Fezziwig is a good name for a rabbit. But if she were a tyrant, Woundwort would be better.

 

        

Shakespeare knew it.

 

Dickens did too.

 

They knew how important character names are. 

 

Names do a lot of heavy lifting in our stories. They affect how readers react to our characters as soon as they meet them on the page. That affect can be positive or negative. Shakespeare is a master of this, of course, with the foolish Dogberry and the poisonous Malvolio. Dickens is, too, and seemed to have a wonderful time choosing names, from Fezziwig to Ebenezer Scrooge. Beverly Cleary gave us Ramona and Beezus, and Kate DiCamillo gave us Mercy Watson and Despereaux Tilling, to say nothing of Winn-Dixie . . .

 

Letter Sounds

I thought of this the other day, as I read aloud a picture book manuscript I’m working on. In line after line, I found myself stumbling. Every time I came to the main character’s name, it stuck in my throat.

 

Clearly, action was needed! I needed to find a name that was still descriptive of the character, but easier to read aloud. My original name contained a lot of hard C sounds (like you hear in kick and crush). If another word with a c sound followed the name, my tongue tangled.

English is wonderful in its variety, and part of that are the sounds that the letters make. Some are hard, like C (which sounds like /k/), but C can also be soft like an /s/ (celebrate, city, and circle are all examples of this letter sound. Hard C rattles and cuts. Soft c doesn’t.

 

I liked the edge that hard C gave my character’s name and, by extension, him.

This is nothing new; certain letters hit the ear in a similar way – think of Cruella de Vil (that V! the name contains cruel and devil!), Nurse Ratched (listen to the ratcheting sound, and the name contains rat to boot). Watership Down gave us General Woundwort, and His Dark Materials, Mrs. Coulter. Does that mean you can’t have a villain named Fluffi McBodkins? Of course you can, and I’d love to see you run with it!

 

 Fezziwig, the bunny in question

 

Back to my recent experience. The C name just wasn’t working. And so, the fun began: finding a new name. I wanted the name to be realistic (sorry, Fluffi), and American with European roots. It was just a last name I was after. Way back when, I was counseled to hunt through the white pages for likely names; fortunately, we now have the internet, which gives us millions of options. 

 

History Counts 

Names should be of their time, too, especially if you’re working on an historical story. The Social Security Administration keeps track of the top names per year. In 1984, Jennifer, Jessica and Ashley ruled the hospital nursery, along with Christopher, Michael, and Matthew. In 2024, Charlotte, Amelia, and Olivia had taken over; for boys, Liam, Oliver, and Henry were among the top choices.

Here’s the link for the SSA: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/state/top5_2024.html

You can also check the Census website to find names that are common: (https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html) 

 

Wait, what if you want something completely different? The least common names? Here's a good place to look: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/rarest-baby-names-state-brilliant-194500337.html. This list of unusual names is broken out by state.  And this list (https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53301/least-popular-american-baby-names-according-early-records) gives you a breakdown by year. Who knew that Icy was an unpopular girl's name in 1885? And what was going on in 1913, with the least popular names were Louise for boys and Louis for girls? 

 

One of my favorite sites is Behind the Name (https://www.behindthename.com/), which gives you an overview of the name’s history and origin as well as meaning. Here’s a sample of what the page offers:

 

I love the "People think this name is" section because of the extra insight it provides. And food for thought, too: Frances is considered formal and classic (who knew?). There are also graphs that show the popularity of the name in different countries. And on the landing page, there are links to names from various cultures. 

 

All right, I wasn't going to say anything. But I feel obligated. In one particularly popular book series, there is a character who is not from the author's cultural background. The character has a name that some consider to be offensive. If you are writing characters from other cultures, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. 

 

Nuff said. 

 

Last Names

As I mentioned, this whole adventure started because I wanted a last name for the bad guy in my picture book. One list at Parade.com, contains more than 300 suggestions, broken down by categories. The section on villains includes names ripped from the headlines (Manson, Gacy, Dahmer), clearly suggestive names (Crook, Bane, Nadir, and Gallows). I didn't go for those suggestions, but who knows when I might need such a name in the future?

 

 I checked the US Census web site, which provides lists of common surnames in the United States (https://www.census.gov/about/history/census-records-family-history/frequently-occurring-surnames.html). Here are the most common surnames as of 2010:

 

 

If you hear a good name, make a note of it. One day, you’ll find a character walks onto your page and asks, “Who am I?” And you’ll be ready to answer.