I started working on Her Own Vietnam more than a decade ago. The main character – the nurse who served in Vietnam – is named Della Brown. I named her sister, another major character, Rosalie Brown.
In a plot twist I could not have invented, my publisher is also named Rosalie. And she doesn’t think a major character should be named after her.
Darn it, she’s right.
Here’s where you come in
Can you help me come up with a new first name for my character? Her last name, of course, will remain Brown.
I will give you some parameters, and you can post your suggestions here. I am on a deadline, so all suggestions need to be posted by midnight (Eastern USA time) on Wednesday, April 23.
If I choose a name you suggested, I’ll thank you on the book’s acknowledgement page.
What you need to know about the character formerly known as Rosalie Brown
- She was born in 1953 to a middle class white family in upstate New York.
- Her other family members are older sister Della Brown; mother Ruth Brown; father Thomas (Tommy) Brown; partner Anne Isaacs.
- The name needs to be three syllables long. (Why? Because otherwise the rhythm will be messed up in every sentence that currently includes Rosalie.)
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Ready? Re-name!
For a novelist, naming a fictional character is personal, like naming a child. It’s possible I will come up with my own new name for her – and it’s certain that my decision will be based on subjective criteria (the name is pretty, it reminds me of my second cousin, it just feels right, etc.).
I will miss Rosalie Brown terribly. But I’m looking forward to seeing the names you suggest before midnight on Wednesday the 23rd of April.
Hope springs eternal.
Start with a Story 
You all are providing such great names I wish I had more characters!
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I think Alison or Regina would fit. Also thought of Cynthia or Beverly. Hope this helped a little… hugs, Mim
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Beverly. Three syllables, popular in 1953 and sounds middle-class to me. And the one or two I know never had nicknames.
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Maybe Renita Brown or Rosiland Brown?
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What a fun game! How about Shane?!
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Needs to be three syllables. Maybe ShaneShaneShane?
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I’ll put in a vote for Rebecca. The grandmother of someone close to you.
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Hmm… Wonder why SHE didn’t think of that?
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Hmm, you know, I’ve been misreading Della as Delia all this time, and was about to mention that Delia Brown was a character on Everwood (now canceled, and never hugely popular, so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.)
But on to names. Taken from a popular in the 50s list, with a few notes) ,Amelia, Andrea, Angela, Anita, Annabel, Barbara, Belinda, Beverly, Carolyn, Claudia, Cynthia, Deborah, Delores, Diana, Dorothy,(then Anne could be a friend of} Eleanor (maybe not, but it sounds nice with Della) Evelyn, (also sounds nice) Geraldine, Gloria, Gwendolyn, Helena, Jacqueline, Joanna, Josephine, Julia, Katherine, Kimberly, Lillian,(has double LL also) Louisa, Margaret, Maria, Marianne, Marjorie,(a Rosalie-ish name) Marlena, Melanie, Melinda, Melissa, Miranda, Miriam, Monica, Naomi,(similar feel, IMHO) Natalie,(ditto, plus was Natalie Wood big yet?) Patricia, Rebecca, ,Regina, Rosemary,(probably too much like Rosalie, but it was a nice street) Stephanie, Susanna, Sylvia, Theresa, Valerie, Vanessa, Virginia, Vivian,
Good luck,
Karen Sent from my iPad
>
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Karen – wow, what a wealth of great names. Thank you.
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You’re quite welcome:) the search actually proved quite useful to me. I tried to put it into some kind of order, and thought, hey, there must be an automated alphabetizer somewhere. I’m betting there are several, but the one I found http://alphabetizer.flap.tv/index.php seems great, with lots of options for how to order items
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Barbara – a good 1940’s name. (But often slurred into 2 syllables.)
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It’s a good timely name, but will forever in my mind be associated a Barbara I once knew 🙂
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Jennifer, Madeline, Evelyn, Emily
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Good ones, Ann.
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My cousin, who was born in 1946, is named Jennifer. The others i just like, but the problem I see with all of them is that they almost always become one or two syllable nicknames, e.g., Jenny, Maddy. Rosalie is somewhat unique in that regard I think. Everyone I ever knew who was named Rosalie, was always called Rosalie, not Rose or Rosie. What about a variant on Rosalie, like Rosalee? Spoiler alert: That’s the name of one of the characters in the Grimm tv show.
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Good point about the two-syllable nicnkames.
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Yes, I hate being called “Rosie.” A few people call me Rose. But only because they’re lazy.
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In no particular order: Carolyn Brown, Rebecca Brown, Abigail Brown, Catherine Brown, Patricia Brown 🙂 ,Claudia Brown, Natalie Brown, Brenda Sue (hubby’s input -?),Margaret Brown
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I’m not sure Patricia Brown would fly 🙂 but I like the other ones.
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Adelaide? OK, maybe not, but what name would RUTH have picked in 1953? If she likes the name Della, what other names might she like?
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My thinking is that Ruth chose a plain, sturdy, workaday name for her first daughter. Five years later, she was ready for something prettier.
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