Literary Names

Old fashioned nickname that some girls just might be able to pull off. You'd just have to be sure your little Fancy was one of them.

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

No matter how much you love the novels of Papa H., don't saddle your son with this unwieldy appellation.

The name of one of the greatest Western philosophers is often used as a first name in its land of origin, Greece, and would make a really interesting, thought-provoking choice here. It is remembered here as the nickname of the memorable character played by Sal Mineo in the classic film "Rebel Without a Cause."

The surname of father-son British writers Kingsley and Martin could work very well as a first, though its Amy connection makes it sound a tad feminine.

A name used in Germany and Holland as a form of Jerome, it's the unlikely moniker of fictional detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch.

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.

Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris both hail from Galway.

She may have been an appealing Chinese heroine in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but her name won't translate for a modern American girl. Better choices: Snow, or Flora.

An interesting Canadian province and city name that has some literary history as the name of a character in Dickens's Bleak House; could make a distinctive choice for parents with northern roots.

A fancy TV western name that didn't catch on like fellow cowboys Luke and Josh, but definitely has a certain amount of charm. It is also spelled Yancy, as in the 1950s series Yancy Derringer. It was first spotted in the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, which became a popular movie.

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

Known more commonly in Medieval legend as the Lady of the Lake and recorded under numerous names, Nyneve is a key character in Arthurian legends.

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 association with the desirable word achiever: all strong pluses.

This name of a character in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying is short, sweet and Southern-sounding.

A solid, brief but not brusque single-syllable surname with a presidential pedigree.

Charming name occasionally heard in England, would be a real standout here. Jessamyn is the spelling used by writer West.

Evocative of the great Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda, real last name Basoalito, who took on the surname Neruda to honor a Czech poet of that name. One of the most poetic boy names starting with N, or with any letter, for that matter.

Plausible literary name to honor upbeat Armenian-American playwright and prose writer William Saroyan.

No: no Picasso, no Beethoven, and no Shakespeare.