Literary Baby Names Inspired by Authors

Tennyson

English

"son of Dennis"

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…

Homer

Greek

"security, hostage, pledge"

Homer is a name of two halves, associated with the ancient Greek poet of the epic Odyssey and with the (often) doltish patriarch of The Simpsons . So does that make Homer a classic and scholarly…

Shaw

English

"dweller by the wood"

With the current taste for last names first, this sounds a lot cooler than Shawn; it also has creative connections to the great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, novelist Irwin Shaw, and Big…

Haruki

Japanese

"spring tree"

Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, well known in the U. S. , might inspire some namesakes. Haruki is a popular Japanese name meaning spring tree or bright tree, a lovely nature meaning combined with…

Moss

English

"descendant of Moses"

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…

Frost

English

"freezing"

Long heard as a last name, as in venerable poet Robert, U.K. talk show host David, British actress Sadie and old Jack Frost, Frost has suddenly entered the scene as a possible first, along with other…

Jarrell

German variation of Gerald

Briefly faddish a few decades ago when Darrell was cool. But does have a creative connection to poet Randall Jarrell.

Tennessee

Native American, Cherokee, place-name

"bend in the river or meeting place"

When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size. Reese Witherspoon…

Crockett

English

"large curl"

Though Davy Crockett is a childhood hero, a frontiersman, soldier, politician, congressman and prolific storyteller. But be aware that "crock" is American slang for a lot of nonsense or something…

Poe

English

"peacock"

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…

Jerzy

Polish variation of George

"farmer"

Writer Jerzy Kosinski put this foreign variation on the U. S. name map.

Cheever

English

"female goat"

Cheever has a nice, cheery sound, literary ties to novelist and short writer John Cheever and also, sideways, to the Edward Arlington Robinson narrative poem "Miniver Cheevy," as well as a subliminal…

Author

Word and occupational name

"writer"

An occupation name with a preppy, scholarly air, Author could fit in alongside Arthur and August or Chosen and Booker, in terms of sound and style. Author saw more usage that you might think in the…