Amy Metz – What’s In A Name?

I have almost as much trouble naming the characters in my novels as I did naming my children. But writing Southern novels makes it a little easier since there are so many colorful names from which to choose. And colorful name equals memorable. It’s a pretty safe bet if someone has a unique name, they’re going to be . . . well, a character.

Nobody loves a nickname like a Southerner. Whether you give a character a perfectly good name like Araminta and shorten it to Mint, or shorten Bucephelus to Buck, or you give someone a whole new moniker altogether, nicknames abound in the South, and the more unusual the better. When it comes to a name, which would a reader remember more—Tom, Dick, and Harry, or Brick, Skeeter, and Booger? Those kinds of names add richness to a character and a story.

Characters sometimes name themselves. They tell the author what they want to be named, and there’s no arguing with them. Names such as Beady Eyes Hickman or Slewfoot Taylor describe a character. Names like Tiny Walker, who is six feet four and weighs three hundred pounds, are ironic. Often, there’s no rhyme or reason why someone came to be known as Spoodle, Little Bun, Murble, or Boojay, not to mention the more common names like Bug, Flea, Moody, Snooky, Sweet Brown, Moppy, Cookie, Boots, Turkey, or Toad. Nobody knows where they came from, but they certainly are memorable.

Men’s nicknames seem to be more colorful than women’s for some reason. Who knows how someone came to be called Stumpy, Moo, Big Curly, Cotton, Cactus, Howdy, or Tuffy? But you can bet the character and the story behind it is not boring. Women tend to get the tamer, but still memorable, names such as Toots, Liddy, Precious, Princess, Bitsie, or Bunny. But my favorite nickname is Blister. Everyone knows if you’re called Blister the world knows you’re a lazy, good-for-nothing so-and-so who never shows up until the work is done. You’ve defined your character in one word.

There are also appearance-based nicknames such as Teenie (always a large person), Shorty (always a tall person), Squeaky (had a pronounced voice change in adolescence), Scary Mary (could be due to her personality or appearance), or Red, Green Bean, Boozer, Clumsy (all self-explanatory), and Bunhead (no, not because he wore a man bun, but because his head was shaped like a bun). Nicknames such as Patty Cake, Patty Melt, Olive Branch, Minnie Blinds, Rose Bush, Polly Ester, Ginger Snap, Candy Cane, Sue Case, or Melba Toast are takeoffs of given names and guaranteed to make you smile.

As far as given names go, if you want a really authentic Southern name, go for the double names. They came about as a way to both honor and appease family members. If a child was named for the mother’s sister, she had to be given the name of the father’s sister too. They didn’t want anybody to feel left out. The TV show The Closer has two great examples in Brenda Lee and Willie Mae. I love Eula Lee, Dora Sue, and Edna Maye from my family. Women aren’t the only ones with double names. If you live in the South, you know at least one man named Joe Bob, Jimmy Lee, or Billy Ray. It should be an unwritten rule that Southern novels have to have at least one character with a double name.

It’s always memorable when you come across a name that makes it clear the parents either had a twisted sense of humor or they were dumber than a fence post. These are the parents who take a perfectly good surname and add a given name to it that results in something truly bizarre, such as Anita Gunn, Ima Hogg, Mae Flowers, Standard Ford, Crystal Light, Sonny Ray, Stanley Glass Payne, Ima Little Greene. I mean, what were those parents thinking? Give those children nicknames right quick! But monikers given to a child often stick for life. Which is why it’s humorous to come across an eighty-year-old Peanut, Butterbean, or Little Bits. I had an uncle whose childhood nickname was Toad. That became his name for life, even though no one could remember how he got it.

Maybe I’m biased, but Southern characters are my favorite. History, culture, dialect, and expressions vibrantly come alive in books about the South and its charismatic characters with distinctive names. I mean, where else but in the south would you find a person, not a restaurant, named Taco Belle? Tell me that’s not memorable.

Recommended Article: Amy Metz – The Goose Pimple Junction Mystery Series

Amazon Links:

Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction

Heroes & Hooligans in Goose Pimple Junction

Short & Tall Tales in Goose Pimple Junction

Rogues & Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction

Goose Pimple Junction Mystery Series (4 Book Series)