Literary names | Mumsnet

Heh1991 · 2021-10-23T23:18:23+00:00

Looking for inspiration- what are your favourite literary names for either a boy or a girl??

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ilovemykids5 · 26/10/2021 17:58

Bronte. I have loved this name for ever. Hubby won't let me have it.

Lalliella · 26/10/2021 01:05

Julian
Dick
Anne
George
Timmy
Fanny
Quentin

whatausername · 25/10/2021 23:17

Harry - from Harry and the Wrinklies! Not especially literary but a great funny childhood read. Also from the book; Florrie, Bridget, Dot, Max, Huggy, Lavinia and Percy Priestly.

PeachesPumpkin · 25/10/2021 22:55

Emma
Rebecca

MooseBreath · 25/10/2021 22:54

I very nearly called DS "Victor" after a character in my favourite book (A Star Called Henry - Roddy Doyle). I also considered "Annika", inspired by Pippi Longstocking.

Standrewsschool · 25/10/2021 08:55

Roderigo, from Othello
Charlotte, from Charlottes Web

Other stand-out literally names
Hermione - Harry Potter
Romeo
Juliet
Maltilda

TheSpiral · 25/10/2021 08:43

Given it is for a play not a real person:
Sherlock
Huckleberry
Aramis, Porthos, Athos
Fantine
Cressida

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 25/10/2021 08:37

Well, then maybe you could tell us approximately how old the children are, OP. It will make the difference between naming your protagonist Matilda or Ophelia.

toastofthetown · 25/10/2021 08:27

@Heh1991

Thanks for suggestions so far! Just to confirm I didn’t ask this question for purposes of naming a child. I’m a teacher and writing a school play based on literary characters- was hoping this may be a source for more unusual names than the typical literary names that a quick google brings up!

Really love some of the suggestions, thanks!

What age are the children? You’ll probably need different names if they are 10 or 17.

IVflytrap · 25/10/2021 01:17

Jem
Atticus
Ishmael
Bran
Barnaby
Bertie
Edmund
Esca
Callum
Jay
Abel
Silas

Lyra
Aravis
Persephone (nn Sephy)
Minerva
Elinor
Tess
Pelagia
Estella
Georgiana
Hepzibah (nn Eppie)

Geppili · 25/10/2021 01:10

Romola

TuftyMarmoset · 25/10/2021 00:58

@ThirdElephant

I like Laurie/Lawrence inspired by Little Women (though I don't think it was his actual name- I think it was his surname?) and also Josephine from the same book.

I'm sure there are more, but it's still early!

It was his surname - his first name was Theodore

Original poster

Heh1991 · 25/10/2021 00:51

Thanks for suggestions so far! Just to confirm I didn’t ask this question for purposes of naming a child. I’m a teacher and writing a school play based on literary characters- was hoping this may be a source for more unusual names than the typical literary names that a quick google brings up!

Really love some of the suggestions, thanks!

OP posts:

LuluJakey1 · 24/10/2021 23:02

D'arcy
Heathcliff
Linton
Hareton
Knightly
Atticus
Jem
Piggy
George
Lennie
Curley
Hamlet
Othello
Falstaff
Ulysses

Curley's Wife
Scout
Elinor
Ophelia
Cleopatra
Mistress Quickly
Lady Macbeth
Desdemona
Mariana
Aunt Clara

Musmerian · 24/10/2021 22:54

My daughter was named Hester as I was re-reading Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter when pregnant. Americans seem to find this weird!

spaceghetto · 24/10/2021 22:48

Julia or Donald or David or Walliam

ThirdElephant · 24/10/2021 22:40

Clover, Dorian, Johanna (What Katy Did)
Cecilia and Louisa (Hard Times)
Ishmael (Moby Dick)
Robinson (Crusoe)
Gulliver
Annabelle Lee, from the poem of the same name. Bit of an ill-fated one though.
Rudyard

TatianaBis · 24/10/2021 22:28

Forgot Beatrice, Imogen and Viola from Shakespeare

TatianaBis · 24/10/2021 22:27

Heathcliff
Tybalt, Orlando, Sebastian, Lysander (Shakespeare)
Gabriel (Oak)
Dimitri, Alyosha (Alexei) (Bros Karamazov)
Tatiana (Larina - Eugene Onegin)
Bathsheba (Everdene)
Guinevere
Yseult
Ossian

EdgeOfTheSky · 24/10/2021 15:45

Nancy (Blackett)
Huckleberry (Finn)

ThirdElephant · 24/10/2021 10:38

@LoveGrooveDanceParty

OK, so that being the case, give the OP some suggestions *@ThirdElephant*.

I did.

And I'm not saying that is the case. I'm saying it could be.

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 24/10/2021 09:45

Can you tell us a bit about what you like to read, OP?

Kanaloa · 24/10/2021 08:37

Maybe they're writing a book and need a name for the firstborn of a well-read character. Maybe they're organising a pub quiz and want to see which characters are memorable. Maybe they're planning a literary-themed event and need recognisable characters. Maybe they're making a crossword.

Think it’s probably more likely that they’re looking for inspiration as they’ve said in the op. And it is silly to ask for ‘literary’ names. Probably the most used names in literature are something plain like John and Jane or similar.

LoveGrooveDanceParty · 24/10/2021 08:21

OK, so that being the case, give the OP some suggestions @ThirdElephant.

toastofthetown · 24/10/2021 08:12

Surely most names have some sort of literary connection if you look. What books do you like and are there any names you can think as a starting point? Charlotte and James are literary, but so are Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin. Or Harper and Holden. Or Frodo and Galadriel.