What is in a name?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but what if instead of a rose, that perfect, sweet flower was called prickly bloom or thorn blossom. Would we then think of it as a symbol of romantic love? How important is it to you as a reader for the characters to have certain names or even the spelling of names?

If I have a hero named Shawn versus one named Sean, do you visualize a different person? If they are named John Paul or Jean Paul, do you have different expectations?

I have two daughters-in-law named Brandi/Brandy on with an I and one with a Y. Does that last letter make a difference in how you feel about the character. Does have an I at the end of your name make you a bimbo? My name is Sherri with an I, but I have seen it spelled with ie and y also, as well as beginning with Ch having an a instead of an e in the middle.

What is it about names and their spellings that give us our first impressions of a character especially if we’re reading those names in a book? Do we look for certain sound combinations for strong silent types, like Logan or Rowan? Or perhaps Biblical names like Elijah and Malichai? Do we expect Stephan and Stefan or Steven to behave differently? One to be more suave and debonaire while the other perhaps is a bit of a nerd?

How about ethnic names? If I have a character named Zule or Zebulon, Manuel or Mattias, or perhaps Emad or Enrique, do you automatically get a idea of who this character is simply by their name?

If I name a character Joe or Harry or Richard, will you view them as ordinary? Can plain old Joe be the strong silent type or the hero that rushes in to save the day; Or is that reserved only for the Jamals and Rollands of the fictional world?

What names do you associate with hero or heroine? What strong names do you like to see in a book or perhaps there’s a name you’ve yet to see, like your own and you want a story told about a kick-butt heroine named Sally or a good, strong hero named Vivian. Whatever name you like, tell me in the comments. I’d love to know who your heroes.

Some of my favorite hero names:

David, Dustin, Aries, Jason, Gary, Christopher, Blake, Ryan, Jack, Conner, Harley, Cody, Angelo, Jessie, Jesse, James, Wayne, William, Spencer, Aiden, Aspen, Elijah, Kaysen, Grant, Madison, Nathan, Michael, Kenneth, Carlos, Elias, Joe…