Names Created by Authors

Miguel de Cervantes invented this elaborate-sounding name -- which roughly translates as "sweetness" -- for the beautiful maiden Don Quixote is obsessed with in his great novel. Even in the fictional world of the book, though, Dulcinea is not the woman's real name; Aldonza is. And because she never appears in person in the text, it's unclear whether she is as beautiful and saintly as the protagonist believes her to be. Probably not, given Don Quixote's track record.

Dulcinea

Eddard is a spin on Edward created by author George R.R. Martin for the Game of Thrones series. Eddard, usually known as Ned, Stark was the wise and good King of the North whose shocking murder at the end of the first season of the TV show set off years of chaos. While Eddard as a name may have more earthly ties than Sansa or Daenerys, it's linked firmly to the Game of Thrones franchise and will peg you as a fan.

Eddard

Elphaba was invented by Gregory Maguire for the protagonist of his novel Wicked, which became the long-running Broadway play and then a movie. Elphaba is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West, unnamed in the Oz books, and is drawn from the initials of Oz creator L. Frank Baum.
 
Nicknames Elfie, Ellie, Elle, or Abbie could make it feel more grounded.

Elphaba

The elven ruler of Rivendell in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Elrond

This name was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings series, where Elros is a half-elf half-human king. One of the more obscure LOTR names with a princely feel and soft, handsome sound, Elros would be an attractive choice for those looking for a more subtle nod to their favourite franchise. 

Elros

Eniko Hart makes this Japanese name familiar in the US. In Hungary, it's a literary name invented by the poet Mihály Vörösmarty in the 19th century. He based it on the name of the legendary mother of the Hungarian people, Enéh.

Eniko

Though it doesn't have historic roots--it was created by L. Frank Baum for a Princess character in his book Ozma of Oz--Evella could fit well into the Eve-Eva-Evelyn group now coming back into favor.

Evella

A combination-type name invented by L. Frank Baum for a Princess character who first appears in his book Ozma of Oz.

Evrose

Fantine is a rarely heard French name except as a character in the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables.

Fantine

Faramir is a character appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, first seen in The Two Towers and described as a gentle lover of lore and music, a leader in battle. The character appeared in not only the books but film and video games. Faramir has already been used by one berry Tolkien fan as an intriguing middle name. 
 
Though the meaning is uncertain, those who have studied the fictional language of Sindarin have suggested it means "sufficient jewel"

Faramir

A literary name coined by the French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais for the central character in his plays The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and The Guilty Mother. It is thought that he based the name on his own nickname. In modern French, the word has come to mean "barber", due to the famous character's profession.

Figaro

Created by Gregory Maguire for his book, Wicked (and featured in the subsequent Broadway musical), Fiyero derives from the word "furious".

Fiyero

Florimel is an English name created by Edward Spencer for his poem, The Faerie Queene.

Florimel

Shakespeare seems to have coined this name for the Prince of Bohemia in his late tragicomedy The Winter's Tale by drawing inspiration from the Latin floris meaning "flower". It's rarely been used as a name in real life, but we think it has potential. The flowery sound will appeal to parents looking for less conventionally <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">masculine boys names</a>, but the "Z" gives it an edge and cool factor lacking in, say, Florian. Plus, the Shakespeare connection obviously gives it a lot of literary cred.
 
Also spelled as Florizell in some editions of the Shakespeare play, Florizel has been borne in the real word by the the third Governor-General of Jamaica Sir Florizel Glasspole and by composer, violinist, and psychic Florizel von Reuter.
 
Fun fact: the long running British TV soap, Coronation Street, was originally named Florizel Street in early versions of the script.

Florizel

Used by Gregory Maguire in his novel Wicked along with the Broadway musical adaptation of the same name, Frexspar could be inspired by the word feckless meaning "irresponsible, lacking strength of character"; by Freki, a wolf in Norse mythology whose name comes from frekr meaning "greedy, avaricious"; or by names such as Frederick, Felix and Caspar.

Frexspar

Fringilla Vigo is a sorceress and villain in The Witcher series. Her name comes from a genus of singing finches.

Fringilla

An admirable meaning, with roots in a Germanic word meaning wisdom, but we fear it will never be detached from the hobbit hero of The Lord of the Rings.

Frodo

The original name of Glinda from Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked and the subsequent Broadway musical. She drops the 'a' from her name to honor a goat, who mispronounced her name as a Glinda.
 
As a name, it comes from the Germanic element gal meaning "to sing" and lind meaning "soft, tender", which come together to make a music inspired name.

Galinda

A fanciful concoction whipped up by L. Frank Baum for a beautiful and powerful princess in one of his Oz books.

Gayelette

Most of the names George R.R. Martin created for his A Song of Ice and Fire series of books are close variants of existing English names, but this is an exception. Gendry was a minor character in the first few seasons of the show, who became a fan favorite largely on the strength of a meme-worthy photo of his shirtless, muscled torso. He returned to the show for a key plotline in the seventh season. Gendry's relative insignificance as a character may actually bode well for the name's chances IRL; it's not so closely associated with the show that people will always make the connection. Pronunciation and spelling, though, may be tough for non-watchers: the initial G is hard.

Gendry

Names created by authors include newly conceived options like Rhaenyra and Katniss, as well as names that are so assimilated, you probably didn't even realize they were invented — Jessica, anyone?

In addition to Jessica, mainstream names including Miranda (

) were coined by writers and now have taken on lives outside of the book pages.

 were invented by J. R. R. Tolkien, such as Theoden, Tauriel, and Frodo.

, including Geraldine, Vanessa, Fiona, Stella, and Amanda.

Literary names invented by authors, writers, and poets, including Fiona, Mowgli, and Renesmee, with meaning, origin, and popularity (Page 7)