​
​
Advanced Search

Hunger Games Baby Names

Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Sat Sep 16 2023
Hunger Games Baby Names

The Hunger Games trilogy has inspired a post-Harry Potter generation of original baby names. Author Suzanne Collins used a mix of historical, mythological, and totally invented names to set the scene for her dystopian society, placed roughly 150 years in the future. In the country of Panem, Octavia and Androcles exist alongside Glimmer and Marvel.

Along with Octavia, other Hunger Games baby names in the US Top 1000 include Alma, Apollo, Bonnie, Cecelia, Darius, Felix, Otto, and Rory. Among Collins’ original creations are Haymitch, Finnick, and of course, Katniss.

Unlike Harry Potter, which influenced the rise of names such as Luna and Arabella, the Hunger Games has not inspired a baby name revolution. The biggest success has been Finnick, a name Collins created, which is now given to over 100 baby boys each year.

These Hunger Games characters' names, which include elements from ancient history and sci-fi, might be right for your literary baby. Take a look at our compilation below, ordered by their popularity on Nameberry.

RELATED:

Movie Character Names

Baby Names from Books

  1. Felix

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "happy, fortunate"

    • Description:

      Felix is one of those ancient but nontraditional names for boys that have come into favor over the past few decades, a favorite of parents who want a masculine name with history and heft that breaks ranks with the standard Franks and Freds. Felix is also an international darling, ranking in the Top 100 in several European and English-speaking countries.
  2. Lucy

    • Origin:

      English variation of Lucia, Latin

    • Meaning:

      "light"

    • Description:

      A versatile classic, Lucy is both sweet and solid, a saint's name, and the heroine of several great novels. First fashionable in England and Wales, Lucy is now a popular choice in the US, The Netherlands, and New Zealand.
  3. Otto

    • Origin:

      German

    • Meaning:

      "wealthy"

    • Description:

      Otto is cool again. Long a quintessential Old Man Name, Otto has been promoted to trending darling of adventurous baby namers.
  4. Alma

    • Origin:

      Latin, Hebrew, Kazakh

    • Meaning:

      "nurturing, soul; young woman; apple"

    • Description:

      Alma is a solemn, soulful, yet gentle sounding name that became fashionable in England following the Battle of Alma during the 19th century Crimean War. A name with multiple origins, Alma has subtle, international flair and plenty of vintage charm.
  5. Diana

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "divine"

    • Description:

      Diana, the tragic British princess, inspired many fashions, but strangely, not one for her name. For us, Diana is a gorgeous and still-underused choice.
  6. Rue

    • Origin:

      Botanical names or word name

    • Meaning:

      "herb; regret"

    • Description:

      Rue has gone from Golden Girls actress to Hunger Games heroine to a fresh alternative to beloved middle name Rose. This botanical name is also a coincidental double word name, meaning "regret" in English and "street" in French. Despite these unfortunate secondary meanings, Rue has real potential to be one of the most popular new middle names for girls.
  7. Aurelius

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "the golden one"

    • Description:

      Since Aurelius was given the supermodel seal of approval by Elle Macpherson, it has joined Augustus as an ancient Roman name that feels usable today. Slightly mystical and magical with a golden hue, Aurelius is grounded by its similarity to rising stars Aurora, Aurelia, and Atticus.
  8. Bonnie

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "beautiful, cheerful"

    • Description:

      Bonnie is an adorable nickname name, heading back up the popularity list after a 50-year nap. A Top 100 girls' name throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, Americans are later to jump on the Bonnie bandwagon but now it's trending here too.
  9. Lenore

    • Origin:

      German variation of Leonora, Italian derivative of Eleonora, meaning unknown

    • Description:

      A "modernization" of Leonora that has suddenly come back on the radar along with the many other Leo names--both male and female. With literary cred via a famous eponymous poem by Edgar Allan Poe (and also in his even more famous The Raven,) Lenore was steadily in the top half of the popularity list until the mid-fifties, falling off in 1973. Cameron Diaz played a Lenore in The Green Hornet.
  10. Juno

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "queen of the heavens; young"

    • Description:

