Literary Names for Girls

A more substantial but less-popular feminization of Tristan, the originally-male mythological name now used for girls as well as boys.

Attractive name associated both with a queenly character who meets a very grisly end in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and popular teen fantasy novelist Tamora Pierce. Shakespearean puns in the name include amor for love and moor as the character was in love with a Moor, though any parent interested in the name should be aware of its tragic association.

This variation of Jacey was the name of the gorgeous small-town heroine of Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show.

An archipelago near the center of the Mediterranean, the name derives from the Greek word for honey. Malta has been heard as a girl’s name in the past and was used as a character name by both Dickens and Murakami.

The Alhambra, which means "red city," is in Granada, Spain. British writer Ali Smith used it for a character in her novel The Accidental.

Faunia is more often rendered as Fauna, who was a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing. Faunia was the downtrodden yet loving heroine of Philip Roth's Human Stain. Faunia and Fauna have more gravitas than the doe-like Fawn.

Might be carrying things too far -- little little girl? -- though could freshen up this favorite.

Orleanna was the young heroine of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible.

Name of the winning young heroine of Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye.

Remarkable Pettibone was a self-important housekeeper in James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers. Such names were not uncommon in early America, with such choices as Remember and Experience showing up in the records along with Puritan virtue names such as Chastity and Patience.

The mixed-race heroine of one of Gertrude Stein's Three Lives searches for knowledge and power.

An admirable quality to impart; Pleasant was used by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend and in modern times is known via American Girl dolls creator Pleasant Rowland.

Unusual and unfashionable name found in Toni Morrison's novel Tar Baby.

Nenna is the name of the heroine of Penelope Fitzgerald's novel Offshore, but it's also sparingly used in Scandinavia as a variant of the name Nanna. Nanna is a diminutive of various names, including Anna, Johanna and Marianne, but it's also a name in its own right, possibly meaning "daring".

Friendly-sounding name with big "Sweeney Todd" downside.

Name of pastoral Vermont town and college sounds too stiff and starchy.

A unisex surname familiarized by male actor Dabney Coleman, but with potential to carry over to the girl's side as well. Dabney feels in line with the Irish Darcy and Darby.