Hi,
I’m playing around with writing and am trying to think of last names for a family. The family in question is a father, mother and I haven’t quite figured out how many kids or their genders yet, but I do know that no one in this family is average. They will all be uniquely wonderful but overall they’re all quirky or downright weird (in a hilarious and endearing way), they’re sweet, loving, loyal, curious and inquisitive in their own ways.
They all love nature though nature doesn’t always love them back lol. They love gardening, they grow their own food, some of them like animals, others not so much. They kind of like camping but are more like glamping/cabin people that do day trips and hikes and sit around the fire at night, even at home.
The parents are very honest and open with each other and their kids so the kids are picking up on this too. Not always a trait loved by other people so their circles are small but deep and meaningful. An adventurous and creative bunch.
Some of the criteria I have:
Nothing on the nose
I’d prefer to not have word names or occupational names
Meaning matters. I don’t want a last name with little to no meaning but I don’t want it to feel too contrived either
What are your thoughts and suggestions on the directions I could go with their last name?
Thanks in advance 
Surnames have very little to do with personalities and everything to do with regionalism, heritage, and ethnicity.
What’s the ethnic background of each parent? Are they modern or old-fashioned? (In other words, hyphenated surname, his name for everyone, her name for some of them, or Hispanic surname style.)
Where do they live? What age are they? When I grew up in CT, ethnic backgrounds were [name_u]French[/name_u] Canadian, Irish, Italian, Greek, Polish, and Lebanese, along with traditional [name_u]New[/name_u] [name_u]England[/name_u] WASPS. Very few Jews, no black people. [name_f]My[/name_f] hometown demographics are not like this at all anymore.
Where I teach, most surnames are homogenous because it’s the Deep [name_u]South[/name_u]. Most people, white and black, have the same kind of [name_f]English[/name_f], Irish, or Scottish surnames. Very few European ethnic names, but there’s a Vietnamese community, a Korean community, a Mexican and Salvadorean community, and an Arab (Syrian, Egyptian, and Palestinian) community.
All of this factors into the surname. Sadly, there aren’t any phonebooks anymore (this used to be a great way to find local surnames). However, I can recommend a book called Character Names by [name_f]Sherrilyn[/name_f] [name_m]Kenyon[/name_m] which has stood me in good stead.
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Hmm. That’s in interesting and completely realistic way of thinking about it. I actually hadn’t thought of that before. I usually get caught symbolism, meanings and personalities as a reference point for naming characters (even though I find that frustrating and tacky!) probably because I changed my own name from one that didn’t suit me. Thank you for the new perspective to add in I’ll take a look at that book too!