Hi all,

So... a few days ago, I got an email from the web site provider for JABB's site saying I needed to do an upgrade or pay a monthly fee.  Obviously, I chose the upgrade.  Unfortunately, doing that messed a few things up and I got them all resolved (at the time...).  The worst hit came to my blog which was completely inaccessible for a time.  I had to get tech support to fix it.  During the downtime, I realized I'd never backed up my blog which was a distressing thought.  So, once it came back online, I proceeded to back it up.  While doing that, I found a blog post in which I was explaining the meanings behind the names for then-current Dyeland characters.  I honestly don't remember if I ever used it for a newsletter.  Even if I did, so many characters have been added since then so I decided to run part of it here with some updates.  I just think it's kinda fun to look back on why I chose different names.  So that's what the bulk of this newsletter is.

But before we get to that...  After the initial web site issues, I thought everything was fine.  However, something happened with the JABB Portal within the last few days.  The original link (main.onthisside.net) would only show broken graphics.  I tried a bunch of things to resolve it but nothing worked and the web host company was useless.  So the new JABB Portal link is http://www.onthisside.net/jabbportal.html.  It looks slightly different because turns out I was getting charged $4/month just for that one web page since I'd originally used one of their programs to design it.  So I just put the same information on a from-scratch web page.  Unfortunately, that meant I then had to go update the link on 400+ JABB pages.  I hope I caught everything but, if not, please let me know if you run into anything that looks funny.  Additionally, if you had the main.onthisside address saved anywhere, please update it.  That page will eventually be deleted since it can only be text-only and very blah.  

So fun times here!  Apologies for any typos.  I'm just over looking at web pages for right now!  I hope everyone had a nice Easter and Passover!

God bless,
Jenni


Behind the Names: Dyeland/Asteriana Characters Part I

First, some notes:

You can find a list of character names and their meaning here.  This is more for me to explain why I chose the names I did.

This list was initially very long and didn't even include anyone introduced post-2016.  So I'll do this in parts.  This first edition is mostly characters who were introduced with "The Carpenter" or pre-existed that.

Almost all biblical characters’ names were taken from the Aramaic Bible in Plain English from Biblehub.com.  I made exceptions when it came to names like Mary and Joseph.  To try to minimize confusion, I altered spellings.  Hence the earthly father of Joshua is Yosef, the man from Arimathea is Yoseph, and one of the cousin-brothers is Yose.  Maryam is Yeshua’s mother, Maryam Yoninah is his aunt, Mary of Magdala is exactly that, and the adulteress is Mara.  Because the Jameses/Jacobs likely won’t ever have sizable roles, I left them all with Yaqob.  It’s still surprising to me that it’s the same name.  As for Yoninah, I chose that because I wanted a name with “little” in it cause she was tiny and I liked the irony of a spitfire named for a gentle dove.  Plus, it’s pretty.

For most of the Friends, I figured out their ages and then looked at the Social Security database for a list of the most popular names from their birth year. 

Andrew Darcy- Obviously, I didn't pick his first name.  But Darcy as his last name prevailed just for the fun of having the occasional reference to Mr. Darcy.  I believe other last names I've had Andrew use in the past were Du Lac and Rochester which are also literary.  But Mr. Darcy just suits him best, I think.  As an added bonus, I think it sounds nice linked with Chandler so Andrew's and JenniAnn's kids have a good surname in Chandler-Darcy.

Adam Alexander- I thought it only fitting that Adam would choose to use the name of his beloved turkey as his last name when it came to his work with St. G's.

Joshua Davidson- I don't think I really entertained the idea of any other names for him.  I wanted to keep a form of the name Jesus, not something like Immanuel or a play on Christ.  So Joshua/Josh it was.  I wanted a -son name since the custom at Jesus' time was to use either one's hometown or father's name as something like a surname.  Joshua Nazarene sounded too pointed.  Joshua Yosefson seemed a little forced, too.  But turning Son of David into a last name felt meaningful but also very inconspicuous.  I can think of a handful of people with the last name of Davidson so it doesn't raise any eye brows.

