You guys came up with some terrific suggestions and points to consider! Between your votes and what people came up with on Facebook, Catrin and Elin were definitely the favorites for the girls, and the vote was fairly evenly split between Wynn and Gethin.
In the end, I settled on ...
Catrin for the protag! One of the biggest selling points for me for this name, which I didn't even mention on here, is that the nickname is Cadi, which I kind of love even in real life. So she is Catrin for formal occasions, Cadi everywhere else. The simplicity of it also works well for her character, I think.
Wynn for the main love interest. I hesitated a bit on this one. Some of you mentioned the concern that it sounded more like a girl's name, which troubled me as well, but in the end, I just really, really liked it for him. Sometimes you've just got to go with your gut!
And Elin for the victim/bad guy. Aside from all the other good points for this name, it is only one letter less than her original name of Elain, which makes changing it in the MS nice and simple. Never let it be said I'm not honest with you all!
So now that the fun stuff is out of the way, I just need to work on finishing the first draft of this beast, and then deciding on a title. Which will be decidedly less than fun. Titles are not my forte.
Thanks again for all your input! It was a huge help.
Huzzah for decisions made! I don't see Wynn as a girls' name, for some reason . . . Winnie, a bit more, but some nicknames do cut both ways (Sandy comes to mind) so maybe that's why I didn't think of it as being effeminate . . . more like a name for a man who's tall, slight and fair. Or, for irony, dark.
ReplyDeleteHee, Cadi! My sister and her boyfriend want their first daughter's nickname to be Cady, so that tickles me more than you can know, to think that when she is born there may already be a heroine out there who shares her name . . . and as to Elin being easier to change, search-and-replace is your friend! Don't go retyping every name, whatever you do!
(unless you crave the pleasant tedium of a repetitive task, of course. Or if you wrote it out longhand . . . I haven't worked out the search-and-replace shortcut for longhand, yet)
Oh, if I knew the option was actually "Cadi," I may have been more enthusiastic about the new choices for that character! Cadi I like! And I liked Catrin BEST of the options, anyway, even though I liked the original name better.
ReplyDeleteAndrea - I wonder if it's just a cultural thing, regarding the whole feminine aspect of the name? Most Americans, I think, wouldn't be at all familiar with Sandy as a man's nickname, unless you have deep Scottish roots or spent your childhood reading Canadian books (ahem). And I can definitely see Wynn for a man fitting your description, somewhat hesitant in manner but full of quiet confidence ... or, of course, my character, who is nothing like that!
ReplyDeleteRockinlibrarian - I deliberately didn't post the nickname because I suspected it might influence people, and I was curious as to everyone reactions to the names in full!