The Next Best Book Club discussion

As an author I toil to create truthful, descriptive names for my characters because I believe they can either propel the character forward or drag him/her down. Some authors have a gift - JK Rowling, for instance. "Harry Potter," "Voldemort" and "Snape" each evoke exactly who the character turns out to be. Other greats: "Heathcliff" - "Atticus Finch."

Conversely, some are so off, they create confusion: "Renesmee" (Breaking Dawn), or what about "Clarice Starling"?

Would love to hear how readers and authors feel about names. What are some of your favorite? Your least favorite?

Chuck Norris. :P

I do love the name Hannibal Lecter and I love the names of the three brothers from Baytown Outlaws.

McQueen, Lincoln and Brick Oodie. :D

One that thing always drives me crazy when authors name major charactors is when they all begin with the same letter or sound. I'd much prefer to read about Sam, Tom, Jane, and Lisa rather than Jack, Jim, Jane, and Jill. It's much easier to keep the characters apart then. In that vein, I always liked comic book characters whose last name and first name start with the same letter, such as Peter Parker, Reed Richards, or Matt Murdock.

I judge a book by its names. If I'm tossing up about a book, if the 1st paragraph hasn't decided the matter for me, I look through the names. When me and the author tally on a great name, I'm in. When she has uncongenial ideas about what makes a name, we part company.

Names are important to my enjoyment of a book. Although, as in life, I can learn to look past a bad name.

Sounds are descriptive, even though you can't tell why. And I guess 'sound-only' must chime differently in different heads. I often try to track down why this name suggests this quality to me... a similar word? can't find one. Remains a mystery. It's an art.

I'm with Bryn - individual names ring differently with everyone based on the people you know and have feelings about, i.e. the boss you despised was named Joel - well, it has to color how you feel about the name.

But sounds themselves are descriptive. Matt, Frank, or Daniel sound solid and reliable. Jesse, Dennis, maybe not so much. Some names just make me uncomfortable: Lance, Troy, Ridley.

www.Momswhothink.com is a site that classifies first names according to feel, i.e. comfy names, names for hyper kids, etc. Good place to look for incidental characters.

My mother was a primary school (grade school) teacher and she always said that children called Jason were almost invariably a bundle of trouble while Martins were often charming trouble.
That definitely affects my opinion of characters when I encounters those names in a book.

For me it doesn't matter at all. If I don't like book and don't feel and don't care about characters it also not important that their names. If I like and enjoy book I will have connection and feelings about characters even their names are Toiletia and Pucker
Maybe because I'm European and travel to different countries a lot and now I'm dealing with a files with a lot of names so I used to very different names and don't do any association with characters names and names of people I'm know. I often even skip reading the names in books, just fast seeing the name like Jo... something or Da... something and I know who is that and what is going on. I maybe even not spell loud name right if I will be asked even during reading current book.

You make a good point Yuliya. I do think Europeans are accustomed to more cultural diversity, so that "different" sounding names wouldn't be that distracting.

Some names have such a great ring to them that they stick with you - how about Dakota Watts for a baseball pitcher? Perfect! (He's real, by the way).

Names definitely make a difference to me, but my biggest pet peeve is when the narrator or main character doesn't have a name. I like to have at least some way to identify who's telling the story or who the main character is.

Please no Claire there are entirely too many of those in literature! Also I think there have been too many James/Jamie, and Henry variations.

I like odder names myself so that you aren't comparing them to real people you know with that name!

One of my pet peeves is a character with a name that I can't figure out how to pronounce, or the pronunciation is ambiguous. I had a character named Halil Bakar in my most recent novel. My son pointed out that because he was unfamiliar with the name he assumed it was pronounced "Baker" - so I changed it to "Bakhar" - and hopefully solved the problem.

Names don't bother me in books, I never really had a thought about names of characters until I began to read Stieg Larssons trilogy, all those unfamiliar swedish names had me initially going back over previously read pages to check I was thinking about the correct characters. Once I was through a few chapters I was fine. I don't think a characters name would put me off reading a book.

On the other hand, some authors go for so much homogeneity in names that all the characters sound vanilla. A new book by a best-selling suspense/thriller author devotes several pages to a high school football team: Colin Mears, Damon Ritter, Matt Byers, his girlfriend Rachel Bond, and then comes Dan Grissom.

Where's the imagination?

As someone just getting into writing, this is a very interesting conversation. I sort of feel that unique, yet not super strange (unless there's a reason for it or the novel is set in some other "world") is the best way to go. I wouldn't want the reader to be so focused on the character name that they judge the character before the action even starts (then again, maybe in certain situations the author would WANT that). But if every character is either John or Mary or Jim or Charlie... Okay, I can see how this could just be straight up dull... I've been on a "classics" reading kick right now and it's so funny how all of these authors (specifically English authors from the 1800's) chose the same first names for their characters. Last names though in books from the 1800's were REALLY unique...

I became very sensitive to names when a publisher (not mine) that I admire a great deal said that if the name of the main character was not a good fit, he would simply put the book aside.

Sometimes it's interesting to look up the meaning of even the simplest of names and see if it suits your character. I named one of my 'leading ladies' Maren, which means 'of the sea.' She is kind of like the sea, too. Always moving, deeper than you think, but can be whipped up with nasty weather.

