What’s In A Name?

by Kiel Stuart

Plenty. With apologies to Shakespeare, that which we call a rose, by the name of “blapfahrt” would probably not smell as sweet. Or it would seem not to and, as far as readers of fiction are concerned, appearances are everything.

As writers, we must name our characters with care in order to give readers the effect we want. You would have to do a lot of fancy footwork to convince a reader that your character, Bertha Dunderblatt, is a gorgeous temptress. You might want to give her that name to cast against type, but it’s hardly worth the trip and readers demand a lot. They don’t like you to waste their time. Names must speak for themselves.

For instance: “Hermione” is an Englishwoman, wealthy, elderly, highly educated, certainly imperious. “Hermine,” however, is French, youthful, and probably saucy. “Herman,” on the other hand, is your balding uncle who smokes those really disgusting cigars.

Take a look at some classic writers and the names they selected -- not just character names but place-names, too. Tolkien’s Aragorn (AKA Strider) is definitely heroic, and how could Gollum be anything but the sniveling, slimy villain that he is? Thomas Harris’ Dr. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs) is reptilian and surgically precise. And you know the word that rhymes with his first name.

Truman Capote’s Lula Mae in Breakfast at Tiffany’s had to change her name to Holly Golightly -- it went hand-in-hand with her makeover. In The Green Mile, Stephen King’s novel-turned-movie, prison guard Percy Wetmore is as much of a weasel as his name implies. And the wrongly accused miracle healer on Death Row, John Coffey, has initials that bring to mind another, more famed martyr.

Think of places as character, too. Frank Herbert’s Dune showcases the desert planet Arrakis, sounding like dust coughed out of a parched throat. Its counterpart, watery Caladan, has the ring of liquid humming to itself.

Don’t just snatch at any old name and paste it onto a character. The name you bestow can make a character look fat or thin, dumb or smart, vicious or compassionate. I spend a lot of time selecting or inventing names for my own characters.

Like wrestler Rory Thomas Blaise MacLaren (Hotter Blood, Weird Tales, Changes), who sounds exactly like the big Irish setter of a guy he is: hard to keep on a leash. His nickname, Big Red, underscores that fact. Vampire Colin Winter (“Cold- Sea Eyes on a Rocky Coast,” Dreams of Decadence) is not only chilling and commanding, but has a whole town named after him. John Harrow Malthorne (“Adirondack Night Fires”) -- hero or villain? You can probably guess.

Sometimes the writer starts with a name and lets the character evolve. At other times, the character will eventually tell you what his name is. Either way, names must fit or characters begin to wriggle in discomfort. Jethro is probably not going to like that three-piece suit and stockbroker job into which you’ve shoehorned him. Giles longs to get off that chicken farm and back to his bookstore in London.

And heaven forfend giving villains and monsters lightweight, silly names. “Darth Vader.” “Chewbacca the Wookie.” Even if you didn’t know the Star Wars saga, you could tell which was the bad guy and which was the furry one who makes cute noises.

Take your time. Play with names. By all means get some of those little books with thousands of names for the new baby, but also keep your own notebook. Jot down any names that strike your fancy, even if they’re not human names. Animals, place, and ship names can all be inspirational. And if you write science fiction or fantasy, typos can be a great source for names.

Another wellspring of ideas are foreign language dictionaries -- not just the obvious ones like French or Spanish. Try Turkish, Swedish, Portuguese, Suomi (Finnish). Soon, with the constant logging of names that intrigue you, you will have amassed a big collection on which to draw for your characters and places. Leafing through this collection could even provide you with inspiration for your next story -- title included.

Kiel Stuart has edited and published many literary magazines, including Keystrokes, The Writers Alliance Newsletter, The Backup Street Irregular, and Poetry Bone.