Is a rose by any other name just as sweet really? Maybe not. Names carry meanings, after all.
As writers, we often spend an inordinate amount of time searching for the best names for our characters. I particularly have a hard time finding a name easy to type. (Yes, it’s true. I use the two finger method and not all names are created the same for us non-typers. My protagonist in Passionate Destiny is named Margaret and I had a devil of a time typing those letters in the right order.) I also like to have names that sound and mean what I want. Most of us want a male name to sound strong. Maybe a female name, too. Or maybe a sweet name for the female protagonist would be nice and a mean sounding one
for her nemesis is just the ticket. So out of curiosity, I decided to look up name meanings. For both the girl and boy names below, I used a baby naming site, babynameguide.com.
Boys:
Aaron (Hebrew, Exalted one)
Brand (English, Proud)
Cullen (Irish, Handsome)
Morgan (Scottish, Sea Warrior)
Will (English, Resolute Protector)
Girls:
Cherri (French, Beloved)
Haley (Scandinavian, Heroine)
Patricia (Latin, Noble)
Sonya (Russian, Wisdom)
Yvonne (French, Archer)
It was fun just reading down the lists to see names I’d never heard before, like Dawnette (Sunrise) or Wacian (Alert). I found some names not much in use any more, like Mildred (Gentle advisor) or Valentine (Strong). There are lots of different sites to learn about names and the research is good—if you don’t get too carried away.
Not that I ever do… 😉
Thanks for reading!
Dee