when I was five!
Ay-oh-win. That sounds right now I think about it–I’ve heard the name before (I should have, considering how close to Wales I lived).
I’ve never gone for meanings but most of the names for my character come from what their fictional parents are like. I’ve known many families who have a pattern to naming their children so that’s rubbed off occasionally. I like to go for ‘heritage’ type names. Parents who name their children after ancestors or their nationality. Luca and Caleb in Beast Inside are named after their paternal and maternal grandfathers. Caleb has an alliteration name and without thinking I named his vampiric ancestor Gideon Galvin. I thought about changing it but I quite it now because it links the two together even more on top of their similar fates.
As for future children names I’d go with what I like the sound of but I have the family love of continuing names. So if I ever had a son I’d love to name him after my grandad: James Leo. I love the names and the sound of it.
I think it is much truer to life to name characters based on what their parents would have named them. Indeed, you could take that a step further and say that the name of the character tells you something about the character’s parents. Especially if there are multiple children to go by, and you can establish a pattern. Children whose first names start with the same letter as their parents clearly have parents who have a sense of uniformity and identity. Perhaps they like the fact that their initials are the same, and want to share that with their children. A child who carries his father’s name–either as a first or second name–has parents for whom lineage, or tradition, is important. This might be a family that believes in knowing where you come from, and that regards carrying the family name as an honor. Perhaps the original bearer of the name was a very notable person, whose achievements are a source of family pride.
Just think–you could have an entire character profile just in a character’s name! 🙂
I take a lot of time in considering names, of anything. My first like, three novels have the main characters lacking names (either completely, or until the end of the novel) simply because I felt like it’d be more effective to have the reader name them in their head.
I’ve stopped that approach now, and most times, my characters are named for people I love, or people who help influence the work. There are times I’ll do some research and find out what the names mean, though 🙂
Names ought to be carefully considered. If the name’s going to be complex and hard to read, IMO the writer had better have a darn good reason for doing that since the reader won’t thank him/her for putting up an obstacle both for reading and remembering that character. We should care enough about our characters to give them names that, for whatever reason, we believe are the correct names for them.
Interesting question – I think I pick names for various reasons depending on my mood. Sometimes this will be to do with meanings. I love the fact that so much that J.K. Rowling wrote was linked in this way. I believe Scrivener has a name generator for if you are stuck – I also own baby name books for times when I can’t think of a suitable name.
Baby name books (and websites) can be very helpful. I found a site that listed male and female names that were popular in Victorian times which was most useful for my WIP. 🙂
I use Behind the Name, Name Nerds, and some naming sites in Russian, Belarusian, Hungarian, Polish, etc., to find names. My tastes tend towards the classical eccentric and classical unusual (e.g., Justine, Simone, Wolfgang, Felix, Eulalia, Leopold), and I usually only give more common or popular names to secondary or minor characters. Even for my characters from non-English-speaking cultures, I try to find lesser-used names.
I hate when I see a writer (book, tv, movies) trying to predate a naming trend, like naming an adult woman Madison, a college-aged boy Kayden, or a historical character named Kaitlyn. Total naming research fail!
Justine… that’s a name I haven’t seen used for a long time. I remember a few Justines from my childhood, but it seems to be one of those names that’s not used much anymore.
I definitely agree if you’re going to write historical fiction to any degree, you need to research names. No matter how much you might like the name Britney, it wasn’t a popular girl’s name in Victorian England, and you probably shouldn’t use it. 🙂 It sounds like you do a thorough job of name research, Carrie-Anne.
This is really useful as I have a big problem thinking of names. In my flash fiction I tend to not have names at all as I often get caught up in names. I find it hard to think of a name that isn’t someone I know in real life as I don’t want to end up writing about that person instead. I try to build up a mental image of a character before I think of a name.
I had trouble thinking of names for my children though too, I still didn’t have one when I went into labour with my 2nd daughter but I had her at home and the first thing I saw after she was born were some poppies that had come out overnight in the garden, so she’s Poppy. A lot of people over here call their dogs Poppy though, which is tricky in the park. And my german inlaws don’t understand it at all. She suits it perfectly though 🙂
When my wife was having our 5th child, we were torn between two names. In the end, we waited until after she was born, then asked the doctor which name best suited her! Thankfully, he had a very definite opinion on the subject. 🙂
I’m glad this is helpful to you, Tracy. I think names are a very important part of a character, and naming a character shouldn’t be undertaken lightly. I’ve spent a long time, with lots of scribbling on paper and Googling, coming up with some of my character names.