What’s in a name?

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The cashier at 360 Primo decided he didn’t like my name. “You’re now Stephanie,” he said.

I related this back at the table. “Do you feel any different?” asked E.

I didn’t, but it got me to wonder what it would be like to have a different name. Would it change who I was in some way? It took me until about junior high to like my name, although I always reasoned it was better than my parents’ other choice (Deidre). Now that I’ve been responsible for naming someone else, a real live person and not just fictional characters, I’ve been paying more attention to names.

I’ve always had trouble coming up with names for my characters. I usually resort to a few letters: A, K, and J. Bor-ing. But I honestly don’t know how to move past that. Those are just the letters that pop out when it is time for that person to have a name. I’ve tried names using letters I usually keep away from but it sounds false when I read the story later. Like I was trying too hard.

Can a name ruin an entire story? In my case, if I can’t work past that point, it can. But it’s interesting – even the names we think of as iconic all began as just another name. It was the story that made them what they are, not the name itself. Of course there are certain histories attached to names, but you can’t help that. It’s just something else you have to get through as a writer.

It’s not like I don’t have other hangups about my writing. But names … I can’t ignore those as easily.