We looked at trailblazing women in Part One of this blog yesterday—bold and courageous achievers who would prove worthy namesakes for a daughter.  Now we turn to those with major accomplishments in the arts—a varied mix of writers, artists, and musicians of the far and fairly recent  past—many of whom seem to have appropriately creative names—whether they were born with them or not.

Again, remember that the name’s the thing here—so sorry, Mary Cassatt and Elizabeth Barrett Browning–not this time.

WRITERS

AGATHA Christie

ANAIS Nin

APHRA Behn (also seen on the trailblazer list)

AYN Rand

CARSON (born Lula) McCullers

CHARLOTTE Bronte

COLETTE (born Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette)

(more…)

In our baby-naming books, from Beyond Jennifer & Jason on, we’ve often offered lists of name-inspiring authors and literary characters. But it occurred to me recently that we’ve neglected one of the richest sources–the genre of mystery writers and their fictional heroes and heroines–from Agatha Christie to Alex Delaware. The band of gumshoes, shamuses, cerebral sleuths, police inspectors and forensic investigators populating vintage and modern mystery books and television detective shows provides some really interesting choices, among them:

AUTHORS

AGATHA CHRISTIE
CHANDLER, Raymond
Arthur CONAN Doyle
COLIN DEXTER
CONNOLLY, Michael
CRISPIN, Edmund
DASHIELL Hammett
ELLERY Queen
IAN Rankin
JASPER Fford
JOSEPHINE TEY
MARGERY Allingham
NEVADA Barr
NGAIO Marsh
POE, Edgar Allan
PLUM, Stephanie
REX Stout
SAX Rohmer
WILKIE Collins

DETECTIVES

ADAM Dagliesh
ALEX DELAWARE
ARCHER, Lew
CARTER Dickson
CAT Marsala
EASY Rawlins
ELLERY Queen (both author and character)
ELVIS COLE
GERVASE Fen
GIDEON Fell
JANE Marple
KAY Scarpetta
KINKY Friedman (both author and character)
KINSEY Millhone
MAIGRET, Jules
MARLOW, Philip
MASON, Perry
NERO Wolfe
PHILO VANCE
POIROT, Hercule
SIMON Templar
SPENSER
THURSDAY Next
TRAVIS McGEE

TV SLEUTHS

ADDISON, David
ADRIAN Monk
BANYON
BARETTA
BARNABY Jones
CAGNEY, Christine
COLUMBO
FLETCHER, Jessica
FOX Moldour
HAMISH Macbeth
LACEY, Mary Beth
MADOLYN (MADDIE) HAYES
MAGNUM
McCLOUD
MORSE
NASH Bridges
OLIVIA Benson
QUINCY
REMINGTON Steele
TENNISON, Jane
THEO Kojak