Christian Fiction Devourers discussion

April - June 2023

These were 20 of the most popular names for males and females in 1925.

The goal is to find main characters or authors with the following names. One name per book please.

* If using the author’s name, please use the “add author” feature to link to that author.
* For the main character, they should be named in the book’s blurb on Goodreads.
* Rereads okay.
* No page minimum

Male
Richard
Donald
Jack
Kenneth
David
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred
Joe
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

Female
Betty
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha
Patricia
Catherine
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

Andrea
Bonny
Bridget
Brittany
Crystal
Hanna
Jenn
Karen
Katrina
Kim
Lauri
Loraine
Lynnette
Missy
Sarita
Staci

I'll participate again in this one!

Female

Betty


Barbara


Catherine


Doris


Eleanor


Gloria


Irene


Jean


Josephine


June


Lois


Marjorie


Martha


Norma


Patricia


Pauline


Ruby


Shirley


Thelma


Virginia



Male

Anthony


Carl


David


Donald


Earl


Ernest


Eugene


Francis


Fred


Howard


Jack


Joe


Kenneth


Lawrence


Leonard


Louis


Ralph


Richard


Roy


Stanley

I'm in!

Female
Betty
Barbara
Catherine

Doris
Eleanor
Under the Apple Tree by Gabrielle Meyer
Gloria
Irene
Jean
Josephine
Her name is Josie, but calls herself Josephine multiple times
June
Lois
Marjorie
Martha

Norma
Patricia

Pauline
Ruby
Shirley
Thelma
Virginia

Male
Anthony
Carl
David
Donald
Earl
Ernest
Eugene
Francis
Fred

Howard
Jack

Joe
Joseph Josiah and called Joe at least once
Kenneth
Lawrence
Leonard
Louis
Ralph
Richard
Roy
Stanley

I'm in!
Popular Names of 1925 | April - June 2023

Female
Betty
Barbara
Catherine
Doris
Eleanor
Gloria
Irene
Jean
Josephine
June
Lois
Marjorie
Martha
Norma
Patricia
Pauline
Ruby
Shirley
Thelma
Virginia

Male
Anthony
Carl
David
Donald
Earl
Ernest
Eugene
Francis
Fred
Howard
Jack
Joe
Kenneth
Lawrence
Leonard
Louis
Ralph
Richard
Roy
Stanley

Welcome, Crystal, Staci, and Jenn!

I’m in.

FEMALE:

Betty
Barbara
Catherine
Doris
Eleanor
Gloria
Irene Irene Hannon (Dangerous Illusions)
Jean
Josephine
June
Lois
Marjorie
Martha
Norma
Patricia
Pauline
Ruby
Shirley
Thelma
Virginia

MALE:

Anthony
Carl
David
Donald
Earl
Ernest
Eugene
Francis
Fred
Howard
Jack Fear Has a Name
Joe
Kenneth
Lawrence
Leonard
Louis
Ralph
Richard
Roy
Stanley

I'm in! I'll give this a try this time.

Popular Names of 1925 - April-Jun 2023


Male
Richard
Donald
Jack - by Cara Lynn James - Given name is Jackson but called Jack throughout the story (5/12/23)
David - David H. Stern - (5/3/23)
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl - by Shelley Shephard Gray (6/25/23)
Louis
Earl - by Karen Kingsbury (5/22/23)
Roy
Fred
Joe - by Carolyne Aarsen (5/31/23)
by Laurie Alice Eakes (Joseph) (6/19/23)
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

Female
Betty
Virginia - Virginia Vaughan - (6/2/23)
Doris
Jean
Shirley - Shirlee McCoy - (5/18/23) (6/16/23)
Lois
Irene - Irene Hannon - (6/4/23)
Gloria
Barbara -
Martha
Patricia -
Catherine - Catherine DeVries - (5/16/23)
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine -
Pauline
June

I'm in

MALE:
Richard
Donald
Jack
Kenneth
David
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred
Joe
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

FEMALE:
Betty
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha
Patricia
Catherine (Katherine)
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

I'm in:
MALE:
Richard - Digging Up Clues
Donald
Jack - Martyr Lights Out
Kenneth
David - 1 Samuel (Bible #9), ESV
Eugene
Ralph - Life Everlasting
Howard
Carl - An Eye for an Eye
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred (nickname Freddie) - Chef's Deadly Dish
Joe - Initium
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley - Endless Mercy (my dad's name!)

FEMALE:
Betty - Work in Progress
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara - Life Support
Martha - The Book Woman's Daughter
Patricia - (nickname Tricia) - Murder is Binding
Catherine (Katherine) - The Bride & the Deaf Girl
Ruby - Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
Eleanor - (Elinore) - Fatal Code
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

I am in. See how well I do this quarter. This one is a little tricky.

