Naming Names

[Peg Herring]

It appears that there are names that work in fiction and names that don't. I once had a manuscript rejected because the reader didn't like the first name I'd chosen for my protagonist. I guess it wasn't normal enough. Readers need a name they can identify with...and pronounce. We're all aware that in romance the men tend to have names like "Stone" and "Hardin," almost laughably symbolic. I've mentioned here the contention by certain writers at a conference that success in thrillers comes from giving your protag "J.R." initials, e.g., Jack Reacher, John Rain, John Rambo, and Jack Ryan.

Historical names are both easier and more difficult. In the Tudor era, my current time of choice, every fourth woman was named Mary, and one in five men was William (not scientific, just making a point.) Biblical names were prominent, so you have lots of Sarahs, Isaacs, Elizabeths, and Johns. As the reformation advanced, the tendency went to names that describe the qualities parents wanted in their children: Patience, Charity, Hope, and Increase (which I've never understood).

A writer must find names that are somehow familiar. I had one complaint that "Gruoch," Macbeth's wife's real name, ruined the book for a reader because she hates encountering names she can't pronounce. In that case I had little choice, although I suppose I might have indicated somehow what Gruoch sounds like (mostly clearing your throat). The name must also fit the character's purpose in the story, so you won't call your protagonist Estella if she's a down-to-earth P.I. -- unless you play that as part of the joke life has played on her and give her a suitable nickname. For example, Victoria isn't a name that comes to mind when you think of a detective, but Paretsky used it well, making V.I. hate it and go by her initials.

Foreign names are tough, because they're often really unfamiliar to readers. Those who write novels based in ancient Greece, for example, have my admiration, just for dealing with the names. I've never forgotten the student who read Frank Yerby's GOAT SONG and reported that there was a really nice character in the story called So-kraits. Yeah, and he was pretty smart, as well. Too bad they killed him.

[Jon Loomis]

I have a lot of fun with names, but I can get away with it because my series is semi-comic. I also occasionally insert my friends' names into my work: in my first novel, the Fire Marshal's name is Pete Wells--my friend Pete Wells is the food editor of the New York Times. In the new book there's a Boston PI named D. Towler--the real Dan Towler works at the Heritage Museum in Provincetown. And so on.

[Dana King]

Elmore Leonard once spoke of a character he was going to cut from a book because he never had anything interesting to say. Instead of cutting him, Leonard changed his name, and he instantly became more interesting. Even took on a larger part in the book, because now the name spurred Leonard's imagination.

Thank God for universal find and replace.

[Peg Herring]

I love Daria, and it does sound dangerous, though the only one I know is nine years old!

[Clair Dickson]

Since I once read a lot of Star Wars novels, I got used to names that aren't pronouncable. I'd just come up with a version that worked for me and move along.

Other than that, I don't really put much weight onto names. I sometimes consider how a name might affect a person, but that affect may or may not be what is typical.

We all bring our own associations when it comes to names, but that's not always fair to the writer who has a different association. For me, Victoria always conjured a tough-as-nails, ball-breaking type of woman... because my association with a Victoria.

But then again, I'm the nut who went and built a series of stories with a female named Bo.

A name is less important than how a person carries that name. Some kids with unusual names bristle at being different, while others just love it. Some "fit" their names, and others make their names "fit" them. So, for me, I feel that it's the writer's duty to use the name as needed... make the unusual name important, or pick a common one. And write on.

[Peg Herring]

It's great to hear you say that. As an English teacher, I was always a little ashamed that I didn't like CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, but a lot of it was the frustration of keeping track of the names.

[Dana King]

I've agree, from both sides. I once wrote a story where my writers group hounded me to change the names of the two primary female characters. The woman who was the tragic love interest of the hero (she committed suicide in the end) was originally names Harriett; no one liked that, so they didn;t like her much, and didn;t want the hero to wind up with her. (This was before they knew she'd do the Dutch thing at the end.) I changed her name to Sheila and everyone was happy.

That woman's daughter was originally names Siobhan. No one liked her because they didn't know how to pronounce the name. I changed it to Caitlin and everyone was happy.

On the other side, I tend to stay away from Russian novels because I can pronounce the names in my head, and all the "Ivan Ivanovich" gets tedious to me after a while. It's petty, and I know I'm missing a lot of good reading because of it, but there it is.