Over Doing It

A mere blip in the space-time continuum ago, I wrote a few pieces for Writer’s Resources on naming your character something relevant. Oh, how I have come to regret them.

First, it was the constant barrage of e-mails hailing me as the chieftains of Satan’s hellhounds for claiming that the name “Moonflower” was too over the top. Those were rapidly followed with people from all corners of the globe heckling with my categorization of names as “odd.” (My apologies, I’ve dated 5 different guys named ‘Mike’ in the last 8 years and known countless more but I’ve still yet to meet a Hermione.) Now, the e-mails about that article have slowed to a trickle but the monster that fan fiction has created rages on. (Legal Note: The monster to which I refer is different from the monster that lives in Harry’s chest. I’m just not that corny. No infringement is intended or implied. ) People are now putting too much thought into their names in some ways and not enough in others.

Certainly, JKR uses names from mythology so often that I feel like tying a sheet over my shoulder and watching an Orlando Bloom movie, but not for every name. Some names, she just liked or thought were common or appropriate. Take ‘Harry,’ for instance. Courtesy of BehindtheName.com and a few other useful sites*, I’ve tracked down the following information:

Origin:

This actually comes from the Medieval form of Henry, which is defined as “From the Germanic name Heimerich which meant "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and ric "power, ruler". This name was introduced into Britain by the Normans. It was borne by eight kings of England including the infamous Henry VIII, as well as six kings of France and seven kings of Germany. Other famous bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson, novelist Henry James, and automobile manufacturer Henry Ford.”

Namesakes:

Harry S. Truman: 33 US President after a rather unexpected chain of events involving death and a whole lot of mid-1900’s conspiracy theories. Known for a lot of things; most of them are, after careful research, shameful.

Harry M. Markowitz: A Nobel Prize Laureate in 1990 for his work in Economic and Financial Theory.

Harry Martinson: Another Nobel Prize Laureate, this time in 1974 for “writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos."

Or, perhaps, for one of the total 15 sports-related celebrities Behind the Name lists

The point that I’m getting at is this; sometimes, you just choose something because you like it or because it’s common. There doesn’t always have to be a greater purpose because sometimes it’s just outright annoying.

The line between “Zack” and “Moonflower” seems wide but is, admittedly, very thin and nearly impossible to walk, but try you must because you’re all driving me mad.

Article Source:
http://www.behindthename.com
http://www.nobelprize.org