Literary names

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 · lame (from the Roman clan name Claudius); 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 · traditionally "olive tree," from the Old French Olivier, though scholars suspect a Norse or Germanic name beneath the Latin polish; a knight of the oldest French epics and a Dickens hero, lately the top boys' name across much of the English-speaking world

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 · the knight of the great medieval romance with Isolde; from the Celtic Drustan, its root debated, though medieval storytellers linked it to the French triste, "sad," to fit the tale. Chivalric, melancholy, and modern all at once

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

Olivia Latin · exact meaning not established by the sources behind this page; documented in Latinized English records 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 · clear, famous (feminine form of Clarence); immortalized by Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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 · place name/surname, "hollow 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 · form of Juliet, from Julius

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 · "beautiful," the Italian word itself, and the landing place of Isabella, Arabella, and every -bella name; it stepped out on its own in the 2000s and stayed. Compliment and name in one

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 383 literary names, A to Z