1. Stranger Than Fiction Names<br />Harold Crick <br />Harold – Scandinavian, meaning heroic leader, a lot of kings were named this.<br />Crick – British,(traditional) probably came from an area in Northamponshire England, Francis Crick was a famous scientist.<br />Why?- I suppose near the end Harold ends up being his own leader, becomes an individual instead of ‘that smart math guy’. Truthfully I’m not sure why his last name was Crick, but perhaps it’s just because of the way it sounds. Simple, smart and fairly common (which describes his original personality). <br />Karen Eiffel <br />Karen – Greek/Danish, meaning pure, probably from Katherine(Danish) and there are a lot of saints named Catherine/Katherine.<br />Eiffel – French, (traditional) a lot of guys by this name built bridges and buildings.<br />Why? – Karen means pure, a good person, which in the movie she lives up to in the end by sacrificing her book for Harold’s life. Eiffel is a name attached to architects, visionaries. I guess you could say that Karen is a legendary architect of literature.<br />Anna Pascal <br />Ana – Latin, meaning gracious or graceful, Old origins in many countries. <br />Pascal – French, meaning Easter child or lamb, Blaise Pascal was a valuable French mathematician. <br />Why? – Ana doesn’t develop as a character throughout the movie as much as the others (besides falling in love etc…). She stays a ‘gracious’ and ‘innocent’ person all through the storyline, wanting to change the world for the better by selling cookies. <br />Jules Hilbert <br />Jules – French/Latin, meaning youthful, probably comes from Julius Caesar (master ruler of Rome)<br />Hilbert – German, meaning courageous, David Hilbert was a really smart German mathematician.<br />Why? – I think this name was chosen because of its relation to authors. This character studies and teaches literature classes and to do that a person must be different and have a good imagination. He also launches himself into Harold’s problem without complaining or hesitating. (youthful and courageous).<br />Penny Escher <br />Penny – Greek, meaning faithful (from Penelope), in Homer’s Odyssey Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus.<br />Escher – Swiss or German, Esch is the German word for Ash tree, a lot of Swiss politicians were named Escher.<br />Why? – Her name means faithful, and she sticks by Karen’s side the whole time, never gives up on her. I suppose in a way she approaches Karen’s situation like a politician. With previous experience and good tactics. <br />Dr. Mittag-Leffler (last name)<br />Mittag-Leffler – Swedish, I couldn’t find the meaning for Mittag but Leffler means spoon-maker and Gosta Mittag-Leffler was a really smart mathematician. <br />Why? - We don’t see much of this character and therefore we know little about her. I’ve decided though, that she got this name because it sounds really smart and is connected to a very logical guy. She wasn’t a really personable lady and practically analyzed Harold before he got to explain anything. She was ‘scientific’ and didn’t even see fiction as a possibility in life. <br />