Questions related to the literary significance or meaning of proper names that appear in literature.
Questions tagged [name-significance]
112 questions
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1 answer
What are the many names of J.E.D.D. Mason, and their meanings?
In Ada Palmer's Too Like The Lightning, the first book of Terra Ignota, the character of J.E.D.D. Mason has many names - "each Power here has a different name for J.E.D.D. Mason."
The series is bursting with different cultures and factions, and each…
Standback
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What is the joke in the name "Robert Jordon"?
While reading One to Count Cadence from James Crumley (first published 1969), I read this sentence:
The name on the passport was Robert Jordon; it was a joke; nobody
laughed.
Despite searching for the name "Robert Jordon", I don't get the…
vincenth
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Why do all the three guys' names begin with M in Face?
In Benjamin Zephaniah's Face, the main character leads a "gang of three" at the beginning of the story. The three friends' names are alliteratively Martin, Mark, and Matthew. This led to some confusion among readers (see Goodreads reviews linked…
Rand al'Thor
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Was the Cambridge mathematician "Andrew Martin" named after any actual mathematicians?
A central character in Matt Haig's The Humans, is a Cambridge mathematician Andrew Martin, whose speciality is prime numbers. This character is supposed to be exceedingly brilliant and to have solved the Riemann hypothesis (one of the most famous…
Kimball
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votes
1 answer
Did Eric Clapton name his dog after Dr. Dolittle's Pooch?
I recall in an old interview (from the 70s), Eric Clapton said that his dog's name was “Jeep.” I have remembered this all these decades because it seemed like such an odd name to me.
But now I am reading Dr. Dolittle, and find that his dog was named…
B. Clay Shannon-B. Crow Raven
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