Literary Names

A fancy TV western name that didn't catch on like fellow cowboys Luke and Josh, but definitely has a certain amount of charm. It is also spelled Yancy, as in the 1950s series Yancy Derringer. It was first spotted in the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, which became a popular movie.

Attractive name associated both with a queenly character who meets a very grisly end in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and popular teen fantasy novelist Tamora Pierce. Shakespearean puns in the name include amor for love and moor as the character was in love with a Moor, though any parent interested in the name should be aware of its tragic association.

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.

Name of the enslaved girl in Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo sounds more like a modern invention, though it's related to another time-honored literary heroine name: Haidee from Byron's "Don Juan."

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

This would make a startling but likable choice; poet Dylan Thomas used it for a character in his play "Under Milk Wood."

Galsworthy used this for "The Forsyte Saga," but in modern real life Julian would work better.

If you want to move beyond Maya.

A knight in the Game of Thrones universe, Arys debuted on the charts for both sexes in 2023.

A fresh nature name — Bluet is a dainty, low-growing plant with small, light blue flowers — that feels like a mix of jazzy word-name Blue and trendy surname Truett.

A name used in Germany and Holland as a form of Jerome, it's the unlikely moniker of fictional detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch.

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.

There is a Hindi name for boys Aroon, for the mythic charioteer of the dawn, but for girls the name Aroon relates to the Irish word for darling. Aroon is the name of the heroine of Molly Keane's classic novel of the Anglo-Irish gentry, Good Behaviour.

The names may sound the same, but they have different origins and meanings. Take your pick.

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

Japhy Ryder was a hero of Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums. Compared with Moses and Noah, Japhy sounds downright adorable and eminently baby-worthy.

Pretty and distinctive choice for poetry lovers.

Old fashioned nickname that some girls just might be able to pull off. You'd just have to be sure your little Fancy was one of them.

Created by George R. R. Martin for his series A Song of Ice and Fire. Aemon Targaryen is the great-uncle of Daenerys.

If you've heard this name, it's probably from the hero of the acclaimed Julia Glass novel, Three Junes, or else the political scientist Richard Fenno. As well as a Finnish name, it's alos a Frisian diminutive from names in the Frederick family, making it is a cousin of Freddie, Fritz and Fedde. This name is so rare it's never appeared on the charts, but with its energetic O ending it might appeal if you're looking for an alternative to names like Otto and Arlo.