Literary names

What are literary names like?

Alice is the title character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Beatrice is the character who trades witty arguments with Benedick in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing.

Every name links to its full page: meaning, origin, and its real popularity curve since 1890.

Alice Germanic · "of noble kind," from Adalheidis worn down through Old French Aalis; a medieval queen's name that Lewis Carroll sent down the rabbit hole into permanent storybook fame. The vintage revival returned it to the top tier across Europe and beyond

Virginia Latin · maidenly, virginal; famously borne by Virginia Woolf, modernist novelist and essayist

Elaine French · form of Helen, "shining light"; Arthurian romance in England, and one of Brazil's defining girl names of the 1970s and 80s

Beatrice Latin · she who blesses

Claudia Latin · feminine form of the Roman family name Claudius, possibly linked to Latin claudus, "lame"; famously borne by Claudia Rankine, contemporary poet known for Citizen: An American Lyric

Marian English · variant of Mary; meaning disputed (traditionally 'bitter' or 'beloved')

Milton English · mill town

Viola Latin · Latin, 'violet'

Maxine Latin · greatest (feminine of Max); famously borne by Maxine Hong Kingston, Chinese-American memoirist known for The Woman Warrior

Thelma Greek · coined by novelist Marie Corelli, traditionally linked to 'thelema,' will or wish

Byron English · from an English surname meaning 'at the cattle sheds' (Old English 'byre')

Roland Germanic · hruod "fame" + lant "land", possibly originally nand "brave"; the legendary knight who died heroically at Roncevaux in the Song of Roland

Wendy English · modern coinage popularized by Peter Pan, meaning friend

Jorge Spanish · farmer, earth-worker; famously borne by Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine writer of labyrinthine short fiction

Virgil Latin · meaning uncertain (Roman family name), associated with the poet Virgil

Jo Hebrew · diminutive of Joanna/Josephine, God is gracious

Miranda Latin · means 'admirable', coined by Shakespeare from Latin 'mirandus' for The Tempest

Ramona Germanic · feminine form of Ramon/Raymond, meaning 'wise protector'

Lance Germanic · short form of Germanic names containing 'land'; also associated with the knight Lancelot

Oliver Latin · from Old French Olivier, possibly from Latin oliva, "olive tree," or from an older Germanic name reshaped to resemble it

Blanche French · white, fair; immortalized by Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Estella Latin · from 'stella', meaning 'star'

Orlando Germanic · Italian form of Roland, traditionally 'famous throughout the land'

Toni Latin · a short form of Antonia and Anthony, from the Roman name Antonius, of uncertain Etruscan origin; famously borne by novelist and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, born Chloe Wofford

Cora Greek · maiden

Lucinda Latin · light

Cedric English · literary name coined by Sir Walter Scott, based on the Anglo-Saxon name Cerdic

Evangeline Greek · "bearer of good news"

Horace Latin · from the Roman family name Horatius, meaning uncertain

Tristan Welsh · probably from Drustan, a name used by the Picts in what is now Scotland; the French form was probably shaped by triste, "sad"

Belinda Germanic · meaning uncertain (possibly 'beautiful serpent')

Olivia Latin · exact meaning not established by the sources behind this page; documented in English records with names written in Latin by the late 13th century, before Shakespeare

Esmeralda Spanish · "emerald"

Malinda Greek · variant of Melinda, meaning uncertain (possibly 'honey' or 'dark')

Ulysses Latin · meaning uncertain (Latin form of Odysseus, possibly 'wrathful')

Clarissa Latin · elaborated form of Clara, 'clear, bright'

Lara Latin · variant of Larunda, a nymph in Roman mythology

Lorna Scottish · literary invention, from the Scottish place name Lorne

Louisa Germanic · feminine form of Louis, 'famous warrior'

Lynette Welsh · meaning uncertain (Welsh Arthurian name)

Roxanne Persian · little star, radiant

Clarice Latin · from medieval Clarice, through Latin Claritia and Clara, "clear, bright, famous"

Imogene Irish · traditionally maiden, girl (from Shakespeare's Innogen); meaning debated

Lenore Greek · traditionally light, shining one (variant of Eleanor, popularized by Poe)

Nikki Greek · victory of the people (short form of Nicole); famously borne by Nikki Giovanni, poet of the Black Arts Movement

Orville French · traditionally 'gold town,' from 'or' (gold) and 'ville' (town); invented by author Frances Burney

Rosalind Germanic · gentle horse, or pretty rose (contested); famously borne by Rosalind Franklin, chemist whose X-ray images were essential to discovering the structure of DNA

Romeo Italian · "pilgrim to Rome"

Veda Sanskrit · means 'knowledge', referring to the ancient Hindu scriptures

Zelda Yiddish · possibly a feminine form of the Yiddish Zelig, 'blessed, happy', or a short form of Griselda

Arden English · from an English surname taken from various place names, from a Celtic word meaning 'high'

Dorian Greek · referring to the Dorians, an ancient Greek people; popularized by Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'

Merlin Welsh · sea fortress

Pamela Greek · all honey

Tess Greek · nickname for Theresa, meaning uncertain (traditionally harvester)

Aida Arabic · traditionally happy, returning one

Annabel Scottish · lovable (variant of Amabel)

Booker English · scribe, maker of books

Darcy French · from the Anglo-Norman surname d'Arcy, meaning 'from Arcy' (a place in Normandy)

