Literary baby names can be inspired the characters in books or, in the case of the baby names on this list, by the first and last names of authors ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Zora Neale Hurston.
 
Along with Emerson and Zora, other names inspired by authors in the US Top 1000 include August, Blake, Cooper, Ellison, Hadley, Langston, Walker, and Willa. Unique literary surnames inspired by female authors include Brontë, Morrison, Didion, and Munro.
 
If you’re looking to make a statement, distinctive literary surnames such as Thackeray or Kerouac, Salinger or Hemingway are dramatic yet name-worthy. You may even consider using the name Author itself, which, believe it or not, ranked in the US popularity charts until WWII.
 
An author-related baby name may inspire a lifelong love of reading in your child. In this category, as always, feel free to look to your personal favorite writers for your baby names inspiration. Here, our selection of literary baby names inspired by authors.

Literary Baby Names Inspired by Authors

Anais is an unusual, alluring name forever attached to the daring French-born American novelist and diarist Anais Nin (born Angela, with Anais as one of her middle names), who became the inspiration for the naming of the daughter of musician Noel Gallagher. Anais is also the name of a popular perfume.
 Anais can be found as a character in Balzac's "Lost Illusions", and in Colette's 'Claudine' books.
 Anais would make a creative and distinctive <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">middle name</a>.

Anais

Walker is both a Waspy surname name—as in the W in George W. Bush—but it also has a gentle ambling quality and a creative connection to such greats as writer Walker Percy and photographer Walker Evans, whose father was also named Walker. 
 As a common surname, Walker has many other notable namesakes, including author Alice, football great Herschel, blues guitarist T-Bone, and contemporary artist Kara.
 Walker was a <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names">popular name</a> around the turn of the twentieth century, reaching Number 296 in 1896, remained in use through 1955, then made a return in 1983, becoming a prime representative of the aspirational surnames of the 1980s and 90s.

Walker

Biblical name Cain was, until recently, seldom heard outside of the Old Testament and soap operas. Although Cain's murderous actions will always make this name difficult for some, Cain, Eve and Adam's firstborn, was a farmer - making this a good choice for those with farming connections. Long outshone by Abel, Cain is starting to find a broader audience, helped along by homophones Kane or Caine.

Cain

This evocative green nature name, heard much more frequently as a surname, is associated with playwright Moss Hart (born Robert), who co-wrote (with George S. Kaufman) such enduring Broadway comedies as The Man Who Came to Dinner and You Can't Take it With You.
 Never having made it onto the popularity list, Moss would make a distinctively fresh and attractive alternative to Ross.
 Prominent bearers of Moss as a surname include British auto racer Stirling, supermodel Kate, and Elisabeth Moss, star of The Handmaid's Tale and Mad Men.

Moss

For centuries, this name had a romantic, windswept image due to its strong connection to the poet Lord Byron, who inspired its use as a first name. It is one of those surprise names that's appeared on the Top 1000 every year since 1880. 
 William Faulkner used Byron for characters in two of his novels--Light in August and The Town' It was seen as a character on Arrested Development (the real name of Buster), is the appellation of several high-scoring athletes, was given to his son by Lost 's Matthew Fox in 2001 and--trivia tidbit bonus--was James Dean's middle name.

Byron

When aspiring British writer Sadie Smith decided to change her name to the more distinctive and zippy Zadie at the age of fourteen, this attention-magnet name was born.  But though it might sound like a modern initial-switch, Zadie was actually Number 539 in 1881, remaining in the Top 1000 for almost thirty years.

Zadie

Eudora is the name of five minor goddesses of Greek mythology and a major goddess (in the person of Pulitzer Prize-winning Eudora Welty) of modern American literature. Eudora is pleasant and euphoneous and a possibility for rejuvenation.
 In Greek myth, Eudora was one of the Hyades, a set of sisters transformed into the star cluster that bears their name. 
 In Disney's The Princess and the Frog, Eudora was the name of Princess Tiana's mother, who was voiced by Oprah Winfrey, and of Mia Farrow's character in Zelig. Eudora is also a character in Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom, and was chosen by actress Marcia Gay Hardin for her daughter back in 1998.

Eudora

As Mila rises for girls, so Milan is becoming a more popular option for boys, especially after singer Shakira chose it for her son. After a 55-year hiatus, it reentered the Top 1000 in 2013 and is heading dramatically upward.

 Milan has been a Top 10 name for boys in The Netherlands and Hungary, as well as making the Top 20 in Belgium. A famous literary namesake is Czech writer Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. In America, it is a solidly unisex name whose usage is no doubt also inspired by the stylish Italian city of the same name.

Milan

Hart could be the hero of a romantic novel, but on the other hand, it's short, straightforward, and strong sounding. The most famous bearer of the name was tragic poet Hart (born Harold) Crane, but it also has musical cred via Lorenz Hart, of the classic Rodgers & Hart songwriting duo and a literary tie to playwright Moss Hart.
 Hart would make an interesting middle name choice--with heart.

Hart

An evocative unisex one-syllable name, Poe is most distinguished by its literary reference. Edgar Allan Poe was an influential American author and poet, credited with inventing the genres of detective and science fiction, which might provide inspiration for parents who are fans. And now its choice as the name of the hero played by Oscar Isaac in the new Star Wars movie is sure to catapult it from literary choice to major favorite.
 The female singer-songwriter professionally known as Poe was born with the more prosaic name Ann.
 The variant spelling Po is identified with Po Bronson, the chronicler of the technological age, and also has the geographical association with the river in northern Italy.

