A Goodreads user asked Rainbow Rowell:

You've probably been asked this before, but how did you choose Baz and Simon's names? And, while this question is probably pointless, is there any way I can possibly bribe you for information on your next book? In the off chance that you do answer this, I also just want to say that you are one of my favorite people and, as a young aspiring author, you inspire me daily to keep writing. Thank you so much.

Rainbow Rowell Thank you!

I don't think I've ever been asked this. I chose Simon Snow because it sounds like a classic fantasy hero name. "Simon" sounds like the main character in an English children's story. Like, doesn't it seem like Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy could have had a younger brother named "Simon"?

And "Snow" has a fairy tale vibe.

With Baz, I've always thought it was really interesting the way Brits shorten names with -z. Like Jezza for Jeremy, Shazzer for Sharon. Baz for Barry.

And then I thought, maybe his name should sound like one of those nicknames, but actually be even more English sounding. Like "Basil," which sounds SO English to me.

And maybe I could make it really pretentious by making it sound like a surname. So then you have "Basilton."

"Tyrannus," "Grimm," and "Pitch" are just to make him sound evil...

It's helpful to remember that I came up with these names for Fangirl, not Carry On. So they were all SUPPOSED to sound like literary characters.

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