Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
Names Created by Authors
Across 13 pages
of 13
Tarzan
Literary name
The kind of potential baby name dads use to tease moms.
Tauriel
Fictional name
"daughter of the forest"
Tauriel is the name of an elf in the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit , played by Evangeline Lilly. She is the head of the Mirkwood Elven guard, and a companion of Legolas. Her name was…
Norma
English or Latin
"from the north; or, the pattern"
Invented for Bellini's opera, Norma had some star quality in the silent-screen and Marilyn Monroe days, but at this point it's a graying grandma in baby name limbo.
Theoden
Literature
"king"
The name of the King of Rohan in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings , supposedly a translation of Rohirric Tûrac ("king"). Tolkien based the Rohirric language on Old English.
Tinuviel
Literary name
"Daughter of the twilight / nightingale"
Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is…
Tissaia
Invented name
Tissaia de Vries is a sorceress character on the Netflix series The Witcher . The origins of this created name are uncertain, but a quick search will pull up many theories, from a variation of Tess,…
Titania
Greek
"giant, great one"
This name of the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream has a delicate, lacy charm similar to Tatiana's, but that first syllable could cause embarrassing problems.
Trilby
Place name, surname, and literary name
Trilby was used first for a character by French novelist Charles Nodier (1822) and made more famous by writer George du Maurier in an 1894 work. A Trilby hat, which Du Maurier's character wore, is a…
Trillian
Literary name
Douglas Adams invented this name for a character (aka Tricia) in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . It has a nice, trilly sound, and is accessible via its kinship with Gillian/Jillian.
Nim
Modern invented name
Australian writer Wendy Orr put this name on the map with her hit Nim's Island " series of children's books, about a smart young girl who lives on an island in the South Pacific. Abigail Breslin…
Tuula
Finnish
"wind"
Sweet but strong, Tuula is a variation of the Finnish name and word, Tuuli. Sometimes considered as a literary invention, created by the poet Larin-Kyösti for the song Tuulan tei , it is borne by…
Tywin
Modern invented name
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…
Ulalume
Literary invented name, Latin
"wailing, a light symbolizing sorrow"
The titular character of a tragic poem by Edgar Allen Poe set in a lonesome October. Ulalume may be representative of death itself, making the name feel gothic and otherwordly. The etymology is…
Umbriel
Literature, Latin
"shadow"
Created by English poet Alexander Pope for a melancholy sprite in the 1712 poem The Rape of the Lock . He likely took the Latin word umbra "shadow". A moon of Uranus is named after the character.
Lilliandil
Popular culture
"sea of lillies"
Ethereal, yet with the familiarity of Lily about it, Lilliandil is a name created by Douglas Gresham for the movie adaptation of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , based of C.S Lewis's Narnia novels.…
Nessarose
Literary invention, combination of Nessa and Rose
"butterfly + rose; gentle + rose; miracle + rose"
A smoosh name used by Gregory Maguire in his book Wicked and the subsequent musical. It blends Rose with Nessa, which can be a short form of Vanessa (or other -nessa names), an anglicized variation…
Veruca
Latin
"wart"
Veruca is a name Roald Dahl made up for the horrid little girl Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . A modern rock band adopted the name, though few parents familiar with the original…
Villemo
Swedish, literary name
Invented by Swedish author August Strindberg for a 1909 poem of the same name, this quirky choice is rare even in its native land but would make for an extremely eye-catching choice outside it. It…
Vivien
Latin
"life"
Vivien (Scarlett O'Hara) Leigh was born Vivian. Some sources give Vivien as a relative of the Irish goddess name Bebinn and a literary name invented by Tennyson. Others say it's related to the…
Nerissa
Greek
"from the sea"
An offbeat possible replacement for the overused Melissa and Marisa, Nerissa was used by Shakespeare for Portia's witty confidante in The Merchant of Venice . Queen Elizabeth has a cousin named…