I have a great book called “45,000 Baby Names”. My daughter borrowed it when they were looking for just the right name for the new baby-to-be.
Today’s question – what’s in a name? Or perhaps – “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ” I don’t think so! Would you fall in love with a hero named “Dudley”? Would the book sell?? Maybe Nora could pull it off, or Lori. But I’m 99% sure no editor would ever let that name go into production.
So here’s my question for today – Please tell me your three favorite names for heroes… and the same for heroines. Then give me three of your “yuck” names for heroes. And the same for heroines.
I’ll take a look at all the lists and pick one entry to keep in my mental rolodex. I’ll send that person a small prize.
But remember – to be considered for the prize, you have to come up with 12 solid choices. Put your thinking cap on and have at it!
Janice
Favorie Hero names:
Colin, Duncan, Finn
Favorite Heroine names:
Brianna, Deirdre, Morrigan
I really like Celtic names
Yuck hero names:
Albert, Eddie, Edgar
Yuck heroine names:
Iloanthe, Isolde, Pansy
Janice I think names are very important. Guy names have to be strong and masculine and I don’t like girl names that are too frilly or heaven forbid difficult to pronounce.
Last names are even more difficult 😉
LuAnn,
it’s true that guy names have to be strong and masculine. Just imagine he is an Alpha and has a softie name. That wouldn’t fit.
Fav. hero names:
Jared, Matthew, Zachary
Fav. heroine names:
Brenna, Shandi (Alison Kent used this on & it is my daughter’s name!) Grace
Least fav. Male names:
Everett, Antonio, Jerry
Least Fav. female names:
Beulah, Candice, Evelyn
Jana
Fav Hero Names:
Jack, Travis,Gideon
Fav Heroine Names:
Claire, Grace, Annabell
Yuck Hero names:
Tommy, Art, Lawrence
Yuck Heroine names:
Brittany, Precious, Winifred
Favorite hero names
Jack
Clint
Dylan
Luke
Favorite heroine names
Samantha
Alexa
Sarah
Least favorite hero names
Colby
Felix
Edmund
Least favorite heroine names
Agatha
Abagail
Beatrice
I love this topic and I always ask authors how they come up with names! I have many favorite names, but I’ll try to narrow it down. I think that I have more favorites than Yuck.
Favorite Hero Names:
Will, Connor, Riley
Favorite Heroine Names:
Grace, Callie, Caitlyn
Yuck Hero Names:
Vern, Augustus (or Gus), Cecil
Yuck Heroine Names:
Daphne, Bessie, Fern
Favorite female names:
Grace
Anna
Maggie
Favorite Male names:
Camden
Connor
Jake
Drew
Jackson
Yuck Female names:
Yvette
Maxine
Shirley
Yuck male names:
Burel
Grizzley
Gator
Yes I know of people who are named the male names above.
Okay going to give this a shot:
Favorite Hero Names:
William (Bill), Alex, Charles
Favorite Heroine Names:
Sara, Elizabeth, Susan
Yuck Hero Names:
Severn, Ford, Jacob
Yuck Heroine Names:
Brittney, Cassandra, Maxine
Favorite Hero names:
Evan, Lars, Clint
Favorite Heroine names:
Maeve, Linda, Phoebe
Yuck Hero Names:
Wilbur, Fred, Gilbert
Yuck Heroine Names:
Bertha, Mildred, Jasmine
Fav Hero Names: Nicholas, Logan, Scott
Fav Heroine Names: Samantha, Grace, Erin
Yuck Hero Names: Donald, Gilbert, Farquhar
Yuck Heroine Names: Agatha, Mildred, Dolly
Favorite Hero names:
Rafe, Michael, Andrew
Favorite Heroine names:
Grace, Madeline, Emily
Yuck Hero Names:
Edward, Franklin, Charles
Yuck Heroine Names:
Gwendolyn, Serena, Poppy
Fave Hero Names: Lucas, Riley, Cole
Fave Heroine Names: Peyton, Sidney, Emma
Yuck Hero Names: Alfred, Bernie, Paul
Yuck Heronie Names: Destiny, Autumn, Daisy
Hmmm…This is hard! I always have a hard time coming up with good (and even bad!) names. I’m not too good at this, but here goes anyway!
Fave Hero Names:
Sebastian, Drew, Ethan
Fave Heroine names:
Amber, Natasha, Sasha
Least Fave Hero Names:
Alex, Marcos, Oscar
Least Fave Heroine Names:
Judith, Edith, Jessica
Note that my least favorite names don’t always make me go “Yuck!” but they are names I wouldn’t necessarily choose. And some are just because I associate bad memories with the names!
On another note as to what’s in a name…When my best friend was in middle school, her mom was worried that she hadn’t given her a name that was “ethnic” enough so she started sending her to school with the name “La Aquanetta” on her lunch bag. As my friend preferred her original name (Summer), the new name didn’t stick lol. Sometimes I wonder about parents and the names they come up with!
Michelle
I was thinking about this this morning. There are some names I don’t like but like Michelle the are associated with bad memories. I remember when my sister was having her youngest and for a girl she was thinking of Marsha and I couldn’t get the no out fast enough. Had an evil coworker by that name. So the younges became Megan. LOL
I read yesterday a book where the hero was called Link. Is that really a name? Sounded somewhat strange.
Wow – it was so much fun to read everyone’s comments! I had planned to simply pick the list with names I liked the best, but that didn’t work, ’cause I found names I really liked all over the place.
So I’m going to choose at random by numbering the entries. I’ll pick a winner around lunch time on Wednesday.
Janice
Jennybrat is the winner! If you’ll e-mail me at JESM13@aol.com with your snail mail address, I’ll send you your prize. It’s a large (postcard size) refrigerator magnet book cover for “A Very Merry Christmas”.
Congrats!
Janice
Big congrats Jenny!!!
Oops! Too little too late for the contest, but I just wanted to share with you how I pick names. There is a website called Behind the Name. It lists names in alphabetical order along with the meaning of the name and possibly a brief history.
You can search by name, popularity, or my favorite, meaning. For example, if I want a character whose name is related to love, I type in love and click the drop down and select meaning. There are 83 names that are related to love. There are 7 matches for “hunter”. It’s great if you want your character’s name to match them!
Happy name hunting!
Trista – That is really cool – thanks for sharing!
Janice
Congrats Jenny
Congratulations, Jenny…….on the win…….
My favorites are all over the map.
Good Male Names: Alexander, Darius, Ian (Jocelyn as an honorable mention, with Jace as its nickname – via an old Jude Deveraux book)
Good Female Names: Aislynn, Kerry, Rosanne, Zilla
Bad Male Names: Abner, Adam, Ezra
Bad Female Names: Agatha, Agnes, Prudence