Literary Names

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

Featherleigh Dale is the femme fatale of a certain age in American writer Elin Hilderbrand's novel The Perfect Couple, adapted as a television series by Netflix.

A literary name, Musidora first appeared in its masculine form, Musidorus, in a poem by 16th poet Phillip Sidney. Meaning "gift of the Muses", it could relate to the Muses of mythology who presided over the arts, to a person or other personified force that inspires an artist, or to music and songs.

A minor (female) character in the Wicked book and musical, who is gender swapped for the 2024 movie.

A character in the Wicked novels and musicals, Dr. Dillamond is a Goat, mentor, and professor. It could blend the Old English element mund meaning "protection" with Dil, a Germanic diminutive meaning "people" or an English word, referring to the herb, dill.

A smoosh name used by Gregory Maguire in his book Wicked and the subsequent musical. It blends Rose with Nessa, which can be a short form of Vanessa (or other -nessa names), an anglicized variation of Irish Neasa, or a Hebrew name meaning "miracle".

The original name of Glinda from Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked and the subsequent Broadway musical. She drops the 'a' from her name to honor a goat, who mispronounced her name as a Glinda.

A feminine form of Ethelbert, which is itself the Middle English variant of Æþelbeorht, which is in turn the Old English version of Albert, Ethelberta could therefore be regarded as an alternative form of Alberta.

Inspired by Glendora, this name was invented by prolific Victorian novelist, Anthony Trollope for his Palliser novels. It blends the English glen with the Latin cor to make the whimsical meaning "heart of the glen", though it could also be considered a compound name, combining masculine Glenn with Cora, to mean "maiden of the valley".

As a Japanese name, Keita could mean "great celebration", "big enlightenment", "great opening" or similar, depending on which kanji combinations are used. As an East African name, it can mean "worshipper" or "blessing", while a few sources link it to the Scottish name, Keith, thanks to its Celtic root, Kayto, meaning "wood".

Associated with the Baudelaire siblings from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and with the poet Charles Baudelaire, this French surname is a bold literary choice, with a touch of Gothic flair.

This rare feminization of Christopher blends in the sounds of the popular Josephine and is certainly more unexpected than Christine or Christina. German artist Christophine Reinwald (sister of playwright Friedrich von Schiller) is one notable bearer, while writer Jean Rhys used the name for a character in her 1966 Jane Eyre retelling, Wide Sargasso Sea. In the Caribbean and the UK, Christophine is also the colloquial name for the chayote fruit, a type of gourd named as such in reference to Christopher Columbus.

Also spelled Silvander, this poetic and woodsy name was used in various works of literature throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Deriving from the Roman and Biblical name Silvanus, Sylvander could also be considered a compound name, blending together Sylvester or Sylvan with Anders or Alexander.

Used by Gregory Maguire in his novel Wicked along with the Broadway musical adaptation of the same name, Frexspar could be inspired by the word feckless meaning "irresponsible, lacking strength of character"; by Freki, a wolf in Norse mythology whose name comes from frekr meaning "greedy, avaricious"; or by names such as Frederick, Felix and Caspar.

Romance may initially strike you as too ardent and whimsical of a name for a baby, but given that the likes of Love and Dream have been a fast-rising name in recent years — not to mention soundalike Romy — Romance is well-suited to our current naming climate.

Derived from the Old English elements hroð and friþ, Rosfrith is a poetical yet rugged sounding choice, meaning "glory, fame, peace, and happiness". It has been used since at least the 7th century, but most notably was chosen by the founder of the Oxford English Dictionary, James A. H Murray, for one of his daughters. It also appears in the popular novel The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams.

A multicultural nickname with a number of origins and multiple meanings, particular to the bearer. It can be a short form of Bozhidar, or any other name with the Slavic element "božĭjĭ", meaning "divine". It can come from the surname style Bosley, or the Biblical name Boaz. Ambrose and Boris could be alternative long forms.

In Greek mythology, Lykidas was the name of a centaur, however, in its Latin form, it is associated with the 17th century pastoral poem by John Milton who wrote, written in memory of his friend, Edward King. The name combines the name Lykos meaning "wolf" with a patronymic suffix, so it translates to "son of Lykos" or "son of the wolf". It could appeal to those who like a literary or animal reference in a name.

Created by Gregory Maguire for his book, Wicked (and featured in the subsequent Broadway musical), Fiyero derives from the word "furious".