Today, 30-March-2026, replying to a completely different thread, you happened to mention "naming" and this novel you finished reading only last night. Gotta love #synchronicity!!

The Names by Florence Knapp

Have you ever wondered what would have been different if your parents had called you something easier to spell, or less common, or more likely to appear on a souvenir keychain? In The Names, Florence Knapp artfully explores the idea of nominative determinism, giving readers a sliding-doors-style view of how naming a child may determine the course of their future.
Cora, a young wife and mother, gives birth to her second child during a storm and chooses between three names for him—but each name holds a very different path. Trapped in a violent marriage and striving for a better future, Cora vacillates. Will this baby be Gordon after his proud and rageful father, continuing a legacy she fears? Will he be Bear, brave, strong and solid, a protector she might one day rely on? Or will he be Julian, pure and free-spirited, offering the escape she longs for?
In alternating timelines across three decades, the family’s rocky past and the diverging roads of three possible futures crystallize. With meticulously interwoven threads and generous prose, The Names is an intricate and affecting debut about the hope, love, and expectations that can both bless and burden a child.