Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Character Names in Books


I am sure I'm going to miss some great ones, but, off the top of my head...

1. Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Sounds so...lyrical! I always loved this name and am jealous Pullman used it first...otherwise I'd be tempted to steal it in my own efforts at fiction writing.

2. Dorothea Brooke from George Eliot's Middlemarch. So distinguished with just the slightest bit of frill. I like it.

3. Rose Hathaway from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy. I've never been a huge fan of the name "Rose" before but I fell in love with the name in Vampire Academy. Rose the character is such a firecracker and "Rose" the name seems so gentle and lovely...the contrast really worked for me here.

4. Cormoran Strike from J.K. Rowling's The Cuckoo's Calling. Cormoran Strike?? Enough said. Brilliant.

5. Arwen from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. So simple and pretty.

6. Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. At first I thought "Gilbert" was a ridiculous, dorky name, but it really grew on me over the time. And "Blythe" is lovelyyyyyy.

7. Bella Swan from Twilight. I'm not a fan of Twilight, but Stephanie Meyer nailed it with the name Bella Swan. It really rolls off the tongue pleasantly.

8. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. Love the name Katniss. Love even more the nickname Katnip.

9. Jackson Deveaux from The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole (who has an excellent name herself, in fact...is that her real name??). Mmmmm...

10. George Knightley from Jane Austen's Emma. My ultimate knight!

CANINE BONUS: Manchee from The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. MY HEART.....ahh, Manchee might just be the best animal character ever, like in the history of animals in books. I realize that is a huge statement to make, but I'm prepared to stand behind it. And he has such a cute name.

Thank you as always to The Broke & the Bookish for hosting Top Ten Tuesday!

PS: Just discovered this is my 100th post on here. Hooray!!

9 comments:

  1. Lyra made my list as well. I did always like Isabella but Twilight kind of ruined it for me, however it did make me like the names Rosalie and Jasper.

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  2. Yes, Bella Swan does really roll off the tongue! I love names like that. And I love the name Lyra Belacqua. It fits perfectly for the character. I also love Lyra Silvertongue.

    I love names with Rose in it. IN fact one of my all time favorite names is Rosalie. And I love the surname Hathaway. I haven't read VA, though.

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  3. I am so sad that I forgot to include any LOTR names! So many great ones to choose from! Lyra made my list, I absolutely love that name. Thanks for checking out my list.

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  4. Katniss was on my list as well. Rose...I never thought about that contrast before with her name and personality. Very interesting! Yes, Knightley, love him! Great list! ~Pam

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  5. My great grandfather's name was Gilbert, so at first I thought of it as kind of an old fogie name. But, like you, I fell for the character and simultaneously fell for the name. Great list! :D Thanks for visiting my post! Happy Tuesday!

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  6. You're my new best friend. I haven't seen the name Jackson D on anyone's list. Don't they know how hawt that name and boy are!

    Our List

    Doris @ Owl Always Be Reading

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  7. How could I forgot Cormoran Strike? I'd love to know how JKR comes up with her fantastic name choices. It's like magical word soup :-)

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