The Name of the Prose, Part 2: The Name is Bond—James Bond

Ah, but what if the namehadn’t been “James Bond”? What if the name Ian Fleming gave his super spy had been “Crane, Ichabod Crane?”

Clearly, a name that worked for the nebbish, nervous protagonist of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow would not work for the decisive, suave hero of Fleming’s tales of espionage and danger.

Why not? Let’s take a closer look.

James Bond: neither given name nor surname is flowery or unusual. They are short, simple, strong. Together they give us an impression that the charact...