The Power of Names
And where to find them for our fiction.
Welcome back to Keep Writing! It’s the loveliest time of year to live in Alaska, and we’re all busy dodging tourists, racing to complete our summer projects, and soaking up every precious drop of sunlight we’re given. If you’re new here, warmest welcomes to you: Help yourself to the zucchini fritter bar in the corner (don’t skimp on the dilled sour cream) before taking a sunny stroll through our archives.
“Do parents have the right to name their child whatever they want, no matter how unusual or bizarre?”
I was playing a game of conversation starters when I was asked this question. Immediately, I answered: Absolutely not.
To name a child is to define them. In your language, your family, your culture, your society. Legally, informally, socially. You are saying to the rest of the community: This is the word by which we shall know this beautifully complex little human. This is what we will call them. This is how they will be known.
Thankfully, this decision made on someone else’s behalf isn’t permanent. It only matters until the child is old enough to take ownership over their own name, either by choosing a nickname or by legally changing their name to something that better matches their identity. But you are still providing the starting point. You are ushering them into your society with this one calling card that you have the responsibility to choose.
Names have power. The words we choose to call ourselves and each other have power. They have gravity and weight. And while the decision over what to name a fictional character carries considerably less weight than naming a child, choosing one name over another will still have a hard-hitting impact on your story, especially if it’s the name of your protagonist.
For starters, you should hopefully like the name, especially if it’s in a book-length work. You’re going to be spending a lot of time typing this name. You’re going to say it a lot whenever you’re asked about your book. Choosing something you don’t actively detest is a terrific start.
Names also add flavor. A character named Rose has a different connotation for readers than a character named Hortense. A name’s meaning, sound, length, and cultural connotations all work together to create a cohesive effect for readers.
Generally, a name should “fit” a character. In personality, age, time period, socioeconomic status, region, etc. (Unless, of course, you are intentionally aiming for contrast, like naming a rich playboy Billy-Bob or naming a feral possum Lady Taffodil Sterlingshire.)
Be prepared to provide a backstory relatively early if your character has an unusual name—for example, if you name a rom-com protagonist Grover, readers are going to want to know her parents’ reasoning for doing so in Chapter 1, not 20.
It’s also good for a protagonist’s name to be memorable, not bland and forgettable. The easier it is to remember, the easier it will be for readers to talk about your book and your character.
But choosing our protagonist’s name is only the tip of the fictional naming iceberg. Long works of fiction require a lot of names. So how do we find them?
We can:
-Invest in a baby name book or utilize baby name apps. The meanings behind names can also guide you toward finding the right one for your character. “Penelope” means weaver, for example; perhaps this is a fitting choice for a great storyteller (or a great liar).
-Pay close attention to sounds. Would your character have a name that comes off the tongue like a trill? A gasp? A guttural cough?
-Read old maps.
-Browse obituaries.
-Roam graveyards and read tombstones.
-Take inspiration from literature, especially if you choose a work that relates to your story’s themes. But be careful about choosing too-obvious nods: Clarissa Dalloway 2.0 may not play well, but using Dalloway as a surname could be a subtler hat tip. Using more obscure characters from famous works is another way to give a subtle nod without beating readers over the head with the reference.
-Borrow names from history. Once, while researching, I stumbled upon an 18th-century actress who was supposed to be named “Georgiana,” but was accidentally named “George Anne” instead. An 18th-century woman mistakenly named “George” was the perfect launchpad for a new story idea.
-Research the most popular names from when your character was born. The Social Security Administration publishes the most popular names of a given decade; here’s its list of the most popular names of the 1950’s, for example.
-Go to local botanical gardens, plant shops, or nurseries. I find so many elements for my names while doing slow circles among the plants at my local botanical gardens, scouring every identifying plaque or tag I can find.
-Browse a thesaurus for words relating to a key personality trait. Can you transform any into surnames?
-Combine two words into a surname, or combine a word with an appropriate surname suffix or prefix. A character that sparks new ideas might be Flinthart, Emberling, or Kindleton.
What’s your go-to method for naming your fictional characters? I’d love to hear them.
Until next month—
Keep writing,
Nicki
July 2025 Calls for Submissions
Spotlight Pick
Unleash Press: Unleash Work-in-Progress (WIP) Award
If you’re knee-deep in a project and could use a little nudge to reach the finish line, consider submitting your work for this annual prize from Unleash Press. The Unleash Work-in-Progress (WIP) Award aims “to assist writers in the completion of an important literary project and vision.” The award prize is $500 plus “editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit.” Submit the first 25 pages of your WIP plus your answers to two questions (Who are you as a creative person, and what is your creative vision? and Who is your intended audience for this project, and why?). Entry fee: $35.
Deadline: July 15
ANMLY: Autistic protest poetry
“This call for work seeks poetry by autistic writers that is socially-engaged, politically-charged, and geared toward raising our voices together against oppression and erasure,” explain ANMLY’s editors. Submissions are welcome from any writers who identify as autistic. No submission fees, no payments that I can find.
Deadline: July 1
Heart on Our Sleeves Press: Literary Lionesses submissions
Send “strong female characters, pungent feminine energy, settings that elevate and hone in on the unique experience of womanhood” to Hearts on Our Sleeves Press for their “Literary Lionesses” issue. Narratives centering trans women and feminine non-binary people are welcome. Male writers may submit as long as their submissions are in line with the theme of the issue. Send prose under 2,000 words or a poem under 5 pages.
Deadline: July 6
ONE ART: Poems about work
Send poems about all types of labor to ONE ART: a journal of poetry for consideration in an upcoming anthology, The Book of Jobs: An Anthology of Poems About Work. Send up to three poems (150 lines max per poem). The anthology is slated to be published this fall. Accepted poets will receive a $10 honorarium. Previously published poems are fine as long as rights have been reverted to the poet. No submission fees.
Deadline: July 12
Epistemic Literary: “Nostalgia” submissions
“Whether a longing for the sentiments of the past, or a marketing trend that capitalizes on childhood favorites, we often find comfort in yesterday when today presents challenges. But that comfort is often rooted in the pain of longing, the disdain for change, and the fear of moving forward,” write the editors of Epistemic Literary. “How does this powerful force influence your life?” Send one poem up to two pages long, up to three pieces of flash or microfiction up to a total of 1500 words, or up to two pieces of nonfiction that are each 1,000 words or less. No submission fees, no payments.
Deadline: July 15
Mom Egg Review: “Mother and Family” submissions
Poetry and prose with a focus or lens on mothers in families are welcome at Mom Egg Review. Send up to three poems (no more than five pages) or prose up to 1,000 words. The submission fee is $3, but submitters may also request a submission scholarship by emailing the publication with their submission, cover letter, and bio (a free-entry earlybird submission window occurred earlier this year, but has since closed). Entry is also free with a subscription purchase. Submitters will receive a response by November 2025 and the final issue will be published in April 2026.
Deadline: July 15
Jelly Squid: Very short works
Jelly Squid seeks flash fiction/nonfiction as well as very short poems for its upcoming “MINI SQUID” print issue. Send up to three poems (6 lines max per poem) or three pieces of prose (500 words max per piece). No submission fees, no payments.
Deadline: July 18
What a great list of suggestions! I think the question of considering your character's name story is especially important. Whether they have a common or an unusual name, it was probably chosen for them with care (and if it wasn't, that's a whole other story)--and thinking about where that name came from, who chose it, and why can provide some wonderful depth to a character's story.
I also like considering whether my characters like their names--or, at least, what they think about them, because I think most people have opinions about their own names.