A lot of attention gets paid to first names, especially when it comes to naming your child. Do you like the name? What does it mean? How popular is it? How is it spelled? Should it be Unique? Do you want to use a family name? What will their nickname be? Another thing to consider is, how does it pair with the last name? Does it glide well when spoken, or does your tongue trip over it? And is this going to be a pairing that your child will one day hate you for?
There was a certain point in history when surnames started to arise, (British history claims 1066 and faults the Norman Invasion for it). At some point, though you just had to be able to differentiate all the Johns from each other, so that John the blacksmith, was different from John the Baker, or John who is John's son (Johnson).
Throughout the history of surnames, there are certain categories from which names derive. The most popular are Names dealing directly with family connections; patronymic and matronymic (paternal and maternal). This is how we have a plethora of names with -son, -sons, Mac, O' or Fitz In Russia the middle name is patronymic, -evich (son of) and -ovna (daughter of). Iceland, makes use of the paternal naming systems by generation, meaning that Jón's son Viktor is Viktor Jónsson but Victor's daughter Katia, is Katia Viktorsdottir. Occupational names are the second most popular. which is where we get the names Smith, Wright, Taylor, Knight, Cook, Schumacher, and Forester, among many, many others.
Other common surnames are local names, such as Marsh, Dell, -field, -fort, -ford, and -well, etc. A name that ends in -ton implies that the person is from a particular town or farm. Others can be characteristic, which are decorative or nickname based.
Surnames can give a glimpse into a person's history, who their ancestors were, or where they came from.
The question is when attached to fictional characters, does the surname tell us anything about who they are?
Florence:
Latin. Flourishing, Prosperous, Flowering
Adler:
German: Eagle; Characteristic
"Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house out to vacationers escaping to "America's Playground" and move into the apartment above their bakery. The apartment is where they raised their two daughters, Fannie and Florence, and, despite the cramped quarters, it still feels like home. Now Florence has returned from college, determined to spend the summer training to swim the English Channel, and Fannie, pregnant again after recently losing a baby, is on bedrest, leaving her young daughter Gussie in Esther's care. After Joseph insists they take in a mysterious young woman whom he recently helped emigrate from Nazi Germany, the apartment is bursting at the seams. Esther wants nothing more than to keep her daughters close and safe but some matters are beyond her control: there's Fannie's risky pregnancy-not to mention her always-scheming husband, Isaac-and the fact that Stuart Williams, the heir of a hotel notorious for its anti-Semitic policies, seems to be in love with Florence. When tragedy strikes during one of Florence's practice swims, Esther makes the shocking decision to keep the truth about Florence's death from Fannie-at least until the baby is born. She pulls the rest of the family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies, forcing to the surface long-buried tensions that show us just how quickly the act of protecting those we love can turn into betrayal. Told with humor and tenderness and based on a true story, Beanland's debut is a breathtaking meditation on the lengths we go to in order to keep our families together. At its heart, it is an uplifting portrayal of how the human spirit can endure-and even thrive-after tragedy"-- Provided by publisher.
Noah:
Hebrew: Rest/Peace; A Peaceful Wanderer
Mitchell:
English/Scottish: commonly comes from the Norman name 'Michel/Michael'; Patronymic
"Seventeen-year-old gaymer Noah Mitchell only has one friend left: the wonderful, funny, strictly online-only MagePants69. After years playing RPGs together, they know everything about each other, except anything that would give away their real life identities. And Noah is certain that if they could just meet in person, they would be soulmates. Noah would do anything to make this happen--including finally leaving his gaming chair to join a community theater show that he's only mostly sure MagePants69 is performing in. Noah has never done anything like theater--he can't sing, he can't dance, and he's never willingly watched a musical--but he'll have to go all in to have a chance at love"--. Provided by publisher.
Lorna:
Scottish: Fox
Mott:
Middle English: Pet name, Motte, for Matilda; matronymic
German: "At the Moat"; Local.
"A comedic novel about an American woman leaving her 20-year marriage to her French husband, returning to her native San Francisco to pick up the life she left behind, and the entwining lives of her children and grandchildren"--. Provided by publisher.
Amy:
Latin: Dearly loved, Beloved
Ashton:
English; "ash tree town"; local.
A collector of objects, Amy Ashton, who believes it is easier to love things than people, finds her solitary existence interrupted when a new family moves in next door with two young boys--one of whom has a collection of his own.
Eleanor:
Greek: Form of Helen; Shining Light
Oliphant:
England/Scotland; Norman origin; Unknown meaning; possibly olive branch ("olif" and "-ard"); Characteristic
"Smart, warm, uplifting, the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes the only way to survive is to open her heart. Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. That, combined with her unusual appearance (scarred cheek, tendency to wear the same clothes year in, year out), means that Eleanor has become a creature of habit (to say the least) and a bit of a loner. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kind of friends who rescue each other from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond's big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one"-- Provided by publisher.
