Boy Names Lists · Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
Literary Names for Boys
Across 6 pages
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Carraway
English
"path to a triangular piece of land"
While Caraway-with-one-R brings to mind nature and herbs, the double R variant is reminiscent of Nick Carraway, the narrator of the classic novel The Great Gatsby . With its trendy surname feel and…
Rasselas
Literary name
"prince portrait"
Samuel Johnson invented the name Rasselas for the title character of his novel, Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Rasselas is actually the son of the prince. TV auteur Sally Wainwright recently used the…
Aramis
French literary name
One of Dumas' swashbuckling Three Musketeers, now better known as a men's cologne.
Kaladin
Literary name
An archetypal fantasy name with a cool Cal/Kal sound and short form, Kaladin is a character in The Stormlight Archive by Utah resident Brandon Sanderson. Westerners are early adopters: of the 97 baby…
Auric
Literary name
Auric is an Ian Fleming anti-hero, better known as Goldfinger. Better to go with James. Or even Bond.
Barley
English
"grower or seller of barley"
A bit too bad-boy (think bars, beer, Harley) for us, as well as being the name of a grain.
Barnaby
English variation of Barnabas, Aramaic
"son of consolation"
Barnaby, a genial and energetic name with an Irish-sounding three-syllable lilt, is an ancient appellation that manages to be both unusual and highly attractive and deserves to be used more than it…
Beale
English from French
"fair, handsome"
Surname of a character in Henry James' What Maisie Knew .
Benvolio
Italian
"good wisher; peacemaker, benevolent"
A kindly, virtue-adjacent name, it appears in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet , borne by the peacemaker friend who persuades Romeo to go to the party where he meets Juliet. Alas. A bold choice but with…
Brick
Word name, various origins
This is an Anglicized form of various names; the Irish Gaelic O Bruic; German, Bruck or Breck, meaning "swamp" or "wood"; Yiddish, Brik, "bridge"; and Slovenian, Bric, "dweller from a hilly place."…
Brom
Diminutive of Bromley, English
"broom meadow"
Attached to one of the heroes of Christopher Paolini's megapopular fantasy novel Eragon , this name sounds strong yet sensitive. Paolini's character is named after another bestselling fantasy author…
Caliban
Romanian
"black"
In Shakespeare's The Tempest , Caliban is the name of the deformed son of a witch: not the greatest literary reference for a child. But Caliban does have an appealing international-yet-accessible…
Caspar
Dutch and German variation of Casper and Jasper, Persian
"keeper of the treasure"
After half a century, this otherwise feasible name has at last started to lose its link to the friendly ghost; it certainly didn't scare model Claudia Schiffer, who chose it for her son, as did…
Cato
Latin
"all-knowing"
Cato conjures up images of ancient Roman statesmen and southern antebellum retainers; it could have revival potential, with its 'O' ending and the current interest in the names of Greek and Roman…
Cleon
Greek
"glorious, renowned"
Rare and distinctive name with intimations of antiquity, also a Shakespearean character.
Corin
Latin
"spear"
Corin was used by Shakespeare in As You Like It , an unusual name that could make a more distinctive alternative to Corey or Colin. It is a name used in the illustrious Redgrave family of actors.
Crow
Bird name
From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore , the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.
Darcy
English, French, Irish
"from Arcy; dark one"
The ultimate Jane Austen hero name, Darcy makes a handsome, surname style choice. Predominantly used for girls in England and Wales, across the pond in Australia, it is a stylish Top 100 name for…
Darl
Literary name
This name of a character in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying is short, sweet and Southern-sounding.
Dunstan
English
"dark stone"
A two-syllable surname feel puts this name of an important English saint in the running -- though it could sound like a confused cross between Duncan and Dustin.