Etymology of "An Outsider's View"
I'm writing this because, like the illustrious J.K. Rowling, I put a lot of thought into my character's names, which may not be apparent unless you really look. To save you the trouble of looking, you only have to read this. Convenient, no? Yes, I am somewhat obsessive, considering it is only a fanfiction, but this is my attempt to emulate her style as much as possible. So, here it is!
Etymology: The study of names
Let's begin with our favorite main character, Ryan. Namely, Jillian Ryan Lapitske.
Jillian:A form of the Latin word meaning "girl"
Ryan: A male name of Celtic origin, meaning "little ruler"
Lapitske: I switched around a few letters, but the name means "torch".
End result: Her middle name, which she prefers, means little ruler, but it is generally considered a male name. To cancel out the masculinity is her first name, which is, simply, girl. Her last name, torch, hopefully implies several things about her temperament.
Next, Benjamin Coley, who actually has the simplest name in the whole thing.
Benjamin: A Hebrew name, and the meaning I found that I liked the best is "right hand of the ruler". And if you sneak a look back up at Ryan's name, things begin to make sense, don't they?
Now, Finnian McKey:
Finnian: An Irish name, a form of Finian, meaning "fair". I'm taking some license with this one; doubtless the Irish meant "fair" as in "beautiful". However, I'm taking it in the sense of justice. Finn is usually the person that has to restore the peace between his bickering friends.
McKey: Obviously Scottish, meaning simply "son of the key". Not too sure how that'll fit in with the story, but it sure does sound mysterious, doesn't it?
End result: Basically, Finn's name means the "just son of the key". Interesting.
To finish off Ryan's friends, I give you Fiona Clearwater.
Fiona: Fiona, with some more Celtic and Irish influence, means "white". However, a variation of her name, Fionan, means "blonde child". Three guesses as to her hair color.
Clearwater: I believe this is self-explanatory. Plus, it's canon.
But it isn't only her friends I worried about! Oh no, I'm much more thorough than that. Here are the meanings behind a few of the less savory characters. However, if you knew about etymology, you might have guessed they wouldn't be fun. Observe, if you will, the oh-so-polite Elise Duffy.
Elise: I found several meanings for this, but the one I chose meant "ambitious".
Duffy: For such a fluffy-sounding name, Duffy actually means "dark". Oooh.
End result: You sort of have to switch the names, but her name means "Dark ambition". Can't bode well, right?
Now, we have the character most recently introduced: Aloys Coley. Of course, like everything, her name has meaning, too; I didn't just pick it because it was spelled funny. (Though I'm thinking most fanfiction authors do. But I digress.)
Aloys: Simple. It means "war-like". And Ben's over-bearing mother seems to be just that, doesn't she?
Coley: I put Ben's last name with his mother's because it describes her more accurately than it does him. This time, I'm not using the name's meaning, but a person associated with that name. The person in question is a scientist/doctor sort, who created an artificial poison called "Coley's toxin".
End result: Aloys Coley: War-like and poisonous. Better to stay on the good side of this lady (if she has one, that is).
Finally, the end of this little essay: The last of the Coley clan that make appearances in the story: Regina Coley.
Regina: Derivative from "regal", Regina's name means "queen". Coupled with the Coley toxin, she's a poisonous little queen, isn't she?
Just wanted to share my research with the rest of the world; if I introduce any more characters (unlikely, but one never knows), I'll be sure to post their pertinent stats, as well.