J.D. Robb discussion

If Rourke's dad is named Patrick Rourke, then it must be that Rourke is going by his last name alone. In Naked in Death, Eve wasn't able to find anything but "Rourke", but surely his mom gave him first name, maybe even a middle name. I wonder what it is? Patrick Jr? Sean? Colin? Galen? Liam? Dylan? Finn? There are lots of Irish names, but none seem to fit Rourke.

My theory is he's probably named after his father, Patrick, and that's why he only goes by Roarke.

Question: Is Roarke spelled differently in the UK versions of the books?

No... I probably spelled it wrong. You'd think after 36 books, I'd know it:) And I was thinking the same thing about the name.

You're not the only one. I've seen it spelled the way you have it so many times that I just thought maybe it was different in some of the books.

In Portrait, the social worker, I can't remember her name, told Roarke that his mother called him her Angel. I thought maybe that was his name.

that's good Dee, I've always thought of Roarke as a Jr. but you make a great point. I can see his mom calling him Angle and it would explain why his Dad would never call Roake "Angle" Patrick being such a monster would never say the word Angle or ever believe that could ever be a boy's name... you gave us something new to think about. :)

I see her calling him angel as a term of endearment, but I could be wrong. Funny how she called him angel, and Robb always describes him as a fallen angel.

Jenna wrote: "I see her calling him angel as a term of endearment, but I could be wrong. Funny how she called him angel, and Robb always describes him as a fallen angel."

Huh! I never thought of that! :)

I also always thought his mother called him her Angel as an endearment. In Naked in Death it says he has no known given name.

I don't have the passage from the book right now but when the subject came up he was referred to as Roarke Roarke

Roarke's first name has never been revealed. Someone may have referred to him as Roarke Roarke but that's never been divulged as his true first name.

I also took Angel to be an endearment term but you never know:) I love that connection to "fallen angel," which is how he's frequently described.

I bet Nora knows his name... But you're right, it's never been revealed. I like that passage in Naked when Eve is doing a background check on him when she talks about his name.

I checked her FAQs and other stuff and couldn't find where she addressed it. I have this vague recollection of her talking about it somewhere but couldn't find it.

Okay, here's what I found on Wiki In Death. These are Nora's responses to interview questions about Roarke's name, posted on the adwoff site, which she posts to directly:

When asked if "We're ever going to learn Roarke's first name":

"Roarke is Roarke and only Roarke." - January 17, 2003

"Roarke is Roarke. That's it, that's all." - April 19, 2005

"Roarke is Roarke. He needs no other name." - May 28, 2006

Was there a "first name" on Roarke's birth certificate?

"Well, if there was a name on the birth certificate, or Roarke's mother called him something, Roarke's not saying.

He's JUST Roarke. LOL.

You guys are going to have to live with that one." - May 28, 2006

Since, Eve first name is "Eve", maybe Roarke can be "Adam"? LOL
Maybe at first, Nora will named him as Patrick, like his father. But decide to not used it.

I have a feeling she liked the idea of what a one-named character implies: I'm bad enough that I only need one name.

I wonder what last name they would give their children! Would they take roarke's only name as their last name? I kind of think no on that one since it would be a legacy of his father if that was the case. Would they take Dallas as a last name? maybe? Or would they give their kid just 1 name or a totally different last name?
(view spoiler)[ eve already has a couple kids named after her lol (hide spoiler)]

Haha... true! (The spoiler!) I have no idea what their last name would be.. Dallas-Roarke? (view spoiler)[Remember when that store owner guy called her Mrs. Lt. Dallas-Roarke?? Hahaha! (hide spoiler)] (What book was that in? I wanna say ... Seduction? Hmmm... looks to be Betrayal.)

I agree that Nora probably set out to have Roarke have just one name. It adds to his mystery. I'm not sure I agree with the legacy of his father comment for children's last name, because Roarke often talks about how they made themselves, so in my mind he's redeemed the name. Personally, I still can't see Eve as a mom. But it would be fun to see be Summerset as the nanny.

I agree. When Roarke and Summerset talked about his name, Roarke indicated he followed Summerset's advice to make the name his own. But I don't think we will ever see a baby born to them. Maybe a pregnancy but Nora has been very clear the series will end at that point.

Jonetta wrote: "I have a feeling she liked the idea of what a one-named character implies: I'm bad enough that I only need one name."

Never thought about it that way, but yeah I can see that.

