What's in a Name?
What's in a Name?
The art of naming: characters, book titles and more!
I’ve had a lot of names, and that’s not great for a writer.
I was born Lynne Meredith Cohn. My first byline—Lynne Cohn—sounded like a doorbell, so I included my middle name. But people always called me Meredith, like they didn’t even see my first name.
When I married the first time, I took my husband’s name. My former mother-in-law really lobbied for it, because his surname was Schreiber, which means scribe in German. I thought it was symbolic, bashert, meant to be, a surname that meant writer.
When that marriage ended, it felt weird to keep his name, but my kids had it, so I let it float for a while. But when I married husband #2, whose last name—Golodner—is a mouthful, I contemplated just dropping surnames altogether or reverting to Cohn.
But who was I, Cher?
And going back to Cohn felt like going back in time. So I kept going, took on Golodner and now that’s how I’m known.
Still, I have books with Cohn, books with Schreiber and books with Golodner on the cover. GoodReads is a big hassle to get them all on my author page. I didn’t think this author-career thing through.
Who knew a name could be so complicated?
Deciding how a person will be known, putting on them all the namer’s hopes and dreams, values and beliefs, or ownership, there is a power in naming.
So, too, for fictitious characters—their names matter and can carry or sink a story!
I chose the name Sally for my protagonist in WOMAN OF VALOR because I wanted a name that didn’t sound Jewish at all. She chose Orthodoxy but remained different, not choosing to go by a Hebrew name. Her husband, born and raised religious, has a very Hebrew name of Baruch, but goes by an American nickname, Barry. That says a lot about him!
(Great news! WOMAN OF VALOR received an Honorable Mention from the Eric Hoffer Award in the Spiritual Fiction category. Yay!)
In my forthcoming novel, CAVE OF SECRETS, there are four protagonists—Eve (her name signifies the first woman, as her father starts his life over with her birth); Sam (her father, who left Orthodoxy and went by Sam instead of Shmuel); Mac (who renames himself with this Scottish nickname that means “son” and evokes his ancestral Highland clan); and Mags/Margaret (his mother, who grows up poor and becomes a Lady, changing her name from Mags to Margaret to change her story).
Names matter. I’ve explored this topic with the help of some fellow authors.
Welcome to Jenn Bouchard, the Boston-based author of FIRST COURSE, and Sonee Singh, a poet and novelist with five titles to her name!
Jenn: I have a name muse! My friend Tara is gifted at naming characters. I can be sitting next to her at a sporting event for our kids and give her a brief description of a character, and she comes back with possibilities in minutes. They're always amazing! She has a true knack for this. The main characters of CONSIDERING US (her new book coming out in 2025), are Devon and Kyle–plus a secondary character named Heath–all names that came from Tara.
Sonee: My characters’ names are linked to the self-development journey they’re on. In my first novel, LONELY DOVE, the protagonist is named Anjali, which means divine gift or offering, in Hindi. Anjali is on a mission to find her soulmate or twin flame, and eventually learns that this involves self-love; she needs to see the gift she offers. Anjali goes by Anji, pronounced like Angie, which is a play on the word angel.
In my second novel, CAN YOU BE, the protagonist’s name is Naina, Hindi for beautiful eyes. She lives a sheltered life and needs to learn to see the possibilities around her; she needs to open her eyes to what life has to offer.
Not only do character names matter, but book titles do, too. People have asked me if WOMAN OF VALOR is a military book because the word valor has those connotations. Honestly, I called it that because of the Hebrew song that many husbands sing to their wives on Friday nights, Eishet Chayil, which translates to Woman of Valor.
For CAVE OF SECRETS, there is a literal cave in the Scottish Highlands where Eve finds a journal buried in the dirt. This discovery launches her on a journey to reveal long-held secrets that have held a family back for generations.
I love the double entendre in both book titles—Sally IS a strong woman, and secrets can create a lonely existence for those who hold them.
Sonee: I haven’t had the same deliberate approach to choosing titles for my books as I have had with character names. I chose the title for LONELY DOVE before I started writing. A friend gave me the words, and inspired me to write. I am a pantser, and it was clear to me that Anji was going to have a vision in which someone called her “lonely dove,” and this would set her on a search for her soulmate, but I didn’t know how the story would unfold. In the end, lonely dove became a calling card for Anji, and so the title remained.
The title for CAN YOU BE was originally “The Box” because the story begins when Naina receives a box from an unknown sender. The contents launch her journey to change her life. “The Box” didn’t sound like a good title, and after completing the manuscript, I soul-searched to come up with a new one. The book is about Naina exploring who she can be, and thus I settled on the current title.
Jenn: All three of the books I've written I titled while doing the very mundane task of laundry. When I need a title, I hang out in my laundry room. Perhaps my brain shuts off just enough to leave space for a title to appear? Who knows.
FIRST COURSE has a double meaning. The book is very food-focused, so I wanted a food-related title. But it's about life's second acts, and everything up to this point for the characters has been the first course. The best is yet to come.
There is power in words, and any kind of naming can be purposeful and intentional.
Do you have a favorite character name? If so, I’d like to hear about it! Message me at the link below or reply to this!
Women’s Fiction Day Giveaway
I’m participating in TWO giveaways for Women’s Fiction Day. The first includes authors Carol Van Den Hende, D. Liebhart, Anju Gattani and yours truly.
Details:
EBOOK GIVEAWAY!
June 8th is #WomensFictionDay. Celebrate with a giveaway from some award-winning authors and their fantastic novels! We think this is a perfect time to appreciate the readers who spend time in our worlds, and would love to give a lucky fan the chance to win ebooks by all of these bestselling authors!
For a chance to win…Follow the four of us on Instagram:
@carolvandenhende
@d.liebhart.the.writer
@lynnegolodner
@anju_gattani27
Like and save my post (it was live on Saturday, May 18th)
Tag a friend in the comments (each comment is an entry, multiple entries allowed)
Bonus: share the giveaway in your Story and tag me
The winner will receive:
Always Orchid by @carolvandenhende
House on Fire by @d.liebhart.the.writer
Woman of Valor by @lynnegolodner
Once and For All by @anju_gattani27
Giveaway open to US residents only. Ends on June 8 at 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be contacted for fulfillment from this account. Good luck!
Thanks for reading the Rebel Author Newsletter. I write this every week and offer it free to my community to explore writing and publishing. If you find this information valuable, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll qualify for monthly book giveaways and bimonthly writing coaching calls.
With Love, Lynne