I believe that it was Shakespeare who posed the question, “What’s in a name?”

As I looked further into this matter it appears that Shakespeare took great care when naming his characters. He would often use their monikers to reveal personality traits, have them coincide with their physical attributes, or hold hidden meanings as to who they were.

Imagine if Romeo and Juliet have been called Abraham and Bernadette.

Neurological research that I came across showed that how an object is named strongly influences our perception of it.

Names for me are our introduction to the world, our first impression. As an author I have always put great thought into naming my characters because of this. There are of course other considerations when creating a name, such as your story’s timeline, location, and cultural backgrounds.

My first novel’s comedic sidekick Winifred Pallas, or Wink to her friends, was named primarily after my husband’s Aunt Wink. What an absolutely delightful first name that is. The meaning of a wink is a non-verbal cue that signals shared secrets, humour, or affection. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! That for me completely described both Don’s aunt and my beloved character.

Then there was the family last name of Pallas. I had been doing research into Poe’s poem “The Raven” when I read that this winged black beauty came to rest on the bust of Pallas.  As it turned out Pallas Athena was the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and crafts.

So, after discovering all that, Wink Pallas was born, living joyfully up to every expectation that her given name brought with it.

My protagonist Marion Pallas was named after and shared similar qualities with the Maid Marion character from “Robin Hood”.

They both were non-conformists living a well to do life, shunning the behavioural expectations placed upon them, sometimes to their detriment. They each had deep connections and loyalty to those they loved, be they people or pet. Though both Marions had their damsel in distress moments, their resilience and strength proved them able to take care of themselves.

Then, there is me. Take my initials KD from my author’s name for example. It felt using them to be a stronger choice to write under, and a separation from the hairapist side of me. It was just a lucky happenstance that I shared these initials with a very well-known and welcoming icon. And, it’s thanks to this legend that when someone reads the letters KD together a comforting flood of warmth immediately wraps around them, like a welcome hug from an old friend; the cheesier the better.

I know that I flatter myself to entertain the very notion that my writing could ever conjure up the same feelings of happiness that Kraft Dinner or “KD” as it now calls itself does, but a girl can always dream.