Literary Names

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

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.

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

A character name in the Shadow and Bone book series, invented by author Leigh Bardugo. It is intended as a Ravkan form of Malcolm, meaning "disciple of St Columba".

Romance may initially strike you as too ardent of a name for a baby, but given that Love has been a fast-rising name in recent years — not to mention soundalikes Roman and Romy — Romance is well-suited to our current naming climate. Presently, it makes the charts for baby boys but not baby girls.

A concise and zippy short form of Elizabeth, Liberty or similar, used for the main character in the novel and film adaptation of Emma Donoghue's The Wonder about a nurse sent to observe a girl who is miraculously surviving without food, to check the validity of her parents' claim.

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

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

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

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.

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.

While Nathan, Nat, and Nate are familiar nicknames to Nathaniel, and also used as stand alone options, Thaniel is a rarer choice. It is borne by a character in the popular novel The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley.

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.

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

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.

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

The mixed-race heroine of one of Gertrude Stein's Three Lives searches for knowledge and power.

Translating literally to "my struggle", Nidali is an Arabic name which is also interpreted as meaning "my warrior" or "my fighter". It is the feminine form of Nidal and was used in the 2008 novel A Map of Home novel by Randa Jarrar. The name was specifically chosen for its meaning, in order to reflect the backdrop of conflict in the novel.

Friendly-sounding name with big "Sweeney Todd" downside.

A fanciful concoction whipped up by L. Frank Baum for a beautiful and powerful princess in one of his Oz books.