What's in a name?

I have a confession to make.  I have taken more care and done more research with the names for the characters in my new book than I did with the naming of my own children.  (So sorry kids!)  With my own children only two things mattered: 1 - Did my husband and I agree; 2 - Did it sound good with our last name.

Naming characters for my new book was an entirely different experience.  I spent hours looking up names and their meanings, sometimes starting with a name and sometimes starting with a meaning.  I perused a long list of Latin words with their definitions, and used those roots to create a couple of names.

I have the advantage with a character's name over a newborn: I know who they will become.  Not that you don't want to give your child a name that has a meaning you would wish for them, but I get to know for sure with my book.  Also, with babies I assume you want names with positive meanings, not all my characters deserve such.

So, why does this really matter?  After all, except for one somewhat minor character, I won't actually spell out in my book what their names mean.  So why go to all the bother?  Because it matters to me.  I can't write about them if I don't know them.  And I better know more about them than actually makes it into print.  How else will I know how to authentically portray them?  I have to know them well enough to know how they will act and react in every circumstance.  Their names will be a constant reminder to me of the core of who they are.

For my own children, I suppose I don't really apologize.  I would never want to script their lives the way I will my characters.  My children are and will writie their own stories.