Tuesday 22 May 2018

Top Ten Tuesday | What's in a name?


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!


This week's theme is 'Best Character Names' and as soon as I read that I forgot every clever/fun name I've ever heard. I thought of doing some kind of theme, but in the end I decided to go for ten character names I just happen to like for various reasons. These aren't necessarily my favourite character names but the first ones that came to mind - on with my list!



Orc Dave from Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe and various artists: I love Rat Queens, it's like World of Warcraft meets Dungeons and Dragons and a lot of drunk women, and one of the things I loved most about the first volume was the introduction of a group who call themselves the 'Four Daves' with each member being distinguished by their race. I love the idea of four men in a high fantasy world sharing the name Dave, and Orc Dave is adorable.

The Dragon from Uprooted by Naomi Novik: It's no secret that I didn't enjoy Uprooted as much as I hoped I would, but I did like The Dragon a lot purely because he was such a grumpy git and, therefore, very deserving of the name.

Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: I fell in love with this book earlier this year and I think Dirtyhands is such a brilliant nickname for a gangster.

Atl from Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: There's such a unique take on vampires and various vampire species in this novel and I love Atl, but I also love her because I don't think I've read a novel before that's included a character with an Aztec name.

Sabriel from The Old Kingdom by Garth Nix: This one's just a pretty name! I've always liked it; the title of this book is what first drew me to it when I was around 13 or 14.



Stanley Yelnats from Holes by Louis Sachar: If my surname was Yelnats, I would not hesitate to call my son Stanley if I had one. It's just a wasted opportunity if not, right?

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Katniss is another name for the sagittaria or arrowhead plants, which is a very fitting name for an archer, I think, without being an obvious link!

Sirius Black from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Speaking of obvious links, as much as I love Remus Lupin I'm never going to get over the fact that Rowling essentially named her werewolf Wolf McWolf. I do love Sirius's name, though; I like the name Sirius anyway, but that Sirius is the dog star is a nice touch for a man who can transform into a dog, and a much less beat-you-over-the-head touch than Remus Lupin.

Dolphin from The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson: I loved Wilson's work when I was younger and I never forgot Dolphin and the simplicity that her mum named her that because she likes dolphins. As a little girl I couldn't help thinking it'd be a very cool name to have.

Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: There are all kinds of fairy tale-inspired Easter eggs throughout this series, but I loved the tip of the hat to Rapunzel when the witch pushes the prince out of the tower window and he's blinded by thorns with this one.

Which names made your list this week?

13 comments:

  1. Oh I loveeeeee Carwell Thorne!!! Also, I loved when I got to Sirius because I was thinking about how I mispronounced that name in my head for a REALLY LONG TIME-- like until the movies told me what it really was (same with Hermione tbh). I think I am bad with reading pronunciations :(

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  2. Orc Dave is pretty good. :) I've always liked Sirius Black- that's just a cool name- and Katniss Everdeen is of course awesome.

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  3. Katniss is definitely one of my favourite names, like ever. This name is beautiful :)

    My TTT: http://flippingthruthepages.com/2018/05/ten-diverse-books-of-2018-on-my-tbr-with-character-names-in-the-title/

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  4. I love Sabriel's name, too. All of the character's names in that series are good. My TTT Dickens Names

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  5. Katniss was on my list this week too!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/22/top-ten-tuesday-160/

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  6. Katniss is a fabulous name! Great list. :-)

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  7. I love the name Katniss Everdeen - it just rolls off the tongue! Normally I'm not a fan of super-unique names, but I like this one.

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  8. Omg The Daves! Agree on Sabriel, i use that name for my wood elf character in elder scrolls online.

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  9. Great list! Stanley Yelnats! What a fun choice. I think Sirius Black is a neat name too. Here is my Top Ten Tuesday

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  10. That would be a missed opportunity! :D

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  11. Oooh these are great! I cannot handle Sirius (I am reading Prisoner of Azkaban for the first time right now, actually!) because here in the US, it is a streaming radio service? And that is ALL I can picture hahha. I love Katniss too, haters will say it's silly, but we'll just ignore them :D

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  12. I agree with Carswell Thorne! I instantly liked him because of his name!

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  13. Sirius was on my list too and I agree that Remus Lupin is a bit too much. I've never heard of the name Sabriel before, but I like it.

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