Sarah Sundin, @sarahsundin
“My name isn’t Kurt. It’s Peter,” the hero in my work-in-progress told me yesterday. I told him he couldn’t be Peter because I had a hero named Pete in another story. “I don’t care,” he said. “My name’s Peter.” So, he’ll be Peter.
Most authors love the process of finding the perfect character name, but it can also cause headaches. When naming our story people, we need to take many things into consideration.
Does it fit the character?
Sometimes the character’s name comes immediately, but other times I search for just the right moniker. All names carry connotations of strength or weakness, beauty or homeliness, a fun-loving or serious nature, so find one that reflects the personality.
We can also play off those perceptions. The heroine in my latest novel, The Sky Above Us, is named Violet. A small flower. My Violet is six feet tall. And yet the name still fits her sweet and unassuming nature.
Sound
How does the name sound, especially when paired with the last name? And for the heroine, how will it sound when paired with the hero’s last name? Be careful not to have too many names starting with the same letter, and vary the number of syllables, both first and last names. I keep a chart to track characters’ names, which also helps me avoid repetitions, especially when working on a three-book series. Unless your character insists on being Peter.
Meaning
What does the name mean? This may or may not play into your novel, but you should be aware of it. In The Sky Above Us, I chose my hero’s name based on the meaning. I wanted my P-51 Mustang fighter pilot hero to have a sky-related name. Perusing my baby name books, I found Adler, which means eagle in German. Since his brothers have the more conventional names of Wyatt and Clay, I wanted a reason for this name.
When he meets fellow pilot Nick Westin, Nick says, “Adler? That’s an interesting name.”
“Means eagle.” Not only was it true, but it was easier than saying it was his mother’s maiden name, given to appease her parents when she died birthing her second son.
In his name, he carries a bit of unwarranted guilt for his mother’s death. Since he sees himself as responsible for his fiancée’s death, this adds some emotional heft.
Culture
Please consider the timeliness of your character’s name for the year he or she was born. This is even important in contemporary novels. The name of your twenty-year-old heroine will be different from that of her eighty-year-old neighbor. My World War II novels are populated by women named Kitty, Winnie, Jo, Sylvia, and Rosalind, and men named Willard, Theo, Stan, Tony, and Floyd.
If your character must have an anachronistic or unusual name, give it a solid justification. Then have the other characters respond. Just as a child named Hortense would be ridiculed or at least questioned about her name on a playground today, remember how your unusual name will be perceived within your story’s culture. That’s one reason I had Nick ask about Adler’s name when they met—because it’s a normal thing to do when you meet someone with a name you’ve never heard.
Also consider what names are common in the geographical region, the ethnic group, and the socioeconomic level your character comes from.
Sources for Names
A good baby name book is essential, and I highly recommend The Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Writer’s Digest Books), which lists names by ethnicity and by popularity going back to 1880. Some excellent online resources include Baby Name Wizard http://www.babynamewizard.com/ (has a fun feature that tracks a name’s popularity from 1880 to the present), and Behind the Name, which lists both given names and surnames by ethnicity http://www.behindthename.com/ and https://surnames.behindthename.com/ .
Numbed by grief and harboring shameful secrets, Lt. Adler Paxton ships to England with the US 357th Fighter Group in late 1943. Determined to become an ace pilot, Adler battles the German Luftwaffe in treacherous dogfights over France as the Allies struggle for control of the air before the D-day invasion.
Violet Lindstrom wants to be a missionary, but for now she serves in the American Red Cross, where she arranges entertainment and refreshments for the men of the 357th in the base Aeroclub and sets up programs for local children. Drawn to the mysterious Adler, she enlists his help with her work and urges him to reconnect with his family after a long estrangement.
Despite himself, Adler finds his defenses crumbling when it comes to Violet. But D-day draws near. And secrets can’t stay buried forever.
Sarah Sundin is a bestselling author of historical novels, including The Sea Before Us and The Sky Above Us. Her novels When Tides Turn and Through Waters Deep were named to Booklist’s “101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years,” and Through Waters Deep was a finalist for the 2016 Carol Award and won the INSPY Award. A mother of three, Sarah lives in California and teaches Sunday school. She also enjoys speaking for church, community, and writers’ groups. Please visit her at http://www.sarahsundin.com.