Literary Names

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.

This intriguing Scandinavian name is associated with Roald Dahl, author of the juvenile classics James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You can honor an ancestral Ronald just by dropping that middle 'n'.

Though many might find it too syrupy, hundreds of parents each year choose this name for their daughters to make them feel special. Precious Ramotswe is the engaging African sleuth in the popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

Auric is an Ian Fleming anti-hero, better known as Goldfinger. Better to go with James. Or even Bond.

A character name in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, featured in the GOT prequel House of the Dragon. A modern spin on Bella, so you might consider the meaning to be beauty or beautiful.

Lionel is yet another traditional boy's name entering the girls' column--at least once-- via prizewinning novelist Lionel (born Margaret Ann) Shriver.

Glinda is famous as the name of the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, invented by author L. Frank Baum. but has there ever been a real life, non-fictional Glinda? Not in the US last year.

Twain can be thought of as a modernization (and possible namesake) of the dated Wayne, seasoned with the humor of Mark Twain, who adopted it from a river term.

No: no Picasso, no Beethoven, and no Shakespeare.

A diminutive form of the Finnish Katariina, used by Tove Jannson in her book The True Deciever.

Fervent fans of The Catcher in the Rye might want to consider this as a literary tribute. More mainstream alternative: Holden.

Sounds like a variant of Heidi or Hailey, but Haidee is actually a separate name with a literary history, used in Byron's epic poem Don Juan.

Elphaba was invented by Gregory Maguire for the protagonist of his novel Wicked, which became the long-running Broadway play. Elphaba is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West, unnamed in the Oz books, and is drawn from the initials of Oz creator L. Frank Baum.

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

Admirers of the haunting works of esteemed Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats might consider this, especially as a middle name.

Romola is a literary name most notably used by George Eliot for her eponymous 1862 novel set in fifteenth-century Florence. It just may appeal to the parent looking for a name that embodies the ideal blend of the feminine, unusual, and strong. A current bearer is British actress Romola Garai.

This name was used by Shakespeare (who got it from Plutarch) in Antony and Cleopatra for one of the attendants of the Egyptian queen. An interesting possibility, it is heard occasionally in the UK, even less frequently in the US.

Known more commonly in Medieval legend as the Lady of the Lake and recorded under numerous names, Nyneve is a key character in Arthurian legends.

Unusual Italian name for boys that relates both to the vividly stylish Viv names such as Vivienne and Viveca, and to the Italian musician Vivaldi.

In mythology, another name for Aphrodite -- but the rare feminine name that sounds better for a boy.