initial thoughts: I went into this book blind and absolutely devoured it! I don’t want to give much away, other than add this to your TBR NOW if it’s not already there.

what’s in a name? this book follows the three different lives of a baby boy (and his family), based on which name he may have been given at birth. my only complaint is that we didn’t have enough time in each timeline/story.

tw: there are some difficult scenes of domestic violence in this story.

a BIG thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC.

5 stars

Cora and her nine year old daughter, Maia go to a government office to register the birth of Cora’s new baby boy. Cora’s controlling husband expects the child to be named after him, but when the registrar asks for the name Cora hesitates…

This story, spanning thirty-five years, follows Cora, Maia and the baby based on three different names he makes that be given. It’s a very clever trope (and I have to mention the lovely illustrations that go along with each name) but I still passed on this book the first time I read about it, then my friend Susan recommended it to me and I’m so glad she did because I absolutely loved this story of three damaged people and the others who are in their orbit. It’s not always pretty, but readers see the long term effects of domestic violence as well as the ties of family, both biological and chosen. Knapp draws characters well and places nice Easter eggs in the various stories. This deserves to be read widely.

Can your name change the course of your life? Cora takes her 9 year old daughter to register her son's birth. Her husband intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she would like the child to be called, she hesitates. This story follows Cora and her children, following three different versions of their life based on the choice of that name.

I loved this concept. What is in a name? All three storylines were well written, yet sometimes it was hard to follow with the jumping around of timelines in addition to the different lives. The idea that your name could potentially take you on a different path in life is quite a concept.

Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence
Thank You NetGalley and Penguin for the free e-galley.

This is a complicated review because at the core, the story is a 5. Exploring abuse and the effects it has on spouses, family, and children. There is a lot to discuss and I totally agree this is a fantastic book club book. The sliding door structure with 3 parallel storylines also jumping 7 years at a time was hard to follow. It took a bit for me to keep the stories straight. Once I felt comfortable in one story, adding 2 more to keep track of, and then not getting much closure to the story and jumping 7 years forward was hard. I appreciated the author taking a risk and having a standout debut, but I think it she leaned into one story it would have felt more complete.

Really lovely book. I was impressed by the originality of the concept. What a tragic ensemble of characters, but I felt each iteration of the protagonist was compelling. I found something to relate to, if not love, in each one. Been telling everyone about this. You won’t regret the read.

I appreciate the net galley ARC. I had really high hopes for this book and I appreciated the plot. However, I felt disconnected to the characters because too much was going on and I was hoping for a more conclusive ending that tied it altogether. It felt like a good idea that wasn't fully fleshed out.

4.5🌟s rounded up!

Super interesting concept that was executed so well!! As someone who was supposed to have a different name, this was a thought-provoking read. I wasn’t expecting this to be as emotional as it was 😢

📕There was an article in my prep year English textbook on importance of choosing the right name for your child: thinking about the meaning, how it would sound combined with the last name, and what initials would spell (imagine having WTF as initials). One example was hilarious and after all those years I still cannot forget it: If your last name is “Pig”, don’t name your daughter “Ima”. Such an example this was!
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📗That example aside I always believed in names shaping a child’s personality. My name means “honey bee, hardworking bee” and all my life I was the teacher’s pet. I really worked hard. Straight As and summa cum laudes. Also randomly flipping through Ottoman Turkish - Turkish dictionary, I learnt that it also meant fat. And guess what I had never been skinny in my life. Closest I got to skinny was my fit athlete body. My name was the sign of who I would become.
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📘That’s why I could put away all the emotions in this book and focus only on how different names created different personas. I really appreciated the author choosing this as her medium to explain what ifs. I enjoyed Bear the most maybe because it was the sister who named her brother and needed the bear in her life.

Grabbed this one when i saw it was a read with Jenna pick since i tend to really enjoy her selections. This was a beautiful read and will likely be a top book of 2025 for me. Thank you so much for the gifted copy.

The Names was very interesting, because it reinforces how each decision we make can have an incredible impact on our lives. It was sad yet hopeful and believable. Great read!

This novel is easily one of my favorites of the year.

What’s in a name? For Cora, it’s everything. After giving birth to a baby boy, she wants to name him Julian. Her abusive husband, Gordon, insists on naming the child after himself. Meanwhile, her imaginative young daughter, Maia, thinks he should be called Bear—because he’s “cuddly.”

So, which name wins out?

That’s the narrative genius of this novel: we don’t follow just one outcome—we get to see all three. The story splits into three parallel realities, each shaped by the name the baby receives. You quite literally get three emotionally resonant, fully fleshed-out novels in one.

What’s remarkable is how the choice of name subtly—and sometimes dramatically—reshapes the boy’s identity, relationships, and even the world around him. Watching Julian, Gordon, and Bear each grow into different lives is mesmerizing. The ripple effects are brilliantly rendered, and Knapp handles the tonal and narrative shifts with impressive skill.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say this: I laughed, I cried, and I finished the book with a full-blown book hangover. This story is heartfelt, thought-provoking, and masterfully executed. A triumph from start to finish.

