tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post758015645690599584..comments2024-03-29T07:00:46.755-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): What Are Some of the Greatest Character Names In Fiction?pattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-48633336001214145722013-03-10T17:14:15.616-04:002013-03-10T17:14:15.616-04:00I agree about Dickens. "Murdstone" tells...I agree about Dickens. "Murdstone" tells you everything you need to know.<br /><br />And, David, you're right. "Spenser" is perfect. "Spencer" would be blah.Al Tuchernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-90876600561026542202013-03-10T09:46:04.368-04:002013-03-10T09:46:04.368-04:00I think he would count. Any character name from a ...I think he would count. Any character name from a work of fiction be in print, stage, film. For me at least.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-76205054350471170832013-03-10T09:39:09.974-04:002013-03-10T09:39:09.974-04:00Not a literary character, but I really like Max Bi...Not a literary character, but I really like Max Bialystok from THE PRODUCERS.Anders Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06164550847416446757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-16872467435736821992013-03-09T21:25:44.258-05:002013-03-09T21:25:44.258-05:00Fun to read through all the responses. Maybe every...Fun to read through all the responses. Maybe everybody knows this, but Damon Runyon got the name Sky Masterson from Bat Masterson, who lived his later years in New York.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-24390341044361848072013-03-09T15:08:29.366-05:002013-03-09T15:08:29.366-05:00Sometimes actual names are just as good. I knew a ...Sometimes actual names are just as good. I knew a woman named Minnie Martha Turnipseed. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-47623444776606553942013-03-09T13:56:24.781-05:002013-03-09T13:56:24.781-05:00Like James, I am partial to Donald Lam and Bertha ...Like James, I am partial to Donald Lam and Bertha Cool. <br /><br />Dickens created such memorable characters and his names reinforced that. David Copperfield may be my favorite, though it's certainly not the most colorful. I think JK Rowling followed Dickens somewhat in the way she named characters in the Harry Potter books. Naomi Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08005429772070247806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-59254291904280953692013-03-09T13:48:50.088-05:002013-03-09T13:48:50.088-05:00And Pussy Galore!And Pussy Galore!pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-78393863174906195242013-03-09T13:38:22.901-05:002013-03-09T13:38:22.901-05:00Donald Lam and Bertha Cool.Donald Lam and Bertha Cool.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-9925276195455265202013-03-09T13:37:26.563-05:002013-03-09T13:37:26.563-05:00Bond. James Bond.
And lots of other names from th...Bond. James Bond.<br /><br />And lots of other names from those books, usually of villains like Auric Goldfinger , Hugo Drax, and Ernst Stavro Blofeld.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-5555654294693919532013-03-09T13:32:53.747-05:002013-03-09T13:32:53.747-05:00Spenser.Spenser.David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-83022725442291353552013-03-09T13:06:55.319-05:002013-03-09T13:06:55.319-05:00Babbitt.
And almost any name concocted by Jack Va...Babbitt.<br /><br />And almost any name concocted by Jack Vance, R. A. Lafferty, and P. G. Wodehouse.Jerry Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482856733981933159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-48332961347221661642013-03-09T12:52:25.659-05:002013-03-09T12:52:25.659-05:00Comedy of humors names, however, only work in that...Comedy of humors names, however, only work in that context. Put me in the Greene camp if you like, but names which are ostentatious tend to pull me out of the story, unless some recognition of their oddity is included, and even then.<br /><br />Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-12749685932282197772013-03-09T12:48:19.105-05:002013-03-09T12:48:19.105-05:00Dickens was the master for sure. I think sometimes...Dickens was the master for sure. I think sometimes a name comes to seem great because the character is. Seymour Glass, Alexander Portnoy, Nurse Ratched. <br /><br />And not naming a character at all as in Rebecca can work well too. <br /><br />Sookie Stackhouse is a good one. <br />Sky Masterson is brilliant.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-43729121021857571462013-03-09T12:35:39.392-05:002013-03-09T12:35:39.392-05:00Dorian Gray
Holly Golightly
Nathan Detroit
Sky Mas...Dorian Gray<br />Holly Golightly<br />Nathan Detroit<br />Sky Masterson.<br />Frankie Machine<br />Bobby Peru<br />Vivien LashPaul D Brazillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12881642426845398389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-64464249947133042002013-03-09T12:18:22.488-05:002013-03-09T12:18:22.488-05:00George and Deb picked two I would have named - Ism...George and Deb picked two I would have named - Ismael and Urian Heep.<br /><br />Ignatius J. Reilly<br />Henry Standing Bear<br />Flavia de Luce<br />Bertie Wooster & Jeeves<br />Serge A. Storms<br />Sam Spade<br />Horace Rumpole<br /><br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-62106027083401855882013-03-09T11:59:11.649-05:002013-03-09T11:59:11.649-05:00The names are incredibly important. I don't th...The names are incredibly important. I don't think many fiction writers care about that these days. When I wrote plays one of my themes was identity. The names I chose for the characters had a huge significance to the story. In fact I made a habit of discussing names, how they were chosen, how they shaped a character's life.<br /><br />With that in mind here are my choices for names that have a lot to do with the character's identity: Ebenezer Scrooge, Honoria Dedlock, Uriah Heep, Hiram Grewgious, Alexander Bonaparte Cust, R. Daneel Olivaw, T.S. Garp, Major Major. Many fictional detectives have fabulous names. Two of my faves: Agamemnon Telemachus Plum in <i>Corpses at Indian Stones</i> by Philip Wylie and Peregrine Clement Smith, whose nickname is Pithecanthropus because of his odd apelike features. He appears in <i>Murder on the Moor</i> by Thomas Kindon.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-64604129260174590732013-03-09T11:32:03.324-05:002013-03-09T11:32:03.324-05:00Dickens did such a great job with names--Uriah Hee...Dickens did such a great job with names--Uriah Heep is my favorite. Yes, sometimes his character names border on caricature, but they're always so inventive. I like Hardy's names too: Gabriel Oak, Eustacia Vye, Bathsheba Everdene, Clem Yeobright. D.H.Lawrence had some good ones--Hermione Roddice, Gundren Brangwen, Constance Chatterley. The gift of choosing the "right" name to fit the character seems to be a dying art. If course, writers could take a page out of Graham Greene's book and name everyone Smith or Jones.<br /><br />DebAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-71976385924704628552013-03-09T11:10:39.319-05:002013-03-09T11:10:39.319-05:00Call me Ishmael.Call me Ishmael.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.com