Names Categorized "literature"

Atticus is a masculine given name of Greek origin, Latinized from Ἀττικός (Attikos), meaning "from Attica" — the region surrounding ancient Athens. Originally a Roman cognomen used by families of Greek heritage or those...

Aurora is a feminine given name derived from the Latin word for "dawn." In Roman mythology, Aurora was the goddess of the morning, equivalent to the Greek goddess Eos. As a personal name, it has been in occasional use si...

Austen is a masculine given name of English origin, functioning as a variant of Austin. Like Austin, Austen ultimately derives from the Latin name Augustine, which comes from the Roman name Augustus meaning "great&#3...

Averill is a unisex given name of English origin, derived from a surname that itself originated from the Old English feminine personal name Eoforhild. The surname Averill, documented since the medieval period, was brough...

Avonlea is a feminine first name created by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery as the setting for her 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables. The fictional village of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island became iconic through the lite...

Avtandil is a masculine given name of Georgian origin, best known from the medieval epic The Knight in the Panther's Skin. It was created by the 12th-century Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli for the poem's protagonist, a va...

Ayla is a female first name originating in English literature, specifically created by author Jean M. Auel for her 1980 novel The Clan of the Cave Bear. The name entered popular usage after the film adaptation was releas...

Bambi is a feminine given name derived from the Italian word bambina, meaning "young girl." It gained prominence through American novelist Marjorie Benton Cooke, who used it for the protagonist in her 1914 novel Bambi. T...

Bayard is a masculine given name of French origin, derived from Old French baiart meaning "bay coloured," referring to a reddish-brown coat color often for horses. Etymology and Legend The name is most famously associate...

Beatrice is a female given name of English, Italian, Romanian, and Swedish usage. It is the Italian form of the Beatrix, which derives from the Latin Viatrix, meaning "voyager" or "traveler," later associated with the La...

Beau is a given name of French origin, meaning "beautiful, handsome" (from the French adjective beau). Although it is grammatically masculine in French, it has been used as a unisex name in English-speaking countries and...

Bedivere is the Anglicized form of the Welsh name Bedwyr, a prominent figure in Arthurian legend. The name likely derives from the Welsh elements bedwen "birch" and gwr "man", possibly meaning "birch man" or by extension...

Belinda is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, first recorded in the 17th century. Its most common hypothesis derives the first element from Italian bella meaning "beautiful," paired with a second element possibly...

Bella is a feminine given name of English usage, primarily known as a short form of Isabella and other names ending in bella. It is also strongly associated with the Italian word bella, meaning "beautiful", which echoes...

Belladonna is an uncommon English female given name derived from the common name of a poisonous plant, also known as deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). The plant's name is of Italian origin, probably derived from Lat...

Bellatrix is a Latin word meaning "female warrior". In astronomy, it is the traditional name of the star Gamma Orionis, the third-brightest star in the constellation Orion, marking the left shoulder of the celestial hunt...

Belle is a feminine given name of English origin. It primarily serves as a short form of Isabella or other names ending in belle, such as Annabelle. The name is also directly associated with the French word belle, meanin...

Belphoebe is a literary name created by the English poet Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Faerie Queene, first published in 1590. The name is a combination of the Old French element bele meaning "beautiful" and the n...

Benedick is a variant of Benedict used by William Shakespeare in his comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1599). The character Benedick is a young lord of Padua, a witty and cynical bachelor who, through scheming and overheari...

Benvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet (1596), where he appears as a friend and cousin of Romeo. The name is derived from Italian benvolio, meaning "good will," reflecting his ro...

EtymologyBeowulf is an Old English masculine given name, most famously borne by the hero of the anonymous 8th-century epic poem Beowulf. The name is generally interpreted as a poetic compound meaning beo ("bee") and wulf...

Bertha is a female Germanic name originating as a short form of names containing the Old Frankish or Old Saxon element berht, Old High German beraht, meaning "bright" (from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz). Etymology and History...

Beryl is a feminine given name derived from the English word for the clear or pale green precious stone, ultimately from Sanskrit. The gemstone beryl ( BERR-əl) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate, with...

Beverly is a unisex given name in English usage, although it is now predominantly feminine. It originates from an English surname that was itself derived from the place name Beverley, a town in the East Riding of Yorkshi...

Bianca is a feminine given name of Italian and Romanian origin, derived from the medieval French nickname Blanche, meaning "white" or "fair-colored." The name ultimately traces back to the Germanic root *blankaz, signify...

Bilbo is a name primarily known from J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit (1937), where it is borne by the hero Bilbo Baggins. In the fictional world, Bilbo's actual hobbit-name is Bilba, of unknown meaning; Tolkien alter...

Bill is a predominantly masculine given name in English, most commonly used as a short form of William. The spelling "Bill" became established in the 19th century; earlier, it primarily appeared in the diminutive form Wi...

Billy is a common English given name, primarily used as a diminutive of Bill, which itself is a short form of William. The name Billy has a long history of use, often as a nickname for boys named William, but it has also...

Blythe is a predominantly feminine given name derived from an Old English surname meaning "cheerful," "joyful," or "pleasant." The surname itself traces back to the Old English word bliþe (sometimes spelled blīthe), whic...

Bob is a male given name primarily used in English and Dutch, functioning as a short form of Robert. The name originated from the Medieval English habit of forming rhyming nicknames: just as Richard became Hick or Dick a...

