Abstract
This paper focuses on names and character names as found in the works of the Sicilian writer Goliarda Sapienza. In many texts of autobiographical inspiration this author reflects on the legacy of the names given to each character. The names of the novel «L’arte della gioia» will be especially taken into account, as well as the relationship between the author’s onomastic biography and her choices of the characters’ names of the novel. The final part of the paper will be focused on a recurring euphemism related to the taboo of death.