“Top Ten Tuesday” is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is the Top Ten Character Names I Love.
In a world filled with ‘Caymen’s, ‘Rhine’s, ‘Raine’s, ‘Echo’s, ‘Layken’s (Seriously), and other equally cringe-inducing character names, I find myself increasingly gravitating toward the more normal, simplistic and traditional, particularly in the case of young adult literature where this seems more and more scarce. Whatever happened to the use of more common names like Elizabeth, Anna, Catherine, or Jennifer? (Wait! What do you mean I’m biased?) I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t need an author to spend hours endlessly probing the pages of a book of babies’ names in a misguided attempted to find the most obscure and unusual name possible. I would infinitely prefer a return to the classic standbys that most of us know and love.
So, with that in mind, for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday I’ve decided to touch upon ten names that, while not necessarily outlandish or unusual, I found particularly beautiful and that have stuck with me long after finishing the novels in question. They simply sing. At the end of the day, though, a name is not the most important consideration when it comes to the novels I read. After all, William Shakespeare said it best – What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So please, authors, spend a little less time attempting to conjure the most creative names and spellings possible and a little more time developing them as interesting, multifaceted individuals. Because really? That’s all that matters.
1) Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
2) A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
3) The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines
4) Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
5) Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
6) The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
7) The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar
8) Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
9) Golden by Jessi Kirby
10) Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
16 Responses
Parker Frost. That name alone makes me want to move Golden up on my TBR list! I’ve also always been a fan of the name Iris. 🙂
Betty recently posted…TTT- Top Ten BOOK BOYFRIEND Names
Gemma is on my list too! I love that name
My Top Ten
I’ve only read Golden, put I really like the name Parker, so yay! I think what I like about Parker is how it’s usually a boy name, but in the YA books that I’ve read, all the Parkers were girls.
Aly @ My Heart Hearts Book recently posted…Top Ten Character Names I Love
Those are some interesting names! I like Rebecca Bloomwood, too!
Those are some interesting names! I like Rebecca Bloomwood, too!
Nidhi @ literature martini recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | Character Names I Love
some great names there. I love Margo, Parker and Evangeline. Some real classic ones too. Love Gemma.
JennRenee recently posted…Teaser Tuesday #79 and Top Ten Tuesday #69
I tend to prefer the more traditional names, too. Especially dislike it when the name is so bad I don’t even know how to pronounce it! Letty Larkspur.. love that name.
Ginger @ GReads! recently posted…My Top Ten Character Names I Love From a Book
Some really interesting names, I love how Evangeline sounds, beautiful name.
My TTT
Reviews from a Bookworm recently posted…Top Ten Tueday: Unusual Character Names
I love this list! Such great classic names…I mean, Jessica is SO GREAT. ;D I especially love Gemma and Iris.
Jess @ Gone with the Words recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Character Names I Love
Haven’t read most if any of those books but you’ve picked some great names 🙂
Oh those are so pretty! I love Gemma, it’s awesome
Great picks!
My Top Ten Post!
Letty Larkspur is such a cool name – I love the ones that are memorable and sound perfect together like that!
Kat (AussieZombie) recently posted…Top Ten Character Names I Love or Top Ten Unusual Character Names
This week was hard for all of us over at the blog, so many amazing names to choose from! Looks like you had no trouble at all. 😉 Great picks!
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Andy @ Owl Always Be Reading
Andy @ OABR recently posted…~Top Ten Tuesday~
I am so fascinated by the reasons why people (parents, authors) decide to name their kids/characters certain names. Hearing about the name’s history in a family or the meaning has me on the edge of my seat. I love that everybody get different reactions when they hear a particular name.
I understand the usage of outlandish names for fantasy-type books, but I prefer traditional/simple names in contemporary YA. It just irks me when I read names like Caymen. Yeah, it’s unique, but ugh, it makes me associate it with similar sounding things like the Cayman Islands. Lol.
Great list! I love “Gemma” and “Parker.”
Cee recently posted…TOP TEN TUESDAY | Character Names I Love in YA
Parker Frost is a fabulous name, I approve!
Biased? I see no bias here XD I’m fond of names that aren’t so common, but aren’t entirely obscure. Layken? Really? Echo drove me nuts, but I could get past that since her mother wasn’t really with it.
Amber (Books of Amber) recently posted…Top Ten Character Names I Love
I definitely gravitate towards the more classical names as well. I particularly hate trendy names for boys. I like names like Jack and John and Henry. That kind of thing.
And for girls, I like classic, but also really feminine. I’m with you with names like Echo. I loved Pushing the Limits, but seriously, Echo! I really like the name Gemma Doyle, too.
Quinn @ Quinn’s Book Nook recently posted…Top Ten Character Names I Love