Can you help me name my new hero?September 9, 2009

So I'm in kind of a quandary. I can't seem to grab and keep a hero's first name for Book Three. I can't tell you details (THE SECRETS! MUST KEEP THEM!) but here's a little bit about him: He's a blue-collar successful entrepreneur. He's sweet (natch) with a tough edge. He's a jeans and tees guy, but he knows how to wear Armani if he absolutely has to. His nname was Lawson, but argh. Too precious. I couldn't write more than a page and he was all grumbly about it.

HALP!

E.T.A. Apparently my own personal rule is that his name must include only four letters. Interesting. Huh.

Comments

[gina]

How about Cole?

[Cath]

I voted for Cord because I have never heard of that as a name. First in my mind it is a measure of firewood (which I guess is manly) and second well, a strong string (also manly I suppose but not in the same way).

Still waiting patiently for book 1. :)

[Kat]

Mike. Because your description brought to mind Mike Rowe. If not Mike, then Luke.

[mom911.wordpress.com]

I think *Jared* would be a kick-ass name for your hero.

Fits your description and more.

Just a suggestion.

[Visionsister]

I've always liked the name Jake. Could be Jacob for those boardroom situations if you were so inclined, but "call me Jake" when in jeans.

Good luck!

[--Deb]

I was thinking Hank, actually...

[Minna]

Also:

Hank

Too on the nose?

[Erika]

I have a rule that male heroes must have a hard consonant sound. That is why all heroes are named either Nick or Jack. It's a scientific fact!

Therefore, I clicked to vote for Luke, but really I vote for Nick or Jack.

[Jeanne B.]

Four letters = less hand strain. ;-)

[lala]

I think you should name him Cole, because Lawson reminds me of Cole Slaw.

[Juno]

Hoyt and Cord are like Lawson. Jess makes me think of Jesse's Girl, and NOT in a good way.

Nothing wrong with Luke except it always makes me think of General Hospital, because I am 40.

I think his name is Will. A confident self-made guy named Will feels real.

I can't believe I have such strong opinions about this.....xx

[Rachael Herron]

I can't believe I didn't think of Hank myself. Two votes already, and it's
not on my list AND it's yarn related. I kind of love it. Anyone else?

On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 3:40 PM, wrote:

[Susan]

I think Luke is used a lot for romantic heroes. Cord and Hoyt are great but sound more like western heroes than a blue collar guy to me.

I voted for Will which is a great hero name, but could I suggest a non-4 letter alternative to Jess? How about Justice? It sounds manly to me but not common or too soap-opera-y.

I think naming characters must be one of the simple joys in writing a book. I loved choosing names for my kids. You get to do that over and over without paying the college tuition! Consider me jealous.

[Mel]

Dude! I was reading the post in Google Reader and I was thinking "Definately Milo!" and then I saw that there were already options you wanted us to vote on...and Milo was one of them! *cheer*

[Pork with Bones]

I like Link. Could be short for Lincoln if you want him to have a high-class formal name, or short for Lawrence if you want a "please don't call me Larry" vibe.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=554107826]

The first name I thought of when I read your description was something comfortable like Christopher Joseph, CJ for short. When not at work CJ but for business he is all Christopher. :-D
Wonder why you go for the four letter names?

[greta]

TED.

[auntiemichal]

Ryan was my first thought, but I really like Hank. Reminds me of Tom Hanks.

[Lynn in Tucson]

I also like the Jake/Jacob but since it wasn't a choice I'll say...Cord. I, too, like the firewood connotations.

[~~Melissa]

Blain.
Not four letters but it sounds like it is.

[Annie]

I voted for Luke (I liked it well enough to name my own son Luke!), but I'm also a fan of Hank. And I like Mason, William, Eric, and Zeke as well. My brother named his son Ezekiel Zacharias B-----, and they call him Zeke.

[liz]

Thinking about Lucas while reading you off the RSS feed, then saw Luke as an option. That will do!

[Amy]

I clicked in to suggest Travis, who was a super hot boy I used to know who built houses to pay for his landscaping habit. But I like Hank as well.

[susan]

I didn't hear you ask but since others are offering...how about Ladd (fits the 4 letter rule)

[Christina]

Will. It's my husband's name and he's a good guy.

[Norma]

I'm not loving any of your choices -- they all seem too predictable or too pretty to me. BUT, change one letter, and Cort gives the hard t at the end.... and I dunno. It's different and sexy and... His real name could be Cortland or something, but Cort for short.

[Catherine]

How old is he? What is his given name? Lawson is first or last name? And of course if his name is Lawson, his nickname can be totally unrelated to his given name - and then, should it be adorably odd, or manly? I'll offer up my uncle's inexplicable nickname, Scug (soft g) as an example of random. You could play with letters and sounds, and then back out a nickname from whatever sounds right.

[Julie]

Cord is good because it's short for Cordell which is a good Southern-sounding name. Well that is if you're hero is Southern. Maybe from Southern California? Or Cordell could be a family surname. Plus I looked it up and it is Old French/English for rope or cordmaker. That's cool.

[Jessica in Texas]

I like Jess but that's because it's my name and was my grandfather's BUT I think you should add Sean. My own personal hero's name who also happens to be my 12 yr old son. :-)

[NJ Cullen]

Luke. because it echos Lawson a bit. Second, In MY opinion Jess is too girly (but Jesse isn't) and Milo is too euro, Hoyt makes me think of the guy who writes card rules and Will is nice but not Luke. Luke is kind of simple, suits boy or man, is old fashioned and modern. Is the name of my son (so I admit a bias) but still I think a very nice name for a romantic hero. Naming is always really hard. Good luck. Go with your gut even if it changes more than once!

