Literary Cat Names

Most famously, the name of a 1920s alley cat.

Ayn is a nonconformist name associated with controversial Russian-born writer and philosopher Ayn Rand, (born Alisa) author of The Fountainhead, who adopted it when she moved to the US in 1926.

Zuleika is a high-wire act of a name that might appeal to the intrepid baby namer, Like most 'Z'-starting girls' names, it projects a cool, strong aura, as exemplified by the character in Max Beerbohm's satirical 1910 novel, Zuleika Dobson, a heroine so gorgeous that the entire student body of Oxford University committed collective suicide at the sight of her.

With the current taste for last names first, this sounds a lot cooler than Shawn; it also has creative connections to the great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, novelist Irwin Shaw, and Big Band Era clarinetist/bandleader and one-time Ava Gardner husband Artie Shaw.

No matter how much you love the novels of Papa H., don't saddle your son with this unwieldy appellation.

Alabama is a hot southern place-name, picking up from Georgia and Savannah. This is not a geographical name come lately, though--there have been girls named Alabama dating back well over a century.

Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.

This version of Tristan, known to English Lit students from the novel Tristram Shandy, is rarely used in this country, but, though its similarity to the popular Tristan could prove confusing, still makes an interesting literary choice.

The old word name Temple has gained some recent notice as a girls' name via admired autistic writer and inventor Dr. Temple Grandin (born Mary Temple), subject of an acclaimed biopic, in which she was played by Claire Danes.

If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn was born on the Greek Island of Lefkada, the origin of the name he used as a first. But as a writer, he was known as Koizumi Yakumo, a collector of Japanese folk tales and ghost stories. Truly an international choice.

Attached to one of the heroes of Christopher Paolini's megapopular fantasy novel Eragon, this name sounds strong yet sensitive.

An archipelago near the center of the Mediterranean, the name derives from the Greek word for honey. Malta has been heard as a girl’s name in the past and was used as a character name by both Dickens and Murakami.

Sidda is a name made famous by the heroine of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood; it probably started life as a nickname.

The obscure yet not unappealing name of a legendary heroine of Rome. The ancient Clelia escaped an Etruscan invader by swimming across the Tiber River.

A two-syllable surname feel puts this name of an important English saint in the running -- though it could sound like a confused cross between Duncan and Dustin.

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.

Long before the Jennifer Era, Jennie was a fashionable pet form of several names, and was also used independently -- in 1875 it was in the Top 20. Jennie was replaced by the Jenny spelling in the 1960s, and is rarely seen today.

This intriguing Scandinavian name is associated with Roald Dahl, author of the juvenile classics James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You can honor an ancestral Ronald just by dropping that middle 'n'.

Though many might find it too syrupy, hundreds of parents each year choose this name for their daughters to make them feel special. Precious Ramotswe is the engaging African sleuth in the popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.