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Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Character Names

Tuesday, October 22, 2013



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is: Top Ten Names I Love. As someone who spends far too much time on Nameberry, I found it very difficult to choose ten names. Usually, if an author has chosen one great name, the majority of their characters will posses great names. Therefore, I’ve chosen ten books with multiple character names that I loved. However, I will warn you, I’m not one for made-up names so there will be no Katniss, Peeta, or Gale - sorry!


  • Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan - Full of posh names that wouldn’t seem out of place on Downton Abbey or Made in Chelsea. Astrid, Felicity, Cecilia, Alistair, Lorena, Peik Lin, and Araminta (my favourite).

  • Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta - I like to read the blog Waltzing Matilda* and it seems as though our mates down under are bold in their name choices. This is often reflected in the Aussie YA I’ve come across. Here we have Raffaela and Chaz Santangelo. 



  • Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead - Although I wasn’t particularly overwhelmed by the story, I did take note of the names. They were relatively ‘normal’ yet seemed distinct. Livia (which I love), Winn, Teddy, Daphne, Dominique, Agatha. 

  • The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - I was reminded of the names in this book after finding out the young actresses who play Rayna’s daughters on Nashville are called Lennon and Maisy. In this book we have Lennon ‘Lennie’ and Bailey. I like Toby too (even though the name now reminds me of the poor HR guy on The Office). 


  • Gossip Girl and The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegsar  - These books were groundbreaking for me because beforehand, I don’t think I’d read anything with non-traditional names. Fond of surnames for first names and boy’s names for girl’s names, these names definitely helped fuel my name-nerdiness. Blair, Serena, Chuck, Kati, Easy, Tinsley, Brett, Sage, Heath, and Benny (for a girl, which I love!) 


  • Harry Potter by J.K Rowling - Saving the best for last obviously. Dozens of brilliant and wonderful names. Also, J.K Rowling really knew how to put together first names and surnames. Luna Lovegood (my absolute favourite), Justin Finch-Fletchly, Albus, Hermione, Seamus, Rowena, Minerva, Lavender.

11 comments

  1. I love the Harry Potter character names. So imaginative. I also have Lennie on my list :-)

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    1. I always admire J.K Rowling's commitment. You can tell all of the names have been chosen for a particular reason. Thank you for commenting!

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  2. Great list! I really like the name Etienne and all the names from Harry Potter are awesome!

    Thanks for stopping by.

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    1. Yeah, I think it's nice that Stephanie Perkins chose Etienne rather than something a little more stereotypical like Pierre. Thanks for commenting!

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  3. Great list. I considered adding Cricket Bell to my list, but went with Etienne instead. I loved Dash as well from Dash and Lily. I think you could probably come up with an entire top 10 list from the HP series. There were so many great names to choose from.

    Thanks for stopping by my TTT!!!

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    1. Yes, definitely! I like that the Harry Potter names aren't too fantastical and can be used in real life. I've heard Luna a lot more these past few years. Thank you for commenting!

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  4. Oh it was a fun one this week! Difficult to choose just ten books though. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. I totally blanked on HP but you're right! So many great names there, even if some of them make me eye roll (Remus Lupin and he's a werewolf...) I'm just eye rolling out of love

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    1. Ha! Yes I suppose Remus Lupin is a little obvious but Luna Lovegood and Blaise Zabini more than make up for it. Thanks for commenting!

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  6. These are great names! I can just see myself in the future, reading through book character names to decide the names for my kids haha. I wonder if they would mind? hmmm.

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    1. Haha, I think that's a great way to choose names for your future kids! I'm sure they wouldn't mind unless you chose Katniss or something like that!

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Thank you for commenting!