Day Three-Character Names

My main character in the Ganzfield books, Maddie Dunn, has a rather matte, drab name. This just seemed to fit, especially since it made her the opposite of Bella Swann. I wanted Maddie to have a name that acted as social camouflage, blending her into her surroundings. It made her specialness seem all the more amazing, since she was such an everygirl.

So, what do you like in a character name? Rowling's all have deeper meanings, e.g. Remus Lupin. Many YA books have characters with unique names that make them stand out even before you get to know them.  Got a favorite?

BTW, the launch day giveaway will be open through tomorrow: http://thedisgruntledbear.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-launch-day-1.html, so please check it out if you haven't already.

Character Names

"I KNOW What You're Thinking."

If my regulars are wondering why this is appearing in comments, it's because Miss Vicki over at Rambles & Randomness is dissing 'Jersey and sending folks over to win a copy of Minder. I can recommend her wonderful blog as well as her excellent taste in books. :)

And, BTW, it's always okay to mock New Jersey. Thanks for linking over, Vicki!

Welcome, all you new folks! Not to shamefully self-promote (it's like shamelessly self-promoting, but I apologize for it afterward), but here's some info for Minder:
The website Ganzfield.com has a book trailer, tons of info about the series, and a free PDF excerpt. Amazon has best price online (as far as I know), especially for the e-book ($2.99), and the sequel, Adversary, will be out next month.

I'm sorry for such blatant self-promotion. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

Character Names

"Maddie Dunn"

She sounds plain, right? Like "matte" (not glossy) and "dun" (brown). I gave the extraordinary main character of Minder a simple name. It simply fit her--a girl who hides in plain sight, almost as though the name was a form of social camouflage.

And, as much as I loved reading Twilight, the name and the character are somewhat the opposites of "Bella Swann."

In many novels, character names have special meaning. The Harry Potter books are full of them. For instance...

*Spoiler Alert*

(but if you haven't gotten around to reading Harry Potter by now, you deserve a spoiler)

...I knew "Remus Lupin" had to be a werewolf as soon as I saw his name. "Remus" was one of the mythical twin founders of Rome and was raised by a wolf, and "Lupin" is from the Latin "lupine," meaning wolf.

Yes, I am a great source of obscure data. Few dare challenge me at Trivial Pursuit.

Ooh--wouldn't a Hogwarts version of Trivial Pursuit be incredible?

But I digress.

So, what makes a great character name? Which ones really stuck with you? Fellow writers, how did you come up with your MC's and/or other character's names?