Name This Character
Names are my nemesis.I can find faces. I spent a lovely couple of hours yesterday finding faces and "auditioning" them on the toile-covered board in my office.
... but names. ARRRGHHH.
The fact that I've already used so many names in past books complicates things immensely.
So many of the women's names I like have already been "taken."
This is my leading lady.
Do you see Jenny, Lydia, Madaline (I suppose she would be called Maddie?), Rosalie,or some other name I haven't considered?
By the way, I collect names from historical documents and tombstones, just to make sure it's a name that was in use.
In this case it would have to have been in use in 1843 when my leading lady was born.
It isn't a contest, but I'd appreciate your input. And if I choose the name you suggested, I promise to thank you when I write the acknowledgements ... and I'll send you a free book when it's available next spring (this book doesn't release until spring of 2014). Well, there you go ... maybe it is a contest, after all.
Blessings!
Stephanie G.
She looks like a Sarah to me -- innocent, but with eyes that say she's strong enough to weather the prairie -- and I'm sure the name has been used alot already.
ReplyDeleteBarb
Love the name, but I have Sarah's Patchwork ... so ...
DeleteI see Cora.
ReplyDeleteDo you think today's readers would accept Cora as a "heroine's name"? sometimes I think my problem is finding accurate historical names that still work today ... that's when I begin to doubt myself. I had a Cora Schlegelmilch as a minor character, but that was many books ago and I know it wouldn't matter if I reused the first name ...
DeleteMy first thought when I saw her face was the name 'Grace' it's Latin for 'charm or grace'.
ReplyDeleteJenny, short for Jennifer (my name, only I spell the nickname with an I) means 'white wave, fair one, white phantom'
Lydia is Greek for 'cultured woman' (nicknames Liddy)
Lucinda is Latin for 'light' or French for 'shining' (nicknames Lucy)
Madeline is Hebrew for 'woman from Magdala'
I am slightly obsessed with names... It is my favorite part of writing a story! I wish I could find my other name book....it's HUGE. maybe I will run across it today as I am getting ready for a yard sale. I also ran across this online
Top Names from the early 1800s
Male name.....................Female name
1 Ernest.........................Virginia
2 Asa.............................Phoebe
3 Isaac..........................Ruth
4 Charles......................Clara
5 Levi.............................Ada
6 Jeremiah....................Mahala
7 Ephraim......................Hannah
8 Ezra.............................Lavinia
9 Hugh............................Amelia
10 August......................Malinda
Top Baby Names from around the 1850s
Male name................. Female name
1 Abraham..................Lou
2 Edwin.......................Alice
3 Henry.......................Keri
4 Walter......................Milicent
5 Eli.............................Cora
6 Wilson.......................May
7 Horace......................Evelyn
8 Oscar........................Victoria
9 Abner......................Violet
10 Julius.....................Lily
Ethel ... First used as an independent name in the 1840s ... [19]
Kathleen ... First used outside of Ireland in the 1840s ... [26]
BLESS YOU for taking time to provide this information! Where did you find the most popular lists? I've never found them for that far back! What a great help. I have a Grace in a recent book (and felt weird using it because it's my middle name but did it anyway) ... again, THANK YOU. Stay tuned ;-)
DeleteSome names I found in my family were Sarah, Anna, Helena, Elizabeth, & Katharina & Maria.
ReplyDeleteThose are good, solid, traditional names. Do you think people would want me to use a nickname with Elizabeth? Just curious.
DeleteI have an ancestor born in 1835 named Marinda. She has sisters born after her named Caroline, Susan, Mahala, and Eliza.
ReplyDeleteI just "collected" the name Marinda from a Confederate cemetery I walked this past weekend in Missouri. I like that name a lot and had never heard it. THANK YOU for taking time to share these.
DeleteAnna, Ruth, Maeve, Elspeth, Fiona,Rosemary
ReplyDeleteFiona plays a big part in my spring release ;-). Have you seen the Heath Ledger Film "The Four Feathers"? His lady love is named Elspeth. It's a historical set during the days of the British Empire. Very moving as I recall ... THANK YOU for sharing these!
DeleteWe have several Mary Polly's in our "tree" from that time frame. Also a Mary Talitha...kinda like that too. Also a Parmelia Ann, Melinda, Annis Cordelia, Catharine Isobel....how's that for a fancy name. Somehow I like some of them more when they are hooked with their middle names. Have a granddaugher named Kate Anne.....love that!
ReplyDeleteI had an aunt Mary Alma and they always called her MaryAlma as if it was one name. Hadn't thought to use it ... I love those combinations you share. And, yes, Catharine Isobel is pretty "high-tone" :-). I tried "Pamelia" for a while but just couldn't get used to it. THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing these!
DeleteEmma was the first name that came to mind when looking at her picture.
ReplyDeleteIn my Scandinavian family, some of the 1800s names were Maren, Helena, Marie, Margit and Gunny (from Gunver).
And from my English side, Loretta, Laura, Mary Ann and Harriet.
Laura is the main character in next spring's book titled A Captain for Laura Rose ;-). I do like Emma ... and that fits with the face IMHO. Maren is intriguing to me, too. I've never heard of Gunny as a woman's name. I like that, but probably not for a heroine. THANK YOU, Debbie!
