According to Johnson's ex-wife, the newspaper columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson, the lead characters are named after 1960s music icons Arlo Guthrie and Janis Joplin, and their son after Eugene McCarthy.
Janis Joplin | Arlo Guthrie | Janis Ian | Elsie Janis | Arlo White | Arlo Eisenberg | Tim Janis | Sidney Janis | Love, Janis | Jānis Vinters | Jānis Vanags | Jānis Streičs | Jānis Šmits | Jānis Lūsis | Jānis Krūmiņš | Janis Karpinski | Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits | Janis Hansen (singer) | Janis Hansen | Jānis Birks | Jānis Bebris | Conrad Janis | Arlo Smith |