Literary Baby Names Inspired by Authors

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

Bronte is the lovely surname of the three novel-writing sisters, now used as a baby name; a fitting tribute for lovers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. An extra element of Bronte's appeal: the surprise of it dramatic meaning coupled with its mellifluous sound.

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.

Kesey is a possible literary hero name honoring Merry Prankster Ken Kesey, whose characters flew over the cuckoo's nest. Kesey rhymes with easy.

If you want to move beyond Maya.

A British surname that was used only for males until Mrs. Norman Mailer, Norris Church (born Barbara), came under the public eye.

Lolita without the naughty implications.

Evocative of the great Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda, real last name Basoalito, who took on the surname Neruda to honor a Czech poet of that name. One of the most poetic boy names starting with N, or with any letter, for that matter.

The spelling Woolf inevitably conjures writer Virginia. If you're a fan of Mrs. Dalloway and the Bloomsbury group, Woolf might be a creative way to combine a trendy animal name with an original honor name. Woolf was the surname of Virginia's husband, Leonard.

Wharton is a rather stiff banker name that becomes creative as a middle name choice for lovers of the novels of writer Edith.

Eliot is the sleekest spelling of the original, very occasionally used for girls, perhaps to honor novelist George Eliot.

Plausible literary name to honor upbeat Armenian-American playwright and prose writer William Saroyan.

Alternative (rarer) spelling of Roxanne.

Pretty and distinctive choice for poetry lovers.

An occupation name that sounds odd to the modern ear but enjoyed some use a century ago. May make a comeback as a more genteel brother to the new union of boys (and girls) with worker names such as Mason, Carter, and Bailey.

Writer Jerzy Kosinski put this foreign variation on the U. S. name map.

Surname from a landscape feature, associated with author Gore Vidal and Bill Clinton's Vice President Al Gore. Its alternative meaning - as in gory - may explain why it's never made it into the charts.

Forster, a variation of Foster or potentially even Forester, is associated with British novelist E.M. Forster, author of A Passage to India, Howard's End, and A Room with a View. But if you choose Forster, you'd always have to force that 'r'.

Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris both hail from Galway.