DeleteHow about Cecile or Cecilia or even Ceece?
ReplyDeleteGENDER: Feminine
USAGE: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, German
PRONOUNCED: sÉ™-SEE-lee-É™ (English), sÉ™-SEEL-yÉ™ (English), che-CHEE-lyah (Italian), the-THEE-lyah (Spanish), se-SEE-lyah (Latin American Spanish) [key]
Meaning & History
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd- or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.
Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily - the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.
Related Names
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Show Family Tree
VARIANTS: Cecily, Cecelia, Cicely (English), Cécile (Dutch), Cäcilia, Cäcilie, Caecilia (German)
DIMINUTIVES: Cece, Celia, Sissy, Cissy, Sissie (English), Cilla (Swedish), Silja (Finnish), Cilla, Silke (Dutch), Silke, Zilla (German)
MASCULINE FORMS: Cecil (English), Cecilio (Italian), Cecilio (Spanish)
OTHER LANGUAGES: Caecilia (Ancient Roman), Cecilija, Cila (Croatian), Cecilie, CecÃlie (Czech), Cecilie, Cille, Silje, Sille (Danish), Cécile (French), CecÃlia, Cili (Hungarian), Sheila, SÃle (Irish), Cecilie, Silje (Norwegian), Cecylia (Polish), CecÃlia (Portuguese), Tsetsiliya (Russian), Sìleas (Scottish), CecÃlia (Slovak), Cecilija, Cila, Cilka (Slovene)
I do like the name Cecile. That could be an unspoken tribute to my own father, Cecil Grayson. Hmmmm....I have used that name in one of my contemporaries but only as a minor character so I could use it again ... THANK YOU for this information! Stay tuned.
DeleteAnd ... "Zilla" caught my eye, too ... maybe for a servant. Hmmm.....Thanks again.
What about Sarah? And shortened that could be Sadie. I love the name. Why? It was my grandmother's.
ReplyDeleteSarah is great, Barb, but I used it for Sarah's Patchwork. Although I didn't call her Sadie ... and I think that's very sweet. My grandmothers were Barbara and Blanche. I like Sadie much better than either of those!
DeleteWhat about the name Elaine? You could shorten it to Ellie or Lainey. My mom thought of Lilly or Ophelia (she looks like someone with a little more status) and we both liked the name Cora that was mentioned in another post. :-)
ReplyDeleteLaina was the main character in Secrets on the Wind, but she was just Laina, not Elaine. That could work. I agree with you about "status." She does look like that (and my character is, so that works). I like the name Cora very much, but I've used it. No way you would know that ... THANK YOU for taking time to chime in.
DeleteI hope I'm not to late to add my two cents worth. I like the names:
ReplyDelete1. Felicity
2. Cecily
3. Muriel
4. Olivia
5. Josie
6. Ruby
7. Eliza
8. Rachel
9. Josephine
10. Priscilla
11. Hetty
Blessings,
Tammi in Maine
I hope I'm not to late to add my two cents worth. I like the names:
ReplyDelete1. Felicity
2. Cecily
3. Muriel
4. Olivia
5. Josie
6. Ruby
7. Eliza
8. Rachel
9. Josephine
10. Priscilla
11. Hetty
Blessings,
Tammi in Maine
Never too late, Tammi. Thank you for those names!
DeleteHi Stephanie,
DeleteWhile I am waiting for my children to finish their chores and get ready for bed I started doing some research and come across this website:
http://www.babynamesfromyesteryear.com/2011/12/gentlemans-magazine-names-1842-1843.html
Maybe you have already found it, but if you haven't it might be a good resource for you,
Blessings,
Tammi
I'd like to offer Lettie (grandmother), Pearl (Great-Great-Grandmother)or Olive (unique).
ReplyDeleteI like Pearl, too. It was my grandmother's name, and is my oldest daughter's middle name.
DeleteTammi in Maine
Sally ... was "Lettie" her formal name or was it a nickname? I like it, too. Not sure about Olive, but I just had a character named Pearl in The Key on the Quilt ... with apologies to my wonderful Aunt Pearl, because my Pearl wasn't a nice person.
DeleteTammi, I love the idea of using family names for children. It 's a way to say "this is who your people are ... this is where you came from."
DeleteI wish that I had done that with each of my four. Only one has a true family name (Iver) used as a middle name, although after staying at L'Abri in Switzerland as a college student, I did anglicize that name and use it for a middle name (Labrie).
I wish I had my genealogy papers handy. Women that age in 1861 in my family were Sarah, Ida Belle, Christine, Emilie, & Henrietta. Rosetta, Matilda, Charlotte, Louisa, Emma, Margaret/Margaretha. Augusta Caroline Sophia was one gal's name. Christina Marie Louise was another's. One family named their three girls Lillian, Luella, Lucille, and Letha. Amanda. Caroline is a name from about that time that I see often. HTH.
ReplyDeleteLooking through my family tree:
ReplyDeleteBertha Elizabeth, Barbara Ella, Charlotte Ottilia, Klara Florentine, Mary Rose, Anna Matilda, Lizette, Sophia, Gesina, Lucia, Meri, Lena, Delia
I know I am late to the party. I just finished the Shadow on the Quilt and Key on the Quilt, both so lovely. Thank you for using your gifts to bless so many readers.