Belle- The reasoning behind her name was all put into her first story but, in short, she was named Annabelle to keep the “An” from Andrew’s and JenniAnn’s names.  Belle, naturally, comes from Beauty and the Beast and her middle name, Luna (“moon”), was in honor of Badriya (“full moon”).

Max- He was originally going to be named Cody but then I remembered that there was reference to Rose marrying a military fellow named Max.  I loved the idea of Andrew rescuing Rose’s eventual husband.  I chose Remus as a nod to Harry Potter.  And I’m glad because I didn’t want to change Max’s last name after the Rex mess so it made more sense he’d keep it when it had other significance to Rose and him.  In light of a certain author's recent antics that definitely do not vibe with what I'm trying to do here, I'm no longer referencing that series much.  But I still like Remus.  Remus was one of the twins adopted by a she-wolf and later a shepherd and, if you squint, I think you can see the parallels to JenniAnn and Andrew in that. 

Shelby- Named after the Steel Magnolias character.  At one point, I’d considered having Shelby die young so that made sense.  I’ve abandoned that idea!  There does end up being tragedy in her story but she overcomes it with the help of her faith and her family... and it does bring out the she-wolf in JenniAnn.

Asher- Shelby's biological brother who is a Tunnel dweller.  Asher is one of my favorite boys’ names.  If I'd had a son, this probably would have been his name.  There's not really much significance beyond that.  Asher is one of the Twelve Tribes and I love the book My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok.  But there aren't really any parallels in either of those stories to Asher Whelan.  I may have just liked the way Shelby and Asher sounded together with the -sh sounds. 

Violeta- Not really sure why I was drawn to that name.  It’s pretty.  I may have been thinking of Gloria being created from flowers in “The Face of God.”  If you really wanna get into it, Violeta was, in part, created as an answer to JenniAnn's heartbreak (blue) and Andrew's desire for love (red).  So, with a huge assist from Joshua, they made a purple baby angel.  But I totally just made that up right now.  :-)

Fawn- That was my dog's, Danika's, middle name.  I picked it because there was something graceful and deer-like about Danika and I decided JenniAnn's dog would have the same trait. 

Lulu- I don’t think it was me who named Lulu.  Former JABBer did that, I believe.  The name means "pearl" but that doesn't really have much significance.
 
Peter had to be named that given he’s the successor of Joshua.  He’s also Emma’s rock.  I think I may have briefly toyed with Pedro but figured Campbell-Garcia as a surname was enough of a hint that he’s half Latino, something that was important to me.  His grandmother, Renata (“reborn”), I believe I pulled from a list of popular Hispanic names.  Or it could have just been that we once had a JABBer from South America with that name so I had it in mind.  Rosario came from Rosario Dawson.  It ended up being more meaningful, though, when I decided her mother, Renata, had formerly been Catholic and a rosary pray-er.  Gordon I just pulled from a list.  It means “from the cornered hill”… so not meaningful.

Emma was a list pull.  Apparently it’s a German name meaning “whole” or “universal” which is kinda cool since "The Carpenter" was largely about making Emma whole. 

Kylie also came off a list.  And I’m just now reading that one meaning for it is “near the chapel.”  Very nice!

Clay was one of my more deliberate choices for TC.  Peter was taken and I wanted a rocky name.  Clay makes me think of rough hewn and immovable, the former to represent his scars and the latter to represent his status pre-Joshua.  Just discovered it means “mortal” which isn’t particularly significant to me.  It was more the rock stuff that appealed to me.  Now it works because he’s powerful, steady, and dependable.  Immovable in a good way.  Once he’s on your side, he stays on your side.  Conversely, clay is also malleable and able to be molded into something new.  And you do see Clay become a new man with a new lease on life after meeting Joshua, Kylie, and Co.