Vera:
Russian: Faith
Kelly:
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ceallaigh or Mac Ceallaigh; ‘descendant (or son) of Ceallach’ (Kelly is now the most common of all surnames in Ireland.); Patronymic
"Who Is Vera Kelly"
"New York City, 1962. Vera Kelly is struggling to make rent and blend into the underground gay scene in Greenwich Village. She's working night shifts at a radio station when her quick wits, sharp tongue, and technical skills get her noticed by a recruiter for the CIA. Next thing she knows she's in Argentina, tasked with wiretapping a congressman and infiltrating a group of student activists in Buenos Aires. As Vera becomes more and more enmeshed with the young radicals, the fragile local government begins to split at the seams. When a betrayal leaves her stranded in the wake of a coup, Vera learns the Cold War makes for strange and unexpected bedfellows, and she's forced to take extreme measures to save herself. An exhilarating page turner and perceptive coming-of-age story, Who Is Vera Kelly? is a novel that introduces an original, wry and whip-smart female spy for the twenty-first century"-- Provided by publisher.
"Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery"When ex-CIA agent Vera Kelly loses her job and her girlfriend in a single day, she reluctantly goes into business as a private detective. Heartbroken and cash-strapped, she takes a case that dredges up dark memories and attracts dangerous characters from across the Cold War landscape. Before it's over, she'll chase a lost child through foster care and follow a trail of Dominican exiles to the Caribbean. Forever looking over her shoulder, she nearly misses what's right in front of her: her own desire for home, connection, and a new romance at the local bar. In this exciting second installment of the Vera Kelly series, Rosalie Knecht challenges and deepens the Vera we love: a woman of sparkling wit, deep moral fiber, and martini-dry humor who knows how to follow a case even as she struggles to follow her heart.
"Vera Kelly Lost And Found"
"It's spring 1971 and P.I. Vera Kelly and her girlfriend, Max, leave their cozy Brooklyn apartment for an emergency visit to Max's estranged family in Los Angeles. Max's parents are divorcing--her father is already engaged to a much younger woman and under the sway of an occultist charlatan; her mother has left their estate in a hurry with no indication of return. Max, who hasn't seen her family since they threw her out at the age of twenty-two, prepares for the trip with equal parts dread and anger. Upon arriving, Vera is shocked by the size and extravagance of the Comstock estate, which reveal a privileged upbringing that, up until this point, Max had only hinted at. That evening, at dinner, Max attempts to navigate her father, who is hostile and controlling, and the occultist, St. James, who is charming but appears to be siphoning family money. Tensions boil over when Max threatens to alert her mother--and her mother's lawyers--to St. James and her father's plans to use marital assets. The next morning, when Vera wakes up, Max is gone. In Vera Kelly Lost and Found, Rosalie Knecht gives Vera her highest-stakes case yet, as Vera quickly puts her private detective skills to good use and tracks a trail of breadcrumbs across southern California to find her missing girlfriend. She travels first to a film set in Santa Ynez and, ultimately, to a most unlikely destination where Vera has to decide how much she is willing to commit to save the woman she loves"--. Provided by publisher.
Carrie:
American: Free
Soto:
Spanish: Grove or Small Wood; Local
"In this powerful novel about the cost of ambition and success, a legendary athlete attempts a comeback at an age when the world considers her past her prime-from the New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising. Carolina Soto is undeniably fierce. She is determined to be the best professional tennis player the world has ever seen. And by the time she retires from the game in 1989 at the age of thirty-one, she is just that: the best. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one of those victories. After all, her dad-a former champion tennis player himself-has trained her for this since the age of two, always emphasizing, "We don't stop for one second until you are the best." Which is why it is infuriating when Nicki Chan arrives on the scene six years later and ties Carrie with twenty Slams. Just like that, Carrie's championship record is slipping through her hands. And she can't let that happen. So at thirty-seven years old, Carrie Soto is coming out of retirement to defend her title. Even if the sports media says she's too old to be playing professionally. Even if her injured athlete's body doesn't move as fast as it once did. Even if it means trusting her father to coach her again after he betrayed her all those years ago. And even if the fans don't want the cold, heartless "Battle Axe" Carrie back. In spite of it all: Carrie. Is. Back. She will return for one final season to prove to the world that she is the all-time champion. Because if you know your destiny is to be the best, isn't it your right to keep fighting for it?"--. Provided by publisher.
Finlay:
Scottish: Fair Warrior
Donovan:
Irish: "Dark" or "Brown-haired chieftain" derivative of the surname O'Donnabhain, (grandson/descendent/ dark or brown hair); Patronymic and Characteristic
"Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano's adult debut Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a witty, fast-paced mystery series, following struggling suspense novelist and single mom Finlay Donovan, whose fiction treads dangerously close to the truth as she becomes tangled in real-life murder investigations. Finlay Donovan is killing it... except, she's really not. She's a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay's life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn't written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors. When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she's mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet... Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation. Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moments, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from award-winning author Elle Cosimano."-- Provided by publisher.
Elijah:
Hebrew: Jehovah is my God
Campbell:
Scottish: (Gaelic): cam "crooked or distorted" beul "mouth"; nickname
"Elijah Campbell is on the verge of losing everything when he returns home and faces a terrifying decision-keep hiding in secrets or uncover the only thing that can save his marriage: himself. This page-turning novel from psychologist Kelly Flanagan is filled with poignant insights on identity, relationships, and spiritual transformation"--. Provided by publisher.
Rukhsana:
Arabic: Beautiful
Ali
Arabic: High, lofty, sublime. Characteristic
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali is looking forward to going to Caltech and getting away from her conservative Muslim parents' expectation that she will marry, especially since she is in love with her girlfriend Ariana--but when her parents catch her kissing Ariana, they whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh and a world of tradition and arranged marriages, and she must find the courage to fight for the right to choose her own path.
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