Bonnie is a Scottish feminine given name derived from the Scots word bonnie, meaning "pretty" or "handsome." This word itself comes from Middle French bon ("good"), ultimately from Latin bonus. The name has been in use s...

Borgny is a Norwegian feminine given name derived from the Old Norse name Borgný, composed of the elements borg ('fortress') and nýr ('new'). The meaning thus is 'new fortress'. The name is attested in the Old Norse poem...

EtymologyBradamante is the name of a fictional female knight created by the Italian poet Matteo Maria Boiardo for his epic poem Orlando Innamorato (1483). Boiardo likely formed the name from Italian brado meaning "wild,...

Brage is a Norwegian masculine given name, derived from the Old Norse name Bragi. The name originates from the Old Norse word bragr, meaning "poetry" or — according to other interpretations — "first, foremost." In Norse...

Bragi is a figure in Norse mythology and a given name used in Iceland and other Nordic countries. Derived from Old Norse bragr meaning "first, foremost" or "poetry," Bragi is best known as the god of poetry in the Norse...

Breda is a feminine given name of uncertain etymology. Its meaning is unknown, and it does not have a clear linguistic root in Slovene or other languages. The name gained literary prominence through its use by the Sloven...

Briana is a feminine given name of English origin, primarily understood as a variant of the more common Brianna or a direct feminine form of Brian. It first appears in literary records in Edmund Spenser's epic poem The F...

Briar Rose is the English translation of German Dornröschen, the name of the fairy tale character Sleeping Beauty as she appears in the Brothers Grimm version of the story. The Grimm tale, collected in the 19th century,...

Bridget is an Irish and English female name, derived from the Gaelic noun brígh, meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue," with an alternative meaning of "the exalted one." It is the Anglicized form of the Irish name Bri...

Briseida is a form of Briseis used in medieval tales about the Trojan War. The name is a literary variant that emerged during the Middle Ages, when European retellings of the Trojan saga often adapted Greek mythological...

Britomart is a literary name invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590). It belongs to a female knight who embodies the virtue of chastity, an allegorical figure partly representing Queen Eliza...

Bronte is a unisex given name of English origin, derived from the surname Brontë. The surname has Irish roots, being an Anglicized form of Ó Proinntigh, meaning "descendant of Proinnteach." The personal name Proinnteach...

Bryony is a feminine given name derived from the common name of a genus of Eurasian vines, Bryonia. The plant name ultimately traces back to the Greek word βρύω (bryo), meaning "to swell", a reference to its former use a...

Bunny is a feminine English given name, typically used as a diminutive of Berenice. The name Berenice itself derives from the Macedonian form of the Greek name Pherenike, meaning “bringing victory.” Although the name Bun...

Buttercup is a feminine given name derived from the common English word for a yellow flower of the genus Ranunculus. The name's modern popularity as a personal name owes largely to author William Goldman, who used it for...

Cadfael is a Welsh masculine given name derived from the Old Welsh Catmail, meaning "battle prince". The name is composed of the elements cat "battle" and mael "prince".Etymology and Historical UsageThe name Cadfael is b...

Caelia is a Roman feminine given name, derived as the feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius. The root name Caelius is believed to originate from Latin caelum, meaning "heaven," giving Caelia the ethereal signifi...

Calafia is a fictional queen created by the 16th-century Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo in his chivalric novel Las sergas de Esplandián (The Adventures of Esplandián), written around 1510. Montalvo likely bas...

Cameron is a given name of Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish surname Cameron. The surname itself comes from the Gaelic elements cam meaning "crooked" and sròn meaning "nose", thus the literal meaning is "crooked...

Camilla is a feminine given name with ancient Roman origins. It is the feminine form of the Roman cognomen Camillus, which likely derives from Etruscan and has an uncertain meaning. The name is not directly related to th...

Candida is a feminine given name derived from the Late Latin word candidus, meaning "white". It has associations with several early saints, the most notable being a woman said to have been healed by Saint Peter. The name...

Candide is a French unisex given name, derived as the French form of Candidus or Candida, which ultimately stem from the Latin word candidus meaning "white." In French, the word candide also carries the meaning "naïve,"...

Caradog is a Welsh masculine given name, derived from the Old Welsh Caratauc, itself a Brythonic form of the ancient Celtic name Caratācos (Latinized as Caratacus). The name is composed of the Celtic root *kar- meaning '...

Carmilla is the name of the titular vampire in the 1872 Gothic novella Carmilla by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. The name is a variant of Carmella, which itself is a Latinized form of Carmel, derived from Mount C...

EtymologyCarreen is a literary name coined by Margaret Mitchell for her 1936 novel Gone with the Wind. It is a combination of Caroline and Irene, two names well known in the English-speaking world. Caroline is the French...

Carrie is a female given name predominantly used in English-speaking countries, primarily functioning as a diminutive of Caroline or Carolyn. Its roots trace back through Caroline to the Latin Carolus, a form of the Germ...

Casilda is a feminine name of uncertain origin, most commonly associated with the 11th-century patron saint of Toledo, Spain. According to tradition, Saint Casilda was a Moorish princess who converted to Christianity and...

Caspian is a given name most famously used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in the 1951 book Prince Caspian. In the story, Prince Caspian is the rightful king of N...

Catherine is a feminine given name used in English and French, and additionally a common variant of Katherine. In French, Catherine is the standard form, while in English both Catherine and Katherine are well‑established...

Cedric is a given name of English origin, famously invented by Sir Walter Scott for a character in his 1819 novel Ivanhoe. Scott based the name on Cerdic, the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th ce...