The Names

The Names is Florence Knapp’s debut novel, first published in 2025. Beginning in 1987, the story follows Cora Atkin, a young mother trapped in an abusive marriage, as she prepares to register her son’s birth. Pressured to name him after his domineering father, Gordon, Cora considers calling her son Julian or Bear—names that reflect her aspirations for her newborn son. The story unfolds in three alternate narratives, each based on the name Cora chooses. Spanning 35 years, the book examines the profound impact of that pivotal moment, illustrating how a single decision can alter the course of multiple lives.

Florence Knapp is a British writer who previously authored a nonfiction book on quilt-making and contributed to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s publication, Patchwork & Quilting.

This guide is based on the 2025 e-book edition published by Phoenix.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of physical abuse, emotional abuse, addiction, sexual violence, graphic violence, and anti-gay bias.

Plot Summary

In England, 1987, Cora Atkin worries about naming her newborn son. The name Gordon is traditional in her husband’s family, but Cora fears her son becoming like her husband and father-in-law. Her husband Gordon is a doctor whose character has been shaped by growing up in the shadow of his cruel father, a renowned brain surgeon. She prefers the name Julian, which means sky father. Cora’s nine-year-old daughter, Maia, suggests the name Bear, as it conveys a combination of gentleness and bravery. Cora wants to make the right decision, but she dreads the repercussions of disobeying her husband. Knapp then divides the novel into three separate threads—one for each potential name—with each choice resulting in a different version of the boy’s life. The narrative revisits Bear, Julian, and Gordon at seven-year intervals.

In Bear’s narrative, Gordon attacks Cora when he learns the name she’s chosen. Cora screams for help, and a neighbor, Vihaan, intervenes. Gordon kills Vihaan and is sent to prison. Bear grows into an endearing, adventurous child and has a close relationship with his sister, whom he calls “Bees.” Cora’s friendship with another mother, Mehri, flourishes, and she takes a job as a gardener. On a date with a vet named Felix, she realizes she is not yet ready to trust a man. However, years later, Cora and Felix meet again and begin a lasting relationship.

At the age of 14, Bear begins dating a classmate, Lily, and their relationship continues into adulthood. They’re often apart, as Bear is an archaeologist whose work takes him around the world. In 2015, Lily is injured in the Paris terrorist attacks and almost dies. The shock of nearly losing her prompts Bear to realize he no longer feels the need to live up to the wild, adventurous associations of his name. Accepting a permanent position at a British museum, he asks Cian (a silversmith and the partner of his late grandmother, Sílbhe) to make Lily a wedding ring. Soon afterward, Bear and Lily have a daughter, Pearl. During the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Bear dies from a wasp sting. In the aftermath of his death, Maia, who now works as a homeopath, is supportive of Lily and develops a close relationship with Pearl. Maia lives with her girlfriend Charlotte but has always feared her father would be disgusted if he discovered she was gay. After his release from prison, Maia’s father sends her an apologetic letter seeking forgiveness. Maia does not reply, finally realizing she is free of her father’s influence.

In Julian’s story, Gordon shoves Cora’s face into the lasagna she has cooked when he learns his son’s name. A couple of years later, Cora tries to leave her husband, but he kills her and goes to jail for the crime. The traumatized children join their widowed grandmother, Sílbhe, in Ireland, who devotes herself to their care. Julian grows into a withdrawn and tentative child, while Maia is a homebody who clings to familiarity and routine. Sílbhe’s partner, Cian, becomes a supportive father figure to Maia and Julian. He teaches Julian the art of jewelry making, igniting a creative passion in the teenager.

After leaving school, Julian becomes a jewelry artisan. His business booms in Ireland, but he refuses to export to England, associating the country with his mother’s death. Julian is attracted to another artist, Orla. However, when Orla returns his feelings, he panics and rejects her. They finally become a couple when Julian confesses to Orla that his father killed his mother. Realizing that her life is at a standstill, Maia becomes a homeopath and acknowledges that she is gay, beginning a relationship with Meg.

