All hail the king of the six kingdoms! 6. Brandon the Builder was the founder of House Stark. Within the Stark family, which itself means “strong” or “sharp,” there is a Bran for every generation. Martin has stated he can’t write about a character until it’s been named, and names have a big significance in the families within the novels. However, when you delve into what Bran’s name means, it’s clear he was always destined for greatness in Westeros. For much of the series, he was plagued with visions and paralysis.
Martin’s Game of Thrones series assumed nothing of little Bran Stark, whose name is seemingly as simple as his place in the novel. It’s a name fitting for one of the mightiest and fairest elves in Middle-earth. Tolkien translated her name as “glittering garland,” most likely in reference to her gleaming blonde hair. One of the languages spoken by elves, Sindarin, is the source of Galadriel’s name. Inspirations for these languages included Old Norse, Middle English, and Latin. Tolkien, an academic who studied language and philology, famously invented the languages in the beloved books that make up his legendarium. Galadriel comes from the rich world of Lord of the Rings, written by J.R.R Tolkien. The name was transposed from the silver screen onto the page.
It’s said Salinger got the name from a marquee for the movie Dear Ruth starring William Holden and Joan Caulfield. The legend surrounding the origin of Holden’s name is thought to be tied to cinema. Caulfield, a boy who spends the novel lamenting that everything is “phony,” is thought to be one of the most important characters in 20th-century literature. Salinger’s quintessential novel of teenage angst and cynicism, The Catcher in the Rye, is narrated by main character Holden Caulfield. These two players were thought to inspire the writer into combining the two: Frank Shacklock and Mordecai Sherwin. The other theory has the name originating from the game of cricket, of which Doyle was a huge fan. Sherlock was the name of famed violinist Alfred Sherlock. There are two plausible theories that were neither confirmed nor denied by Doyle regarding the name Sherlock. However, Doyle’s first wife thought the name was entirely awful and told him to change it, which is when Doyle landed on Holmes. Holmes was very close to being named Sherrinford Hope. According to lore, the author of the Sherlock Holmes series, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, named the character over and over again before settling. It’s become synonymous with intelligence and wit.
The most famous detective in the world also has an iconic name. Rowling decided against that name because it didn’t fit the character.
Rowling has said of the name: “It just seemed like the sort of name that a pair of professional dentists, who liked to prove how clever they were … do you know what I mean?” While some characters have names that are metaphors for their character, Hermione’s name speaks more to her parents.
Hermione was gleaned from the Shakespeare play “The Winter’s Tale,” while Granger is a common surname. Rowling’s beloved witch heroine, Hermione Granger. You’ll be surprised at how many were originally named something else, and how significant their names are to their characters! 1.
Well, let’s take a dive into how some of the most famous literary characters were named. So how does one even go about this herculean task? Many authors can’t even begin to write until they’ve given each and every person in their book a name. It’s for good reason: a name can make or break how audiences remember a character. It’s no secret that writers agonize over what to name their characters.