Baby Names from Books

Attractive, underused name made famous by the heroine of The Color Purple. Still, if you're going to go to Celie, why not go all the way to Celia or Cecelia? You can always use Celie for short.

A straightforward, down-to-earth nickname many Walters, from Whitman to Disney, have chosen to go by.

Well used in Russia, this is a distinctive and undiscovered choice here. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky.

A pretty and almost unique word name to add to the galaxy of astral appellations. More distinctive than the better-known Celeste, it was given to only 20 girls last year. Celestial is also the title of several band albums, and is heard in the video game and comics worlds.

Will this old-fashioned nickname make a comeback, now that Jane has shed her "plain" image? Janie is cute and approachable, and would stand as well on the birth certificate as Josie and Jessie do now.

Chani, which rhymes with Johnny, is famous as the name of the character played by Zendaya in the Dune books, video games, and movies. Another force driving the name's use is Canadian astrologer Chani Nicholas.

The protagonist of Toni Morrison's novel, the simple-yet-sensual Sula relates to the Old Testament Shulamit.

Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is a Sindarin name given to her by Beren, meaning "daughter of twilight" and therefore "nightingale".

The "To Be or Not to Be" jokes, via Shakespeare's tortured prince, will get old by Month Two.

Yennefer is the name of one of the protagists of The Witcher series, first books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and then a video game and now a Netflix series. Yennefer is a powerful fighter and sorceress. As a name, we don't think Yennefer is any improvement on millennial mom name Jennifer, but nickname Yen has it all over the dated Jen.

Zadig is the name of the hero of a novella by Voltaire, gaining popularity in modern France as a quirky-chic choice.

This jazzy French diminutive of Isabelle was first made famous by the title character of Raymond Queneau’s novel Zazie dans le métro, which was adapted into a film in 1960. It could also work as a nickname for Elizabeth or Susannah.

Italian variation of Aurelius.

For lovers of Pasternak's great doctor, a lively middle name choice, one made by actress Nia Long.

Francie is one of the most neglected nicknames for Frances, despite having more style value than Franny and Fanny and being more unique than Frankie. We'd love to see it get more use, whether as a Frances short form or as an independent name.

The surname of the protagonist of Joseph Heller’s satirical World War II novel Catch 22 and its sequel Closing Time, by which he is exclusively called by the narrator and other characters. It is described in the novel as "an odious, alien, distasteful name… not at all like such clean, crisp, honest, American names as Cathcart, Peckem and Dreedle." Heller took the name from one of his own colleagues in the Air Force, an Assyrian called Yohannan.

For 007 fans, a great middle name choice -- or even a first.

This version of Tristan, known to English Lit students from the novel Tristram Shandy, is rarely used in this country, but, though its similarity to the popular Tristan could prove confusing, still makes an interesting literary choice.

One of a number of single-syllable unisex B-names, Brett was first spotted as a female name in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, via the dashing and seductive Lady Brett Ashley, who was a captivating enough character to offer naming inspiration. It combines a pleasingly brisk, executive air with a measure of femininity.

Lisbeth is one of the many short forms of Elizabeth that are used on their own. Not only is it the name of the mother of the main character in George Eliot's novel Adam Bede, but it takes on a whole new, powerful image as the heroine of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Lizbeth is another spelling.