What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet;

I am SO picky about names.

In fact I will change names if I find ones that I feel fit more.

I have babynames.com favorited on my computer. And sometimes bounce around there during the day at school to see if I can find any that catch my eye. I have had a couple teachers who have asked me if there is anything I need to tell my guidance counselor, or if I'd like a pass to the nurse. Funny in retrospect but not in the moment.

That is not the point though, my love for names is insane. In fact I want to name my first born daughter Caesura, as in a pause in a poem because I think it would be a pretty name. My sister thinks it will scar her for life and I'm sure it will but that is what therapy is for after all.

The search. I tend to develop the character before I pic their name. I decide about traits I like, and then go to the advanced search bar and plug in the requirements I want. Like origin, gender, number of sylabls what I want the name to end or start with etc. And the proceed to scour the lists of proposed names to find the one.

Sometimes a name just appears. One that I can't help but fall in love with, I then build a character around that name. Like Zane, it means beloved and I can't help but put it into the occasional short story or essay for school, just because it is pretty. Another name I love is Aurelia, it means golden and well I really want to incorporate it into a novel one day.

I am a picky when it comes to deciding on names. Sometimes I can be found in the baby section on the ground surrounded by a thousand baby names books and a notebook scribbling names down left and right. I can't really give you solid advice on how to find it, it just happens. BAM! And you have a name.

But you always have to keep in mind that a character I could name Alice, you could name Jeane and it would be the same character. It's not about how other people feel about the name, it's about how you feel about it. If you are iffy about it, it will show through your writing. If you are unsure about how it fits, the reader will think it doesn't match up.

I guess what I'm trying to say is a name makes us who we are, or who our characters are. It shapes them, and as long as the name fits for you than nothing else matters.