For the Romano family, Randall is actually one of my uncle’s names although, characterization-wise, he’s based more off my Uncle Barney.  I dunno why I didn’t use Barney.  Maybe it didn’t appear on the Social Security name list or maybe I was disturbed by writing about Uncle Barney getting into a tractor accident.  Apparently it means “wolf counselor” which is kinda fun since Randall’s so good with animals.  I think I maybe saw Dot/Dorothy (“a gift of God”) on the Social Security list but I may have also just thought it sounded cute.  Additionally, I loved The Wizard of Oz as a kid so it probably made sense to me to have a Dorothy on a farm.  Randall’s brother is Sergio which I thought sounded Italian a la Romano.  I thought about also giving his sons, Edward and Caleb, Italian names but Sergio struck me as a nontraditional sort.  After all, he left the family farm and moved to NYC.  I just liked how Edward (“guardian of prosperity”) and Caleb (“dog”) Romano sounded.  I didn’t know Caleb meant dog but it’s fitting!  The name Caleb, to me, sounded fun and giddy and loyal and very friendly.  In the best sense of the word, Caleb Romano is a dog.

Eric (“ever powerful”)…  So John Dye played an awful man named Eric Manion in Heart of the Beholder so I decided Eric/Erik would be a villainous name in JABB stories.  It kinda backfired, though, because of one scene.  For all the stupid stuff he does, I thought it was interesting that Eric came onto JenniAnn.  Yeah, I’m sure part of it was to antagonize Andrew but he’d really try to entangle himself with a woman with a baby?  What if some part of Eric actually longed for a family?  Between that epiphany and being asked if we'd ever see Eric again post-TC, he got brought back in his true form… a singing, dancing actor with a “dad bod” and paternal feelings to match.  His wife, Neela, was named after a character from ER.  I liked the character and the name.  Their son, Zane (“God’s gracious gift”), came off a list and was ultimately chosen so Zany could be his nickname.

Arthur- Just like the name.  I also thought it was funny that Andrew and Monica would each end up with someone with an Arthurian name.  Arthur, obviously, from King Arthur and Jennifer, which makes up part of JenniAnn's name, is supposedly a variation on Guenevere. 

Owen- I really don’t know.  Maybe a list pull?  I like the name and I suppose "young warrior" fits as a meaning for someone who has survived a lot of struggle in his life.

Brittony- At the time, I’d never seen the movie or read the book Atonement but I'd heard of it and I liked the name Briony.  I think I kept misspelling it, though, so this character ended up named Brittony because I had an easier time remembering how to spell that.  A literature vibe befitting the Tunnels.

Eliot- Another lit name (T.S. Eliot) but at one point I’d toyed with Eliot being the illegitimate son of Catherine’s ex, Elliot Burch.  I abandoned that idea but kept the name.  He’s named O’Hanna because that means JenniAnn coulda had an Irish carpenter.  Perfect on paper… but not.

Galen- I believe I first read that name in a Beauty and the Beast novel.  It had an old-fashioned sound to it which seemed appropriate for a Tunnel boy.

Edison and Eleanor- I liked retaining the E from Eliot and these two just sounded so cute together.  And, again, old-fashioned.  I try to avoid trendiness with Tunnel names.

Portia- Another literary name for a Tunnel girl.  Portia is a character both in The Merchant of Venice and Julius Caesar.  Her last name, Goodwin=the good win.  In spite of early struggles, she's excelled in life and is now the primary doctor for the Tunnels.

Persephone- Naturally, Portia would give her daughter a literary name, too.  Bonus points for Persephone also being a goddess of the Underworld which makes sense for someone living Below.

Fr. Mike- Assumedly named for St. Michael the Archangel.  Solas= Son of Llewellyn and Sibyll.  Asteriana wasn’t big enough to require last names so he and his siblings made this one up when they moved to Earth where surnames are expected in many places.

Yakov- I think this was simply the first Jewish-sounding name to pop into my head and it grabbed me.  But I also like it because Jacob/Yakov was a patriarch and Rabbi Yakov fills that role for his congregation but also for the Friends at points.

Tiva- I popped “girl” and “Hebrew” into a baby name search and perused the list until I found this.  Apparently it’s also a Native American name meaning “dance.”  I think Tiva would like that given her love of dance.

Ivy Lee- It just flows so well.  Also, I needed a floral name because I wanted a representation of her name etched into her mother’s Pieta.  I preferred Ivy to Holly.

Diana- Diana came to me as a matriarch not only of her family but, after Lucy’s death, the St. G’s community.  Maybe because of Princess Diana, Diana seemed very queenly and motherly.  She’s also the goddess of childbirth which makes sense with Diana being sought after for baby info.

