Wicked Wednesday: What’s in a Name?
Edith/Maddie here, with another August Wicked Wednesday.
August is an unusual but not unheard-of name. I know of two young men, one in his twenties and one age eleven, named that. One was born in August, one wasn’t. And my Brazilian friend Guta’s real name is Augusta (pronounced ow-GOOST-uh, more or less).
Wickeds, have you met someone named after another month in the year – June, May, April, July, maybe – or or have you named a character after a month? What are your favorite unusual character names in your books? (Now I have the urge to name a little girl December.)
Barb: I know two little boys named Julian, ages 3 and 5, so clearly that’s coming back. And a June, age 9. (And one my age.) I don’t know anyone named May, but I know lots of Marys and Marias who are nicknamed May. (When you marry into a large Italian family you are bound to know lots of Marys and Marias.) I just put an April in a new book. She only gets two scenes, but they’re important ones. And, of course, Gus and Mrs. Gus, Augustus and Augustine.
Liz: Edith, I have a friend who named her daughter December! I also knew a woman named September at a previous job. I don’t think I’ve named anyone after a month, but for unusual names, Stan Connor in my Pawsitively Organic series got a lot of attention for her name (it was a nickname, but all she used). I also have a female character named Reagan in another book I’m working on.
Sherry: I knew a girl named April growing up. She was rather shy. And there is a May on the name quilt my grandmother made.
Julie: My grandmother was born May Alberta Evans, but she changed it to Mae so that her initials matched her name. (That branch of the family is an ancestry nightmare. They were always just changing names and getting shady with dates.) I also know a June, an April, and an August. More than one person has thought I spell my name July. BTW, I agree, December is a wonderful name.
Jessie: My very first novel has a character named Augusta! I don’t believe that I know anyone in life named after a month, but I am rather partial to the idea of naming someone January.
Edith/Maddie: Look at all those month names! When I lived with my family in West Africa, my son had a friend named Talia. Her father was American and her mother from Niger, and Talia means Tuesday in Tamashek, her mother’s language. I always loved the sound. I have a fan named April who uses my Quaker Midwife mysteries in her college women’s studies course.
Readers: What’s your experience with month names for people?