Male
Richard
Donald
Jack
Kenneth
David
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred
Joe
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

Female
Betty
Virginia -
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha
Patricia
Catherine
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

Ooh, another one! Joining!

I'm in!

Male
Richard
Donald
Jack
Kenneth
David
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl -
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred
Joe -
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley -

Female
Betty
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene -
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha -
Patricia
Catherine - (Katherine)
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

Welcome, Lynnette, Karen, Bridget, Loraine, Missy, Hanna, and Brittany!

Popular Names of the Year: 1925
April - June 2023

Male
Richard
Donald
Jack
Kenneth
David
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred
Joe
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

Female
Betty
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha
Patricia
Catherine
Ruby
Eleanor (Elinor)

Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

I will try for a few

Male
Richard
Donald
Jack (4/14)
Kenneth
David
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred
Joe
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

Female
Betty
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene (5/17)
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha
Patricia
Catherine
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

I will try this again. Let's see if I get more names this time.

Female
Betty
Barbara
Catherine - (April 22/23)
Doris
Eleanor
Gloria
Irene - by Irene Hannon (April 15/23)
Jean
Josephine
June
Lois
Marjorie
Martha
Norma
Patricia
Pauline
Ruby
Shirley
Thelma
Virginia

Male
Anthony
Carl
David
Donald
Earl
Ernest
Eugene
Francis
Fred
Howard
Jack - (Jun 4/23)
Joe - (Jun 16/23)
Kenneth
Lawrence
Leonard
Louis
Ralph
Richard
Roy
Stanley

Welcome, Lauri and Katrina!

I’ll join again!

Male
Richard (Rick)
Donald
Jack
Kenneth
David
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred
Joe
Francis
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

Female
Betty
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene Irene Hannon (author)
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha
Patricia
Catherine (Kit)
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

Lets see if I can get more than the first quarter :-)

Male
Richard
Donald
Jack - character
Kenneth
David - David James Warren
Eugene
Ralph
Howard
Carl
Louis
Earl
Roy
Fred -
Joe
Francis -
Lawrence
Ernest
Leonard
Anthony
Stanley

Female
Betty
Virginia
Doris
Jean
Shirley
Lois
Irene - Irene Hannon
Gloria
Marjorie
Barbara
Martha
Patricia - Patricia Bradley
Catherine - Catherine Marshall
Ruby
Eleanor
Norma
Thelma
Josephine
Pauline
June

Welcome, Kim and Sarita!

Catherine - (clean fiction, not Christian fiction)

Great job!

Another one for Catherine - (although it is spelled Katherine) (clean fiction, not Christian fiction)

Well done!

Does "Frederick" work for "Fred"? The character in my book was referred to as "Frederick" throughout.

Carl -

Yes, Staci, that works.

Great job, Brittany!

Andrea wrote: "Yes, Staci, that works."

Thanks Andrea!

Andrea - can the male name be someone's last name (even a woman) - such as Howard or Lawrence?

I'll allow surnames, but they must be the same gender as the section the name is in. So a surname of Howard or Lawrence would need to be a male character.

Thanks for the clarification, Andrea.

Will "Rick" work for Richard? One of the main characters in a book I'm reading is named Rick. If not, I think I have some possible authors.

If he is called Richard at least once, yes. If not, let’s use one of the other options you have available.

Thanks Andrea.

Two more questions - does "Shirlee" work for "Shirley" and can we do multiple books for a name (similar to how we are doing the I Spy challenge)?

Yes, Shirlee works.
Yes, you may read as many books per name as you like.

Thanks Andrea!

Irene - (author name)

Great job!

I have gotten none so far. I really thought more books would naturally fit into this challenge. I'm going to have to get more intentional about it.

I'm not getting as many for this group either...

I have gotten so far: Carl, Fred, Jack, Joe, Ralph and Barbara, Catherine, Irene, Martha.

Great job, Loraine!

Staci, I hear ya. I really thought this was going to be easier! :)

Staci and Andrea, I also thought this would be easy and align with several of my other challenges. So far looks like I can get Jack, David, Earl, Shirley, Irene, Barbara, Patricia, and Catherine from books reading for other challenges.

If time allows I may also get Richard, Howard, Joe, Betty, Virginia, Lois, Gloria, Martha, Ruby, Josephine, and June.

Great plans, Karen!

One down - finished David Stern's today.

Great job!

Does it count if the person (Lauren's father) is included in the summary, but the name of Lauren's father (Lawrence) isn't in the summary?

I hope my question makes sense.

Second question, does a female character named "Jo" count for "Joe"?