Just to relieve us from all this racism. Can't stand racism. Racists everywhere. Saw a racist under the porch just this morning. Had to chase it off with a rake. Worried they may be breeding under there.

My selections, to get things started:

• Nero Wolfe
• Leland Gaunt
• Count Hasimir Fenring

Are there others? And no Dickens. Well, maybe a few Dickens.

Worst fictional name ever: Victor van Doom.

Sepulchrave Groan

Robinson Crusoe

Bilbo Baggins

Ronald Reagan

Sepulchrave Groan? Is that from Gorey? I should've consulted my Gorey collections before posting.

From Mervyn Peake - Gormenghast Trilogy. The perfect name for a suicidally depressed aristocrat.

Louis Wu--Ringworld

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen--Dune

Sol Weintraub--Hyperion

Thidwick

Snumm

Something of a sci-fi fan, I take it. Not sure what the attraction of "Louis Wu" is, as a name, taken by itself.

Sure, the Baron's shrewd, but Count Fenring could've killed him easily. Nearly did. Let him off with a warning.

Clearly, I'm going to have to lay down the law and institute a new rule.

Only names that someone could plausibly have.

Sure, Count Hasimir Fenring is pushing the envelope, but an impoverished nobleman, fleeing the wreckage of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it may just work.

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Another rule: no trippy hippie names.

that was actually a real name, not fictional - of a girl I went to high school with. And yes, she matched it very well.

Another real name: Betsy Wettseig. Used to be a neighbor of mine, very strange woman, not the least of which because she kept her Christmas tree up until like, August. You could see it through her living room curtains. All lit up.

Michael Daunt is kind of a cool fictional name.

At first read (or sound?) it's the double "o" sound in first and last name that sounds appropriate. Western first name, eastern last name. . .put 'em together and it sounds appropriately out of sorts for the character he is.

It's a crazy name for a crazy character. And then, once you get into who he is he sounds familiar.

If you've read Ringworld, tell me, who in the Fray might Louis Wu remind you (or at least me) of?

Always preferred Felicity to Felicia. But yes, Michael Daunt is pretty good.

Betsy Wettseig? Hmm. I am reminded of a passage from a novel (featuring Leland Gaunt) in which a young boy was smitten with his teacher, Sally Ratcliffe. He was appalled that said teacher was dating a man named Lester Pratt. Aside from jealousy, the kid was upset because Sally Pratt sounds like "a fat lady falling down a flight of stairs."

Real names:

Valdemar Paradise, father's name Forrest Paradise, Fanny McCool

Fictional:

Louis Seize, Louis Quinze

Mark Twain, Lotte Lenia

Dr. Goodhead also...gotta love the Bond names