What’s in a Name: The Nightmara Affair
As I wrote in an earlier post, I like to make my characters names have hidden meaning. Here’s the meanings behind the names of the main characters from The Nightmara Affair:
The heroine is Kiera. As an orphan with unknown parentage, she has no official last name; however, she would use Waterstreet if pressed since she was abandoned at the Waterstreet Orphanage as a baby. She also has no middle name since only the more affluent bother with those. Kiera was named by the previous matron of Waterstreet Orphanage who raised Kiera (along with many other orphans.) Kiera is of Gaelic origin meaning “little black one”—yet Kiera has dark-blonde hair and was fairer as an baby. This opposite meaning hints at two things: Kiera’s less educated background and that she is meant for something different.
The hero is Devon Calator Vireni IV, the king of Calatini. Unlike Kiera, his ancestry is well-known—he comes from an unbroken line of kings from the founding of Calatini 1013 years before the start of The Nightmara Affair. Like Kiera, Devon is of Gaelic origin, alluding that Kiera and Devon belong together. Devon is derived from the Celtic tribe from Devon County, England. Just like his ancestry, Devon’s first name is rooted in history. (The “IV” shows that as well.) Devon’s middle name is the name of his ancestor who founded Calatini, so it is often used in his family; however, this name also hints he is similar in appearance and temperament to Calator: wise, kind, and progressive. Both Calator and Vireni are made-up names; I used the Serendipity generators (linked below) for inspiration, although I can’t recall if they were names produced by the generators or just something similar.
Character Boards
My Favorite Name Sites
- Behind the Name: meanings and origins of first names
- BabyNames.com: meaning and origins of first names
- Baby Name Wizard: meaning and origins of first names
- 20000 Names: first names from around the world
- Baby Name Guesser: guesses sex of names, finds alter egos, & more
- Behind the Surname: meanings and origins of last names
- Ancestry.com: history and meaning of last names
- Serendipity: fantasy name generator (for people and places)