When Oscar Boykin and his wife, Liz, heard that a new Harper Lee novel was to be released, populated by the same characters as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” they envisioned a tsunami of baby boys named Atticus storming the country, and their own son, Atticus, who is 9 months old, would no longer stand out.

If only.

In “Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch was the beloved, honorable father figure, a namesake freighted with values and meaning. In the new book, “Go Set a Watchman,” which was released on Tuesday, Atticus is a racist.

Fans of “Mockingbird” have been crestfallen and disbelieving that their hero could be so changed, but perhaps no group more so than those who chose that name for their children.

“When we first heard about the book, my wife said, ‘Oh no, I hope Atticus didn’t turn bad or something,’ ” said Christopher Campbell, the father of 3-year-old Atticus Campbell, who was born shortly after his parents moved to the Atlanta area from New York City. “We actually had that discussion. It was almost a joke.”