I’m guilty as charged. My main character’s name, Katora of Elixir Bound, is part of a naming trend
I’ve noticed of female heroines’ names beginning with the letter K. Admittedly,
not bad company to be with Katniss of The
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katsa of Graceling by Kristin Cashore,
Karou of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by
Laini Taylor, and Kira of Prophecy by
Ellen Oh.
Why the letter K? Perhaps because it’s a hard consonant; a strong sounding name conveys a strong character. This works for non-K starting names as well. Think of Quintana from Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta and Beka Cooper from Terrier by Tamora Pierce. Good strong names for these brave females.
Then there are the heroines whose names are symbolic of their characteristics. America Singer of The Selection by Kiera Cass and Aria of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi are fittingly both singers. The title characters from Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder are both a play off of Cinderella, which means girl from the ashes or little cinder girl. No shortage of symbolism there. I recently read an interview in which Maggie Stiefvater said Blue from The Raven Boys was so named because her mother (a psychic) said her daughter’s aura was blue.
Not to mention Grace, Mercy, Hope, Faith (and the various spelling of these), who either display their namesake characteristics or may even be the opposite of them. Or the characters names after flowers or plant: Rose, Lily, Ivy, Violet…you get the point.
Another trend brought to my attention is the name Aisling, see Malina Lo’s Ash, and its variations. To note a few: Aislinn from Wicked Lovely by Melissa Mar, Ashling from Texting the Underworld by Ellen Booraem, and Ashlinn from Wanted by Annika James.
Why the letter K? Perhaps because it’s a hard consonant; a strong sounding name conveys a strong character. This works for non-K starting names as well. Think of Quintana from Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta and Beka Cooper from Terrier by Tamora Pierce. Good strong names for these brave females.
Then there are the heroines whose names are symbolic of their characteristics. America Singer of The Selection by Kiera Cass and Aria of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi are fittingly both singers. The title characters from Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder are both a play off of Cinderella, which means girl from the ashes or little cinder girl. No shortage of symbolism there. I recently read an interview in which Maggie Stiefvater said Blue from The Raven Boys was so named because her mother (a psychic) said her daughter’s aura was blue.
Not to mention Grace, Mercy, Hope, Faith (and the various spelling of these), who either display their namesake characteristics or may even be the opposite of them. Or the characters names after flowers or plant: Rose, Lily, Ivy, Violet…you get the point.
Another trend brought to my attention is the name Aisling, see Malina Lo’s Ash, and its variations. To note a few: Aislinn from Wicked Lovely by Melissa Mar, Ashling from Texting the Underworld by Ellen Booraem, and Ashlinn from Wanted by Annika James.
