What’s In a Name?

I love unusual and lyrical names (I secretly rejoiced when Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin named their daughter “Apple”). When I meet people with great names, I immediately ask them if I can use their names in my writing. And even though I let them know that I may kill them or make them a murder suspect, they always very graciously consent. And yes, a few real names have made it into my books, but I have several more that I’d like to highlight here.

Some are just lovely first names:

Sable

Treasure

Wonder

Some are names that have a wonderful sound to them:

Amelia Beanblossom

Vern Fonk

Penelope Sweet

Others put me in mind of specific characters:

Drew Derrix Templeton – sounds like a Southern gothic writer

Athena McElrath – a warrior princess

Castle Rieke – a female chess champion

And a few have stories behind them:

When I saw that the hardware store guy’s nametag read “Wiley Trusty,” I asked him if I could use it. Not only did he say yes, but he wrote something on his business card and passed it to me. “It’s even better with my middle initial,” said Wiley B. Trusty.

And years ago on a ski trip, I met a woman whose real name was Candy Treat. When I asked her how she felt about her name, she said, “Oh, my whole family loves playing with our last name. In fact, I have a niece named Trixie.”