vintageluvs's list "British Literature Names" of 20 great name ideas: Jeanie - Artemisia!

British Literature Names

Please note that some of the names are of charaters not of British origin, and some of the characters are of British origin but not written by Brits. The novelists that I have used are mostly from the early twentieth century backward. This list also includes first names and nicknames of characters. 

Jeanie is a midcentury bobby soxer kind of nickname that might almost be so old it's new again.

Jeanie

A surname name, most popularly associated with actor Heston, has a blue-blooded ring to it. Charlton is also a more unusual pathway to evergreen nickname Charlie.

Charlton

Ruby could be a short form of the Biblical name Reuben and especially its streamlined form, Ruben. As a gemstone name, it's currently enjoying a fresh boom of popularity for girls – nearing the US Top 50 for the first time in almost a century. 
Despite its two waves of popularity for girls, it has been occasionally used for boys since the 1890s. Since Ruby re-entered the US Top 100 for girls in 2011, nearly 70 boys have been bestowed the name.
 
While Ruby isn't likely to become a (statistically) unisex name just yet, as softer options like True, Ari, Robin, Casey, Alby, and Tatum come into style, perhaps a few more parents will consider it?

Ruby

Ancient martyr's name that, though not especially appealing, might still be mildly possible, especially for Anglophiles. It was widely used in early Scotland, but was overtaken by its nickname, Effie.

Euphemia

Just as Seamus/Seumus is Irish for James, Hamish is the Scottish form — one that's not often used here, but still redolent of Olde Scotland. If you're ready to go further than Duncan and Malcolm, out to Laird and Ewan territory, this may be worth consideration. It also sounds just like the Yiddish word for homey.
 In Scotland, where it became popular in the second half of the nineteenth century, Hamish is a nickname for a Highlander, and it's a high-ranking name in South Australia, where it's currently in the Top 50.
 Some people may have become familiar with Hamish via one of the grooms in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Hamish

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now. 

Fanny

This Ashley-like surname name actually made the US Top 1000 around the turn of the 20th century. Used very quietly today in equal numbers -- about a dozen each -- for boys and girls. Ashby is a major thoroughfare in Berkeley, California.

Ashby

Could cute nickname Gertie, remembered as cute five-year-old Drew Barrymore in E.T., revive the long shunned Gertrude?
 It's tempting to dismiss Gertrude as a name on its way through the door marked Out Forever, except that its long and honorable pedigree--as a goddess in Norse mythology, as the gentle and mystical Saint Gertrude the Great, and another St. Gertrude who is the patron of cats, and its use by Shakespeare for Hamlet's (not exactly exemplary) mother--earns it a place on the permanent roster. It has also been borne by such varied figures as writer Gertrude Stein, swimming champ Gertrude Ederle, British stage star Gertrude Lawrence, and arts patron Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.
 The pinnacle of fashion a century ago, Gertrude reached as high as Number 23 in 1900, but dropped off the list completely in 1966.

Gertrude

After a long time in limbo, Prudence is now so clunky it'a cool, and it's starting to make a comeback, along with other Puritan virtue names like Mercy, Patience, and Constance.

Its short form, Prue, is much rarer on birth certificates, but it has a lot going for it. Spunky, streamlined, and full of energy, it's refreshing on its own, and would also make a charismatic middle name, or second part of a double name.

In the UK, its best-known wearer is the octogenarian cookery writer and presenter Prue Leith.

Prue

Blanche, which originated as a nickname for a pale blonde and then became associated with the notion of purity, was in style a century ago, ranking in the double digits until 1920. She then had to fight the stereotype of faded Southern belle, a la Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire and Blanche Devereaux in TV's Golden Girls. Now all three of the Golden Girls--Blanche, Rose and Dorothy--could be ready for revival, with Blanche sounding like a stronger, simpler alternative to Bianca.
A saint's name, Blanche was a royal name in France by the twelfth century, then was brought to England by the French wife of Henry I. One possible powerful namesake is Blanche Scott, one of the original daredevil aviatrixes. You might also take its meaning to relate to snow, making it one of the perfect <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/89/winter-baby-names">winter baby names</a>.

Blanche

One of those names that most Americans find just too too tea-sippingly British to consider; its meaning has led to occasional use for Capricorn boys. 

Giles

In Arthurian legend, Lancelot was one of the most dashing of the Knights of the Round Table who eventually had an affair with Queen Guinevere: it makes for a romantic story-- but perhaps overly romantic-- name.

