Obscure literary names

[BexusSugarush]

Our dd is called Ayla after the main character from 'The Clan of the Cave Bear', which is extremely rare, but similar enough to names like Isla and Ava that it's not too hard for people to accept. Pronounced Ay-la.

We have dc2 coming any day now and our first mistake was not finding out the sex, so now we have to find both a male and female literary name.

I have a few I am attached to but my partner would prefer some more options. We are trying to avoid the more known names like those from Harry Potter books or classic literature, and instead go for names people likely won't have heard of.

Feel free to throw any suggestions this way!!

If I picked a name from books I loved, I would go for something like Miranda or Will. The connection might be obscure but the names probably wouldn't be.

Sadly the most resonant name for me based on two books I love would probably be Fanny.

@Annandale 🤣

Ok hands up who else is trolling this thread I don’t believe anyone would actually be suggesting Hagrid, Noddy or Nicodemus.

I’d go for Lyra, Arietty, Gregory, Finn, Ezra and Kyra

I also think it’s strange to pick a ‘literary name’ from a book that didn’t mean anything to you. Most ‘literary’ names are just normal names you might use anyway or made up names - Ayla just seems like an alternative spelling of Isla to me. I like it either way but I don’t think - ah yes literary.

Fleda, Gawain.

I actually think Arrietty is a lovely name but kind of demonstrates the issue in choosing an obscure book name - general confusion punctuated with recognition and consequent associations. Ie. ‘Oh like the borrowers, did your parents really love the book or something?’ FOR EVER

Ayla was 128th on the ONS name list for 2016. 449 babies named Ayla that year in England and Wales, so it really isn't rare or unusual.

Celia and Rosalind (Shakespearean) at joint 1112th only 31 babies of each name in 2016, or Viola at joint 1086th only 32 babies. Only 13 Demelzas!

For a boy, only 3 babies named Ulysses, 3 named Odysseus, and 3 named Thibault. None named Homer.

Trilby or Ronja for girls

Justine, from the book of the same name

Or

Caspar

Demelza
Carlotta
Gemma
Arya
Sunny
Richenda

David
Klaus
Ptolemy
Frodo
Rupert
Visaerys

Atticus.

Legolas 🧝‍♂️

Yeah this whole idea is confusing. Surely it has to be a book you know?

Even then it might not help. I taught a fabulous, clever girl called Jordan in the early 00s. She was named after the character in The Great Gatsby, only that's not the Jordan people thought of when they heard her name sadly. Poor girl.