Writing Tip #4: What’s in a Name?
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“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” good ol’ Shakespeare tells us. And he’s right: It doesn’t matter if you call it a rose or a kerfunkel, it still would smell divine.
But smell isn’t everything.
Picture this scene:
Belle leaned in closer, peering into the enchanted glass just as another petal fluttered down to the table. She heard Beast’s voice from behind her, gravelly and low. “The moment the last petal falls, the enchantment is made immutable. I will be a beast forever.”
Belle pressed a hesitant finger to the glass. “Is there nothing that can be done? There are so few petals left.”
The Beast sighed. “There is only one way to overcome the power of the cursed kerfunkel.”
No. Just, no. A rose might smell just as sweet even when it’s called something else, but names are powerful, as Romeo learns all too well just a few days after uttering his famous line. And, as an author, what you call something can be almost as important as what it is. In the backmatter of one of my favorite books, Graceling by Kristen Cashore, she talks about the impact of changing the word couch out for sofa. Couch is more accurate historically, but it would sound modern and out of place in her novel. If you use the term butt-sniffer every time you reference a dog, it changes the tone of your book (and reveals your opinions about man’s best friend). And just as important as the names of the objects in your book, maybe even more so, are the names of your characters.
As you begin scouring baby name books and name etymology websites, here are some things to consider.
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Name Origins: One of the big considerations you should make when selecting names is the ethnicities and eras of your characters. Any names that stand out, either because of location or time period, should be intentional. If you name your Mexican character Eloise, you’re going to need to explain that her mother is a Francophile. If a teenage boy in 2018 is named Alfred, he’s likely going to get teased, and that might impact his character. This also applies to fantasy characters, even though their world isn’t real. Giving all of your characters Greek names can help emphasize a Greek-like setting, for example, like in the Attolia series where you run into the characters Costis and Helen.
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Name Meanings: In one manuscript I wrote, one of my characters was highly superstitious about names, and it provided me a fun opportunity to play with etymology of different names. Naming one of my characters Rosemary, for example, which means “Dew of the Sea,” foreshadowed important developments later in the story. And using the name Scott for my main character, a boy who travels into his own fantasy book, provided an opportunity for some tension in the story. When he travels into his book, he meets the character that is superstitious about names, and that character doesn't understand his name (because they don’t have a Scotland in the book). This added to his initial distrust of Scott, which is exactly what I wanted. Now, for some books this doesn’t matter, but for some it can add that extra sparkle you need.
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Irony and Symbolism in Character Names: In the book I’m currently writing, my main character’s mother is named “Patience.” However, she’s a total mess, a complete mismatch with her traditional name. The use of the name provides irony, and juxtaposes her dissolute lifestyle with her parents' staunch religious faith. In a previous story, I named a character Ambrosia, even though she was anything but a sweet nectar to those people she was hurting. She went by Rosie, again with her actions in direct contradiction to her sweet floral nickname. However, throughout the story, that tension and irony is reconciled as she seeks forgiveness, and her name transforms into a symbol of the girl she can and does become. Don’t be too on the nose with symbolism in your character names, but this can add a layer to your characterization and lead you to discover things about your creations that add dimension to your whole story.