Literary names...

I am a big reader and would love to name at least one of my children after a favorite character in literature. Most of my favorite characters don’t have notable names though (for example, [name]Jane[/name] from [name]Jane[/name] Eyre). What are some of your favorite literary names?

I’ll start out with some off the top of my head:

Girls:

[name]Hero[/name]
[name]Scout[/name]
Aeowyn
[name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Ariel[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name]
[name]Bronte[/name]
Eponine
[name]Cosette[/name]
[name]Elanor[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]

Boys:

[name]Atticus[/name]
[name]Byron[/name]
[name]Darcy[/name]
[name]Heathcliff[/name]
[name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Walden[/name]

Girls:
[name]Marilla[/name]
[name]Antonia[/name]
[name]Aravis[/name]
[name]Nerissa[/name]

Boys:
[name]Lysander[/name]
[name]Asher[/name]
Aureliano

1 Like

Great topic, [name]Dove[/name]! :slight_smile:

[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Anne[/name]/[name]Annabelle[/name]
[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Mae[/name]
[name]Tamsin[/name]
[name]Viola[/name]
[name]Winifred[/name]

[name]Atticus[/name]
[name]Charles[/name]
[name]Dashiell[/name]
[name]Leo[/name]
[name]Nathaniel[/name]
[name]Oliver[/name]

Yes, great thread!

I studied medieval literature, and my very favorite work was the [name]North[/name]-Midlands poem called [name]Pearl[/name]. It’s intricate, beautiful, and heartbreaking.

That’s the main reason [name]Pearl[/name] is my daughter’s middle name (and I also love related names like [name]Margaret[/name] and its diminutives).

[name]Just[/name] found the Literary Names hotlists:

Still, I’m sure there are plenty of favorites that aren’t on those lists! Keep 'em coming!

I have never met someone else who likes/has heard of the name Eponine! I’m glad it’s not just me :smiley:

I think Eponine is beautiful! :slight_smile:
To be honest, I never managed to get through [name]Les[/name] Miserables, but I do love the musical! :slight_smile: [name]Plenty[/name] of beautiful French names to draw from in that book!

Actually I knew someone whose first choice for a girl was Eponine…they liked the nickname [name]Po[/name].

I love literary names sigh Great topic!
Sorry if any are repeated!

Girls:
[name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Lydia[/name], [name]Kitty[/name], [name]Emma[/name], [name]Marianne[/name], [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Sarah[/name], [name]Louisa[/name] (various [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name])
[name]Jane[/name] ([name]Jane[/name] Eyre)
[name]Arwen[/name], [name]Eowyn[/name] (LOTR)
[name]Arden[/name] (woods from As You Like It)
[name]Helena[/name], [name]Juliet[/name], [name]Audrey[/name], [name]Celia[/name], [name]Ceres[/name], [name]Cassandra[/name], [name]Cressida[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Diana[/name], [name]Francisca[/name], [name]Iris[/name], [name]Isabella[/name], [name]Lavinia[/name], Lychorinda, [name]Maria[/name], [name]Mariana[/name], [name]Marina[/name], [name]Miranda[/name], [name]Octavia[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Rosalind[/name], [name]Rosaline[/name], Thaisa (various [name]Shakespeare[/name])
[name]Charlotte[/name] ([name]Charlotte[/name]'s [name]Web[/name])
[name]Cosette[/name] ([name]Les[/name] Mis)
[name]Electra[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Jocasta[/name] (Greek mythology)
[name]Evangeline[/name] (Uncle [name]Tom[/name]'s Cabin)
[name]Vanessa[/name] (created by [name]Jonathan[/name] Swift)

Boys:
[name]Christopher[/name], [name]Edward[/name], [name]Fitzwilliam[/name], [name]Charles[/name] ([name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name])
[name]Atticus[/name] (TKAM)
[name]Dorian[/name] (The Picture of [name]Dorian[/name] [name]Grey[/name])
[name]Byron[/name] (for [name]Lord[/name] [name]Byron[/name])
[name]Heathcliff[/name] (Wuthering Heights)
[name]Harry[/name], [name]Ron[/name], [name]Draco[/name], [name]Severus[/name], Albus, [name]Sirius[/name], [name]Remus[/name], [name]Kingsley[/name], [name]Arthur[/name], [name]George[/name], [name]Fred[/name], [name]Peter[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]Neville[/name] ([name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] :wink: )

So…my favorite name ever comes from my favorite book ever, although he’s not the main character. What is it? [name]Gabriel[/name]. As in, the infant child in The Giver by [name]Lois[/name] [name]Lowry[/name].

