What's In A Name?

         Have you ever read a story and for reasons you couldn’t explain, the hero or heroine’s name just didn’t fit the character? And other times, the name was just so right, you couldn’t imagine that character being called anything else?

         Choosing a name is difficult. If an author is lucky, the characters themselves will tell you what their name is. In most cases, this name will stick. Sometimes not. In my current work in progress, my heroine has changed her name a few times (or rather, I’ve changed it because the more I came to know her, the more I knew the name I saddled her with just didn’t work—fortunately for me, I keep a list of names that have spoken to me at one time or another).

         The same goes for pets that might inhabit the story. Since I write a lot of westerns, I have horses to name. These horses are special and constant companions to either my hero or my heroine or both. They take on their own personality, sometimes very much in keeping with their names. In A Kiss in the Shadows, the hero’s horse was named Resolute, which suited both horse and rider perfectly. In my current work, the hero’s horse is named Traveler…again, appropriate for the character.

         When I’m choosing these names, I can pretty much go with what I want. Not so in real life. My DH and I are planning on getting a puppy (a German Shepherd, because that’s the breed near and dear to my heart) once the hot Phoenix summer is over. We currently have a four year old female and she needs a companion (we lost our Daisy a few months ago so Schatzie has been the only dog in the house…is she spoiled? Well, yes, she is, but she’s a good girl and she deserves it).

This is my Schatzie. Isn't she beautiful?

         Choosing Schatzie’s name was really easy. I knew what I wanted (Schatzie is German for sweetheart and it really does fit her personality) and my DH had no problem with it. Choosing a name for this new puppy has been a little more difficult. I have a list. There are 28 names on this list…and my DH doesn’t like any of them (though he hasn’t offered one of his own). Out of these 28 names, there are five that I really, really like so….I thought my DH and I could pull names from a hat. What do you think? It’s worth a shot, and maybe, the next time I’m having difficulty choosing a name for my hero/heroine, I’ll use the same method.

As always, happy reading!

Marie