Have you ever come across a fictional character whose name takes you out of the story? As in, the name doesn’t fit the character’s origins, age, or vibe at all. Or possibly the name doesn’t fit into the world they live in in some other way, and there’s not plot explanation for it.
The example that spawned this post
The main one I have seen was Jurgen Leitner from The Magnus Archives. He is supposed to be Norweigan but his name is incredibly German. And yes, his heritage is important to the plot. If he was Norweigan he would have spelled it Jørgen, and I don’t even know what he would have done with the surname. It even spawned some fan theories about him doing identity theft, but it turned out the writer just mixed things up. I still love the podcast, but that really threw me off every time that character appeared.
Also: flipside! Do you have an example of a character named so well that the name alone improved the work for you?
Bones is one of my favorite series and I have a name problem with it too but I’m actually not bothered by [name_u]Seeley[/name_u], it isn’t my style but I don’t necessarily dislike it. But I don’t like the names [name_u]Seeley[/name_u] & [name_m]Jared[/name_m] (his brother) as a sibset though, they feel quite mismatched to me.
More of a general category but when there are new renditions of older characters and they have names that would feel really dated today. Like the flash being named [name_u]Barry[/name_u] (if I’m remembering right?). I can’t say I hate it since I like a lot of older names and it would be confusing to change them but it just feels really weird when all the main characters have boomer names and nobody in universe seems to notice
Over the years I have read a lot of [name_f]Karen[/name_f] Kingsbury’s books (she is a [name_u]Christian[/name_u] author). It has always irked that she tends to use very trendy names for the majority of her characters - trendy for the time the book was written, not for the time the characters would have been born. And if they don’t have a trendy name, they’re called [name_u]John[/name_u] or [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f].
The most jarring one I can remember is a girl “who was named [name_u]Madison[/name_u] after her grandmother”. Honestly! Does anyone have a grandmother named [name_u]Madison[/name_u]?
not a bad name but a funny sibset !! i read a very fun and silly romcom called she drives me crazy and found the names of the protagonist and her two sisters leant a little too hard into the nominative determinism.
the eldest sister (headstrong, bold, feminine): thora
the middle sister (protagonist, a little more androgynous, sporty): scottie (that’s her full name)
the youngest sister (gentle, pretty, wise beyond her years): daphne
it’s like they knew which one was going to turn out to be a lesbian
the same book also has an extremely saccharine-sweet, bubbly, cute character called honey-belle
Oh, this reminds me of the exact opposite! When they change the names of older characters for new media, but the change makes little sense. [name_f]My[/name_f] favorite is probably the self-publishes Pride and Prejudice variations where they decide [name_m]Fitzwilliam[/name_m] is too old. Instead of changing it to [name_m]Fitz[/name_m] or [name_u]William[/name_u] - or just [name_u]Darcy[/name_u] as his first name - they call him [name_u]Franklin[/name_u] or [name_m]Felix[/name_m] or something else that’s super different. It’s so jarring when everyone else gets to keep their name but not Mr [name_u]Darcy[/name_u].
I felt that with the recent Baby-Sitters Club tv series - based on the 1980s book series. The setting was updated to modern times, but the names remained the same.
I’m mostly glad they didn’t change the names, because they’re the characters I grew up with and it would have annoyed me if the names were different.
On the other hand, it was jarring to see teenagers named Stacey and Kristy, and a 7-year-old named Karen. (Although the series was ahead of its time with some names, like Charlotte and Margo).
The most annoying part, though, was that they introduced a new character whose name was Bailey. It’s totally plausible for a kid today to be named Bailey. But in keeping with the other names, it felt out of place.
Gosh, yes. All those 50s/60s/70s comic book superhero names always made me do double-takes when I first learned them. Like, “Yay, go Avengers!” and then their names are Carol, Bruce, Wanda, Steve, Stephen, and… a handful named Peter.
I might be biased because I loathed the character as a whole (one of 3 books of all I’ve read that I couldn’t finish) but flippin’ [name_u]Holden[/name_u] Caufield from [name_m]Catcher[/name_m] in the [name_u]Rye[/name_u]. That name just makes me UGH.
Funnily enough, I really like [name_u]Seeley[/name_u] [name_m]Booth[/name_m].
But yeah, I hate it when people don’t do their research. 1800 but her name is [name_f]Kinzlee[/name_f]? I think not.
As far as names alone: I think the selection of [name_u]Bennett[/name_u] and [name_u]Darcy[/name_u] as surnames is at least like 7% of P & P’s appeal.
I also REALLY loved [name_m]Roland[/name_m] Deschain from [name_m]Stephen[/name_m] King’s [name_u]Dark[/name_u] [name_u]Tower[/name_u] series. It strikes a really awesome balance of moody/mysterious yet adventurous and handsome. Didn’t make it through the whole series but the 3 books I made it through were large in part due to that name.
More may come to mind later but those do so now. Good topic! Thank you! @Foulbaubleofmansvani
Mr. Robot has siblings [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] and [name_f]Darlene[/name_f], both young adults! I thought [name_f]Darlene[/name_f] was such an odd choice, but that character made it seem like the coolest name in the world.
I can’t remember the book, but i was p perusing at the library and came across a book set in the early 1800’s and the main female character was named [name_u]Harper[/name_u]. It was very jarring and I couldn’t read it,
It’s not necessarily a bad name, but an odd choice - I recently read Death of A Book Seller by [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_m]Slater[/name_m], and one of the main characters is called [name_u]Brogan[/name_u] Roach, but goes by Roach because when she started her job, there happened to be another [name_u]Brogan[/name_u] who started at the same time as her, so they got called by their surnames, and ‘Roach’ stuck. She likes it, because [name_u]Brogan[/name_u] is a ‘boring normie name’. Roach does suit her a lot better but it took me out of the story, because two female Brogans in the UK, at the same bookshop? Is [name_u]Brogan[/name_u] boring? I would be intrigued if I met a [name_u]Brogan[/name_u] here Maybe it’s more popular than I think, and I’m just being fussy
I can’t even look at him
Maybe it’s more popular than I think, and I’m just being fussy