The Giver is actually a wonderful source of names, many of which have become recently popular:

[name]Jonas[/name]
[name]Asher[/name]
[name]Lily[/name]
[name]Fiona[/name]
[name]Caleb[/name]
[name]Rosemary[/name]
[name]Katharine[/name]
[name]Bruno[/name]

There are others, but I can’t remember them all right now.

[name]Amos[/name], I’m so glad you mentioned “The Giver.” I’ve been a fan of some of those names for a long time now, especially [name]Asher[/name], [name]Gabriel[/name], and [name]Fiona[/name], and mostly it’s because of the book! :slight_smile:

I’m surprised many have mentioned [name]Cosette[/name] but not her mum [name]Fantine[/name]… [name]Fantine[/name] is beautiful!

From my list, there’s
[name]Tristan[/name] and [name]Isolde[/name],
[name]Siobhan[/name] (I always think of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the [name]Night[/name]-Time” when I hear this, because it was the first place I heard it…),
[name]Caspian[/name] ([name]Narnia[/name]),
Atreyu and [name]Bastian[/name] (The Never-Ending [name]Story[/name]),
[name]Cassiopeia[/name] (The tortoise/turtle in Momo, same author as Never-Ending story),
[name]Darcy[/name] (Mr. [name]Darcy[/name], need I say more?)
[name]Pippi[/name], [name]Annika[/name] and [name]Tomas[/name] ([name]Pippi[/name] Longstocking, by [name]Astrid[/name] Lindgren)
[name]Emil[/name] (also by [name]Astrid[/name] Lindgren, not sure how known it is outside of Scandinavia)
Ender (Ender’s [name]Saga[/name])
[name]Gulliver[/name]
[name]Nora[/name] (A [name]Doll[/name]'s House)
[name]Ishmael[/name] ([name]Moby[/name] [name]Dick[/name])
[name]Iago[/name] (I’m sure this is a repeat, but it’s such a beautiful name, and I hate that [name]Shakespeare[/name] ruined it!)
[name]Montague[/name] (I’ve heard it used ^^)
[name]Yvaine[/name] (Stardust, by [name]Neil[/name] Gaiman)

And that’s all I could think of for now!

Girls

[name]Juliet[/name]
[name]Luna[/name]
[name]Bronte[/name]
Kahlan
Denna
[name]Verna[/name]

Boys

[name]Atticus[/name]
[name]Bennett[/name]
Brenidan

I actually love the name [name]Arwen[/name] for its sound and for the character in the [name]Lord[/name] of the Rings. I would never use it though (“guess what book your parents read the year you were born?”) and it looks strange on a resume. Who would you hire, [name]Arwen[/name] or [name]Margaret[/name]? I’d take [name]Margaret[/name]. I like the name [name]Isolde[/name] and its variant [name]Iseult[/name] but [name]Tristan[/name] looks very girly to me.

I know! I still think it would be cute on a pet; right now I’m picturing a snappy little Chihuahua named [name]Iago[/name]. [name]Emilia[/name] from [name]Othello[/name] is really pretty!

I always wanted to name my daughter [name]Esme[/name] when I was a teenager because To [name]Esme[/name] with [name]Love[/name] and Squalor is one of my favorite short stories. I find it interesting how it’s taking off now, especially as a middle name and now a (gasp) twilight name?

In my top 3 now is [name]Phoebe[/name], [name]Holden[/name] Caulfields little sister. I also love [name]Holden[/name] but I don’t know if it seems trendy, or common…thoughts?