      Juno is an ancient name that feels as fresh as if it had been minted, well, not yesterday, but in 2007. Since the release of the popular indie film Juno, this lively but strong Roman goddess name has held new potential as a baby name. Currently in the UK Top 500 and used in The Netherlands too, Juno is on the rise in the US - and is 15 times more popular than it was before the release of the film.
  11. Annie

    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Ann

    • Meaning:

      "grace"

    • Description:

      Annie is one of the most open and optimistic, the-sun'll-come-out-tomorrow type of name, having been celebrated over the years in song (Annie Laurie), comic strip (Little Orphan Annie), folklore (Annie Oakley, born Phoebe), and film (Annie Hall). It strikes a nice old-fashioned-but-jaunty chord that still has appeal, but we do suggest that you consider putting a more formal version on her birth certificate.
  12. Jackson

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "son of Jack"

    • Description:

      Jackson is one of those names that's much more popular than you think, coming in near the top of our annual Playground Analysis, which ranks names by grouping all their spellings together. Last year, more than 13,000 baby boys were named Jackson -- along Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaxxon, Jaxen, Jaxyn, Jaxsen, and Jaxsyn -- which counted together makes it the Number 5 boys' name.
  13. Apollo

    • Origin:

      Greek mythology name

    • Meaning:

      "destroyer; strength; father's light"

    • Description:

      With mythological names rising, the handsome son of Zeus and god of medicine, music, and poetry among many other things might offer an interesting, and melodic option. Similar in style to Atlas and Atticus and similar in sound to Arlo, Paolo, Paul, and Ollie, Apollo entered the US Top 1000 back in 2012, and was propelled upwards after it was chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale in 2014.
  14. Finnick

    • Origin:

      Literary invention

    • Description:

      Finnick has risen to prominence as a first name via The Hunger Games, in which Finnick Odair was a winner of the games. A wearable literary creation, Finnick was given to 136 boys in the US in a recent year.
  15. Octavia

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "eighth"

    • Description:

      Octavia began as the Latin, then Victorian name for an eighth child. While there aren't many eighth children anymore, this ancient Roman name has real possibilities as a substitute for the overused Olivia; recommended for its combination of classical and musical overtones. It was chosen for his daughter by Kevin Sorbo.
  16. Persephone

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "bringer of destruction"

    • Description:

      Magical and earthy, sophisticated but off-beat, Persephone appears as the daughter of Zeus by Demeter in Greek mythology. After she was kidnapped by Hades to be Queen of the Underworld, it was decreed by Zeus that she would spend six months of the year with her mother, allowing crops to grow, and six in mourning, thus accounting for the change of seasons. As such, she is both the goddess of the Underworld and of Spring.
  17. Cecelia

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "blind"

    • Description:

      Cecelia, with this spelling, got some recent attention as the name of Jim and Pam's baby on The Office -- and also the name of actress Jenna Fischer's newborn niece. A spelling variation of Cecilia that has a gently old-fashioned feel and several appealing short forms, including Celia, Celie, and, as on the TV show, Cece. Three times as many babies are given the Cecilia spelling as get the Cecelia one, though if you plan on calling your daughter Cece or Celia, Cecelia may feel like the more logical spelling.
  18. Effie

    • Origin:

      English diminutive of Euphemia, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "pleasant speech"

    • Description:

      Effie is the old-fashioned short form for Euphemia. It shares a vintage charm with Hattie and Letty although is much rarer than either. Effie is a character in The Hunger Games and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
  19. Cressida

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "gold"

    • Description:

      Cressida is a pretty mythological and Shakespearean heroine name much better known in Britain than it is in the US. Given to just 7 girls in a recent year, it shares the cool golden meaning of Aurelia, Orla, and Goldie, and offers cute Cassie- alternative nickname Cressie, along with Ida and Sid too.
  20. Darius

    • Origin:

      Latin from Greek and Persian

    • Meaning:

      "possessing goodness"

    • Description:

      Darius is a historic name via Emperor Darius the Great, a key figure in ancient Persian history, and several other Persian kings. His name today has an appealingly artistic image, which might well be found on a concert program or gallery announcement.

Introducing the Nameberry App

Nameberry App
Find your perfect baby name together with our new mobile app.
  • Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
  • Names you match on are saved to your shared list
  • Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
  • Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
  • Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Sign up to be notified when the app launches and to receive a discount on full access.
Nameberry App Logo