Characterization Through Characters' Names

In the most recent issue of The Prairie Wind, the Illinois SCBWI’s newsletter, Carmela Martino had an interesting article about putting thought into naming characters. What can you glean from a character based on name alone, she asks? How is a Hubert different from a Kyle?

But one thing I’d like to know that Martino didn’t address is how do names alone suggest characterization?

Is it something about the way they sound when you say them? Is a Leilani beautiful and graceful, the way the name dances from your lips? In which case, does that make a Gretchen abrasive?

Or is it because of other words the name evokes? You might expect a Kurt to be, well, curt. Or a Bruce to be bear-like, because of the word Bruin. Rose to be beautiful but hiding a few thorns.

And there’s nicknames. A boy who insists on being called James instead of Jim is reserved and particular. Every nickname for a girl named Alexandra – Alex, Lexi, Sandy, Xandra, you name it – says something different about her.

A William has hundreds of regal predecessors. An Adolf immediately calls to mind Hitler.

Certain patterns in literature, however, I can’t understand. For example, I’ve wondered why so many Percys turn out to be wankers or downright evil: Percy Weasley from Harry Potter, Peerless Percy from The Man Without a Face, Percy Wetmore from The Green Mile, and I know I’ve encountered others. Is it because “Percy” sounds like “prissy” or “persnickety”? Is it because it evokes pursing your lips when you taste something sour? In which case, why not pursing your lips for a kiss?

(With some thought I can think of some positive Percys. Percy Jackson from The Lightning Thief immediately comes to mind, of course. With a little more digging, I’ve also come up with Percy Engine – Thomas’s best friend – and Sir Percy of Scandia, a/k/a Black Knight, from Marvel comics. Maybe the tide is turning?)

More thoughts on character names – specifically, unusual ones – in literature are on the way…