I’m putting this in the writing forum because it’s just too crazy to ask about in the girl names forum. WDYT of [name_f]Silence[/name_f] for a book character? I don’t have a personality or plot for the character yet.
Actually, I just mentioned [name_f]Silence[/name_f] on today’s blog thread. In my family, the Brewsters of Mayflower fame, [name_f]Silence[/name_f] is a recurring name…and it’s also the name of a stillborn child in [name_m]Ben[/name_m] Ames [name_m]Williams[/name_m]'s novel about the founding of Union, [name_f]Maine[/name_f], Come [name_f]Spring[/name_f], which has a treasure trove of Revolutionary War era names, all of which are historically based for the areas of Union and Waldoboro, [name_f]Maine[/name_f].
[name_f]Silence[/name_f] would be a very symbolic name and would have to be worn by a very special character. I could see this coming from a Puritan-like setting (as in [name_m]Paul[/name_m] instructed women to be silent), a speculative fiction setting, such as you find in [name_f]Sheri[/name_f] Tepper’s or [name_f]Ursula[/name_f] LeGuin’s works. You could do a lot with a character named [name_f]Silence[/name_f] – but you’d want to figure out whether the parents named her or whether she named herself.
[name_f]Silence[/name_f], along with [name_u]Comfort[/name_u] and [name_f]Delight[/name_f] are some of my ultimate GP’s ^^
[name_f]Silence[/name_f] in particular is so beautiful, I love how calm it is! And I’m usually fond of softer names ending in -ence, [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] and Emerence being other favourites. [name_f]Silence[/name_f] always makes me think of heavy snow falling or being alone in a forest. I’m also reminded of being in the water, I usually go swimming in the lake by our mountain cabin in summer. I like how silence gives better room for visuals.
[name_f]Silence[/name_f] does work best for a character though.
I would expect an introspective character, someone you learn more about from reading her reflections, thoughts and feelings rather than her decision making and actions. I’m reminded of the narrator from [name_f]Karen[/name_f] [name_m]Thompson[/name_m] [name_u]Walker[/name_u]'s ‘The Age of Miracles’, although it wouldn’t make sense for her to be called [name_f]Silence[/name_f] because it’s so unusual. I would assume the book to take place in the future or the past, or first and foremost in a fantastical setting.
I would hope she was named by a parental figure, characters who rename themselves are hard to pull off without the right setting (being part of a community where everyone does it, or fake names are used to protect identity or something along those lines) and it often seems sort of juvenile.
If I had the right story, I wouldn’t hesitate to use [name_f]Silence[/name_f] for a character, but it does need the right story.
Naming a character “[name_f]Silence[/name_f]” would be quite ironic, more so if your story is to be written in third person. ("[name_f]Silence[/name_f] said." )
Yeah, I think it’s cool! Obviously unusable on a real child, but it could be an interesting choice for a story character.
I’d think there’d have to be some sort of reason she was given the name, though. Maybe it’s only a nickname, given to her because she’s shy and doesn’t like to talk much?
It seems like a very harsh parent would bestow that upon their child (all I hear is a commanding tone, a banging fist, and “[name_f]Silence[/name_f]!”).
As for a story, I imagine it on an apocalyptic, Walking Dead kind of scenario, for some reason. If you’ve ever read the book Blood [name_u]Red[/name_u] Road, I can totally see a character being named [name_f]Silence[/name_f] (I figured more people had heard of the former than the latter). Something western, or Puritan, but not quite right, some creepy twist. In she comes, our mysterious, mute, understated heroine…[name_f]Silence[/name_f].
In another setting, I’m not sure it’d work. But with the right theme and genre, I think for sure, go for it.
I love it- please please, pretty please write a story about Silence. As another poster said, a fantasical / dystopian / Western would be brilliant- something along the lines of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. I can definitely see a character named Silence in that. I mean, that series had an evil, suicidal talking train (Blaine the Mono and the children’s story book version, Charlie the Choo Choo), a spider boy thing with four parents (Mordred), the Emerald City, bread ball bushes, and a rat-man thing that ate pus (okay, TMI, sorry). Silence would be perfect for something like that.
I love the name [name_f]Silence[/name_f]!