What's in a name?

What’s in a Name? Naming Characters in Crime Fiction

As a crime writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about names. Not just for the main characters, although getting those right is crucial, but for every suspect, witness, victim, and passer-by. A name can’t solve a mystery, but it can certainly help set the tone, build a world, and sometimes lead the reader subtly astray.

There are many considerations when naming a character, and each decision carries a weight of implication. Here are just a few:

1. Time and Place Matter

My novels (so far at least) have been set in contemporary Cambridge, therefore I want names that feel authentic to that setting. For example, if I pick a name for a student character, it is likely to reflect their age and may also offer a nod to their background, but their presence in Cambridge must seem realistic.

If I’m writing about someone in their seventies, I’ll think about what names were popular at the time they were born; it’s a small detail, but one that helps create a believable character.

There may be instances when I choose a name that jars, but I would have a logical reason for this, for example, if I chose a typically Victorian name it may help to open up the idea of looking onto their family history.

2. Personality and Perception

Names carry associations. The names Felicity and Felix relate to happiness and good fortune, whereas Leah and Tristan mean weary and sad respectively. The reader may or may not be aware of these meanings, however I might pick a character name for its meaning and use that as a starting point. It helps me to develop the character, but if I know there are positive or negative associations with a particular name, I can played with this; it can be very effective to give a dangerous character a soft or innocent name. But whatever direction I take, it’s always a deliberate choice.

3. Readability and Recognition

In a crime novel where I’m juggling timelines, alibis, and a growing list of suspects, clarity is key. I try to avoid giving characters names that are too similar, especially if they appear in the same scenes. No rhyming names and I make sure I haven’t accidentally name dropped a well-known name. Robert Galbraith uses some very complicated names, Tansy Bestigui, Prudence DonLeavy and Preston “Pez” Pierce, to name three, and at first I found this distracting to read, however I is a good tactic for helping the reader to separate the characters from one another, and this is another example of writers needing to find what works for them, and I think this is worth experimenting with.

4. Surnames Matter Too

Sometimes a surname does the heavy lifting. A character might be formally introduced by surname in a police report or witness statement, and that name needs to feel plausible in the mouth of an officer or in the pages of a file. It might hint at a background, a location, or even a profession; this technique is often overtly employed with the naming of comic book characters, but can also be very effective in other fiction too. A surname often links multiple characters but it is always worth considering whether the surname will work for all in the family group.

5. Easter Eggs and Inside Jokes

Now and then, I’ll name a character after someone I know, perhaps a friend, a musician I admire, or a reader who won a raffle (yes, this is a real thing, check out my previous post). In some of the early Goodhew books I referenced historic true crime cases which had appeared in my first book, Cambridgeshire Murders. No matter their origin, the character names need to fit the world of the book, but they can also add a hidden layer of meaning for those in the know.

Naming characters is one of those invisible parts of writing. The names should feel right. When they’re not, it can jolt the reader out of the story. It’s a balancing act between realism, resonance, and a little bit of creative intuition.

So…

If you were a character in a novel, who would you be? Have you ever Googled your name to check out the people who share it? I frequently Google my characters and I think it’s a good sign when the images that pop up resemble the characters I have already imagined.

Authors care about their character names; they are given as much thought as the next clue or the next red herring. Sometimes the character’s name is benign or inconsequential, but it is also another tool in the arsenal of writers when they set out to plot, deceive and move in the shadows.

What’s in a name? I’ll leave you to work it out.