My Book Character Names

One of the most romantic of appellations, Caspian is a geographical name referring to the large salty sea between Asia and Europe. It's also the name of the hero of C.S. Lewis's beloved Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian.

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, Catherine of Alexandria. Its later popularity increased following the success of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1893 Catriona, the sequel to Kidnapped.

This appealing Irish name is borne by actor Conleth Hill, who plays Varys in Game of Thrones. It is an anglicization of the original spelling Connlaodh.

Cyrus is one of those surprising names that have always ranked among the Top 1000 boy names in the US. On an upward trend since the mid-90s, Cyrus now sits in that comfortable place between too popular and too unusual.

Definitely a name you won't hear in every playground, Dalfon (also spelled Dalphon) is a highly unusual weather name with a distinctive sound.

Damek, which you might think of as Adam with a Slavic accent, considerably freshens up the original.

The beguiling Darya is the name of a character in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. As a Russian name, it's a spelling variation of Daria, while in Iran, it's a girl's name that means "the sea".

This Welsh nature name that can be pronounced exactly like the male Ira. Or, to avoid confusion, you could just name her Snow.

Elidi is intriguing but potentially confusing. Try the French Elodie instead.

This appealing Hebrew name is heard in Israel, and would fit in well with all the popular El-starting names for boys, such as Elliot and Ellery. It was given to just five American boys in 2015. Also worth considering is the pretty female version, Eliora.

A pretty and melodic name of Hebrew origin that combines the elements el referring to God, li meaning "for me", and or meaning "light". The name entered the UK Top 1000 for the first time in 2023, and it's easy to understand why. With its rich vowel sounds and playful elegance, Eliora shares the sounds of other popular choices like Eleanor, Eliana, Aurora, and Elodie, which also remaining distinctive.

Romani form of Herminia

Emerald is the intriguing color and jewel name of the deep green stone treasured as far back as ancient Egypt — it's supposed to open one's heart to wisdom and to love and be good for strengthening relationships — which could make for an interesting, unusual name, particularly with the popularity of so many Em-starting names.

As a name for boys, Esra is usually considered a spelling variation of the Biblical Ezra. Esra has a separate life as a Turkish girls' name.

Eulalia is a melodious name with a southern drawl, thanks to those lilting double Ls.

Fallon is one of several boyish surname names introduced in the over-the-top 1980s nighttime soap Dynasty. Despite being a "mom" name, Fallon is making a surprise comeback. It returned to the US Top 1000 in 2019 and has been rising since then, as a new generation of parents fall in love with the sound. It is especially popular in the Southern states.

Fannar is one of the top names for boys in Iceland but is rarely seen anywhere else in the world.

More unusual than Fiona and more user-friendly than Fionnuala, the engaging Scottish Fenella, has been scarcely heard in this country.