Literary names?

Girl Names
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I had always thought I would name my future one-day child “[name]Meg[/name]” from [name]Little[/name] Women (I am named after one of the other characters in [name]Little[/name] Women - my Mom’s and, then my, favorite book). Now that I am pregnant, the baby doesn’t seem like [name]Meg[/name] - and I don’t like [name]Margaret[/name] as a name with our last name.

I also love [name]Madeline[/name] (from the children’s books) but my husband doesn’t love the nn [name]Maddie[/name].

Any other ideas of classic names from literature - my favorite books growing up were [name]Little[/name] Women, [name]Madeline[/name], the [name]Little[/name] House books, anything by [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name]… you get the idea. thanks!!

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[name]Hi[/name]!

If not a [name]Meg[/name], what about a [name]Jo[/name], or even a [name]Josie[/name]? You seem to be attracted to names with a feminine, simple, but not frilly style - like [name]Meg[/name]. [name]Jo[/name], and especially [name]Josie[/name], seem to fit the bill. Is [name]Josephine[/name] an option? Or [name]Beth[/name]! Short for [name]Elisabeth[/name], or [name]Bethany[/name], if you want something more modern.

[name]Madeline[/name] is a tough one if you don’t care for [name]Maddie[/name]. You could always use [name]Genevieve[/name], the name of [name]Madeline[/name]'s dog, but that seems a bit frillier than I imagine your style to be.

You can’t go wrong with a name from [name]Little[/name] House! [name]Laura[/name] is a timeless, elegant classic that is perfect! Or, try [name]Mary[/name], which might sound a tad bit dated to some ears, but it takes on modern appeal with the [name]Molly[/name] nickname! For the sweet [name]Carrie[/name] nickname, use [name]Caroline[/name], a beautiful, feminine classic - also for Ma Ingalls! And, then there is the lovely, timeless [name]Grace[/name], the sweetest of virtue names and so very fresh when used as a first name. You might also be interested in [name]Charlotte[/name] in honor of [name]Charles[/name] [name]Frederick[/name] Ingalls (and Pa!), [name]Laura[/name]'s brother - called “[name]Freddie[/name]” - who died as an infant. [name]Charlie[/name] or [name]Lottie[/name] are great nicknames, too! Of course, we can’t forget [name]Laura[/name]'s own daughter, [name]Rose[/name]. [name]Rose[/name] is lovely on its own - and provides the sassy [name]Rosie[/name] nickname - but you could also combine two names for [name]Rosemary[/name]!

Oh! [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name], my love. Well, you could clearly use any of the [name]Bennet[/name] names - [name]Jane[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Mary[/name], [name]Catherine[/name] “[name]Kitty[/name],” or [name]Lydia[/name]. Or, try a [name]Lucas[/name] sister name - [name]Charlotte[/name] or [name]Maria[/name]. Or, branch out to a new novel and try [name]Elinor[/name] or [name]Marianne[/name], [name]Fanny[/name] (you could use the full form, [name]Frances[/name]), [name]Emma[/name], or [name]Anne[/name]. [name]Plenty[/name] of nickname fun for those names, too!

Any of those striking a cord with you?

[name]Lemon[/name] :slight_smile:

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[name]Lemon[/name] did a great job of describing the “[name]Little[/name] House on the [name]Prairie[/name]” names! My favorites from the [name]Little[/name] House series are:

[name]Caroline[/name] “[name]Carrie[/name]”
[name]Laura[/name]
[name]Grace[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name] “[name]Charlie[/name]”
[name]Eliza[/name]

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[name]Little[/name] Women:
[name]Josephine[/name] “[name]Jo[/name]”
[name]Elizabeth[/name] “[name]Beth[/name]”
[name]Amelia[/name] “[name]Amy[/name]”
[name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Theodora[/name] - Also, [name]Dorothy[/name] and [name]Dorothea[/name]
[name]Rosalie[/name] or [name]Sarah[/name] “[name]Sallie[/name]”
[name]Laura[/name], [name]Lauren[/name], [name]Laurel[/name] “[name]Laurie[/name]”
[name]Daisy[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name]

[name]Little[/name] House:
[name]Laura[/name]
[name]Mary[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name] “[name]Carrie[/name]”
[name]Grace[/name]
[name]Helena[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Penelope[/name] “[name]Nellie[/name]”
[name]Lena[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Eva[/name]
[name]Docia[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name] “[name]Lottie[/name]”

[name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name]:
[name]Jane[/name]
[name]Elinor[/name]
[name]Marianne[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Anne[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Henrietta[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Catherine[/name]
[name]Emma[/name]
[name]Harriet[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Mary[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name]
[name]Sophia[/name]
[name]Frances[/name], [name]Francesca[/name] “[name]Fanny[/name]”
[name]Maria[/name]
[name]Julia[/name]
[name]Susan[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Augusta[/name]
[name]Isabella[/name]

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Sorry, I forgot [name]Madeline[/name]:
[name]Madeline[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name]
[name]Chloe[/name]
[name]Nicole[/name]
[name]Danielle[/name]
[name]Yvette[/name]
[name]Winona[/name] “[name]Nona[/name]”
[name]Anne[/name]
[name]Amy[/name]
[name]Juliette[/name]
[name]Monique[/name]
[name]Louisa[/name], [name]Louise[/name], [name]Tallulah[/name] “[name]Lulu[/name]”
[name]Sylvie[/name]
[name]Simone[/name]
[name]Agatha[/name], [name]Agnes[/name] “[name]Aggie[/name]”
[name]Victoria[/name], [name]Victoire[/name] “[name]Vicki[/name]”
[name]Chantal[/name]

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[name]Louisa[/name] or [name]May[/name]?

