Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 13 pages
of 13
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…
Literary name and place-name
Aravis was the name of a female character in C.S. Lewis's A Horse and His Boy , and is also the name of a mountain range in southern France. With the rise of Ava, Avery, and indeed seemingly all…
Modern invented name
Cersei Lannister is one of the most villainous -- and, in a certain light, glamorous -- characters in HBO's Game of Thrones , played by beautiful actress Lena Headey. Though we can't say for sure…
A seldom-used Game of Thrones name, perhaps because its main originator, Tywin Lannister, is as ruthless as any character in the show. Yet the "ty-" beginning is so ubiquitous and popular that Tywin…
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…
Italian
"flowering ash tree"
Like many a popular name, Ornella is a theatrical creation. Italian playwright Gabriele d'Annunzio created this name for his dramatic heroine in the 1904 play La Figlia di Iorio. Ornella is a…
Hebrew
"God's joyful song"
Hebrew name related to Ronit and Roni, also used in different cultures as Ronya, Ronja, and Roniya. Virtually unknown in the English-speaking world though certainly an easily-translatable choice.
Invented Name
Variation of Abilene.
Literary invention
An intriguing, plausible name--kind of a Nell-Hillary combo--created by L. Frank Baum for a character in his book The Lost Princess of Oz .
Nelida is a feminine name with multiple possible origins. It may be derived from the Greek name Nellie (a diminutive of Helen, meaning 'shining light') or may have Spanish or Latin American roots.…
Literary creation, Sindarin
"green leaves"
Derived from J. R.R. Tolkien's fictional language of Sindarin, Legolas is a nature name and a literary creation, borne by an elf in The Lord of the Rings . A member of the Fellowship and an…
Literature, Algerian, Arabic
"sweet; star"
Used as the title for a 1956 novel, by Algerian writer, Kateb Yacine, Nedjma could be a literary creation, inspired by the Egyptian name Nedjemmut, meaning "Mut is sweet", in which case, it might…
Literary creation
This name, created by Italo Calvino, has been spotted as a name in England.
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…
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,…
French
"woman from Lothian"
Laudine is a name from Arthurian legend, created in the 12th century by poet Chrétien de Troyes for his romance titled Yvain . Laudine, known as the Lady of the Fountain, marries the protagonist,…
Lancel Lannister is a minor character in Game of Thrones (the son of Kevan Lannister and first cousin to Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion) who plays a key part at several dramatic junctions in the series.
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…
Polish from Latin, literary name
"of the heart"
Created by the Polish playwright Juliusz Słowacki in 1833 for his eponymous romantic hero, Kordian has been in rare use in Poland since. Słowacki based the name on the Latin cor or cordis, meaning…
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…
