Website of children’s author Paeony Lewis
Author Name Secrets
Click here to discover how children’s authors pick names for their characters.
Your Names
Click here for your stories behind names and pets.
Joe, Jade, Emma, Doris, Cyril, Liam, Cassandra... Every name conjures up a different image of a person.
Some people think Paeony is a strange name. I don’t! A paeony is an oriental flower and some of you may have one in your garden. The photographs on this page are paeonies. Sometimes paeony is spelt peonie or peony. It’s confusing.
If you could change your name, would you? What would you pick? I’d never change Paeony. However, I’ll tell you a secret. Sshh… Paeony isn’t my first name. It’s my middle name. My first name is a BIG secret because I hate it. No, I’m not telling!
For over twenty years everybody has called me by my middle name, Paeony. It made me feel a different person. Would you feel different if you used your middle name?
I was called Paeony because they were flowering in our garden when I was born in June. Originally Paeony was to be my first name, until my grandparents persuaded my parents to make it my second name. Family and friends often disagree on baby names!
When my daughter was born I wanted to call her Artemisia. Unfortunately everybody thought it was a daft name, including my husband. Hhmmmp!
I still like the name Artemisia and one day I’ll use it as the name of a character in one of my books. You might ask why I haven’t used it already. It’s because every name evokes an image and I’ve yet to write about a girl who could be an Artemisia.
Naming characters in books is tricky. It has to feel right and sound right. Sometimes the name doesn’t come for ages. Sometimes I’ll rename the character half way through a story (I don’t like doing that). I use a babies’ name book (the same one I used for naming my own children). Often I’ll look at the meaning of the name to ensure it fits the character.
Click on the link at the top of the page to discover how some children’s authors came up with the names of their characters. It’s so interesting.
So do you feel your name fits the person you are? Do you know why your parents gave you that name? There has to be a reason. Maybe it’s a traditional family name. Maybe it’s somebody they admired. Maybe it’s a special place. Maybe they just adored the name – but why? What made your name special?
There are stories behind names (even the names of pets). You’ll discover some of them by clicking on the links at the top of this page. I’d love to include more stories so let me know the tale behind your name (or your pets). Just click contact me to send an e-mail.
Website of Children’s Author, Paeony Lewis www.paeonylewis.com © Paeony Lewis 2005
2004
Girls
1 Emily
2 Ellie
3 Jessica
4 Sophie
5 Chloe
6 Lucy
7 Olivia
8 Charlotte
9 Katie
10 Megan
Boys
1 Jack
2 Joshua
3 Thomas
4 James
5 Daniel
6 Samuel
7 Oliver
8 William
9 Benjamin
10 Joseph
1944
Girls
1 Mary
2 Barbara
3 Linda
4 Patricia
5 Carol
6 Sandra
7 Nancy
8 Judith
9 Sharon
10 Betty
Boys
1 James
2 Robert
3 John
4 William
5 Richard
6 David
7 Charles
8 Thomas
9 Michael
10 Ronald
England and Wales:
Most popular names for babies born in 1944 (during World War 2) and 50 years later in 2004:
1944
Girls
1 Margaret
2 Patricia
3 Christine
4 Mary
5 Jean
6 Ann
7 Susan
8 Janet
9 Maureen
10 Barbara
Boys
1 John
2 David
3 Michael
4 Peter
5 Robert
6 Anthony
7 Brian
8 Alan
9 William
10 James
USA:
Most popular names for babies born in 1944 (during World War 2) and 50 years later in 2004:
2004
Girls
1 Emily
2 Emma
3 Madison
4 Olivia
5 Hannah
6 Abigail
7 Isabella
8 Ashley
9 Samantha
10 Elizabeth
Boys
1 Jacob
2 Michael
3 Joshua
4 Matthew
5 Ethan
6 Andrew
7 Daniel
8 William
9 Joseph
10Christopher
