Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 5 pages
of 5
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…
Inventive name for the child of a writer.
Swedish word name
"story; seeress"
Apt name for a little drama queen with a long future ahead of her. Saga is a Top 30 girls' name in Sweden. Saga was the Norse goddess of poetry, storytelling, and history. She was a prophetess — able…
English from Italian
"little song"
Could there be a more poetic name than Sonnet? Actor Forest Whitaker was inspired to choose it for his daughter. The word sonnet derives from the Italian sonetto , meaning 'little song.' And although…
Irish
"bard, royal poet"
Has a legitimate first name history in its native land and an appealing meaning, but pronunciation is far from obvious.
English word name
"an account of incidents or events"
A new unisex word name with a lot of charm, especially appropriate for the child of writers. Soleil Moon Frye named her second baby boy Story and Jenna Elfman called her son Story Elias.
English word name from Greek
"idea, speculation"
An unconventional route to Theo, perhaps, Theory is a bold word name which has been given to more than 200 babies since the 2000s. While it leans slightly feminine statistically, it's so rare that it…
Kurdish, Persian
"fairy tale, myth, fable, legend"
A Kurdish name of Persian origin, Afsana has a whimsical meaning but a solid sound. Afsaneh is an alternative spelling of the name while singer Afsana Khan is a notable bearer.
Norse
"poetry"
This Old Norse girl name has a lovely meaning and a familiar yet distinctive sound.
"romance; love story; a medieval story of chivalry"
Romance may initially strike you as too ardent of a name for a baby, but given that Love has been a fast-rising name in recent years — not to mention soundalikes Roman and Romy — Romance is…
Literary name, English word name
"a composition in verse"
A handful of baby girls were named Poem in the US in the most recent year, along with Poet and Poetry. But of course, these word names can work for boys too.
Greek
"demi-god"
Despite the possibility of gender confusion, the Hero in Greek myth was a woman. Myleene Klass got that when she chose Hero for her daughter, and Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson used it as their…
Lyric is a name given to over 1000 boys and girls each year in the US. Could the more feminine Lyrical (given to only 20 girls each year) become more popular as parents look to find less common…
Turkish
"fairy tale, fable"
Kicker could be a great name for a cheeky kid, along the lines of Cricker, Striker or Becker. In literature the term Kicker is used to describe the twist or turn in a story.
Often used in connection with poetry, Imagery has potential as an unusual name. Perhaps you'll get a daydreamer with this one.
"daughter of the poet"
Dearbhla along with its Anglicized form Dervla are both well-used in modern Ireland. There was a medieval Saint Dearbhla. The spelling Deirbhile is also used.
English, Gaelic
"minstrel, poet"
A literary word name, now synonymous with Shakespeare, Bard also refers more generally to a poet, particularly one who recited epics and traditional poems out loud. Similar in sound to Bernard,…
As a personal name, it may not have much history, but it certainly suggests the subject.
Welsh
"beautiful as a poem; crooked women"
A mythological Welsh name with an intriguing sound, Ceridwen appears in several Welsh legends, in which she is an an enchantress and the owner of the cauldron of poetic inspiration. She is also…
