What’s in a Name: The Spellbinding Courtship
When I name my characters, I love giving their names hidden meanings. Often these meanings aren’t mentioned in the story, but I know they’re there. 😉
In The Spellbinding Courtship, the heroine is Selena Nieve Midor, although her middle name is never mentioned in the book. Selena means “moon” and Nieve means “snow” because she was born on a snowy night during (the equivalent of) late February under a full moon. Also, Aragon finds Selena spellbinding and is drawn to her, like the ocean is drawn to the moon. Both Selena and Nieve are Spanish names, and her parents and uncle also have Spanish names (Isabel, Arias, and Adan.) Their surname Midor is of unknown origin and meaning—to be honest, I just liked the sound of it!
The hero is Aragon Enok Hawke (also known as Lord Treyvan), the eldest son of the Duke of Childes. Aragon is a Spanish region and was a medieval kingdom before becoming part of Spain. Both Selena and Aragon are Spanish, hinting that they belong together. Also, Aragon is an ancient name because his family is also ancient. Although his middle name is never mentioned, Enok means “dedicated”, which is Aragon’s defining trait. His surname Hawke is a form of “hawk” because his ancestors were warriors who helped found Calatini a thousand years before. Treyvan and Childes are both made-up names, and I probably used the Serendipity generators (linked below) for inspiration, although I don’t remember if the generator actually produced them.
Want more about my characters’ names? Read about the names in The Enchanted Bird. This was actually the first post about characters’ names, so I mention why I like to give my characters’ names hidden meaning. 🙂
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)