[amy]

I voted Will. But love Lamont (Mont, Monty), Pete, or Aiden :)

[amy]

Also love Shane and Matt (Matthew..)

[Ginger]

Jack!

[Darci]

I like Hank - all yarny and everything but he totally sounds like a Chad to me.

[Heather]

If you wanted something *really* knitty you could go with Rowan

[ayla]

Luke, short for Lucas. It's a devastating name.

[Abby]

How about "Dallas" or "Major" or "Huston"? I actually KNOW blue-collar guys with names like these!

[Linda M.]

Frank is what came to me as I read. It is very blue-collar to me. I also like CJ from the comments.

[Gwen in Bowmanville]

I voted for Luke and then read the comments. You're right. Hank sounds absolutely perfect!

[Liz Cadorette]

Don't hate me for saying this, but the ones you list are so...um...Romance Novel! LOL

What about Lear? Maybe his parents had some kind of secret Shakespeare obsession? (maybe too tragic for words, though.) Liam? (trying to stick with your Ls)

<3

[meg]

I think Will works really well - probably called Billy as a kid by his least favorite great-aunt.

Will is simple, classy, and I like that it also expresses optimism - as a noun and verb.

[AmyP]

I went for Luke (but could have chosen Will). For my own taste the others were a bit .... not right for a jeans 'n' tee-shirt guy.

[LaurieM]

My son's name is Luke, how could I not vote for it?!

An unsolicited suggestion, Luc or Lucien (the family name I based my son's name on) might be an interesting variation. I have this impression that Luke is common for a romance heroes.

[Karen]

Luke.....like on Gilmore Girls. :)

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000149752299]

I was thinking Chad. But Hank and Luke are both really good.

[Re]

I like Will or Jack.

[Bri]

Connor?

[Beth P. in Maryland]

Hi,
I voted for Luke, but, would like to suggest Mark.
I am rather partial to that name, even though my Mark is NEVER called Mark, he is called Doc! Twenty years in the military wearing his name on his uniforms (LastName, M.D.) it was inevitable!

[Cortney]

I like most of the names, but I've also seen most of them used in romances over and over again. The exceptions are Hoyt and Milo. Those stand out as something new and different.

[Juti]

What a fun question. Before glancing at your list my first thought was "Joaquim."

You'll pick the right name.

[TKINgalls]

I'm not a fan of any of the choices, but I did like the suggestion of Hank from the comments. It's old fashioned, no-nonsense and very butch. Could be short for fancier names like Harrison or Henry. Also you don't see a lot of Hanks in romance novels. One of the things that bugs me (and can pull me right out of the story) is when novelists get too cutesy with the names.

[Booa]

How about Sean? Or is that not "hard-enough" sounding? (Like ends in a "k" or an "x" sounding, I mean.)

[Marilyn]

Hello. This is not a choice but might be a bit of fun.
Name him Wills. I know Wills and Will and William and Bill and Billy people and the person that meets your list of requirements seems to be Wills, to me.

[Amy]

Alex. The perfect name. :-) IMHO.
Alex Lawson...sounds good to me!

[Mary]

It's been a super long time since I've seen the name Luke anywhere...so I picked Will, as I've cut checks to a number of Williams, Bills, and Wills in the last couple of years.

[Wendy]

All I can say is: Don't go for "Trey."

[janna]

Milo is a great name for a cat, but I don't see it on a grown man!

[kryyyystyyyy]

How about Rufus?

Or Levi, make him a Jew. I could give you tips how.

[Melissa]

I immediately thought "Chance". But that doesn't fit your four letter rule. What about Leif? Or Eric(Erik)? Or Rafe, short for Raphael?

[Jody]

I like Myles better or how about my very successful Network Engineer son's name...Mirek.

[Nikki]

Despite your short list, I'm liking the following name:

Clay

No reason or rational. Just like it.

[Sarah]

Just read all the comments, and the ONLY name that didn't make me think "oh so very novel character-esque and predictable" was Cort. So I would go with Cort. If I were writing a novel.

(Luke, Jess, and Milo (that last one being the name of an actor, if I'm not mistaken?) -- quite a Gilmore fan indeed, eh? :))

[Juliette]

Like these comments. I like Hoyt. I also like "Buck" "Key" "Sage" "Weaver and "Crescent" (short Cres)

Well...too much time to think.

[Leslie]

Ok, now I'm very partial to Luke, mostly because that is my son's name. (In the interest of full disclosure his name is Lucas, but we named him that knowing we'd call him Luke.) Anyway, a straightforward guy needs a straightforward kinda name, I see Jack has come up a few times. I like that. Please no Hanks. Hanks are not smart, and could not invent a new kind of beer let alone be enterprising. (I apologize to anyone out there named Hank who is smart. I've never met you.)

[Melissa]

I like Will and voted for Will.
I would stay away from the number one baby names, myself. (Jake, Henry, etc.) I personally know lots of Henry/Hank babies.
I did like the name Hank (I had a guinea pig named Hank as a kid), but after knowing so many "baby Hanks", it seems less appealing. (Even though I'm a huge fan of Hank Williams.)

As for the Romance novel audience - would it be good or bad to have a popular baby name for an adult male lead/protagonist? Can a guy be sexy with a currently popular baby name?? Just curious..

He can always be known by his last name too. That seems to be a pretty common 'handle' with my Midwestern in-laws.

[Janet]

Jake or Hank

[Teresa]

Catching up on my blog reading, wanted to share this site.
nymbler.com. It was instrumental in my hubby and I when naming our son. You put in names that you like and it suggests other names for you. Much better than any books out there

[Evie]

Omar? Just. Not. Hoyt.

[Laura]

My boss' name is Hank - short for Harrison.

And I met a guy named Royce once and thought that was a hero sounding name.