Literary Names

[Nightstar]

I'm a writer and wanted to pick a name that shows my connection to literature, but cant think of anything I like!

I suggested some names from LOTR and from Shakespeare to my husband, but he thought the LOTR ones were too wierd and the Shakers ones were too mainstream to be obvious where they were from.

I need a boys name that says "From a famous book" like Sherlock, but not quite so odd. Does that make sense?

You could always pick a name & then find a book. The options are endless.

Laurence
Teddy
Jack
Frank
Ed
Bob
Ralph
Ronnie
Aziz
Cyril
Freddie
Phillip
Tim

Boys names from the books I've read recently (L M Alcott, E M Forster, Dickens).

My name is from the Golden Notebook.

What about an author's name? Byron?

Rohan is a fairly common version of Rowan in Australia.

Albus
Severus
Remus
Draco

Remus rocks!

Remus is a great name! DP vetoed it. I like Albus with nn. Albie

Havelock
Lancelot
Arthur
Thomas
Oscar
Dorian
Tennessee
Abraham

Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit self-indulgent? Is OP just trying to say to other people, "I'm a clever writer and have read this famous classic with an unusual name in it?" Don't really get the point - choose a name you like, whether it comes from a book or not. Otherwise, it just seems really poncey, sorry, especially as you're actually having to ask other people for ideas ...

Beowulf - now that is distinctive

JKKLPU - I do agree, sort of. Surely if you want a literary name, you choose one from a book that you love? Eg: we considered Miranda for dd1 because I love The Tempest and Elinor because I love Jane Austen. Sadly, neither of them sounded right with dp's surname.

However, I do think there are some great names on here (except Silas which is one of the worst names ever, ever invented imho) and that's why I keep coming back to it!

wow, some really harsh comments! I was just looking for some inspiration, not a disection of my personality :-(

Of course there are lots of names I like, I just thought it would be fun to get some input and other peoples thoughts - guess I learnt my lesson - Don't ask on mumsnet or you get accussed of having no imagination of your own.... how bitchy is that?

Thanks though to the people who did actually come up with some suggestions, they are great x

I think it's the suggestion that you/your dh want it to be really obvious to everyone what you've done, rather than just picking a name that has a literary connection to you, but is not obvious to everyone. That sounds slightly pants, tbh.

Having said that: Miranda, Esther, Anne, Helena/Louis, Henry, Edmund would be my 'literary' choices.

Tuesday
Thursday
Friday
Braxton

Oscar
Bram
Dorian
Milton
LeStat

I tend to agree though - you'd be better picking a name from something you love and using that, rather than wanting to be too ostentatious about it.

Thing is, you have to think about the content if the literary character's character, iyswim; e.g. Benedick is beautifully Shakespearean, but he's a tosser, so he's out. So on that basis I'd recommend Gabriel, after Gabriel Oak from 'Far from the Madding Crowd,' who is the sort of lovely bloke a son could be named after.

content of character, obv. Martin Luther King quote gone wrong...

oh gosh lockets it is!! i don't know what i was thinking!

'lo, quite a bookish type myself so my son is George (orwell) Ernest (Hemmingway) Tbh wouldn't have the guts to go for anything V obviously contrived but DH and I know why we picked the names, and pretty sure DS will do one day :)

Caspian
Edmund
Laurence
Cymbeline (Shakespeare, but not mainstream. Sure it must shorten to something, but can't think what)
Geoffrey

Would you be happy to go for a more minor Shakespeare character? There are plenty of Sebastian-type names around

I have a friend who is determined his first born son will be called Neoptolemus... I have a secret longing for Caspian, but it will never, ever get past DP

Yes, choose a literary character or writer's name that you love, otherwise it's a bit of a meaningless exercise, just naming a child according to a theme.

I suggest you sit next to your bookshelves, write a list of your favourite authors; then your favourite characters from those books, and maybe even any favourite locations featured in the books. Get your DH to do the same. Then go down the list and see if there are any you like. If you did a literature degree, dig out your old uni reading lists and course outlines, jog your memory to see what your favourite teenage books where, or even childhood. Otherwise you need to start reading like a demon in order to find some new favourites!

Good luck, it's a nice idea, but IMO when you name someone for a reason, it's nice for that reason to have depth (ie I always loved that character) rather than just for general reasons (I write and like reading books). I think the former would mean more to your child when you explain how you chose his name.

I love the name Heathcliff, nn Heath. If I were to have a boy, that name was on my short-list but I'm am blessed with daughters.

I think it was country singer Brad Paisley who named his son Huckleberry.

I've always thought that you could never use Sherlock, lovely as it is, because of Holmes. It's too associated and I've never known one. Mycroft? John?

Off the top of my head:

Edmund (Narnia), Mortimer, Samuel (Discworld), Dorian (Grey), Duncan, Ichabod or Orlando.

Hero, Harry, Sirius...ok, too far.

Not Heathcliff, he was a wanker.