{"id":1481,"date":"2016-03-07T11:15:12","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T16:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kathleenferrari.com\/?p=1481"},"modified":"2016-03-07T12:40:12","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T17:40:12","slug":"where-the-names-come-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kathleenferrari.com\/?p=1481","title":{"rendered":"Where the Names Come from"},"content":{"rendered":"

“A rose by any other word would smell as sweet.”<\/em> – \u00a0William Shakespeare\"Picture<\/a>“So where do you get the names for your characters?” People ask.<\/p>\n

The answer is, I beg, I borrow and I steal them. I also make them up.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Desmond Sbeerin<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love the name Desmond. We have a dear friend who lives in Dalkey, Ireland with that name. I borrowed the name from him and he was gracious enough to let me. I chose Sheerin as the family name because, while not as well-known as Murphy, or even Malone, it is an Irish name. Once again, I borrowed it. My maternal great-grandfather, Patrick Sheerin, owned a bar or “saloon”, not unlike the original Ceol agus Craic, in Boston around the turn of the last century. From the first moment I envisioned this character I knew his name was Desmond or Des Sheerin.<\/p>\n

Francesca Chiesa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Francesca Chiesa was my paternal great-grandmother, my father’s beloved Nona. I always loved the name. \u00a0I asked permission of the “senior” cousin on that side of the family to use it. I am happy to think that Nona’s name lives on in my novel.<\/p>\n

Nick Benincasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nick’s name is stolen, from a saint, no less. Di Benincasa is the family name of St. Catherine of Sienna.<\/a>\u00a0I thought it was a perfect name for a plumber of Italian descent.<\/p>\n

Drew\u00a0MacCullough and Lilah Patch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two examples of names that I made up from thin air. I wanted a Scot name as a counter-point to Brid’s name, which is Irish, and I liked the sound of MacCullough. The character was neither an “Andy” nor an “Andrew” and thus Drew McCullough was born.<\/p>\n

Lilah was conceived in a moment of whimsy with a nod to a dynamic lady I once worked for whose name was Lilla. I liked the way the name sounded and I think it fits this character.<\/p>\n

Here are some general guidelines I use when choosing a name:<\/p>\n