So, names from literature, something that’s definitely been discussed before, right? Well, I just wanted you start my own little discussion on it! If you’ve seen a previous thread I’ve made in this section, you’ll know that I love more masculine unisex names. Which is why it was quite the surprise when I started loving the name [name_f]Esther[/name_f] so much!
I had never really thought about it much, the name, and when I did it wasn’t with much feeling one way or the other. However, after recently finishing The [name_u]Bell[/name_u] Jar for the fifth time, I’ve started really liking [name_f]Esther[/name_f], that being the first name of the main character in the story.
I’m curious about people’s feelings on the name, favourite names from books, and how you all feel about naming kids after characters!
I think literature definitely inspires my naming. Sometimes a name I’ve been indifferent to or have never heard before can become a favourite if it’s in a book I’ve enjoyed/studied!
[name_f]Ginevra[/name_f] is a good example of that. It’s one of my favourites now, but it wasn’t before I read [name_f]Villette[/name_f] by [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] Brontë!
Some other names I like that have definitely been inspired by literature:
[name_f]Dora[/name_f] ([name_m]David[/name_m] Copperfield)
[name_f]Polly[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_u]Beck[/name_u], [name_f]Fifine[/name_f] and [name_f]Snow[/name_f] ([name_f]Villette[/name_f])
[name_f]Isabella[/name_f] and Hareton (Wuthering Heights)
[name_f]Estella[/name_f] (Great Expectation)
[name_m]Felix[/name_m] and [name_m]Henry/name_m
[name_m]Silas[/name_m] ([name_m]Silas[/name_m] Marner)
[name_f]Mina[/name_f] and [name_u]Quincey[/name_u] (Dracula)
[name_f]Lux[/name_f] ([name_u]Winter[/name_u])
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] (The Moonstone)
[name_f]Amy[/name_f] ([name_m]Little[/name_m] Women)
That’s actually quite a lot of my favourites so I guess books do inspire me quite a bit (but then I’m a lit student, what can I say?)
As for what I think about making a kid after a character, I think it totally depends on how tied to one character a name is and whether you mind the association. Some like [name_m]Ezra[/name_m], [name_m]Henry[/name_m] or [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] aren’t really tied to those characters exclusively, but Hareton and [name_f]Ginevra[/name_f] are more risky. Tbh though, I don’t mind any of the associations here so I’d use them
I always saw [name_f]Esther[/name_f] as being an ‘old lady’ name until I saw a young character in a UK soap wear it and now I can see the appeal. I’m not really a big reader so I can’t tell you about names I’ve read in books, although I remember there being an [name_f]Esmerelda[/name_f] ‘[name_f]Esmie[/name_f]’ in a book I read once, before [name_f]Esme[/name_f] became super common.
I think that naming a child after a book character is actually a really nice way on honouring something you love and enjoy, however there obviously are boundaries. Children named [name_f]Katniss[/name_f] or [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f] are very obviously tied to book characters, whereas [name_f]Esther[/name_f] wouldn’t be.
I’ve never been too fond of traditional book names, no matter how much I loved the book. They just become too much of characters at that point, and I can’t see them as anything but, especially when I had to read them in school (i.e. [name_u]Bell[/name_u] Jar). If anything, they’re most likely coming from a YA Novel that I read back in HS/MS or from a biography.
That being said, I did enjoy…
[name_f]Jeanette[/name_f] (Glass Castle)
[name_u]Jace[/name_u] (Mortal Instruments)
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f] ([name_m]Romeo[/name_m] and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f])
[name_m]Greyson[/name_m] ([name_m]Will[/name_m] [name_m]Grayson[/name_m], [name_m]Will[/name_m] [name_m]Grayson[/name_m])
[name_u]Sloane[/name_u] (The Program)
Marjane (Persepolis)
The name [name_f]Esther[/name_f] is one that I really like and want to love, but can’t stop associating with the little girl who kills people from The Orphan. So that’s ruined for me.
Naming kids after characters is fine by me, as long as it’s not outright obvious or intense. Naming a kid [name_m]Huckleberry[/name_m] is very different from naming a kid [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], which is very different from naming a kid [name_u]Jace[/name_u] or [name_m]Will[/name_m]. I know tons of kids named after TV characters, why not books?
I love [name_f]Esther[/name_f] and The [name_u]Bell[/name_u] Jar. I know a young [name_f]Esther[/name_f] and it’s so cute on her.
My favorite literary names that I would use:
[name_f]Winifred[/name_f]
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f]
[name_m]Bramwell[/name_m]
[name_m]Hawthorne[/name_m]
[name_m]Harry[/name_m]
[name_f]Louisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]
[name_m]Cecil[/name_m]
Some names in books are so interesting! I especially love when I read a book and dislike a name but end up changing my mind at the very end.
I’m currently reading C.S. [name_m]Lewis[/name_m]'s The Space Trilogy. The main character’s name is [name_m]Elwin[/name_m] [name_m]Ransom[/name_m], but he always goes by [name_m]Ransom[/name_m]. I wouldn’t consider [name_m]Ransom[/name_m] usable, but now I (unfortunately) love it. I also just read A Midsummer [name_m]Night[/name_m]'s [name_u]Dream[/name_u] and had to add [name_m]Lysander[/name_m] to my list, although a lot of people find it strange. I have [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] and [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] on my list as a nod to Pride & Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird since those are the books that made me fall in love with classic literature. Part of me loves Enjolras from [name_u]Les[/name_u] Mis, but I know that’s definitely a guilty pleasure.
Although this is the author, I’m starting to really like [name_f]Agatha[/name_f] because of [name_f]Agatha[/name_f] [name_u]Christie[/name_u]. Her mysteries are the only mysteries I really enjoy, although I haven’t gotten to [name_m]Sherlock[/name_m] [name_m]Holmes[/name_m] yet and that might change.
I’m due soon and am considering naming my baby [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], not specifically as a reference to [name_m]Roald[/name_m] Dahl but I love the association. I read [name_m]Roald[/name_m] Dahl obsessively as a child so it’s a lovely link. I adore The [name_u]Bell[/name_u] Jar too (and [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] Plath more generally) but unfortunately I don’t love the name [name_f]Esther[/name_f]. If I was having a boy I would have loved to call him [name_m]Bastian[/name_m] after [name_m]Bastian[/name_m] [name_m]Balthazar[/name_m] Bux in The Neverending [name_u]Story[/name_u], one of my favourites from when I was younger and one of the first books that really showed me the power of literature to provide escape. I love the idea of naming a baby after a literary character, and have previously thought [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] would be great for a little boy.
I really love the idea of using a literary name - especially as I studied literature and was an English teacher for years.
I agree with what @greyblue said: there is definitely a balance to be struck. Names like [name_m]Atticus[/name_m], [name_m]Huck[/name_m], [name_u]Scout[/name_u], [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] or [name_f]Lyra[/name_f] will always be literary first, names second. Whether it’s your taste or not, that’s up to you! There are many literary names which are more subtle though, or refer to so many characters that people wouldn’t automatically think of one. Names like [name_u]Jem[/name_u], [name_f]Alice[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] or [name_f]Luna[/name_f].
Personally, these are some of my favourites:
[name_f]Claire[/name_f]
[name_f]Ella[/name_f]
[name_u]Hero[/name_u]
[name_f]Portia[/name_f]
[name_m]Calvin[/name_m]
[name_m]Gilbert[/name_m]
[name_u]Jude[/name_u]