Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
Names Created by Authors
Across 13 pages
of 13
Malvolio
Literary name
"ill will"
Coined by Shakespeare for the main antagonist in his comedy Twelfth Night , the unfortunate Malvolio’s name literally means "ill will". Incidentally, a peace-loving character in Romeo and Juliet…
Malyen
Literary name
A character name in the Shadow and Bone book series, invented by author Leigh Bardugo. It is intended as a Ravkan form of Malcolm, meaning "disciple of St Columba".
Margaery
Literary creation from Game of Thrones
Of all the Game of Thrones creations this is surely the most delicate and the most wearable. Margaery, (pronounced like the Scottish name Marjorie) is a beautiful, powerful and intelligent character…
Margolette
Literary invention
Fanciful feminissima name created by L. Frank Baum for a character in The Patchwork Girl of Oz .
Mayre
Mayre is a feminine name that likely developed as a variant spelling of either Mary or Maire (the Irish form of Mary). The name ultimately derives from the Hebrew name Miriam, though its exact…
Mazikeen
Invented name
"harmful spirits"
Neil Gaiman invented this name for a character in his comic book Sandman . It can now be seen on the TV show Lucifer . The name was inspired by the Hebrew term Mazzikin , which refers to sinister…
Medora
Greek
"mother's gift"
Medora is a Greek name much less common here than, say, Melanie or Melissa. It has some literary references, including as the beautiful and passionate heroine of Lord Byron's poem The Corsair, and in…
Menna
Welsh, meaning unknown
Menna is used regularly in Wales in modern times. Its origins are uncertain: perhaps created by a poet, or possibly connected with the Menai Strait that separates the island of Anglesey from mainland…
Lucentio
Italian
"light"
The origins of Lucentio are a bit hazy — it's possible Shakespeare invented the name for his play The Taming of the Shrew , where Lucentio ends up marrying Bianca. However, it may have been an…
Minea
Finnish feminization of Minos, Greek
"king"
The Finnish writer Mika Waltari invented the name Minea from the Greek Minos for a character in his 1945 novel The Egyptian . It's become a popular Finnish name in the 21st century.
Lucasta
English
"pure light"
Lucasta was invented by seventeenth century poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems dedicated to a lover named Lucy, and is familiar through the Eugene O'Neill play and film Anna Lucasta .…
Moby
Literary and nickname name
Moby, the nickname of musician Richard Melville Hall, was thanks to his ancestor Herman Melville, creator of the infamous whale. You can imagine calling a child Moby as a cute nickname in honor of a…
Morella
Literary name
The eponymous character in an Edgar Allan Poe ghost story, gothic Morella was likely based on Latin mors ("death") or Greek mauros ("black"). It’s also a subtle nature name, being an alternative name…
Morticia
Fictional invented name
"mortician"
Charles Addams invented the name Morticia for the mother in his cartoon series "The Addams Family." The name comes from the word mortician—very appropriate for this macabre mom.
Mowgli
Literary name
The name of the young hero of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book , who was raised by wolves (really) and becomes a genius hunter and trapper, was chosen as a middle name for their son Bronx (really,…
Musidora
Literature
"gift of the Muses"
A literary name, Musidora first appeared in its masculine form, Musidorus, in a poem by 16th poet Phillip Sidney. Meaning "gift of the Muses", it could relate to the Muses of mythology who presided…
Lorna
English literary name
One of those names like Pamela, Vanessa and Wendy, Lorna was invented for a particular literary character--the protagonist of the 1869 novel Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore--and then perpetuated as…
Myrcella
Variant of Marcella
One of the many faux-Medieval names invented by George R.R. Martin for his A Song of Ice and Fire series of books, the source of HBO's Game of Thrones . Princess Myrcella Baratheon is the daughter of…
Namor
Literary invented name
Invented in 1939 as the name of Marvel Comics character Namor the Sub-Mariner. Bill Everett, the creator, decided on Namor after writing noble, dignified names in reverse—Namor is Roman spelled…
Jinjur
Literary invention
Ginger-homonym created by L. Frank Baum for a General character in his Oz books.