What is in a Name?

I was chatting with my writer BFF, and I mentioned that my MC's origional name was Jason. She laughed, of course, it is such a common name. His love interest was named Jennifer. LOL But it had signifigance for me at the time that I named my knight in shining armor that name. Not that the laugh offended me it didnt, I have since chosen a much more apropriate name for him. What it did was start was a chain of thought.

What is in a name? Why do we as writers choose the names for our characters that we do? Do we scour baby name book and credits on TV and movies for ideas like me? Do the names of our characters have meaning? Does it have to look good in print? Or do the names naturally come to us? Do our characters name themselves? Do the characters like thier names? Even during this last rewrite I had written two chapters with my MC's love interest before changing her name again this time to a final and very loved name. The MC's best friend's name I changed halfway through the book and still found at least two times that I missed changing it untill this last rewrite.

Why do parents name their children what they do? Do we allways like the names we are given and if not would our parents dislike the thought that we don't like our names. If we don't like our names would we change them? Or not, rather than offend our parents? Do we as parents like the names we give our children? Do we years in the future regret naming them what we did? Would we be offended if our children changed thier names?

If we are writers would this lead us to seek out a pseudoname and use it. Would that name have signifigant meaning or just sound cool. I wonder. So do the aforementioned Jennifer and Jason.

Thoughtfully, Michelle