Names in novels should probably suit the character's personality, although there's some sterotyping involved. Buck probably shouldn't be a touchy-feely guy, and Alistair probably shouldn't be a cowboy.

I don't pay that much attention to names unless they're obviously unsuited to the characters.

What does bother me, though, is when a writer gives you lots of characters to deal with, introduces them by first and last name, and then refers to them sometimes by the first name, sometimes by the last name. Twice as many names to remember. Just give me one name to remember - either first or last, or both together - especially with minor characters.

Scout wrote: "Names in novels should probably suit the character's personality, although there's some sterotyping involved. Buck probably shouldn't be a touchy-feely guy, and Alistair probably shouldn't be a cow..."

Your point about giving the reader one name per character is well taken. I will remember that as I work on the next book. Thanks!

Happy to help, Robin.

Personally, when I write, I put a lot of effort into picking the right name. It has to sound right when you say it, look right when reading it - and work with the looks of the character if you for instance make/watch a movie.

Names are important, we identify with them. They are part of who we are. And in a novel, they are our link to the characters we read about. They separate the character from the other characters.

They should not be underestimated as tools when building a character. I wouldn't put a novel down because I didn't like the name of the main character - but bad names are a turnoff and if I don't like the name I'm likely to care less for that character.

Some names have a certain ring to it. Use it!

I'd like to second what Robin said. I talked to someone related to the industry, and she too echoed the sentiment that if the protagonist's name wasn't appealing, then the book would be more likely to be ignored.

I think the crafting of names is one of the most under looked aspects of the book. The majority of authors are so fixated on plot, setting, and exposition that they don't spend enough time on really thinking about how their characters are perceived by the audience.

Consider what Scout stated: there's usually a degree of stereotyping on the reader's part. Whether this is automatically triggered by the subconscious, or brought about by a crafted bias, in both cases, a reader will form an opinion of the character based on his or her introduction.

It's like walking outside. People say to never judge a book by its cover but this is usually disingenuous rhetoric. Regardless of how open minded someone is, the attire and appearance of a stranger can plant strong first impressions. It's an inescapable human trait. Sure, that big, tattooed guy wearing a wife beater, baggy pants and bandanna might be a really nice guy, but a part of you has already characterized him otherwise. Incidentally, the well groomed, sophisticated looking old man in the Italian suit might be the biggest prick on the planet, but you won't initially think so, especially not when he just smiled at you.

Author's have to make that important first impression when they introduce their characters, and their best chance is with a carefully crafted name.

Just my $0.02.

Names are definitely very important in a book. Even better is when the name itself has additional meaning. For instance, if a character is named Cassandra and she's in a book about the end of the world, well that is just so fitting for the character.

A bad name could easily rip the reader out of the author's world, but I think over time... even with a bad name. The reader can learn to ignore it and just continue reading.

Martin wrote: "I'd like to second what Robin said. I talked to someone related to the industry, and she too echoed the sentiment that if the protagonist's name wasn't appealing, then the book would be more likely..."

Thanks for the two cents, Martin. I honestly do believe folks in the industry take a serious look at protagonist's names!

Joseph wrote: "One that thing always drives me crazy when authors name major charactors is when they all begin with the same letter or sound..."

Sometimes that cannot be helped - such as when the people in my stories name themselves. I ended up with a lot of M-named people in my first novel, so I just rolled with it and made fun of it in the sequel.

Esther wrote: "My mother was a primary school (grade school) teacher and she always said that children called Jason were almost invariably a bundle of trouble while Martins were often charming trouble."

Perhaps I was one of her students ;)

As a burgeoning novelist and an avid reader, I sometimes find names can influence the depth of my immersion in a story. Some of my personal favorites are Ignatius J. Reilly, Myrna Minkoff, Grady Tripp, Holden Caulfield, Winnie the Pooh, Severus Snape, Katniss Everdeen, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch.

As a reader, I didn't think I noticed names all that much, but when I started writing they became much more important. Not only sounds but length and number of syllables became things I considered. When I went back to edit what I wrote the unique names helped me focus on what was going on.

Sometimes I get irritated by strange character names or names that don't go with the picture that's painted of a certain person.

Atticus Finch is one of my favourite character names, too. Quite classy (and I've been wondering how he got his name, considering that his siblings have pretty "common" first names).

Names do make a difference. Too long and too odd favor my abandoning the book. perhaps it is an American/British habit to shorten long names to nicknames. I think the more memorable characters have easier to remember names--Bilbo, Honor, Jason, Less a, Meg--like naming pets--two to three syllables.

Seems there's a symbiotic relationship between name and form in that name feeds form; while form feeds name. I have at times changed the name of a character as his or her description (in terms of body, speech and mind) evolved. Likewise, what I have chosen as the name of a character has often influenced how that character developed. This (to me) is an interesting process - the creative process of identification - considering how it might emanate from a character's (author's) own voice.

Names are terribly important. I spend forever coming up with names. Sometimes a character doesn’t work until I change his name. In Bandits, Frank Matusi didn’t work. I changed him to Jack Delaney and suddenly he opened up.-- ELMORE LEONARD