A Rose by any other name...

"I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage."
-Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables

Anne Shirley, as is usually the case, was quite right. Called skunk cabbage...or gutter weed, perhaps...I hardly think the noble rose would have risen (forgive the grammar pun) to its status as the preferred flower of lovers, mothers, and friends throughout the world.

I daresay that this applies to characters as well. Could we have loved Miss Anne-with-an-E Shirley quite so well if her name was Helga Humperdink? Of course we all put due attention into naming our primary characters. Probably most of you have a Baby Names Book—or at least a webpage saved to your favorites—just for the purpose of finding the perfect thing to call your protagonist.

But do you put that much effort into your secondary, or even tertiary, characters?

I know I haven't. I recently had a critique partner laughingly point out that quite by accident we had given two sets of out secondaries the same French names (without having read the others' stories yet). I had to admit that, on my part, almost no thought had gone into the names; I'd chosen the first French names with unique endings (so that all my characters wouldn't sound too similar) that my imagination had struck upon. Now there were a few other names of which I was exceedingly proud: the bright-natured boy named Blaise, for example, or the prayerful nun named Madeleine—a little more obscure, perhaps, but carefully chosen as it is derived from Mary Magdalene, the woman of the new testament remembered for choosing a life of contemplation. Compared to that, my Jacques and Henri made me feel rather sheepish.

Mr. Bumble

The “greats” would never have allowed such thoughtlessness to creep into their stories. Was ever there a Dickens' name which didn't instantly give you a clue as to the person you were about to encounter? Think of Oliver Twist's Mr. Bumble or Mrs. Sowerberry...or A Tale of Two Cities' Madame Defarge... Or take J. M. Barrie's names for the lost boys in Peter Pan: Slightly. Much. Even Wendy was a name Barry created—but what else could that spirited heroine have been called? And in a discussion on perfect names, we couldn't neglect J. K. Rowling, whose cast of characters was so large that Jim Dale, when he recorded the audiobooks, twice won himself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the most character voices for a single book: 136 for Order of the Phoenix and 142 for Deathly Hallows! Can you imagine writing half that many into a story? Yet no one will ever confuse Mundungus Fletcher for Xenophilius Lovegood, or forget which small role either of them played. These are tertiary characters! They never change, they hardly surprise us. But Rowling didn't allow herself—couldn't allow herself—to use the first names she happened upon. We would have got her hundreds of characters muddled up and lost interest in the story.

I've been to several author events where the question is asked, “How do you name your characters?” The authors, depending on their moods and temperaments, have varied in their answers. Suzanne Collins gave an enthusiastic explanation, Rick Riordan shrugged his shoulders—but Gail Carson Levine gave the best answer: she laughed and said, “That's like asking someone how they name their children.”

 

Because of course it's different for everyone. A Mr. Bumble would seem rather out of place in Because of Winn-Dixie, and likewise the wonderfully named India Opal Bologna would stick out like a sore thumb at Hogwarts. You have to choose names that mean something to you—even if no one else ever catches on. But they'll seem right—if they really are chosen, not stumbled upon.

I'd love to hear your take on this... What are your favorite character names? Which of your own character names are you most proud of?