Literary Cat Names

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'.

Auric is an Ian Fleming anti-hero, better known as Goldfinger. Better to go with James. Or even Bond.

All varieties of Hob are antiquated nicknames for Robert, though this one is saddled with the "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon association.

Lionel is yet another traditional boy's name entering the girls' column--at least once-- via prizewinning novelist Lionel (born Margaret Ann) Shriver.

No: no Picasso, no Beethoven, and no Shakespeare.

Sixties-style short form that sounds cool again -- though the unscrupulous Pete on "Mad Men" is not a character to emulate.

Twain can be thought of as a modernization (and possible namesake) of the dated Wayne, seasoned with the humor of Mark Twain, who adopted it from a river term.

Fervent fans of The Catcher in the Rye might want to consider this as a literary tribute. More mainstream alternative: Holden.

Unusual Italian name for boys that relates both to the vividly stylish Viv names such as Vivienne and Viveca, and to the Italian musician Vivaldi.

Romola is a literary name most notably used by George Eliot for her eponymous 1862 novel set in fifteenth-century Florence. It just may appeal to the parent looking for a name that embodies the ideal blend of the feminine, unusual, and strong. A current bearer is British actress Romola Garai.

A fancy TV western name that didn't catch on like fellow cowboys Luke and Josh, but definitely has a certain amount of charm. It is also spelled Yancy, as in the 1950s series Yancy Derringer. It was first spotted in the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, which became a popular movie.

Admirers of the haunting works of esteemed Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats might consider this, especially as a middle name.

In mythology, another name for Aphrodite -- but the rare feminine name that sounds better for a boy.

Charming name occasionally heard in England, would be a real standout here. Jessamyn is the spelling used by writer West.

This name was used by Shakespeare (who got it from Plutarch) in Antony and Cleopatra for one of the attendants of the Egyptian queen. An interesting possibility, it is heard occasionally in the UK, even less frequently in the US.

The name of the famous British man of letters might just appeal to some English majors as a more interesting alternative to Zachary. An appropriate playmate for Russell Crowe's boy Tennyson.

Name of the enslaved girl in Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo sounds more like a modern invention, though it's related to another time-honored literary heroine name: Haidee from Byron's "Don Juan."

Galsworthy used this for "The Forsyte Saga," but in modern real life Julian would work better.

This would make a startling but likable choice; poet Dylan Thomas used it for a character in his play "Under Milk Wood."