POP - The Most Powerful Weapon - the Power of Prayer

Reading the Bible-1st Kings 16

Join us as we Read the Bible

READING THE BIBLE - 1st Kings Chapter 14

Wondering What God Thinks? Read the Bible with Us

READING THE BIBLE-1st Kings Chapter 12

Demon Worship, Lust and Evil as we Read the Bible

Queen of Sheba - 1st Kings 10 - Reading the Bible

READING THE BIBLE-The Lord Appears - 1st Kings 9

Happy Easter - READING THE BIBLE - MATTHEW 28

Happy Easter- Talking about Jesus and Easter

Join us as we read through the Bible

Join Us As We Read The Bible

Spend 5 Minutes in the Bible Today

History Doesn't Repeat But it Rhymes with Elon

Spend 10-Minutes in the Bible Today

READING THE BIBLE-1st Kings Cptr. 2

King David's Successor: Solomon

The Legacy of Lust & Punishment of King David

Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones. . . Reading the Bible

The Christmas story - Luke Chapter 2 - in the Bible

PROPHESY OF JESUS BIRTH - 2nd Samuel

The Ark of the Covenant - Reading the Bible This Year

The Resurrection of Jesus is the Good News of the Bible

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ - Mark Chapter 15

What does God Say about righteous Anger? Read Mark 11

Divorce - What Does God Say About it? Mark 10

The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ - Mark 9

Demons, Dogs & Deafness - Bible Discussion Today

Jesus Walks on Water - READING THE BIBLE - Mark 6

Demon-Possessed Man Gets Healed - Mark 5 - READING THE BIBLE

The Witch of Endor - READING THE BIBLE THIS YEAR

A Story About a Giant Battling a Boy - David & Goliath

Jesus and Beelzebub - READING THE BIBLE THIS YEAR

Mark Chapter 2 - Jesus Heals

Christ's Resurrection - READING THE BIBLE THIS YEAR

The Death of Jesus and Judas Hangs Himself

THE LAST SUPPER - Matthew 26 - Reading the Bible

DIVORCE-What does the Bible Say

The Supernatural Ark of the Covenant-READING THE BIBLE

The Ark of the Covenant-READING THE BIBLE

Jesus Walks on Water-Matthew 14

Curious about Demons? Join us as we Read the Bible

Forgiveness in the Bible

READING THE BIBLE - REV. 20 - SATAN'S DOOM

Hallelujah! - READING REVELATION 19

Curious What the Bible Says about Prophesy?

Reading the Bible - Revelation 17 - The Woman on the Beast

7 Angels & 7 Plagues - The Tribulation in the Bible

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim - Reading the Bible

666 - The Number of the Beast - READING THE BIBLE

Joshua's Farewell-Reading the Bible this Year

The Woman and The Dragon - READING THE BIBLE IN 1 YEAR

The Two Witnesses for God - Revelation 11

The Angel & The Little Scroll - Revelation 10

Misunderstandings Can Start Wars - Joshua Chapter 22

Cities of Refuge: Joshua Chapter 20

END of DAYS: DEMONS & DESTRUCTION

The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Revelation 5

Revelation Chapter 2 - Angels, Stars, & the Future

Monday, February 7, 2011

Name Calling

What's in a name?

I know my Mom and Dad argued about what they were going to name us. You’d think since they had nine kids, they could simply take turns. Nope. One of my brothers actually came home from the hospital with “Boy” listed on his birth certificate because Mom and Dad couldn’t agree.

Dad wanted to name him Shenandoah. Mom didn’t. She wasn’t going to give in. And so “Boy” is the name shown on his birth certificate.

My sister and I have rhyming names. I kind of think Mom was running out of ideas and at the bottom of her list, when we came along. People sometimes think we’re twins because our names are so similar. I think it’s funny because I’m older ;) She doesn’t.

But as writers we all have to ask ourselves what is in a name? How should the name reflect on our characters? Should they sound strong and forceful or meek and mild and can names do that for a character? It’s like predisposing our characters to certain traits simply because of their name.

Harry Potter, for instance, was a rather mundane name for a wizard but there must have been hidden meaning in his name…right? I looked it up to see what it means. Can you guess?

It means "Army Ruler". Or according to the UK, it comes from the name Henry, which was a name for Kings. So, maybe it's not so unusual for a special wizard.

This is just to remind all your writers and/or parents out there: names have a huge impact on people and we should consider them strongly when we are writing and/or planning how we want to portray or pre-dispose the "people" in our stories.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Names are such an important thing. They're the first thing readers are introduced to, and the one thing they're likely to remember. When thinking of names I turn to the meanings if I'm stuck and don't have one in mind, trying to find names that have good meanings that represents the character I'm creating.

David Batista said...

I'm the opposite. I name my characters with the most random sounding names I can think of. I guess my one consistent quirk is that I don't normally use typical Westernized names. Then again, I write science fiction, so this practice makes more sense in that genre. :)

I, myself, was named after King David of the Bible. My mother picked this name to please my grandma, who's very religious. My middle name, James, is after my Grandpa who died when my mom was only 2.

Kelly Polark said...

When my first child was born, my hubby and I wrote down our top three names for a boy. My third choice matched his second choice and it was the only one that matched so that is how we named our first son.
If we had a daughter I wanted to name her Emma, my husband wanted Emily. It was decided Emily when my best friend's mom left a message saying Emma Polark sounded like I'm a Polack. :) So Emily it was.
And our third child is named Jack Danial. But not why you think. He was named after my hubby's uncle who died trying to save a coworker. But coincidentally guess what my hubby's fave whiskey is now?
With stories, I also find it hard to choose names!

Nora MacFarlane said...

I agree - names are important. My children are named after family. My son, Benjamin, is named after his great-grandfather. My daughter, Taylor, is named after my mother's maiden name. If she'd been a boy her name would have been West, after my grandmother's maiden name.

Names say a lot, so I spend time thinking about my character's names too. Names can lend strength or be a hindrance. Think about the boy named Sue!

Anonymous said...

Names are SO important! That's why it ticks me off when people give their kids goofy names--this is serious business! And a great character name makes such a difference, too.

Adrienne said...

My son came to me one day and said, "Um, thanks for not naming me Cotton."
He had found my list of baby name choices, where I had scribbled down the name Colton. I guess my handwriting is pretty sloppy...
And yeah, I'm very selective about names for everything - kids, pets, characters.

Marcia said...

I agree that names are extremely important. I named my kids names that don't normally take nicknames, so I'd know they'd be called what I actually named them.

Christina Farley said...

I didn't know that Harry Potter meant that. So cool!

Kimbra Kasch said...

Cheree: You're right - names give the first impression.

David: I love that you're named for a King - just like Harry Potter - maybe you've also got secret powers ;)

Kelly: I love the name Emma - it's one of my niece's names.

Nora: West would have been an interesting one. I wonder if he would have been Wild... ;)

Adrienne: I think I would have loved the name cotton :p

Marcia: I tried to give all my kids strong sounding names: Jake, Luke, Kara. Strong consonants. If I'd had another boy he would have been Nick. I see a pattern.