They are a really useful tool aren’t they! I kept a list of names aside when I was looking for middle names for both of my children so I’ll eventually get through those too.
I have! Funnily enough only with one name: Simon. And he always ends up being the ex boyfriend or the dowdy or horrible current boyfriend and soon to be ex. I don’t know what it is with that name. Sorry to the Simons of the world.
This is really interesting. I think there is a lot more weight and significance to names than people realise. You can even argue that the opposite it true. When the character is nameless, this can also be a significant choose from the author. I wrote a story about a woman reconnecting with her father who has Alzheimer’s and both characters are nameless to represent her father’s condition.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
1) I've definitely used baby name sites/generators as well when naming characters. Super helpful.
2) Have you ever found yourself writing a new piece, wherein you're naming new characters, only to discover when revising that you've used a name (or two, or three), in other stories? Definitely guilty of that.
3) In college fiction courses, we spent a lot of time dissecting character names and discovering, or attaching, meaning to them. Sometimes, I'd argue, too much time haha. But, in doing so, I now know that there have been entire academic essays written on Christ figures in literature, and, specifically, those whose first and last initials are J.C.
So yes, 100%, the names you choose for your characters matter. Very much so. Thanks for writing and sharing!
They are a really useful tool aren’t they! I kept a list of names aside when I was looking for middle names for both of my children so I’ll eventually get through those too.
I have! Funnily enough only with one name: Simon. And he always ends up being the ex boyfriend or the dowdy or horrible current boyfriend and soon to be ex. I don’t know what it is with that name. Sorry to the Simons of the world.
This is really interesting. I think there is a lot more weight and significance to names than people realise. You can even argue that the opposite it true. When the character is nameless, this can also be a significant choose from the author. I wrote a story about a woman reconnecting with her father who has Alzheimer’s and both characters are nameless to represent her father’s condition.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
Three things came to mind while reading:
1) I've definitely used baby name sites/generators as well when naming characters. Super helpful.
2) Have you ever found yourself writing a new piece, wherein you're naming new characters, only to discover when revising that you've used a name (or two, or three), in other stories? Definitely guilty of that.
3) In college fiction courses, we spent a lot of time dissecting character names and discovering, or attaching, meaning to them. Sometimes, I'd argue, too much time haha. But, in doing so, I now know that there have been entire academic essays written on Christ figures in literature, and, specifically, those whose first and last initials are J.C.
So yes, 100%, the names you choose for your characters matter. Very much so. Thanks for writing and sharing!