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Names you know—in fiction!

V

Violanthe

New Member
Have you ever run into a character in a fictional story with your name, or the name of someone you know? Was it distracting to read? Have you ever read a story with a character name for which you had so many preconceptions (whether negative or positive) that it affected your take on the character?
 
I've come across my own first name two times already, but I've never come across the combination of first and last names of anyone I know.

I could've sworn there was a thread like this, but I can't find it anywhere.
 
I know there's an author (who isn't very good) with my name... but last year I read an except for a book which sounded ok, but one of the characters who died near the start had the same name (with an extra e added on the end) as my boyfriend and it was totally off putting. I didn't buy that book and I don't think I will... but that is more to do with the fact that I doubt I'll find it in a second hand shop and that it isn't an author I would normally go for. :p
 
Violanthe said:
Have you ever run into a character in a fictional story with your name, or the name of someone you know? Was it distracting to read? Have you ever read a story with a character name for which you had so many preconceptions (whether negative or positive) that it affected your take on the character?
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Not in a book but in real life! I worked for a very large corporation and one day composing an email, I had to search for an address in the corporate contact list, and low and behold I found myself in there, only I was in Vancouver Canada! I sent "myself" an email introducing myself and never got a reply. I either spooked her or she really didn't find it as interesting that we worked with ourselves/each other.
 
my name is hardly used in books, but it's used in movies for villains a lot. my cousin, owen, was named after the main character in 'a prayer for owen meany.' I've never read it, but my aunt did and apparently really liked it. I think my full name is a fashion company, oddly enough.
 
I'm the editor of my school newspaper and a woman submitted a story for our paper whose name is Phoebe Ackley. As in characters from The Catcher in the Rye. Pretty cool no? But yeah, when the names are not that common (names like Felix or Angelica, people I know) it does get distracting. But with names like Mike or Chris (also people I know) it doesn't bother me.


Proof of Phoebe Ackley:

http://www.laneytower.com/media/sto...e200611200119&sourcedomain=www.laneytower.com
 
I agree with the common vs. uncommon name distinction. My mother's name, and even my own, seem to pop up in fiction a lot, and I don't notice. But my dad's name isn't terribly common, and so I notice it each time it comes up.
 
I've got the same name as an author - he's always doing creative writing courses in sunny places like Crete and Majorca. There's also an American bodybuilder with my name as well though - and he had the .com domain too!
 
stellanor said:
my name is actually Sheherazade, yes, as in the 'arabian nights'. not really that wearable, as you can guess. :p
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Do you go by a shorter nickname? My best friend in high school had a very unusual Persian name (her father was an Iranian immigrant), but used a more common English nickname on an everyday basis.
 
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