I think he is probably a Jr, he has done everything possible to make it his name though.
I love Eve's reactions to being Mrs Roarke, if they ever have to make that decision I think they would double barrel the name but that in itself would become a fight :p

I think you're right, Sara:)

I do think Roarke was given a name at birth by his mother but Patrick would have over ruled her for no other reason than sheer perversity. As Patrick's child, Roarke was a possession, a manifestation of his fathers virility and swagger. His mother called him "her Angel" I am sure because she didn't want to name her Angel after the Demon who was making her life Hades on earth. When Patrick killed his wife and replaced her, the new mom barely took care of Roarke and certainly never showed him love-- I doubt either of his providers called him anything resembling a proper name. As he grew older I think it would have fed Patrick's ego to just refer to his child as His by surname only--a constant reminder to child and associates-- that he could get away with anything. Sommerset convinced Roarke that his name would reflect only what he decided to make of it --not the sins of the "father". One name was all he needed.

I have to agree that his name was probably Patrick, partly because of what Mindy said about his father being an eogmaniac. And it's something Roarke would drop because he wanted to distance himself from his father.

Jenna and Mindy, I am in agreement with you guys. It makes sense! So, until Roberts says otherwise that is going to be my mental background of what happened. :) thanks guys!

It does make a lot of sense that he may have been named Patrick. That would DEFINITELY explain why he dropped the name.

I've often wondered too, although I'm fine with just Roarke. That's all that man needs! I agree mostly that Patrick is probably the most likely. I remember in one book (but no idea which one!) that he was talking to Summerset and they discussed that at one point Roarke wanted to change his name completely because of his father, but Summerset encouraged him to keep it and make it his own. :-)

Who needs a first name???? Roarke is good for me!! LOL!!

Roarke works for me. Mystery and intrique

I think it really enhances his character to just have the name Roarke. For one thing, it's an unusual name and suits him like one of his expensive suits! Being a single name, it adds that air of mystic and really sets him apart.

I had never thought about it, but what Mindy and Jenna said makes so much sense. If my father were that horrible I would drop my name too.

However, when his mom went to the shelter, why didn't she tell the counselors his name was Patrick? I believe she told them Roarke's (father) name

Nora address about Roarke's first name in her blog post:

http://fallintothestory.com/whats-in-...

I loved the FB post on this today. Basically, yesterday they posted she and Laura were in NYC and darn glad it wasn't as cold as in Midnight. Someone claimed that he is Patrick Michael Rosrke Jr. Nora almost immediately responded that NO he is not, and she should know. The initial poster apologized and said she could have sworn she read that somewhere. People ran amok with it...Nora responded a few times, but there were those who just wouldn't believe her. One insisted that when he told Sommerset he had wanted to change his name to Sommerset, and Sommerset told him to keep it and make it his own, that was when we learned he was a jr. Nora, who must have been purple by then, again responded. Today our blog subject was names. Then, someone went on a rant about Stella. Too freaking funny.

LOL! Love it! I can't remember where I got the impression his first name was Patrick and that's why he went by just Roarke because of his feelings for his father. Then again, I wonder if we know what his poor mother had in mind... Nora????

I am sure I read in one of the books, that his birth wasn't registered, as wasn't there confusion about his age, so maybe he was never given a first name. Maybe I am wrong, as its a while now since I read the first books.

If he had another name, his mother's family would have called him by it (she was in touch with them by letter) and they called him Roarke.

Nora stated in her blog post that she hinted about Roarke's name in Portrait in Death. Must read it again, I think. But, I don't know what this fuss about Roarke's given name and how people still speculate in her blog post. While she already explain that Roarke will always be Roarke, no less, no more.

Maybe it's like in Doctor Who where only River knew the Doctor's real name...

@Kirsten - brilliant!

I sort of understand why Eve's parents didn't give her a name, but for the most part I can't understand why someone isn't given a name, even if it is something as loathsome as Brat or Idiot. You have to call them something.

His mother called him her angel...Patrick Roarke probably called him Boy. I just live that people were still arguing with her! He is her creation afterall.

Go figure! But then, maybe they're the same folks that swear she has a ghostwriter.

Well, Angel in Buffy was Irish...

Jonetta wrote: "Go figure! But then, maybe they're the same folks that swear she has a ghostwriter."

I was looking on Amazon to see how much Concealed in Death was priced at and saw a reviewer say that they didn't think Nora had written that one. I haven't read it yet, so I'll reserve opinion.

Kirsten, that reviewer set NR off on a rant a while ago. You can find it on her blog...she ripped at them.

No doubt.

Dawn wrote: "Kirsten, that reviewer set NR off on a rant a while ago. You can find it on her blog...she ripped at them."

Good for her!!!!!

Yeah I think NR should have ripped into him. I have heard people say they can see different writing styles in her books, but for the life of me I can't