Authors have a love-hate relationship with naming their characters, and I am no exception. Given all the time that went into naming these beloved characters, I couldn’t resist sharing some of the meanings and inspirations with you. Enjoy this behind-the-scenes peek at character names from The Susa Chronicles.
What’s in a character name?
When you find the perfect name, satisfaction spills through you—until you realize you spent 45 minutes googling “exotic baby names” just for some minor character who’s only mentioned on two pages. It’s a delightful part of the writing process and a horrendous time-suck.
To avoid this, I’ve been known to write entire scenes between [NAME 1] and [NAME 2]. But eventually every author has to take the time to determine the perfect name for each character. And with 38 named characters in The Susa Chronicles, it was quite an undertaking.

Avoiding character confusion
For the characters who have a Biblical counterpart, I wanted names that either sounded similar or had a similar meaning to the historical figure. Others just needed to be cool yet pronounceable. I also had to be careful about names that look or sound alike. No one wants to flip back through pages to sort out Jon, Jonah, and Jonas. The whole thing was one big word puzzle—in Hebrew.
My best friend—also an author—and I frequently text each other things like: What’s a good name for an unscrupulous doctor that doesn’t start with A, M, N, S, or Z? (Spoiler: You’ll meet Dr. Parnak in book two.)
Here’s a quick rundown of who you’ll meet in The Susa Chronicles.
The Alphanites
Alpha and Alphanites: name of God from Revelation 22:13 and a made-up derivative for His people
Novalise/Astra: both mean star, same as Esther
Declan: inspired by MorDECai, Esther’s cousin and guardian
Hatch: inspired by Hathach, the eunuch who delivers secret messages between Esther and Mordecai
Berg: I was staring at my brick fireplace but didn’t want to name him Brick. (38 characters, y’all. Don’t judge.)
Lennox: popped into my head and I knew it was perfect
Ryn: named for my niece Kathryn
The High Council
Zadien Ahasuerus: Zadien means lion, a fitting name for the long-haired king and one possible meaning of Ahasuerus, the Hebrew version for King Xerxes
Each member of the High Council was named for one of the seven advisors to Xerxes mentioned in Esther 1:13-14.
Karesh: Carshena
McKenna: Memucan, who suggested the bridal recruitment plan
Admatha: Adlam (the name I changed the most times)
Tanis: Tarshish (not named until book two)
Marten: Marsena (not named until book two)
Hayden: ummm…another MAJOR figure in Esther 😉
The Enhanced
Commander Hej: inspired by Hegai, head of Xerxes’ harem
Vastri: sounds like Vashti, Xerxes’ deposed queen
Prentis, Sheena, Lynelle, Dahlia: Just cool words