What's in a name?

I've been thinking lately about how important a character's name is to a book. I don't know how many times I've picked up a book, and read the back and put the book down because I couldn't deal with the names of either the hero or the heroine.

For example, heroes named Rio or Draco don't do it for me. Also English lords named Hunter, Derek or Blake. Primarily because I don't know that many Englishmen currently who are named Hunter or Blake. Derek tends to be primarily a middle or lower class name, not one commonly used by the aristocracy in England at any time. I totally understand wanting to give your hero or heroine a unique name, but you have to deal with the fact that it is unique in a book.

Names can also inform the characterisitics of your character. If you give your heroine a strong name, it's hard to make her a meek, little lamb. Also, geeks aren't usually given strong masculine names.

I think alot about names when I'm writing a book and what the character's name means. For example, my first name is Elizabeth which is from the Hebrew and means 'consecrated or given to God.' Which fits me because I've often felt that I'm an incredibly spiritual person. I still have a school report that says that I had a sophisticated take on the Bible when I was 6. When it comes to religion, I've always been ant-established religion. I don't think you need a priest or a minister to feel close to God.

My middle name is Kerri, which apparently means dark and mysterious. It's of Celtic origin. Of course, I like to think of myself as being dark and mysterious, and not just because of my name!

My father's name was Victor, which is Latin and means 'winner, conqueror.' I don't know if my sweet, good-natured Father was a conqueror per se, except of my mother's heart! My mom was Roslyn is a derivation of Rosalind which means pretty rose or horse serpent. WTF? My mother could certainly be consiered a pretty rose, and she did have some pretty sharp thorns.

Whenever, I start a book and I'm thinking of names, I always look up the meaning of the name. I find that it's helpful. For instance, Julia in Nearly Famous. Julia means youthful, and my character definitely is youthful. She's constantly going up for roles against an actress who is 7 years younger than her, and she's often asked to audition for teenagers.

I chose the name Emma for my newest WIP, partly because Emma is my favorite Jane Austen novel, and partly for Emma Goldman, the radical feminist anarchist of the late 19th and early twentieth century. To my surprise, the definition of Emma means universal, all-embracing which works because both my Emma and Emma Goldman are earthy, all-embracing women. My Emma embraces all aspects of her multi-racial identity.

Now for my YA, I've chosen the name Jessica for my protagonist. Jessica means God's Grace, and the character will hopefully embody that. She'll be my first blonde heroine, that's for sure.

While I was looking up names, I thought I would find out the meaning of several other names that are famous right now.

Brittany: strong, industrious (makes sense, she's worked hard for her success)
Russell: red head (I'm sure Russell Crowe would like a more masculine definition!)
Angelina: Little Angel (LOL, I don't know if anyone could call Angelina Jolie a little angel!)
Paris: Greek, means downfall (Hmm, Paris Hilton you might not want to marry another Paris)
Gwyneth: Welsh, Fortunate, Blessed (Well, she certainly has been that)
Brad: English, Broad Meadow (I'm not sure what exactly that means)
Jennifer: Welsh, White Wave (So Jennifer's White Wave drowned Brad's Broad Meadow?)
Renee: French, Re-born (so we don't have to worry about Renee Zwellweger, she'll be fine)

How do you choose your character's names?