tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post4902579447195015489..comments2023-12-09T00:33:24.572-08:00Comments on Novel Matters: What's in a Name?Bonnie Grovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-32899674969910627782009-05-24T07:57:05.805-07:002009-05-24T07:57:05.805-07:00Lori, Cécile is a common French name (although hop...Lori, Cécile is a common French name (although hopelessly old-fashioned now). Your character could just have anglicized her name.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600030574995481267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-74768602508868263162009-05-24T06:43:02.888-07:002009-05-24T06:43:02.888-07:00Because my characters are 18C southerners, I chose...Because my characters are 18C southerners, I chose several names from my family tree, which dates back to the late 1600s in VA and NC. In naming my Scottish immigrants I had to do some digging on Gaelic and Scottish naming sites, as well as questioning an acquaintance who is well versed in Gaelic folklore as to which parts of Scotland and the Isles certain given names were popular in that time period. <br /><br />The hardest to name was a French immigrant int he backwoods of Carolina who insisted on calling herself Cecily. I finally found a way to make that work. She renamed herself after fleeing the Revolution in France. <br /><br />Stubborn characters!Lori Bentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04714197239425827339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-52408956370639972522009-05-22T16:24:03.096-07:002009-05-22T16:24:03.096-07:00I wanted names from a certain era. So I read histo...I wanted names from a certain era. So I read history books and other historical documents, noting names and surnames as I went. I used those lists to make combinations that worked for me. Except for a few names I pulled out of my head for whatever reason.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600030574995481267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-51378570529051267522009-05-21T10:47:27.734-07:002009-05-21T10:47:27.734-07:00In my WIP, my main character is based on King Davi...In my WIP, my main character is based on King David so her name is Davina. Her caregiver is very earth oriented. After much searching I came up with Rosewind. I my opinion fantasy character names are harder than historical or contemporary characters.(I mean you want creativly different names, but not completely off the wall.) I love this topic. Thanks Ladies! :0)Nichole Osbornhttp://twitter.com/021276Nickienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-2461110581085635892009-05-21T07:18:54.265-07:002009-05-21T07:18:54.265-07:00Ha-Sharon! The writing profession may be the ultim...Ha-Sharon! The writing profession may be the ultimate birth control!Debbie Fuller Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09174333267329587740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-19767924827948543712009-05-21T00:22:10.379-07:002009-05-21T00:22:10.379-07:00I keep programs from college (and high school) gra...I keep programs from college (and high school) graduations I go to for great name ideas -- and unique spellings. One of them is from 1993!<br /><br />I must admit, I love the names of Sarah Palin's children. I'm using one of them for my protag in my current WIP. Thought about using two of them, but will save the other for another time.<br /><br />I have the sourcebook you mentioned, Katy. It's a great reference, particularly for various nationalities. I love this topic. Love the process of finding the right names. Writing has saved me from having to have more babies!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-62893062510001674102009-05-20T14:51:01.421-07:002009-05-20T14:51:01.421-07:00There's actually a book about names titled The Wri...There's actually a book about names titled <I>The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook</I>, by Sherrilyn Kenyon (who <I>is</I> a romance novelist, with such titles as <I>Fantasy Lover</I> and <I>Sex Camp Diaries</I> to her credit). <br /><br />I can vouch for her sourcebook. She's included names and surnames for some 57 or so nationalities, a reverse lookup of names by meaning, and a list of popular names in the US for every year from 1880 to 2003. I used it to think through the names for my characters in <I>The Feast of Saint Bertie</I>. <br /><br />Latayne: your name suits you. It's unique, distinctive, and regal. And how many people are identifiable by first name alone? Let's see, there's Cher, Elvis... who else? Oh yeah! Latayne!Kathleen Popahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682046279211463305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-22771887023243553902009-05-20T14:20:52.055-07:002009-05-20T14:20:52.055-07:00There is a character in Talking to the Dead I rena...There is a character in Talking to the Dead I renamed. A preview reader pointed out his last name was too similar to another character's last name. <br /><br />Because this character is a doctor, it was important his last name stand out. I loved the name I had chosen for him, it symbolized so much about his relationships with his patients. But he needed a name change!<br /><br />I simply choose another of his attributes to highlight - his reserve and emotional distancing. Then I picked a name that I felt embodied those attributes. And ta-da! -Dr. Alexander-Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-75789696176567560522009-05-20T13:45:08.093-07:002009-05-20T13:45:08.093-07:00In my WIP, my hero named himself. Never could figu...In my WIP, my hero named himself. Never could figure out where that name came from, but it's perfect. The female lead? Not so much. I used the first thing that came to mind and spend at least an hour a week trying to find something else. <br /><br />I chose her name based on number of syllables and hard sound of first letter (Carolyn). Googled favorite names in the '60's, meaning, etc. and everything fits.<br /><br />Bottom line? Without divine intervention, she's probably stuck :)ConnieBrzhttp://www.conniebrz.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-55024563450930806282009-05-20T08:16:28.886-07:002009-05-20T08:16:28.886-07:00I'm writing a story where names are more important...I'm writing a story where names are more important to the story than I've ever tried before, twins Goodness (Goody) and Mercy. They express qualities of their names but not necessarily how you'd expect. It's been fun.<br /><br />Another practical tool is Googling "Most Popular Names of [birth year of your character}]." I do this to be era appropriate.<br /><br />Remember Marjorie Morningstar? Oh, I would have generously donated my eye teeth to trade Patti Kegebein for such a melodic and hopeful name.<br /><br />Celeste Colvett? Ever considered writing romance novels, Latayne?Patti Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07575415697841348226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-63863608042652451912009-05-20T07:35:37.663-07:002009-05-20T07:35:37.663-07:00Yes, Latayne, I can see where the name Romney may ...Yes, Latayne, I can see where the name Romney may have been a sticky choice, considering last year's election, and I would bet that in the 7 year you worked on the book, you never dreamed it would have a political association.<br /><br />Michelle, I have often thought it would have been so convenient in the Gospels if the people had last names or tags to identify them. It helps that John was tagged as the disciple 'whom Jesus loved' and Mary and Martha's names are most often used in the same sentence or story. It makes you wonder how they kept everyone straight.Debbie Fuller Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09174333267329587740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-50720769383981099022009-05-20T07:17:23.315-07:002009-05-20T07:17:23.315-07:00This is one of my arguments for the veracity of th...This is one of my arguments for the veracity of the Gospels. What writer would include three or four Marys, a couple of Johns, and all those alliterative names unless those were their actual names?<br /><br />I just renamed half the characters in the manuscript I'm working on now because one of my critique group pals that they sounded too old.<br /><br />Of course they did, I've been living with these characters since I was a teenager!<br /><br />Now they're more up-to-date and I'm . . . not. :-(Michelle Ulenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-89814412268168791032009-05-20T05:30:11.869-07:002009-05-20T05:30:11.869-07:00I had to be really, really careful with the names ...I had to be really, really careful with the names I chose for Latter-day Cipher. I wanted to choose distinctively Mormon surnames, but the problem was that most of those which would be familiar to the average reader were familiar simply because they were associated with a famous LDS person. For instance, I named one of my characters with the very-Mormon name of Romney when I began the book in 2001. By 2008 that was a super-charged name for an unsavory character, and my editor asked me to change it. Of course I did.<br /><br />And names: imagine poor me at Bandelier Elementary School in Albuquerque writing, "Celeste Latayne Colvett" on all my papers. :(<br /><br />Latayne C. Scott<br />www.latayne.comLatayne C Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04308600868561805601noreply@blogger.com