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I have a [name]Dorothy[/name], [name]Matilda[/name] and [name]Eloise[/name].
Other lit names that were on my list were [name]Anne[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Harriet[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Heidi[/name] ([name]Adelaide[/name])…

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Others have covered names from [name]Little[/name] Women, [name]Little[/name] House on the [name]Prairie[/name] and [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name]. You seem to enjoy classic children’s literature and books that are today read by young women. So how about a few of these:

The [name]Secret[/name] Garden: [name]Frances[/name], [name]Mary[/name], [name]Martha[/name], [name]Robin[/name]
The Chronicles of [name]Narnia[/name]: [name]Susan[/name] (or [name]Susannah[/name], with [name]Susie[/name] or [name]Sunny[/name] or [name]Sukie[/name] as a nickname), [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Polly[/name] (probably a nn for [name]Mary[/name]), [name]Jill[/name] ([name]Gillian[/name]), [name]Aravis[/name]
[name]Jane[/name] Eyre: Another candidate for [name]Jane[/name], in addition to [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name] and [name]Jane[/name] [name]Bennett[/name] - also consider [name]Charlotte[/name] for the author (or Currer for her nom de plume)
Wuthering Heights: [name]Catherine[/name], [name]Emily[/name] ([name]Ellis[/name] for [name]Emily[/name] [name]Bronte[/name]'s nom de plume), [name]Nelly[/name], [name]Frances[/name], [name]Linton[/name], [name]Isabella[/name]
The Tenant of Wildfell [name]Hall[/name]: [name]Anne[/name] (or [name]Acton[/name] for [name]Anne[/name] [name]Bronte[/name]), [name]Helen[/name], [name]Millicent[/name], [name]Esther[/name], [name]Rose[/name]
[name]Rebecca[/name]: [name]Daphne[/name], [name]Rebecca[/name], Manderley
Ballet Shoes: [name]Polly[/name] (again, but this time a nn for [name]Pauline[/name]), [name]Petrova[/name], [name]Posy[/name], [name]Sylvia[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Theo[/name], [name]Winifred[/name]
[name]Ivanhoe[/name]: [name]Rowena[/name], [name]Rebecca[/name] (a more admirable namesake this time)
Vicar of Wakefield: [name]Primrose[/name], [name]Arabella[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Sophia[/name]
Middlemarch: [name]Dorothea[/name] ([name]Thea[/name], [name]Dot[/name], [name]Dottie[/name], etc.), [name]Brooke[/name], [name]Celia[/name], [name]Rosamond[/name], [name]Mary[/name]

Ok, there’s a few I can think of that don’t involve [name]Margaret[/name]!

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Oh I love literary names! I’m an English major so that’s probably why… I love the suggestions of [name]Elizabeth[/name] (P&P) or any of the other [name]Bennett[/name] sister names, [name]Kitty[/name] and [name]Lydia[/name] are particularly excellent. Also [name]Jane[/name] (Eyre) is a great one and [name]Emma[/name]'s nice if you’re not turned off by popularity. Also [name]Jo[/name], short for [name]Josephine[/name], is adorable. Some other ones from other books (not sure if you like these but I’ll throw them out there anyway):

[name]Daisy[/name], [name]Jordan[/name] - Great [name]Gatsby[/name]
[name]Lily[/name] - House of Mirth
[name]Eleanor[/name] - Sense and Sensibility
[name]Pearl[/name] - [name]Scarlet[/name] Letter (maybe not the best namesake, but [name]Pearl[/name] is wonderfully symbolic in the novel)
[name]Tess[/name] - D’Ubervilles
[name]Antonia[/name] - My [name]Antonia[/name]

I also agree that you could go with an author name, like [name]Jane[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Emily[/name] or [name]Louisa[/name].

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[name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables, by [name]Lucy[/name] [name]Maude[/name] [name]Montgomery[/name] is also a potential treasure trove of names: [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Maude[/name], [name]Anne[/name], [name]Diana[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name], [name]Marilla[/name], [name]Rachel[/name], [name]Blythe[/name], [name]Shirley[/name], Avonlea, [name]Berry[/name], [name]Jane[/name], [name]Ruby[/name], [name]Avery[/name], Carmody, [name]Josephine[/name]

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Oh, and if you like [name]Meg[/name] but don’t like [name]Margaret[/name], then why not a variant like [name]Margot[/name] or [name]Margit[/name] or [name]Marjorie[/name]? [name]Even[/name] [name]Marigold[/name] might work.

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Wow, thank you all so much for all of the great suggestions!

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[name]Louisa[/name] was going to be my suggestion :slight_smile:

I love the name [name]Louisa[/name] precisely for the association with [name]Louisa[/name] [name]May[/name] [name]Alcott[/name] :slight_smile: xx