What's In a Name?

...A lot, when you read a book.

In real life, the name your parents give you means about as much as your zodiac sign (unless you cite the Freakonomics study of race and names, but I won't go there). Let's take mine, for instance. When I think of an archetypal Brooke, I imagine an all-American blonde, upper-middle class child of the 80s who plays soccer and loves her sorority sisters. Which is about as me as a hairy-nosed wombat.

Of course, names are subjective. We usually associate them with people we've known for a long time, or with people who have made an impact on our lives. Brooke could evoke a totally different type of person for you. We've all known dozens of Michaels who each have very distinct personalities from the others. My point: a birth name doesn't make a person.

In fiction, however, characters are exaggerated. Everything about them is meticulously architected by the author, including their names. The meaningful choice of name is an obvious manipulation tactic, but it is one the reader expects.

In my opinion, the best and most obvious example of an author using names to enhance storytelling is J.K. Rowling (duh!). I love that her choices are unusual and diverse, but what's most interesting is how she plays with sounds. Most noticeably, her use of alliteration, especially with double letters, creates fantastic characters and adds to the stories' subtle splashes of humor. Quirinus Quirrel is a brilliant example. My personal favorite sound plays include the letters f and g, such as Helga Hufflepuff or Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank. Can you really keep yourself from smiling at those creative gems? Using hilarious names such as these along with other humorous details, Rowling adds light to an otherwise very serious plot.



Peter Pettigrew was picked on by his peers.
What a pernicious person he was!


As I mentioned in my previous post, I usually build my stories around characters. Whether this is recommended, I'm not sure (given how much trouble I have with plot resolution, perhaps it is not the best method), but that's just my natural tendency. Characters and their personalities, and thus their names, are crucial. If this element in a novel is weak, how can you get into the story?

Anyway, my question is this: if names make a persona, should you look for a name first, and then follow with crafting the character? Or will this result in two-dimensional stereotypes instead of original characters? I wonder if there is a "best" formula for assigning names and personalities. I suppose it is really up to the individual to add the magic dust that gives life to memorable characters.

There is so much material here that full dissertations could be written (and probably have been) on character names in fiction. In fact, maybe I should do a little more research on the topic. Today I spent way too much time thinking about names and trying them on like hats. I should probably focus on putting the pieces of my story together to make a cohesive whole, instead of letting loose ideas float around in my various notes.

Or I could sit around and dream up pen names.