Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
Literary Names
Across 23 pages
of 23
Baudelaire
French
"large dagger or short sword"
Associated with the Baudelaire siblings from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and with the poet Charles Baudelaire, this French surname is a bold literary choice, with a touch of…
Christophine
Feminine form of Christopher, Greek, Latin
"bearer of Christ"
This rare feminization of Christopher blends in the sounds of the popular Josephine and is certainly more unexpected than Christine or Christina. German artist Christophine Reinwald (sister of…
Dabney
English surname
"from Aubigny"
A unisex surname familiarized by male actor Dabney Coleman, but with potential to carry over to the girl's side as well. Dabney feels in line with the Irish Darcy and Darby.
Teleri
Welsh
"your mayfly"
The name of a maiden of King Arthur's court in some accounts. It is a contraction of Welsh "ty" (thy) + Eleri. The Teleri were also a race of High Elves in Tolkien's work.
Beren
Literary name
"brave, bold, daring"
Beren is a Noldorin name created by J. R. R. Tolkien for his fantasy universe. A great hero in the books, Beren is notable for his love story with Luthien — so notable that Beren and Luthien are the…
Sylvander
Variation of Silvanus, combination of Sylvester and Anders
"man of the woods"
Also spelled Silvander, this poetic and woodsy name was used in various works of literature throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Deriving from the Roman and Biblical name Silvanus, Sylvander could…
Honora
Latin
"woman of honor"
Honora and Honoria are two ways of softening the severity of Honor, while retaining its righteous meaning. They were predominant until the Reformation, when the Puritans adopted the abstract virtue…
Elros
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,…
Homer
Greek
"security, hostage, pledge"
Homer is a name of two halves, associated with the ancient Greek poet of the epic Odyssey and with the (often) doltish patriarch of The Simpsons . So does that make Homer a classic and scholarly…
Cullen
Irish
"holly tree"
Cullen is an appealing Irish surname name that upped its cool factor considerably when it became the Twilight family name of Edward et al. It's considerably less popular than it was at its peak in…
Hieronymous
Greek
"sacred name"
A name used in Germany and Holland as a form of Jerome, it's the unlikely moniker of fictional detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch.
Hermione
Feminine version of Hermes, Greek
"messenger, earthly"
Hermione's costarring role in Harry Potter has made this previously ignored, once stodgy name suddenly viable. Hermione could really take off once today's children start having kids of their own. In…
Ellison
English
"son of Ellis"
Updates Ellis -- but also has a lot of feminine potential thanks to Allison/Ellie similarity.
Hemingway
English place name
No matter how much you love the novels of Papa H., don't saddle your son with this unwieldy appellation.
Heathcliff
English
"cliff near a heath"
Heathcliff is the name of the original passionate macho hero of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights , and also of the cartoon cat. It was chosen by fashionista Lucy Sykes for her son, and inspired the…
Crow
Bird name
From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore , the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.
Cedric
Celtic
"bounty; loved"
Soft yet solid, Cedric was invented by Sir Walter Scott for the noble character of the hero's father in Ivanhoe , presumed to be an altered form of the Saxon name Cerdic ("bounty"), or the Brythonic…
Haydée
Literary name
"modest, reverent"
The name of the enslaved girl in Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo , this literary name sounds a little like a modern invention. However, it is in fact related to another time-honored literary heroine…
Ellery
English
"descendant of Hilary"
Ellery is a rhythmic three-syllable boy's name that is familiar and yet rarely used--and just waiting to be discovered. It's long been identified with Ellery Queen--which was both the pen name of two…
Harte
English
"stag"
Most often spelled without the final "e"--unless you're a particular fan of writer Bret.