Naming the Baby

by Chandra Lynn Smith

Names matter.

My name is unique. In my sixty-five years I have met two people with the same name as me and know of a few others. The first person was actually my boss at a job in college and he was from India. Yes, evidently my name is not gender specific in India. The other was one of my dog training clients. I was the first person she’d ever met with the same name. And, any of you who are Grey’s Anatomy fans will recognize the actress who plays Miranda Bailey is actually Chandra Wilson.

When I was young I tell you I was not a fan of my name. I would introduce myself saying “My name is Chandra, spelled C-H-A-N-D-R-A.” Actually, I still do have to sell my name out for people and as I do, they are usually writing it with an “S-H.” My parents found the name in a book of names and liked it. They never even thought to find out what it meant.

In high school creative fiction writing class I did a study on names and their meanings. It was fascinating and probably was the start of my love for names and picking them. As I researched for that paper, I found the history of my name. It’s quite interesting, to say the least. My name dates back to Indian Sanskrit and it meant “Great Goddess.” Yes, I know, yikes. In modern Indian language it means “moonlike” or “celestial.”

As an author, I often struggle over characters names the way we did over naming our four sons. Which makes sense, because my characters are my babies. The name has to fit the character’s personality, the location, the time period, the history of the family, and the story.

There is a book on my writing shelves that is heavily used when I begin a manuscript. It is The Writer’s Digest Character Naming Source Book. I highly recommend it. But, I also believe I must search my heart and my character’s heart to choose the correct name. A couple of my characters names are the names we had picked for a daughter if the son I was carrying had been a girl. It gave me the chance to use names I loved after all. I have never named a character after someone I personally know in my real life.

I think my favorites so far are the characters in Turtle Box Memories, Tommy and Kendra. The names are nothing really special, and if you haven’t read the book, I am giving you a bit of a spoiler. Their initials make a sweet message; TLK/KLT, means Tommy Loves Kendra/Kendra Loves Tommy. I know, corny, but also sweet.

Years ago, I walked through White Oak Cemetery in the mountains of Boone County, West Virginia looking at names. There were graves in that cemetery dated before the Revolutionary War. I got a mini history of names and lives. I sat beside the graves of babies and grandmothers and felt the feels. It was bittersweet and poignant. And, it enabled me to choose some authentic first and last names for the area in which my books in the Lake Nolan Summers Series are located.

Names matter. So, whether you are in the middle of a manuscript or beginning a new one, I recommend taking some time and researching names. Your characters, your readers, and even your story will thank you for it.

Friends go ahead and have some fun naming your babies.

Chandra Lynn Smith is a Certified Professional dog trainer and writer of contemporary fiction filled with inspiration, intrigue, romance, and dogs. She is a 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Contest winner with her novella, Turtle Box Memories. She has also been a 2-time semi-finalist with To Follow a Dream and To Chase a Dream. Coming soon are To Rescue a Dream and Song in the Night, the sequel to The Light Holding Her. Chandra and her husband live on a small farm in South Central Pennsylvania which is often filled with all four sons, wives, beautiful granddaughters, friends, and anywhere from four to nine “grand dogs” Find Chandra at www.amazon.com/author/chandralynnsmith.