Knapp is now an auto-buy author for me. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

4.30. What an interesting book! It kind of reminded me of Kate Atkinsons Life after Life where in this story there were three plots based on three different names given to a baby and how perhaps based on the given name, how that child and family developed. Most importantly, though, this book concerned domestic violence and the impact on the various family members. A really profound novel. In spite of the three different story lines, the characters were all very well developed. The writing was beautiful. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and unbiased review.

When Cora goes to name her and Gordon’s new baby boy she faces a tough choice. Name him what she wants, what her daughter wants, or what her husband’s wants (a boy to carry on as his Jr?) From there the story divides into three optional lives. A life lived by each of the three names, and the trauma, heartbreak, joy, and so much more that each name will endure.

This is such a beautiful book about the meaning and life behind a name. I loved the stories of each of the three names that were the options for Cora and Gordon’s baby boy. I was immediately drawn into the story and also immediately despised one specific character…IYKYK. I did have a bit of trouble keeping the stories straight at times because the same characters are in all three storylines, but I still enjoyed this one so dang much. There is so much packed into this book, but there are a lot of triggers as well, so be sure to check those before reading! This book was heavy at times but just so well freaking done, I can’t believe it is a debut!

Thank you to @pameladormanbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

How do names influence behavior? Is a name a determining factor in how a child grows up. In whom he becomes? Florence Knapp delves into the influence of names in her debut novel “The Names.”
A mother goes to register her newborn son, who her abusive husband insists be named after him. Her daughter, who goes with her, wants to name the child something else. And the mother has her own idea of who her son should be. In this novel, Knapp tells the story of this child as he grows, one chapter for each of the three names, told in 7-year spans.
I found this interesting because names are important—they can influence character, self-confidence and how others see a person. Knapp delves into this while also discussing spousal abuse and family connections.
This would make a great book club choice, as there is a lot to discuss here. My thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for an advanced copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

As an avid reader, I sometimes get cynical and think I've seen the same story done a thousand slightly different ways. I can't say I've seen this premise before. It's a bit like "Sliding Doors" in that it shows us the different ways a life can go based on one tiny decision (in this case, the name of a baby). I thought this was very well done. I was interested in the three storylines and it did make me think about the possible trajectories of each of our lives. Great characters and solid writing.

Loved the concept of this one — how a name can shape a life — and early on, I was really drawn in by Cora’s journey toward finding her voice. But as the story split into three timelines and jumped ahead, I struggled to stay emotionally connected. The writing is thoughtful but dense, and I found it hard to stay engaged.

Not quite the right fit for me, but readers who enjoy complex, layered literary fiction and explorations of identity and domestic abuse may really appreciate it.

A sliding doors story with 3 alternate timelines following the life of a baby born into an abusive marriage. In one, the baby is named after his abusive, but well respected doctor father as is family tradition, in another he is named by his older sister, in another by his mother. Each timeline is less about the name itself, more about the choice and how that act shapes decisions moving forward.

I liked this debut and think it has broad appeal. There’s enough to chew on here to be satisfying even if I found the story relying a little heavily on the sliding door structure and plot and less on characterization than I personally prefer.

The Names set out to explore the impact of a mother's name choice for her son, and how those choices ripple out over the following thirty-five years. In three different timelines to accommodate the three different name choices, Knapp highlights domestic abuse, family, and healing.

While some rare authors’ writing can effortlessly handle the weight and insistence of present tense, <b>The Names</b> fell short of this feat. Instead of effectively conveying the story, the novel is plagued by dull, repetitive, and unengaging passages.

Also, and maybe most importantly to me, it failed to deliver on the promises made by its marketing, offering very little by way of examining the impact of different first names. Instead, the narrative centers around an abuser whose presence permeates every page, whether through literal references or the lingering effects he has left behind. If I had known this beforehand, I probably wouldn't have picked up this book. I struggled to find anything fresh in this novel of threes, where in some parts the answers to the novel's overarching "what-ifs" seemed obvious and in others the directions and choices made felt unearned.

Putting aside the marketing issues and the present tense, while it didn't live up to my expectations (however misdirected), this did have an often touching display of a family, splayed out in three different directions — each with interesting possibilities.

Wow! The Names is a book that I’ve continued - and will continue - to think about since finishing. Told in alternate realities, over several decades, this profound and thought-provoking book explores not only the question of “what’s in a name?” but also the lifetime impact of a decision. I loved every minute of it.

Domestic abuse and physical abuse was too strong for me to push through the book. The concept of this book sounded incredible but I couldn’t do it. Also, has some lgbtq themes pretty early too and that is something I don’t enjoy reading. Not the book for me and that’s okay.