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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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".

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.

A name created by author Tamora Pierce for a character in her Protector of the Small series, a quartet of young adult fantasy novels. In the novels, Keladry is the first girl in centuries to seek a knighthood and the novels follow her journey towards this goal.

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.

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.

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

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".

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".

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.

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.