Literary Names

Embroidered lace hankie of a name, used in a Thomas Hardy novel. That literary cred lends some gravitas.

Laird is a Scottish title for the landed gentry – it ranks just below a Baron – with a pleasantly distinctive Scottish burr that must have appealed to Sharon Stone, who chose it for her son.

A bit too bad-boy (think bars, beer, Harley) for us, as well as being the name of a grain.

The protagonist of Toni Morrison's novel, the simple-yet-sensual Sula relates to the Old Testament Shulamit. Alternatively, it might be a short form of Ursula.

This biblical place-name for the region now known as Yemen started to feel fresh again as the name of the heroine of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, played on screen by Cate Blanchett.

Snow is increasing in usage mostly as a girls' name, but hero Jon Snow of Game of Thrones just might nudge it into the boys' column. Currently, there are 12 times as many girls named Snow as boys, but its usage is much higher in middle place.

The original Zooey, hero of J.D. Salinger's Franny & Zooey, was male, but nowadays the name is more closely associated with actress/singer Zooey Deschanel. With Zoe at number 31 for girls and Zoey in the Top 50, the related Zooey feels more female than ever. But it's distinctively quirky for either sex.

One of a number of single-syllable unisex B-names, Brett was first spotted as a female name in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, via the dashing and seductive Lady Brett Ashley, who was a captivating enough character to offer naming inspiration. It combines a pleasingly brisk, executive air with a measure of femininity.

What with Mason scooting up the charts, this attractive place-name, with its thick Georgia accent, could make a more distinctive alternative.

Much fresher and more energetic than Dominique.

Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan carries an image of grace, though perhaps also a bit of languor. It's a lovely and original name, right for our times.

Takes Monroe out of the Dead Presidents category and gives it new life.

This is an eighteenth century elaboration of Honor found in Charles Dickens (Bleak House) but rarely heard here and now.

Well used in Russia, this is a distinctive and undiscovered choice here. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky.

The mythological queen whose perpetual weeping for her slain children turned her into a stone has always cast a pall over this name. Still, when other names with less-than-savory associations -- Delilah, Ophelia, Persephone -- are becoming popular, parents might want to consider this one of the more unusual mythology names for girls.

The kind of serious old-school name that sounds appealing again; perfect for the intrepid baby namer. More commonly spelled Rosamund but highly unusual these days in either version, with fewer than 20 baby girls named Rosamund in the US last year while Rosamond didn't even register with five.

An Anglicized derivative of the Gaelic name Beatha, meaning "life," best known as the surname of Irish playwright Brendan Behan.

You can call your daughter Sugar, but only as a term of endearment. Her real name has to be something, almost anything, else.

A literary name figuring in the story of Ben Hur and the novels of Anthony Trollope that has the feel of Roman antiquity that is beginning to appeal to many parents. Quintus was one of only about twenty male first names in ancient Rome, and was often (though not exclusively) used for fifth sons.

One "bald" name we can get behind, thanks to pioneering African-American author James Baldwin – though the name is now also associated with the Baldwin brothers, particularly Alec.