 An older spelling is Launcelot, as seen in Shakespeare's Launcelot Gabbo in The Merchant of Venice and two Tobias Smollett novels.

 Short form Lance has had an independent life of his own.

Lancelot

Araminta is a poetic and enchanting eighteenth-century invention with plenty of elegance and a touch of old-fashioned clunkiness. It first appeared in William Congreve's 17th century comedy The Old Bachelor and then again in 1705 when it was used by architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh in his play The Confederacy.
 
There are several theories on where Araminta came from, one possibility being that it is a compound name, blending Arabella with Aminta. Arabella is considered a variant of Anabella or derived from the Latin orabilis and means "loveable" or "unyielding". Aminta is itself a literary invention, meaning "defender". Together then, they form a strong name, connected to love and strength.
 
An alternative suggestion is that it was developed from the plant name Amaranth, meaning "unfading" from the Greek amarantos. Poet Richard Lovelace had used to altered form Aramantha forty years before Araminta appeared on stage and could have been the inspiration.
 
Other theories suggest that Araminta is: a form of Aminata, itself a variant of the Arabic Amina, meaning "safe and secure" or "trustful"; inspired by the Greek element anthos meaning "flower"; or a spin on the Germanic Arminius, meaning "whole, universal" or army man".
 
Moving away from the tangled etymology, Araminta was notably the birth name of abolitionist, Harriet Tubman. It is also borne by photographer Araminta de Clermont, and by actress Araminta "Minta" Durfee.
 
More familiar in Britain than the US, but rare there too, it has however proved popular in fiction. In the Enid Bagnold novel National Velvet, Araminta is the name of the central character's mother, while Araminta Lee is a character in Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians.It had also appeared in the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn and in Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi.
 
Just 11 girls were named Araminta in 2024 in the US.

Araminta

Biblical name long associated with the fallen-yet-redeemed Mary Magdalen, now rising improbably into the ranks of the fashionable among parents hungry for classic yet distinctive girls' names. The Magdalene and Magdalena versions are perhaps even more stylish. Can be shortened to Maggie or Magda but the full version is prettiest. One of our new favorites!
Madeleine and its variations is a form of Magdalen. The meaning of both names sometimes varies as place name Magdala is Aramaic for "high tower," so that may be considered an alternate meaning.

Magdalen

A light, bohemian-sounding biblical name, mentioned in the bible as a wife of Lamech, one of the first men.

Zillah

Elspeth is one of those names that never quite made it out of the British Isles--particularly Scotland, but possesses a winningly childlike charm. Elspeth was used by Sir Walter Scott for several of his female characters.
 Elspeth Huxley was a prolific Kenyan-born U.K. writer, best known for the autobiographical The Flame Trees of Thika--she was connected by marriage to the illustrous Huxley family.
 A close cousin is Elsbeth, as in the recurring character Elsbeth Tascioni on The Good Wife. Embeth is a more distant relation.

Elspeth

Portia is a perfect role-model name, relating to Shakespeare's brilliant and spirited lawyer in The Merchant of Venice, and is now also a Hunger Games name . 
 Another Shakespearean Portia was the wife of Brutus in Julius Caesar, based on a historical character. In the 1940s, when the name was most used, there was a popular radio soap called Portia Faces Life, the heroine being – what else? – a brilliant and spirited lawyer.
 Portia is a recommended choice, even though some people might think you named your child for the car. Just don't spell it Porsche, which may sound the same but has a totally different and – despite the aspirational brand – less refined image.
 Namesake Portia de Rossi actually started life as Amanda/Mandy.

Portia

An Irish surname possibility for those who like Daley, Royal, Dougal, and Dolan, though it may sound too much like doily to catch on for modern boys. Nevertheless, it was fairly well used in the 20th century, popular in the 30s, 40s, and 50s when it reached the Top 200 at one point.
 
Derived from the given name Dougal (or Dubhghall), it means "dark stranger" and might work for fans of Sherlock Holmes writer, Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle

Godfrey was very popular in the Middle Ages, but today you're more likely to hear it as a surname than a first name. It has a solid, old-man charm, but a couple of possible deal-breakers: the first syllable being God, and no obvious nickname. Goff, maybe? For a different feel, we also like the Italian artist's version Giotto.

Godfrey

You might think Artemisia is the feminine form of the name, but in fact the original Artemis is feminine too, the name of the Greek mythological goddess of the moon.  Artemisia Gentileschi was an esteemed Italian Baroque painter, unusual in an era when not many women were acknowledged.  Artemisia is also a genus of plants which include sagebrush and tarragon.