Other [name]Salinger[/name] names off the top of my head:
REally to me the motherload of all sibsets
[name]Seymour[/name]
[name]Frances[/name] nn [name]Frannie[/name]
[name]Zachary[/name] nn [name]Zooey[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name] nn BooBoo
[name]Walter[/name]
[name]Webb[/name] (kind of growing on me…)
[name]Walter[/name] nn[name]Walt[/name]
Waker

I always thought that it would make a great blogpost idea, or something in that vein.

I have a fondness for the names of the three Fossil girls in Ballet Shoes, [name]Noel[/name] Streatfeild’s charming children’s novel of 1936: [name]Pauline[/name], [name]Petrova[/name], and [name]Posy[/name].

– [name]Nephele[/name]

[name]Hermione[/name], [name]Luna[/name], [name]Molly[/name], [name]Ginny[/name], Minevra, [name]Lily[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Narcissa[/name], [name]Bellatrix[/name], [name]Lavendar[/name], [name]Parvati[/name], [name]Padma[/name], [name]Ariana[/name], [name]Kendra[/name], [name]Rita[/name], [name]Fleur[/name], [name]Gabrielle[/name], [name]Angelina[/name], [name]Alicia[/name], [name]Katie[/name] ([name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name])

[name]Lucy[/name], [name]Susan[/name], [name]Peter[/name], [name]Edmund[/name], [name]Eustace[/name], Diggory, [name]Polly[/name] ([name]Narnia[/name])

[name]Henry[/name], [name]Clare[/name] (The Time [name]Traveler[/name]'s Wife…[name]Henry[/name] is now one of my favorite names!)

[name]Arya[/name] (AR-ee-uh), Murtagh (MUR-tag), [name]Brom[/name], Eragon (EHR-uh-gahn),
[name]Saphira[/name] (suh-FEAR-uh), Garrow, Roran, Islanzad” (iss-lan-ZAH-dee), Ajhiad ([name]AH[/name]-zhi-hod), Jeod (JODE), Nasuada (nah-SOO-ah-dah), Trianna (TREE-ad-nuh)

      • Inheritance (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr)

[name]Della[/name] (Gift of the [name]Magi[/name])

Characters from literature with names I like:

[name]Charlotte[/name] ([name]True[/name] Confessions of [name]Charlotte[/name] [name]Doyle[/name])
[name]Lucie[/name] (Tale of Two Cities)
[name]Alexandra[/name] (O Pioneers)
[name]Sebastian[/name]/[name]Bastian[/name] (Neverending [name]Story[/name])
[name]Taylor[/name] and [name]Turtle[/name] (Bean Trees)
[name]Milo[/name] (The Phantom Tollboth)
[name]Alice[/name] (in Wonderland)

There are also characters that I admire that I wish had more interesting names. For instance,

[name]Mary[/name] ([name]Secret[/name] Garden)
[name]Anne[/name] (of [name]Green[/name] Gables)
[name]Meg[/name] (Wind in the Door)
[name]Jane[/name] (Eyre)
[name]Charles[/name] (the Sea, the Sea)
[name]Jose[/name] (All the Names)

But to tell the truth, I’m more fixated on author’s names for some reason. Right now, I like:

[name]Iris[/name] (Murdoch)
[name]Willa[/name] (Cather)
[name]Margurite[/name] (Duras)
[name]Adrienne[/name] ([name]Rich[/name])
[name]Anais[/name] ([name]Nin[/name])
[name]Octavia[/name] ([name]Butler[/name])
[name]Pearl[/name] ([name]Buck[/name])
[name]Louisa[/name] ([name]May[/name] [name]Alcott[/name])
([name]Edna[/name] [name]St[/name].) [name]Millay[/name]
([name]Christina[/name]) Rosetti
[name]Ursula[/name] (LeGuin)
[name]Avi[/name]
[name]Zora[/name] ([name]Neale[/name] Hurston)
[name]Miranda[/name] [name]July[/name] (love both names)
[name]Madeline[/name] (L’Engle)
[name]Flannery[/name] (O’[name]Connor[/name])
[name]Sylvia[/name] (Plath)
[name]Zadie[/name] ([name]Smith[/name])