What’s in a Name?

Coming up with character names for a story falls just shy of coming up with a book title on my fun meter. Love it!

Sometimes the names are deliberate. For instance, Lisa in my grim reaper series is named after my sister, and the main characters in my new release, Properly Groomed, are real-life people I know. Sometimes I’m looking for something unique, sometimes common, but always easy to read and understand. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Lord of the Rings, but seriously Mr. Tolkien, Gimli, son of Glóin, nephew of Óin, and the first cousin once removed (of Balin, Lord of Moria, and his brother Dwalin. I spent more time trying to figure out how to pronounce the names than reading the actual story. But to be fair, that’s fantasy, which has its own rules, and today I’m talking about romance.

So where is the best place to find name inspiration for romance characters? Why Tinder, the casual dating site, of course. On the Tinder website there’s no worry of getting caught up in lengthy bios or detailed likes and hobbies, just a lot of pictures and names. If you’re attracted to the person swipe right, if not—swipe left. Simple, uncomplicated, and great for name research.

At the end of 2016, Tinder released the top ten male and female names that were swiped right. Let’s count them down, shall we?