It was the Beckhams who brought to public attention the practice of naming your child after where it was conceived – hence Brooklyn.
I was in my gym in Kingston and heard a mother call 'Oriana, come here' in a loud voice. (Oriana, for those not in the know, is a cruise ship). This opens up dramatic new opportunities for parental ambition – as well as of course a whole series of logistical challenges. So how about Eiffel, Reichstag or Forum?
Most writers spend a long time thinking of names for their characters, and so can be thrown into paroxysms of indecision by the need to name their own offspring.
Teachers are said to face particular difficulties as they have always taught unappealing pupils with the names they most like, so maybe educational writers are doubly handicapped.
The one resource we do have to hand is characters in other people's books. As a straw poll, within our local reading group, we have two Annas (both inspired by Karenina), two Tesses (both by of the d'Urbervilles), one Emma (Austen) and my own Harriet (Vane, the heroine of Dorothy L Sayers' wonderful Lord Peter Wimsey stories – but the choice also triggered by a particularly brilliant adaptation for the BBC with Harriet Walter, one of my favourite actresses, playing the part, just before she was born).
Best wishes,
Alison Baverstock (author & trainer)
- Read more about Alison, including her tips for new writers and getting feedback on your work, in our special Insider Interviews section.
- She will be leading How to Get Published: a Conference for Writers in September.
I have heard some weird and wonderful first and last names over the years, a friend of mine is a primary school teacher and she has taught the following: Storm- Angel, Hubert, Toffee. My partner's friend is called Thelonious. He goes to public school. Surely being called Thelonious is enough of a challenge without adding middle class to it as well. Poor kid.
I use the Character Naming Source and the Internet for "baby" names that lists a wealth of names. But also sometimes family names, like for a Highlander romance and for a werewolf romance where the name suits the situation. Sometimes I just flat out make them up because I write urban fantasy romance, so...why not? :)
As the book i'm writing is a childrens fantasy adventure and I already had the character profiles, I looked on the internet for gaelic names and matched the meanings of the name to the characters. Have to say it's a minefield though, I'm sure if i had printed all the names it would have run out of ink at least five times. (Slight exaggeration perhaps!) Of course I now have enough names for at least another ten books. Yipee!!