Literary Cat Names

For fans of the (female) author A. S. ; makes an interesting alternative to Wyatt or the hotelish Hyatt.

Pronounced GHEED, this surname of Nobel Prizewinning novelist Andre could make a smooth, sleek middle name choice.

An undiscovered place-name with an appealing o-sound ending.

An admirable quality to impart; Pleasant was used by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend and in modern times is known via American Girl dolls creator Pleasant Rowland.

Cool and casual, a la humorist Ring (born Ringgold. ) Lardner.

Pleasant surname connected to humorist James Thurber, with a sound as happy as a baby's gurgle.

Remarkable Pettibone was a self-important housekeeper in James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers. Such names were not uncommon in early America, with such choices as Remember and Experience showing up in the records along with Puritan virtue names such as Chastity and Patience.

The surname Rudd, made most famous by Antman actor Paul, derives from the words ruddy or red and may have originally been given to someone with a reddish complexion.

Briefly faddish a few decades ago when Darrell was cool. But does have a creative connection to poet Randall Jarrell.

Falmouth may be a beautiful seaside spot in Massachusetts, but as a name it's perilously close to "foul mouth." Falmouth Kearney was the name of Barack Obama's great-great grandfather.

The Alhambra, which means "red city," is in Granada, Spain. British writer Ali Smith used it for a character in her novel The Accidental.

Fringilla Vigo is a sorceress and villain in The Witcher series. Her name comes from a genus of singing finches.

Vilgefortz is a character from The Witcher series -- one as unappealing as his name.

Most often spelled without the final "e"--unless you're a particular fan of writer Bret.

Name of pastoral Vermont town and college sounds too stiff and starchy.

The name of a maiden of King Arthur's court in some accounts. It is a contraction of Welsh "ty" (thy) + Eleri.

Cheever has a nice, cheery sound, literary ties to novelist and short writer John Cheever and also, sideways, to the Edward Arlington Robinson narrative poem "Miniver Cheevy," as well as a subliminal association with the desirable word achiever: all strong pluses.

To modernize and add some oomph to the dated CASEY, add an O'-and also honor the great Irish playwright Sean.

Samuel Johnson invented the name Rasselas for the title character of his novel, Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Rasselas is actually the son of the prince.

Kerouac could make for a meaningful possible modern literary inspiration, via On the Road author Jack. The writer's baptism certificate read Jean Louis Kirouac, though he later claimed his full name was Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac.