This article will show you a list of 100 baby names from books and literature.
If you’re stuck on a baby name, turning to classic literature for inspiration is a way to uncover beautiful and often rare names.
Naming your child after a beloved character from a book can be meaningful; it allows you to pay homage to a favourite story or author. And literary baby names are gaining popularity, too, with monikers such as Aurora from Charles Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty and Luna from J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter rising in top lists in both the UK and US.
Parents are increasingly moving away from trendy or traditional names in favour of characters from the pages of books or film sets. Luckily, books hold so much baby name inspiration.
Historical literature, in particular, provides a rich source of inspiration, with famous authors such as Shakespeare, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Jane Austen and F.Scott Fitzgerald all featuring interesting character names you won’t find anywhere else. Timeless and uncommon classics include Ophelia, Arwen, Caspian, Elinor, Valentine and Pippin.
Literary works adapted for television and movies can also be a source of inspiration for parents. From Harry Potter, to Game of Thrones and the Chronicles of Narnia to Les Misérables, names including Arya, Cosette, Fleur and Gwendolyn are all unique choices.
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There are also plenty of gender-neutral names to be found between the pages of books, with Finn (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain), Jem (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) and Marlowe (Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe) all unisex.
By choosing a name associated with fictional characters, you can express your admiration for a particular story and share that passion with your child.
Popular name inspiration from books and movies
Literary names often carry significant meanings and symbolism. Many authors carefully choose names for their characters to reflect their personalities, traits, or themes of their stories. For example, choosing the name Atticus from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ might reflect a desire to instill principles of justice and integrity in your child.
Daisy, a prominent character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, features in the top 20 list of most popular names for girls in England & Wales, and top 200 in the US.
In Scotland, Matilda has been growing in popularity, most likely as a result of Roald Dahl’s books alongside the film adaptations released in 1996 and 2002.
Meanwhile, Emma was the second most popular name in the US last year, according to data, the namesake of Jane Austen’s famous novel.
Aria, alternatively spelled Arya, also featured in the top 200 of international lists. This name became popular after the release of Game of Thrones.
Whether you choose a classic character from a renowned novel or a more contemporary figure from modern literature, this decision can shape your child’s identity, spark conversations, and ignite a lifelong love of reading.
If you’re struggling to find a name that speaks to you, diving into the pages of your favourite book is the best place to start. Let’s hope this list helps you to find the perfect name that’s just a little bit different.
Here’s a list of 100 baby names inspired by books, films and literature.
100 baby names from books and literature
The names here are organised by alphabetical order.
1. Alice (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
2. Anna (Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)
3. Annabella (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by by Anne Brontë)
4. Anne (Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery)
5. Aurora (Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault)
6. Ariel (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
7. Arya (A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin)
8. Arwen (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
9. Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
10. Basil (The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde)
11. Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare)
12. Betsy (David Copperfield by Charles Dickens)
13. Briony (Atonement by Ian McEwan)
14. Caleb (East of Eden by John Steinbeck)
15. Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)
16. Catherine (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë)
17. Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White)
18. Celia (As You Like It by William Shakespeare)
19. Cordelia (King Lear by William Shakespeare)
20. Cosette (Les Misérables by Victor Hugo)
21. Cosima (The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov)
22. Daisy (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
23. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
24. Desdemona (Othello by William Shakespeare)
25. Dorian (The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde)
26. Edward (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë)
27. Elinor (Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen)
28. Elio (Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman)
29. Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
30. Emilia (Othello by William Shakespeare)
31. Emma (Emma by Jane Austen)
32. Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
33. Eloise (Eloise by Kay Thompson)
34. Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo)
35. Estel (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
36. Estella (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)
37. Evangeline (Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
38. Ferdinand (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
39. Finn (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
40. Fleur (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
41. Frea (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
42. Gabriel (The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho)
43. Gatsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
44. Gideon (The Bible)
45. Guinevere (Arthurian legends)
46. Gwendolyn (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)
47. Hazel (The Fault in Our Stars by John Green)
48. Hermione (The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare and Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
49. Huck (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
50. Holden (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
51. Imogen (Cymbeline by William Shakespeare)
52. Inigo (The Princess Bride by William Goldman)
53. Isabella (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë)
54. Iseult (Tristan and Iseult by Joseph Bédier)
55. Ishmael (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)
56. Jane (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë)
57. Jayne (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
58. Jasper (The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens)
59. Jem (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
60. Jessica (The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare)
61. Jo (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
62. Julian (We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson)
63. Juliet (Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
64. Laurie (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
65. Lavinia (Aeneid by Virgil)
66. Luna (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
67. Lyra (His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman)
68. Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare)
69. Marianne (Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen)
70. Marlowe (Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe)
71. Mary (The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett)
72. Matilda (Matilda by Roald Dahl)
73. Max (Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak)
74. Minnie (David Copperfield by Charles Dickens)
75. Miranda (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
76. Morgana (Arthurian legends)
77. Nancy (Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene)
78. Octavia (Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare)
79. Oliver (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
80. Ophelia (Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
81. Pandora (Greek mythology)
82. Phoebe (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
83. Pippi (Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren)
84. Pippin (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
85. Portia (The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare)
86. Primrose (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
87. Rhett (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)
88. Rhiannon (Mabinogion, Welsh mythology)
89. Robbie (Atonement by Ian McEwan)
90. Rosalind (As You Like It by William Shakespeare)
91. Sansa (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin)
92. Scarlett (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)
93. Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
94. Sherlock (Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle)
95. Tom (Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain)
96. Valentine (The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare)
97. Viola (Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare)
98. Wendy (Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)
99. Yara (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin)
100. Zilah (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë)
This post showed you a list of baby names from books and literature for girls and boys.
Want more inspiration? Check out a list of floral baby names for girls.
