Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Ever Have One Of Those Days?

Seriously...ever have one of those days?

The brain that came up with "Gin Bombay" (besides being between my ears) is having some difficulty coming up with character names. It may not sound like much, but it's driving me crazy. I need your help.


I'm looking for a name for a female character, mid-40's, smart but tired, for an upcoming book. If you can give me that name, I'll use it in the book and you will have my undying gratitude in the acknowledgements. Okay, I'll throw in a knitted sea creature, just for fun.


Let me have it, the full force of your creativity, my minions. My reputation is on the line.


The Assassin

23 comments:

Suzan Harden said...

LOL Leslie, you can have my name because that's me right now--smart, mid-forties, but very, VERY tired.

Popular names from that age: Jennifer, Sarah, Lori, Sherrie, Becky, Christine, Beth.

Leslie Langtry said...

Is it like "Susan" with a "z" or Suzanne?

Terri Osburn said...

Looked up popular names for 1965. I like Sandra. Couple of nickname options and Bullock is running high right now. Also like Barbara. Again, a few nickname options there.

But I also like Rhonda. Someone can say "Help me, Rhonda" and you're back to your song titles. :)

Got anything else about this character we can go on? You want a hippee-chick name? She'd have gotten her name in the 60s, so that would work.

Leslie Langtry said...

The only other detail I know is that she HATES her name.

Terri Osburn said...

Then I'd have to stick with Rhonda. Forty-something years of a$$holes breaking into song everytime she gives her name would be enough for anyone.

Or she could be straight-laced and practical and have a name like Clover.

Hellie Sinclair said...

Hmmm. Her parents could have been die hard young Republicans and named her Nixon ("Nikki")--Nixon would be a very easy name to hate.

Parents like to name their kids for famous celebrities: Jane (Fonda); Debbie (Reynolds); Elizabeth/Betty (Taylor).

Or she could be named Eleanor (after Eleanor Roosevelt) You can call her Ellie.

krisgils33 said...

Too funny. Your character sounds EXACTLY like me (even the name hating part). I like the Rhonda suggestion. And I was also thinking Shelby, Delores, Vivian.

Suzan Harden said...

I pronounce mine 'Susan', but my cousin who spells hers the same way goes by 'Suzanne'.

Oh, please, not Delores! Too many Seifeld jokes in my head!

Zita said...

Holy smokes, you just described me, too! Geez, there are a lot of us out here. You know, I was promised a 4-day work week back when I was in grade three. They said that by 2010 we would have jet packs to get to work and a 4-day work week. I remember!

Anyway, you can certainly use my name, either the nickname (Zita) or the actual name (Roswita).

Or how about Monika?

=)

Leslie Langtry said...

Wow! Great suggestions! I have to agree with the Delores thing. I once had a neighbor named Dorcas and I know someone here with the name Ileta Duck.

Tori Lennox said...

Please not Delores. I'd always hear my yodeling cousin of the same name if you went with that one.

Anonymous said...

For some reason, the name "Allegra" came to my mind.

Leslie Langtry said...

Ooh! Allegra! That's fun to say!

catslady said...

Bernice/Bernie, Felice, Bonita, Twyla, Phoebe, Violet, Joyce, Jodi/Jo, June, Margaret/Marge (all people I've known), Gabrielle/Gabby.

Leslie Langtry said...

More good names! This will be tough.

Refhater said...

How about Sundown? After the Gordon Lightfoot song. Her nickname could be "Sunny." I went to school with a girl named Sundown and her sister was Earlie Mist.

Perhaps Aretha (as in Aretha Franklin,) Kitty, Poppy, or go the Brady bunch route with Marsha.

Leslie Langtry said...

Earlie Mist? Was Mist their last name?

Refhater said...

It was Burkman. Sundown and Earlie Mist Burkman.

Both were really nice girls.

Leslie Langtry said...

They had no choice but to be nice. Can you imagine an Earlie Mist being a bitch?

Terri Osburn said...

Can you imagine if the sisters had been named Early and Often?

Hellie Sinclair said...

Found another horrible name:

Hortense

No idea how to make that a nickname unless you want to call her a whor...

catslady said...

I also knew two Philomena's - go figure lol.

Refhater said...

I came this (..) close to being Betsy Ross or Liberty Belle myself. I was due on the 4th of July in the bicentennial (1976.) Thank God I came 3 weeks early and ended up Joelle.

Or you could go the Muppet route and go with "Praire Dawn."