Top Ten Tuesday #160

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had a good week since I last did one of these, I just arrived back home from Uni yesterday, after the journey from hell back from Scotland, literally everything went wrong, all of the trains were cancelled because of a train that broke down at Berwick, so we couldn’t get a train back until five, and then when we finally did get another train, we lost power and stopped between York and Doncaster and had to be turned around back to York because of a broken pentagraph on the train. We got changed onto another train at York, but by the time we got into Peterborough, it was midnight and we had to stay overnight in a hotel. So yup, I’ve had a fun past couple of days!

Anyway, enough about the train journey from hell, I’m back now and it’s Tuesday, which means another Top Ten Tuesday from Jana at The Artsy Reader Girl. Today we’re talking Best Character Names. I know I like to rib on authors sometimes for naming their characters ridiculous things, but there are some really beautiful names out there, so I want to take today to share the love for them:

1. Lila Bard-Shades of Magic Trilogy-VE Schwab

I feel like Lila’s name just suits her so perfectly? It’s short and sharp and sounds almost warrior like to me, which perfectly sums up Lila! Yet her full name Delilah is softer and more vulnerable (probably why she never uses it!) and though Lila would be loathe to admit it, she does have a more vulnerable side.  Also sometimes I feel like authors don’t pick first and last names that go very well together, but syllable wise, Lila Bard, and even her full name Delilah Bard, fit perfectly.

2. Lina Aryvadas-Between Shades of Grey-Ruta Sepetys

I think my love of the name Lina, stems from reading The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants when I was younger, I always related quite strongly to Lena (moreso than Carmen who was the writer in the group, which is strange), she was the quieter, more introspective friend who always seemed to be on the outside of things and I could really relate to that and obviously, Lina is a very similar name, so I have an attachment to it. Lina Aryvadas is also kind of similar to Lena Kaligaris in personality, as she is also quite quiet and introspective (and an artist), but she’s also really brave and strong given everything that she has to go through, so yeah, I really admire her.

3. Victoria “Vika” Andreyeva-The Crown’s Game-Evelyn Skye

Fun fact, I was almost named Victoria! I’m glad I wasn’t, because I don’t think it would suit me at all, but I still love the name. It obviously sounds very regal, given the Queen Victoria connection, which although Vika is not a royal in the story, is quite a good fit for Imperial Russia. I also like that Vika is a slightly different, but not silly, nickname for Victoria.

4. Callie Rose Hadley-Noughts and Crosses Series-Malorie Blackman

Sephy’s daughter’s name might be a bit OTT, but I always thought it was really pretty and I liked that it meant something to both her and Callum.

5. Luna Lovegood-Harry Potter series-JK Rowling

JK Rowling can be a little on the nose with names, after all, she did name a werewolf Wolf Wolf, but I always loved Luna’s name, I thought it fit her perfectly, it has a kind of dreamy quality, which is perfect for a girl who always seems to have her head in the clouds! Much as I love Hermione’s name, if I ever were to change my mind about wanting kids (unlikely) and wanted to give my daughter a Harry Potter name, I would go with Luna rather than Hermione, it’s a little bit more normal!

6. Mia Thermopolis-The Princess Diaries-Meg Cabot

I have always loved the name Mia, so much so that I actually named one of the characters in my novel This Is Not A Love Story Mia, and it’s a name I’ve come back to quite a lot over the years and I think this series of books is why, though if I’m honest, I actually prefer the movies to the books!

7. Violet Baudelaire-A Series of Unfortunate Events-Lemony Snicket

I’ve always quite liked flower names (ironic since I have Hayfever and can’t actually receive flowers myself!) and I think Violet is a really nice one, plus her first and last names flow really nicely and it’s a slightly unusual name without going over the edge of being odd!

8. Valkyrie Cain-Skulduggery Pleasant Series-Derek Landy

All of the names in Derek Landy’s bestselling series are awesome, perfectly suited to each of their owners, so I could have gone with any of the names from this series, but I decided to go for Valkyrie’s. Her name really does sum her up in a nutshell (as it should, since she chose it, everyone in the series has three names, their true name, their given name and their taken name), as she is a warrior (like a Valkyrie) with talent for causing trouble (which is what Cain means)!

9. Scarlett Dragna-Caraval series-Stephanie Garber

Scarlett has always been one of my favourite names, I just really love it, I think it’s such a beautiful colour and an even prettier name. Plus Dragna reminds me of dragons and you all know how much I love dragons!

10. Katniss Everdeen-The Hunger Games Trilogy-Suzanne Collins

I love the story behind Katniss’ name, that Suzanne Collins chose that particular plant name because it was a plant shaped like an arrowhead and Katniss is obviously an archer and it’s an edible plant that can help you survive, which suits Katniss as she’s obviously a survivor. I love it when authors give their characters names that really reflect their personalities-it’s something that I have tried to do in my stories as well!

So there we go, my favourite character names! I didn’t initially intend for them all to be girls’ names, but since there are more female characters in YA anyway and I tend to find authors are slightly more creative with their female character names than their male ones, I guess it was inevitable! What are your favourite character names, girls or boys? How did you do this topic this week, just pick your favourite names or pick the oddest ones? Let me know in the comments!

Next week’s topic is Bookish Worlds I’d Want To/Never Want To Live In and since I did Settings I’d Like To Visit towards the end of last year, I’m going to go with Bookish Worlds I’d Never Want To Live In (I’m sure there’ll be a lot!).

In the meantime, I will have a review of Ally Carter’s latest book up for you tomorrow, so look out for that!