Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 23 pages
of 23
French surname
Pronounced GHEED, this surname of Nobel Prizewinning novelist Andre could make a smooth, sleek middle name choice.
Place-name
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…
English
"fame; gossip, story"
Celebs Demi Moore and Bruce Willis made waves in the 80s when they named their now-grown daughter after novelist Rumer Godden. The author was actually born Margaret, with family surname Rumer as her…
French, Saint Léger
Fervent fans of The Catcher in the Rye might want to consider this as a literary tribute. More mainstream alternative: Holden.
Finnish, variation of Sampson
"sun"
Also spelled Sampsa, in the traditional Finnish epic poem Kalevala , Sampsa is a mythical person who sows all the forests of the land. It is also considered a variation of Biblical Sampson, taken…
Latin, diminutive of Frances
"from France or free man"
If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.
English, variation of Foster
"scissors maker"
Forster, a variation of Foster or potentially even Forester, is associated with British novelist E.M. Forster, author of A Passage to India , Howard's End , and A Room with a View . But if you choose…
Armenian literary name
Plausible literary name to honor upbeat Armenian-American playwright and prose writer William Saroyan.
Fruit name
Fig was the unlikely name of a beautiful character in Curtis Sittenfeld's Man of My Dreams . It could make a playful middle name or a sparky nickname for the likes of Philippa, Fiona, Felicity, and…
A Finnish tribe and language
If you've heard this name, it's probably from the hero of the acclaimed Julia Glass novel, Three Junes , or else the political scientist Richard Fenno. As well as a Finnish name, it's alos a Frisian…
Word name
Feather, though it was used for a character in a Walter Mosley novel, seems too light and fluttery for a real-life girl.
Latin feminine variation of Faunus
"to befriend"
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…
Falmouth may be a beautiful seaside spot in Massachusetts, but as a name it's perilously close to "foul mouth." Falmouth Kearney was the name of Barack Obama's great-great grandfather.
Greek
"most beautiful"
Calista Flockhart may have made her variation of this beautiful Greek name familiar to modern Americans, but the even-edgier x version was the name of an earlier feminist heroine: a character in Kate…
Literary name
"star glitter, star foam, star spray"
This name was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings series, where Elros is a half-elf half-human king. One of the more obscure LOTR names with a princely feel and soft, handsome sound,…
"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.
Invented name, variation of Juna, English from Latin
"born in June; young; moon"
Novelist Djuna Barnes introduced this interesting and unusual name with an arty, Bohemian feel to the mix. She explained that it was invented by her father, saying it came about as a combination of…
"ill-starred"
Desdemona is as Shakespearean as a name can be, but because the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello came to such a tragic end, her name has been avoided for centuries. But at this point in time,…
This name of a character in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying is short, sweet and Southern-sounding.
Scottish form of Katherine, Greek
"pure"
This Katherine variation, used through Ireland and Scotland, is pronounced like Katrina. The name became popular after the Crusaders brought home stories about the colorful fourth century martyr,…