Zeke- Short for Ezekiel (“strength of God”).  Zeke’s family is very religious so all about the Bible names.  Plus, I just liked it.  In Tour of Duty, the platoon’s leader was named Zeke and he was very fatherly to the rest of the guys.  Zeke takes on a similar role with the other players after Doug leaves St. G’s.

Hailey- “Hay field”… exciting!  ;-)  I think I pulled this off a social security list but it later bothered me because I couldn’t see Zeke and Diana naming their firstborn something that was simply trendy but basically meaningless to them.  So then I went back and created the story about Hailey the Helpful Pharmacist and Hailey Wilson made sense and the name became rich in meaning.

Sy- Short for Silas.  Think “sigh.”  Sy’s pretty annoyed-sigh-inducing when we meet him.  A strong, biblical name that I could imagine Zeke and Diana choosing for their son.  That it goes so well with Ivy was a happy coincidence.  As is the fact that Silas means “wood.”  Nice name for someone who is very close to a Carpenter and sometimes helps Andrew out with his carpentry work. 

Kendra- “Understanding, knowledge.”  Pretty sure I just picked this off a name list.  But maybe I looked up the meaning because that’s kinda cool for the first Wilson kid to embrace Joshua.

Manny- He’s the miracle baby so it’s no wonder his parents named him Immanuel.  Of course, he’s also named after Joshua.  A nice compromise since another Joshua would be confusing and Yeshua or Jesus would raise eye brows.

Shane- I think I chose his surname of Murphy first which IDed him as Irish so… it’s Irish for “God is gracious.”  Same name as John.  I wanted a name that represented Shane’s very strong faith.  You can imagine how many times he heard that God was against him as a gay man but, unlike Owen, he simply refused to believe it.  It’s also fitting that he shares a name with “the apostle whom Jesus loved” because, other than Fr. Mike, I think he’s the only character (Salma may also count) to choose celibacy because he’s intensely focused on Joshua in such a way that it would be hard for his potential partner. 

Jeff, Tyson, Tim- I feel bad that these three are basically treated as the same character.  I really just thought of male names I hadn’t yet used.  Jeff= God’s peace, Tyson= son of Ty, Tim= honoring God.  Poor Tyson got the short end of the stick on meanings.

Cira- Don’t remember…  She’s actually one of the oldest characters on this list so my memories are foggy.  Ditto for Crystal.  I do think both are pretty so maybe I just liked them.

Jocelyn- A take on our local art museum: the Joslyn.  “Happy, joyful.”  Kinda ironic…  I could see status-obsessed Derek pushing for a high society sounding name for his firstborn.  I think she vastly prefers Joccy (jah-see) for this reason.

Zoe- “Life”  Pretty trendy at the time so, again, something I could see Derek latching onto.  It works, too, since Zoe is the more effusive and livelier of the two sisters.

Lily, Basil, Azalea- I’m not sure which name came first… maybe Lily… but I decided it’d be fun if both parents also happened to have plant names thus making them “the floral family” as Maryam calls them.  I chose Thornton as their last name for the same reason.  Thorns make me think of roses.

Doug and Lucy- His name simply came from a social security list.  Lucy was chosen because it means “bringer of light” and she certainly brought light into her husband’s life as well as the whole of St. G’s.  St. Lucy is quite popular and so I could imagine her very Catholic parents choosing this.  Harmon simply comes from Dan Harmon whose Community I very much enjoyed.

Toby- “God is good”  His name meaning is basically his parents’ life motto.  It’s more appropriate in hindsight given I eventually decided Lucy had endometriosis so her successfully bringing Toby into the world would be cause for praise.

Larissa- “Cheerful one.”  I liked that she shared the L with her mother-in-law.

Ryder- Name list.  And the Boy Meets World fan in me has fond memories of Ryder Strong.

Noah- Toby and Larissa keeping the religious/biblical naming trend alive.

Matilda- I just thought Tildy sounded adorable for a lil one.  It means “might, power.”  Toby and Larissa would no doubt have been familiar with Roald Dahl’s book.

More to come down the road!


This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for inspiring the creation of so many characters that I had to outsource naming to the government in many cases.  ;-)

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