For this week’s edition of Weekly Geeks, we’re going to take a closer look at character names. What are some of your favorite character names?

Go to Google or a baby name site like this one or this one, and look up a favorite character’s name. What does their name mean? Do you think the meaning fits the character? Why or why not?

If you’d like, look up your own name as well and share the meaning.

Oooo – a challenge!! I found this quite interesting and difficult because there are so many good names in literature out there. How to choose just one or two?

So, I’ll start with something easy – my name!!

Michelle – Of Hebrew origin, it is the feminine equivalent of Michael and means “Like God”. Yep, that’s me! ;-D

I absolutely adore Atlas Shrugged. I think the characters are strong, and I feel so powerful reading it. For that reason, I decided to choose some names from that book.

Dagny – Of Danish or Norwegian origin, it means “New” or “Day”. This is an interesting choice on Rand’s part. In a way, the reader discovers Rand’s “new” philosophy through Dagny’s discovery of it. One could even consider her discovery of the Gulch and final entry into it to be the dawning of a new day for the country.

Galt – Of English origin, it means “From the high ground”. Who is John Galt? This iconic question sets the stage for the entire novel. Eventually, we find out what the question means and who he really is. John Galt really is living life from the figurative high ground in that he firmly believes in the life he has founded in the Gulch and looks down or pities those who haven’t yet discovered how wrong they are.

Some of my more favorite names from books include the following:

Rhett – Of Welsh origin, it means “fiery” or “ardent”. Um, no explanation needed for this one.

Anne – Of Israeli, Hebrew or English origin, it means “favor” or “grace” or “God has favored me”. I’ll admit that I added this to the list because not only is it the first name of one of the greatest characters ever, it is my middle name. Apparently, my parents really felt a connection with God when they named me.

And I just have to add one last one –

Cullen – Of Gaelic or Celtic origin, it means “handsome, good-looking lad”. Okay, I am still giggling about this one. Could the name be any more perfect?!