Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
Literary Names
Across 23 pages
of 23
Shakespeare
English
"brandish spear"
This name will forever be associated with the Bard and would likely prove hard to live up to. It might be cool for a pet though.
Shaw
English
"dweller by the wood"
With the current taste for last names first, this sounds a lot cooler than Shawn; it also has creative connections to the great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, novelist Irwin Shaw, and Big…
Sheba
Hebrew, short variation of Bathsheba
"daughter of an oath"
This biblical place-name for the region now known as Yemen started to feel fresh again as the name of the heroine of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal , played on screen by Cate Blanchett. Sheba is…
Sidda
Literary name
Sidda is a name made famous by the heroine of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood; it probably started life as a nickname.
Poetry
Word name
"literary form with distinctive style, rhythm, and line breaks; as beautiful as a poem"
A lyrical choice with a similar feel to Story and Posy and a similar sound to Penelope. It might refer to either a work of poetry, a collection of poems, or something that is comparable to the beauty…
Snow
English word name
Snow is increasing in usage mostly as a girls' name, but hero Jon Snow of Game of Thrones just might nudge it into the boys' column. Currently, there are 12 times as many girls named Snow as boys,…
Melena
Dutch diminutive of Magdalena, variation of Melaina or Melina
"from the high tower; black, dark; honey"
A short form of Magdalena in Dutch and a variation of Melaina, Melina, Melinda, Melanie, Milena and similar, Melena is also used for a character in the novel Wicked and the subsequent Broadway…
Frexspar
Literary creation
Used by Gregory Maguire in his novel Wicked along with the Broadway musical adaptation of the same name, Frexspar could be inspired by the word feckless meaning "irresponsible, lacking strength of…
Falmouth
Place-name
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.
Nessarose
Literary invention, combination of Nessa and Rose
"butterfly + rose; gentle + rose; miracle + rose"
A smoosh name used by Gregory Maguire in his book Wicked and the subsequent musical. It blends Rose with Nessa, which can be a short form of Vanessa (or other -nessa names), an anglicized variation…
Fiyero
Literary creation
"furious"
Created by Gregory Maguire for his book, Wicked (and featured in the subsequent Broadway musical), Fiyero derives from the word "furious".
Pfannee
Literary invention
A minor (female) character in the Wicked book and musical, who is gender swapped for the 2024 movie.
Dillamond
Literary name
"people's protection; dill protection"
A character in the Wicked novels and musicals, Dr. Dillamond is a Goat, mentor, and professor. It could blend the Old English element mund meaning "protection" with Dil , a Germanic diminutive…
Eudora
Greek
"generous gift"
Eudora is the name of five minor goddesses of Greek mythology and a major goddess (in the person of Pulitzer Prize-winning Eudora Welty) of modern American literature. Eudora is pleasant and…
Glinda
Literary name
Glinda is famous as the name of the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, invented by author L. Frank Baum. but has there ever been a real life, non-fictional Glinda? Not in the US last year. The name may…
Galinda
Germanic
"soft singing voice"
The original name of Glinda from Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked and the subsequent Broadway musical. She drops the 'a' from her name to honor a goat, who mispronounced her name as a Glinda. As a…
Elphaba
Literary invented name
Elphaba was invented by Gregory Maguire for the protagonist of his novel Wicked , which became the long-running Broadway play and then a movie. Elphaba is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West,…
Ethelberta
English
"noble and bright"
A feminine form of Ethelbert, which is itself the Middle English variant of Æþelbeorht, which is in turn the Old English version of Albert, Ethelberta could therefore be regarded as an alternative…
Glencora
Literary
"heart of the glen"
Inspired by Glendora, this name was invented by prolific Victorian novelist, Anthony Trollope for his Palliser novels. It blends the English glen with the Latin cor to make the whimsical meaning…
Keita
Japanese, East African
"celebration, open, begin + great, big; worshipper, blessing"
As a Japanese name, Keita could mean "great celebration", "big enlightenment", "great opening" or similar, depending on which kanji combinations are used. As an East African name, it can mean…