Quick opinion on one of two pen names, thanks.

Ginger sounds a little "cutesy" to my way of thinking. Whereas Virginia could write in any genre.

But, hey, pick what you like most and really want to wear. We can weigh in, but you'll be the one with the name on the book.

I like Ginger more. Hah it's actually because I very much dislike the name Virgina. Ginger is more unique and i have a unique name so I always like unique names.

Honestly, everyone's going to have a different opinion. I just told you which one i like, but I'm sure either one would sell a book.

I also write under my first and middle names because my last name is long, often mispronounced, and carries images of a malevolent British official.

I like Ginger Mae. If I were a young adult, I'd read her sci-fi and horror.

Neither of these sound like they could be real names. Perhaps change the spelling to "May".

I like Ginger too.

morngnstar said:

Neither of these sound like they could be real names. Perhaps change the spelling to "May".

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There are a few "famous" folks out there with the last name Mae. For a good made-up sounding name how about Epp Mäe--freestyle wrestling world championship and a bronze medal winner.

I strongly prefer Virginia. Ginger Mae sounds cutesy-wootsey to me; I'd like it better for middle grade or picture books.

CassandraW said:

I strongly prefer Virginia. Ginger Mae sounds cutesy-wootsey to me; I'd like it better for middle grade or picture books.

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I missed the part about genre. Now, I'm less sure, but I think Ginger would still be okay for YA. When you tack on horror, I may lean more toward Virginia.

I'd go with Virginia, and stay with Mae, not May. It's good to stand out like that. But throw both spellings in your website keywords.

"Ginger" gets me too close to "Ginny" which I don't think works for sci-fi.

To me, May is a woman's first or middle name, not a surname. In fact, it's my grandmother's middle name. I've never heard of it being a last name before. But people in different places, who've known different people with different names, will have their own reactions and associations. In the end, you have to go with what you like best. (For what it's worth, I like Ginger more than Virginia. It sounds more modern. I don't think it feels cutesy at all, but then, I grew up with Gilligan's Island, where the character of Ginger was a sexy bombshell.)

I was thinking it either sounds cutesy-wootsey or like an old lady name. (Ginger on Gilligan's Island would be about 75 or 80 now, wouldn't she?). And indeed, to me, it sounds both. I see an adorable woman of 70+ with dyed red hair, a pink cardigan sweater, and at least four cats. That might just be me, though.

I know someone with the last name May.

I like Virginia Mae. I agree with some of the others that Ginger sounds a little cutesy.

Southpaw said:

There are a few "famous" folks out there with the last name Mae. For a good made-up sounding name how about Epp Mäe--freestyle wrestling world championship and a bronze medal winner.

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Most of these are foreign, which is why the combination with an English first name like Virginia or Ginger seems implausible. These names make it pretty obvious you're using your first and middle name. I probably could have guessed it even if you didn't tell me.

Nowadays I think a lot of people have first and last names that don't "match" ethnically. My last name is Hispanic; my first name is not. And then there are married women who take their husbands' names. And then -- so what if people suspect it's a pen name?

MaeZe said:

I've decided to go with my first and middle names because I don't think my last name has the right sound to it.

My book is YA sci-fi and in the interim I have a short story ready to be published in sci-fi horror genre. I don't want two pen names at this time so YA sci-fi is the genre the name will mainly be for.

So which of these do people prefer:

Ginger Mae
or
Virginia Mae

Thanks.

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This is probably a dialect thing but ginger is a hair colour, so unless you're ginger I wouldn't go with that. In the USA I don't think it's as common for ginger to be used as a hair colour, more often I've heard Americans say "red hair". Over here, Ginger's a nickname for people with ginger hair. I find it really weird when someone's called Ginger and they're not ginger. It's like someone being called Blondie when they have black hair.

Also, Ginger Mae makes me think of drinking ginger beer in May.

And in the UK it's fairly common for the nickname ginger (for a ginger-haired person) to be pronunced with hard /g/ so it rhymes with ringer and starts with the same sound as goat. This only applies for the nickname and hair colour, not the spice. And you can say "he's a ginger" (pronounced the hard g way) to mean "he has ginger hair".

If you want your writing to cross the Atlantic, please be aware of the above.

neandermagnon said:

And in the UK it's fairly common for the nickname ginger (for a ginger-haired person) to be pronunced with hard /g/ so it rhymes with ringer and starts with the same sound as goat. This only applies for the nickname and hair colour, not the spice. And you can say "he's a ginger" (pronounced the hard g way) to mean "he has ginger hair".

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Ok you've got me confused. I watch a fair amount of BBC America and PBS Brit shows, and haven't heard this before. I've heard the ginger term but only with g like giraffe for both spots.

You mean the name G(like goat)ing(like goat)er is another way to pronounced that?

juniper said:

Ok you've got me confused. I watch a fair amount of BBC America and PBS Brit shows, and haven't heard this before. I've heard the ginger term but only with g like giraffe for both spots.

You mean the name G(like goat)ing(like goat)er is another way to pronounced that?

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Ditto here -- I know the ginger term, have heard it used on British television, have heard it used by friends from England, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand, but they all said "ginger" with two "g"s pronounced as in "giraffe." I've never once heard it said with a hard g.

ETA:

Found this, though: http://languagehat.com/ging-er/ Apparently, it's an insult if used with a hard "g." And not all Brits have heard that pronunciation used, either.