Julian and Orla have two daughters. During the pandemic, the family experiences financial hardship, partially due to Julian’s refusal to sell his products in England. Orla and the children go to stay with Orla’s parents indefinitely. Maia supports Julian through this challenging time and begins to share childhood memories with him, allowing him to realize that he’s nothing like his father. Julian sends a shipment of jewelry to England and reunites with his family.

In the third narrative, Cora is depressed after naming her baby Gordon and struggles to connect with her son. From the age of seven, Gordon Jr. invents negative stories about Cora to gain his father’s approval. One night, Maia witnesses her father forcing Cora to eat rotten food from a bowl on the floor. Consequently, she writes to her grandmother, Sílbhe, describing her father’s abusive behavior. Sílbhe offers to send Cora money for tickets to Ireland. However, Cora reveals that Gordon Sr. prescribes anti-psychotic medication to give the impression that she has a mental illness, ensuring that she will lose custody of the children if she tries to leave with them. Sílbhe reports the case to the police, but Cora tells the investigating officer her mother has dementia.

Maia becomes a doctor, keeping her romance with Kate, another medic, a secret from her coworkers and family. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Gordon Jr. attends a party with his classmate, Lily. After they kiss, Gordon Jr. overpowers Lily, touching her intimately without her consent. Lily leaves the party, distressed, while Gordon Jr. rejoins his peers. He gains the approval of the other boys by spreading derogatory sexual gossip about Lily.

Gordon Sr.’s controlling behavior toward Cora escalates once their children have left home. One day, Cora discovers that her mother died several months earlier, but Gordon has withheld this information and prevented Cora from accessing her inheritance. With no friends to turn to, Cora goes to the local veterinary practice—one of the few places where her husband has no connections. A vet named Felix calls the local women’s refuge, and Cora is taken to safety. When Maia learns what has happened, she feels guilty, realizing she has chosen to avoid thinking about her mother’s situation since leaving home.

Cora eventually returns to Gordon Sr. and attempts to leave him three more times. After the fourth attempt, Gordon Sr. appears to have changed, becoming kind and thoughtful, and cooking their meals. He secretly drugs his wife, and her subsequent confusion causes her to perform poorly in a cognitive assessment. Gaining Lasting Power of Attorney over Cora’s affairs, Gordon Sr. resumes abusing his wife.

After graduating, Gordon Jr. takes a lucrative job in investment banking. Pursuing a lifestyle of excess, he develops an alcohol addiction, which culminates in him crashing his Porsche. He loses his job and spends time in a psychiatric unit before returning to live with his parents. He dwells on his past mistreatment of others and learns that Lily has become a human rights lawyer, specializing in sexual assault cases. Gordon Jr. and Maia grow closer, and she finally reveals her relationship with Kate. The siblings visit a gallery, and Maia observes that the Goya painting Saturn Devouring His Son reminds her of their father.

That evening, when his father makes a disparaging comment about Cora’s culinary skills, Gordon Jr. stands up for his mother. He begins protecting Cora from his father’s punishments by taking responsibility for domestic mishaps. Unbeknownst to his parents, Gordon Jr. installs cameras in the smoke detectors of the house to collect evidence of his father’s abusive behavior. Confronting Gordon Sr. with the footage, he makes him leave the family home and sign over the property to Cora.

Gordon Jr. takes a job in a gallery and moves in with his girlfriend, Comfort, and her teenage daughter, Ida. Revisiting Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son, he learns that the Roman god ate his children as he feared being usurped by them. Saturn’s son, Jupiter, escaped and later overthrew his father.

Gordon Sr. has a heart attack. In his dying moments, he relives the abuse he inflicted on his ex-wife and imagines the alternative paths Cora’s life could have taken if they had not met. He also envisions the different trajectory of his own life if he had resolved to be nothing like his father. Finally, Gordon Sr. pictures Cora arriving at the registry office and naming her son Hugh, after her late father.