Westley English · variant spelling of Wesley, meaning 'west meadow'

Zola English · meaning unknown, perhaps invented; it coincides with an Italian surname

Anabel Scottish · traditionally lovable, combining grace and beauty

Camilla Latin · feminine of Camillus; meaning uncertain

Georgiana Greek · earth-worker, farmer

Holden English · from an English place name and surname meaning "deep valley"

Lucien French · French form of Lucius/Lucianus, from Latin 'lux' meaning light

Lucius Latin · light

Rosalinda Spanish · traditionally pretty rose; Germanic root gentle horse or shield

Rowena Welsh · traditionally fair-haired, famous friend; meaning disputed

Una Irish · meaning uncertain, possibly lamb; also Latin for one

Bryon English · variant spelling of Byron, an English surname meaning 'at the cattle sheds'

Elissa Greek · variant of Elisa/Elizabeth ('God is my oath'); also the name Dido bore in classical legend

Lucian Latin · from Lucianus, derived from 'lux' meaning 'light'

Nestor Greek · meaning disputed, traditionally wisdom, Homeric hero

Novella Latin · new

Portia Latin · from the Roman family name Porcia; famous as the heroine of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Scarlett English · "scarlet," an occupational surname for dealers in the rich red cloth; Gone with the Wind's headstrong heroine turned it into a first name, and the 2000s turned it into a hit. Vivid color, vintage glamour

Cassandra Greek · possibly Greek kekasmai "to excel, to surpass" with aner "man"; the Trojan prophetess

Corinna Greek · Greek, a variant of Korinne/Corinne, maiden; the name of an ancient Greek poet and Ovid's muse in the Amores

Eliot English · variant of Elliot, an English surname from a diminutive of Elias, Hebrew 'the Lord is my God'

Evelina Germanic · variant of Evelyn, from the Norman name Aveline

Federico Italian · peaceful ruler; famously borne by Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet and playwright

Ishmael Hebrew · traditionally 'God will hear'

Jenifer Cornish · the Cornish form of Guinevere, usually translated "white phantom"; Brazil's one-n spelling, bigger there than Jennifer itself

Julieta Spanish · a Spanish and Portuguese form of Juliet, from the Roman family name Julius, whose origin is uncertain

Lemuel Hebrew · traditionally 'devoted to God'

Leyla Turkish · night (Turkish spelling of Layla, the classic Layla and Majnun romance)

Vanessa English · coined by Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh; later used for a butterfly genus

Langston English · English place name/surname, 'settlement by the long stone'

Lynnette Welsh · From the Welsh name Eluned, idol or image, used in Arthurian legend for a sharp-witted lady; also linked to French linnet, songbird.

Maranda Modern American · A respelling of Miranda, coined by Shakespeare in The Tempest from Latin 'miranda', to be admired.

Ofelia Spanish · Spanish form of Ophelia, Greek for 'help'

Regan Irish · little king, impulsive (from Ó Riagáin); immortalized by Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973)

Rolland Germanic · variant spelling of Roland, from Hrodland, famous land, hero of the medieval Song of Roland.

Waverly English · place name meaning 'meadow of quaking aspens'; popularized by Walter Scott's novel Waverley

Afton Scottish · from the River Afton in Scotland, popularized by Robert Burns's poem 'Sweet Afton'

Alethea Greek · 'truth', from Greek aletheia

Annabell Scottish · a variant of Annabelle, disputed between Scottish Amabel (Latin amabilis, lovable) and a folk blend of Anna and Belle

Eloisa Germanic · Spanish/Italian form of Heloise, traditionally 'healthy and wide'

Ferris Celtic · man of vigor (Anglicized form of Fergus); immortalized by Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Lyra Greek · "lyre", also the constellation

Marlowe English · from a surname, 'remnants of a lake' in Old English

Odette French · French diminutive of Oda, 'wealth, fortune'

Scarlet English · from the color name/dye-trade surname

Ayla Turkish · traditionally "halo, moonlight"

Bella Italian · the Italian word for "beautiful"; also used for Isabella and other longer names ending in -bella

Cosette French · popularized by the character Cosette in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables

Damon Greek · to tame, loyal friend

Deidre Irish · Variant spelling of Deirdre, heroine of Irish legend, Deirdre of the Sorrows; the root meaning is disputed, often glossed as sorrowful.

Donte Italian · variant of Dante, Italian for 'enduring'

Elora English · modern coinage popularized by the film Willow

Evander Greek · 'good man', a mythological founder-hero in the Aeneid

Hansel Germanic · German pet form of Hans (Johannes), ultimately Hebrew 'God is gracious'; known from the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel

Matilda Germanic · battle-mighty

Rosalina Germanic · variant of Rosalind; Germanic 'gentle horse', popularly read as 'pretty rose'

Rosaline Germanic · variant of Rosalind, from Germanic elements meaning 'gentle horse', popularly reinterpreted as 'beautiful rose'

Rosina Italian · An Italian diminutive of Rosa, rose in Latin; known from the heroine of Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville.

Tristen Welsh · variant spelling of Tristan, a Celtic legend name popularly linked to French 'triste' (sad)

Willa Germanic · feminine form of William ("will helmet")

Arya Sanskrit · "noble"

All 408 literary names, A to Z