Atticus, Samwise, and everything in between: literary boys

Boy Names
1

I’ve been reading a lot of fiction lately and thinking about characters’ names and what makes them usable.

I remember about 10-12 years ago hearing an older gentleman roll his eyes and laugh about his new grandson whose name was [name_m]Atticus[/name_m]. He clearly thought the name was ridiculous, despite his obvious love and excitement for a grandchild. Fast forward to now and [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] is generally thought to be a respectable choice and a nod to a great character.

What, in your opinion, makes for great literary male name? Is it the name itself, or the character behind it? What literary names would you use, and which do you think are unusable?

What is the most unusual literary name you’ve come across on a person? Did you like it?

What literary names have you come across in your reading lately that you’d like to share?

I’ve been reading Hold Me Closer, Necromancer and got a kick out of the fact that the main character is named Samhain…but his dad hated it so much, he insists on calling him [name_u]Sam[/name_u] (Samhain is actually pronounced Sa-win or Sow-win).

I’m also re-reading [name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Rings, which is a treasure trove of names: Éomer, Theoden, [name_f]Arwen[/name_f], Éowen, [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m], and Samwise are some of my favorites.

2

For me, the issue of using literary names is one of finding a name that strikes that balance of using a name that is unique enough to be recognizable as being the name of a character while not being so weird as to be unusable or saddling my kid with a name that I love but stigmatizes them with my nerdery.

For instance, [name_u]Scout[/name_u], [name_m]Holden[/name_m], [name_m]Atticus[/name_m], and most Shakespearean names seem to have found mainstream acceptance. Names like [name_f]Emma[/name_f] (from [name_f]Emma[/name_f]) or [name_f]Bella[/name_f] (Twilight) are too popular to be recognized as being inspired by literature without an explanation. And others, like [name_m]Romeo[/name_m], [name_m]Hamlet[/name_m], [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], or even Samwise are so iconic that I think it might render them unusable as first names (imho).

What makes a great literary male name to me is the character-- a character I feel emotionally attached to and that I love the development of. Someone I feel exhibits the characteristics I would want my son to have. Of course I would also want the name to be usable and nice sounding.

The most unusual name I’ve come across belonging to a person is Snowden (from Catch 22). For all I know it was a family name, but I like to think it was a literary name. I also know a [name_m]Holden[/name_m] and a [name_u]Dorian[/name_u].

3

Personally I think naming a child after a great character is awesome, but using a name that you’ve happened upon while reading is just fine to me too! It’s like naming your child after [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] due to his being a well written and beloved character, or loving the name [name_m]Ronald[/name_m] regardless of it’s connection to a series. Also, I haven’t gotten the chance to meet anyone with a literary name (I’m hoping to run across a young Hermoine at some point :wink: )
A place that I think anyone can find so great inspiration from is actually Game of Thrones! The book series is absolutely full of characters (many incredibly minor) but there’s so much uniqueness!

Like [name_f]Myrcella[/name_f]! It’s sweet and gentle and a neat twist on the [name_f]Marcella[/name_f]'s/[name_m]Marcel[/name_m]'s/[name_f]Melissa[/name_f]'s we all know! Playing with the spelling to get more casual versions such as [name_f]Mircella[/name_f] or Mersella is fun too!

Frankly, the Lannisters seem to have some of the most usable names to me. Cersei is bewitching, Tommen is charming, [name_m]Joffrey[/name_m] is strong…Lots of possibilities (if you get over Cersei’s and [name_m]Joffrey[/name_m]'s absolutely horrible character’s that is!).

Here’s a list of GOT names that think are quite usable! (Ignoring the character’s flaws of course :wink: )

[name_f]Myrcella[/name_f]
Cersei
[name_m]Joffrey[/name_m]
Tommen
Selyse
Renly
[name_m]Edric[/name_m]
[name_m]Theon[/name_m]
[name_f]Asha[/name_f]
[name_m]Doran[/name_m]
[name_f]Arianne[/name_f]
[name_u]Elia[/name_u]
Brynden
[name_f]Margaery[/name_f]
Mance
Ygritte
[name_m]Bowen[/name_m]

4

I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] literary names! Many names I like have literary ties that aren’t so obvious. I’ll try to stick with mostly boys.

[name_f]Lydia[/name_f]
[name_u]Darcy[/name_u]
[name_m]Bennet/name_m
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]
[name_m]Edward[/name_m]
[name_m]Edmund[/name_m]
[name_m]Edgar[/name_m]
[name_m]Victor[/name_m]
[name_m]Frederick[/name_m]

5

What makes for great literary male name?

I want to say that what makes a great literary name (be it male or female), is how well it fits in with society and overall how well it blends with the modern standard names of our current society, e.g. - [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] would be fine because it’s a legitimate Welsh name that is used quite commonly here in [name_m]Britain[/name_m]. Theoden and Éowen would also be appropriate, as Theoden has the familiarity of [name_u]Theo[/name_u] and [name_m]Theodore[/name_m], whereas Éowen is near-identical to the up and coming [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], correctly pronounced as “eh-LOH-en”.

However, from a purely generalised perspective, I honestly believe that what makes a great literary male name is how you feel about it or, alternatively, how it makes you feel. If you love [name_m]Le[/name_m] Morte d’[name_m]Arthur[/name_m], then why not name a son Mordred, [name_m]Merlin[/name_m] or [name_m]Lancelot[/name_m]? If you’re passionate about Anglo-[name_m]Saxon[/name_m]/Viking history and you’ve bonded with characters from The Last Kingdom, then what’s to stop you using the powerful and charismatic [name_m]Ragnar[/name_m] and Uhtred? Inspired by intelligence? Why not take the plunge and go with [name_m]Sherlock[/name_m]? And if you truly connected with Hogwarts’ headmaster and were saddened by his untimely end, then surely there would be no reason why the world wouldn’t benefit from a baby boy named [name_m]Albus[/name_m]?

Obviously, you do have to take into account how a child might fare through life with the literary name of your choice but, whether it be connected to a goodie or a baddie, provided it’s not on par with the likes of say, Sauron or Satan, I’m sure most choices would be fine.

What is the most unusual literary name you’ve come across on a person? Did you like it?

Unfortunately, a vast majority of the people around me give their children the same “timeless” classics, aka - standard, boring names, with a few more modern, odd choices thrown in. I’m sure I must have met a few people who were named after their parents’ favourite character, but given the popularity of, say, [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_m]Christopher[/name_m], [name_f]Samantha[/name_f] etc. there’s no telling what characters they may have originated from.

What literary names would you use, and which do you think are unusable?

Again, provided you love the name and it isn’t ‘too evil’ - which is honestly subjective, in theory just about any literary name should be usable. For me personally, I’m quite fond of [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] (The Picture of [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] [name_u]Gray[/name_u]), [name_m]Hannibal[/name_m] ([name_u]Red[/name_u] Dragon), [name_m]Roderick[/name_m] (A Song of Ice and [name_m]Fire[/name_m]), [name_m]Lucius[/name_m] ([name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m]), [name_u]Quincy[/name_u] ([name_m]Bram[/name_m] Stoker’s Dracula) and [name_f]Merry[/name_f] ([name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Rings).