Ishmael is most familiar through "Call me Ishmael," the opening line spoken by the youthful narrator of Moby-Dick. Few American parents have followed that advice, though the Spanish and Arabic spelling, Ismael, ranks at Number 362. With its warm and pleasant sound, though, we could see Ishmael tagging along behind Isaiah and Isaac.
 In the Bible, Ishmael was Abraham's first son by the Egyptian maidservant Hagar, who was told by God to name him Ishmael. In Islamic tradition, Ishmael (or Ismail) is believed to have been the ancestor of the Arabs.
 Ishmael Bush is one of the main characters in James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Prairie, and there is an Ismael in the Lemony Snicket book, The End. Some notable real-life bearers are novelist and poet Ishmael Reed and Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant.

Ishmael

For a generation, this name will always be linked to 1990s hit TV series Friends. Whether this is a positive or a negative will depend on your fondness for the show, and character Chandler Bing, but this name deserves consideration beyond these connotations: Chandler is a fresh take on the professional surname names.

Chandler

Thisbe, the name of a beautiful but tragic lover in mythology, is lively and cute -- in a slightly thistly, prickly way. Ovid retold the story of Thisbe and Pyramus, young lovers in ancient Babylon kept apart by family rivalry, which was the inspiration for Romeo and Juliet. A modern bearer of the name is writer Thisbe Nissen.
In Sarah Dessen's novel Along for the Ride, the baby daughter is named Thisby, nn Isby.

Thisbe

Made famous by F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Fitzgerald Kennedy; still works best as a middle name.

Fitzgerald

The great African-American Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes put this one on the map; actor Laurence Fishburne adopted it for his now grown son, born in 1987. Despite these popular associations, the name didn't make it into the US Top 1000 until 2013. This name is even less used in England or Wales, where as recently as 2014 no births were registered using this name.
 Hughes was born James Mercer Langston Hughes, Langston being his mother's maiden name.
 Some similar choices are Lanford, Landon, Langford and Langley.

Langston

Homer is a name that has traveled from the ancient Greek scribe of the great classical epics to Bart Simpson's doltish dad, and has also become the surprise hot celebrity pick of such parents as Richard Gere (his father's name), Bill Murray, and Anne Heche. Simpsons creator Matt Groening has both a father and a son named Homer.
 Because of the epic scope of The Odyssey and The Iliad, the term "homeric" implies work on an enormous scale, while "homeric laughter" references the unrestrained laughter of the Greek gods.
 With its quirky resume, Homer could make an interesting choice.

Homer

Truman is an upstanding presidential name that radiates an aura of integrity and moral truth, values any parent would want for a child. It seems definitely headed for a revival. 
 Also associated with writer Truman Capote, Truman was at the height of its popularity in the early twentieth century, around the time Capote was born. It reached its highest point—Number 249—in 1945, the year Harry Truman succeeded FDR.
 Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson chose it for their son, and it's also the name of Martha Stewart's young grandson.
 Truman Burbank was the ingenuous character played by Jim Carrey in The Truman Show, and Truman was the surname of Will in Will and Grace.

Truman

Aphra would make an interesting choice-- especially since it's the name of the first professional female writer in English, the seventeenth century's Aphra Behn. Born in 1640, she was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration.
 Aphra was originally a name for a woman from Africa that eventually became a given name, and was borne by several Roman saints. It can also be spelled Afra.

Aphra

Few people would have considered the surname of this famous Victorian poet as a first name until Russell Crowe chose it for his son in 2006. But, as a rhythmic three-syllable patronymic, Tennyson has a lot going for it, not least of all the appealing nickname Tenny; it would make a novel choice for the son of a Dennis. 
 Other options: The poet's first name, Alfred, or the name of another esteemed bard, such as Eliot, Poe, Byron, Lowell or Lorca.

Tennyson

Lowell is an upstanding and somewhat conservative name that calls to mind the genteel patrician families of nineteenth century New England, such as the one poet Robert Lowell was born into. Two other Lowell-surnamed poets are Amy and James Russell.
 Lowell was at its height in the 1930s, when it reached Number 148, and has been off the list since 1986--long enough to deserve a reappraisal.
 Namesakes include Governor Lowell P. Weicker of Connecticut and noted newsman Lowell Thomas; on TV Lowells have been featured on Wings and Sons of Anarchy.
 An interesting British upper-class spelling is Loel.

Lowell

Literary Names Inspired by Authors

Literary baby names can be inspired the characters in books or, in the case of the baby names on this list, by the first and last names of authors ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Zora Neale Hurston.

Along with Emerson and Zora, other names inspired by authors in the US Top 1000 include August, Blake, Cooper, Ellison, Hadley, Langston, Walker, and Willa. Unique literary surnames inspired by female authors include Brontë, Morrison, Didion, and Munro.

If you’re looking to make a statement, distinctive literary surnames such as Thackeray or Kerouac, Salinger or Hemingway are dramatic yet name-worthy. You may even consider using the name Author itself, which, believe it or not, ranked in the US popularity charts until WWII.

An author-related baby name may inspire a lifelong love of reading in your child. In this category, as always, feel free to look to your personal favorite writers for your baby names inspiration. Here, our selection of literary baby names inspired by authors.