Monday's RQ

Reader Question: Where did you get the name Bronwen?

Before I answer this, I want everyone under thirty to know that no one in my high school graduating class was named Caitlyn, Madison or Brittany. Or Jacob, Dylan or Austen. No one. Not one person. On the other hand, I have a very good friend from high school named Bronwyn, so that name sounds as normal to me as the name Madison does to everyone born after the movie Splash! popularized it. I believe that was 1984.

I like the sound of the name Bronwen. I like the sound of the character's full name Bronwen Oliver. And I like the distinction of sounds between the two names Bronwen and Jared. So -- I think it's fair to say that I chose the name Bronwen for its sound. It's a beautiful name, and although my friend Bronwyn is, like her name, uniquely beautiful, the character Bronwen is not based on her.