What's in a name?

I was looking for inspiration about a possible Circle post, when I came across this New York Times book review for the novel, which discusses some very interesting meanings behind the names of the characters in the book. Of course, it's quite common for authors to choose names that symbolize the ideals or personality of a character, but what surprised me were the connections within The Circle that I never would have seen had I not done some more research.

The main character of the book is named Mae (short for Maebelline) Holland. The first thing I personally thought of when Eggers introduced her full name was the similarly named makeup brand, Maybelline. Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline. This connection was brought up in the New York Times article as well, as makeup generally represents a degree of artificiality, or a mask. In the novel, Mae is constantly behind the mask of the Internet. All of her "friends" and "followers" only see her through a screen rather than seeing her true self. Mae also feels as if she's constantly acting to fit the role of the "perfect Circler" in order to be accepted at work.

Another noticeable connection to her name comes on Mae's first day of work, when Gina sets up a Zing account for her with the screen name "MaeDay." The similarly spelled word mayday is a well-known distress signal that derives from a French phrase meaning "Come help me." This is like a subliminal message to the readers, who feel Mae's silent suffering from the oppression around her, whether she realizes it or not. Mae is helpless to the pressures of The Circle. May Day was also the name of a workers' holiday that used to be celebrated in industrialized areas of the United States after the 1917 workers' revolution in Soviet Russia. This holiday supported communist and socialist ideas, and Soviet claims to equality. Coincidentally, The Circle and Soviet Russia have very similar logic, societal values, and desire for power.


While Mae's name carries the most significance and symbolism in this book, there are other characters whose names reveal pieces of their personalities as well. For example, Eamon Bailey, one of the three founding fathers of The Circle, was named that for a reason. Eamon is an old English name meaning "wealthy protector/defender," and Bailey comes from English roots meaning "public official," or "man in charge." Bailey also has connotations with a generous, humanitarian, and magnetic personality. These meanings together create a perfect representation of Bailey's role in The Circle. Known for being the most emotional and altruistic of the three founders, Bailey truly believes in the goodness of The Circle. He works hard to spread the limitless possibilities that could stem from it, and shows Mae the "right path" of truthfulness and transparency when she feels lost. Of course, Bailey is also a very wealthy man, and is the foremost protector of The Circle's mission and ideals.

Another character in The Circle with a hidden name meaning is Kalden. Of course, to those of us who have read the book, Kalden carries several more secrets than the ones lying within his name. Kalden comes from Tibetan origin and means "of the golden age." Now, this may be a bit of a stretch, but the first thing I thought of when I learned of his Tibetan origins were the Tibetan nomads that are known for roaming through the Himalayan mountain ranges. (My grandmother in India once told me a story about these nomads, so I don't know if others would jump to the same connection as I did...) Surprisingly enough, Kalden's character in the book fits the description of a nomad to a tee. Mae first sees him hiding in the shadows wearing a hoodie during a company party, and then again only in sporadic moments afterwards. When she searches for him in the Circle database, there is no trace of him at all. Then, when Kalden takes Mae through the underground tunnels of The Circle and shows her his secret cave-bed-hiding-spot in the heart of the company's darkness (hehehe...), he can be described as nothing other than a nomad.

Coming back to the actual meaning of his name, "of the golden age," there is even deeper symbolism. As Mae gets to know Kalden, despite his sporadically nomadic behavior, she learns that while he is an employee of The Circle, his mission and morals lie elsewhere. He warns Mae of the "completion of the circle," and how this will lead to an impending doom that will kill all privacy and individuality. Just like a Golden Age represents a period of peace, harmony and stability prior to a downfall, Kalden represents the warning that society is approaching this dangerous point-of-no-return.


While I don't have the time to do such an in-depth analysis of every character's name, these particular characters, and their relations to each other are what create the driving conflicts in The Circle. I've created a list below of the basic name meanings of some other characters, just because it's interesting to see how they represent themselves in the novel as well.

Other characters:

Mercer: "merchant" or "trader of textiles"

Annie: "grace, favor, prayer"

Francis: "French" or "free"

Tom Stenton (another of the three founders, CEO of The Circle): Stenton means "settlement on stony ground"

Tyler "Ty" Alexander Gospodinov (the first founder): Tyler means "layer of tiles" (he laid the groundwork for The Circle), Alexander means "defender of men"

Renata: "rebirth"

Alistair: "protector"

Dan: "judge" or "God is my judge"

Sabine: the name of an ancient Roman tribe that divided in two; one civilized city, and one mountain tribe

Jared: "a ruling, commanding, coming down"



--Sanjukta