Loganberry Books
Named For the Book
I know many people named after a character
in a book, and many parents who name their children after their
favorite storybook friends. I tend to give my pets literary
names too, in successive order through the alphabet, because
that's how my first pet's literary namesake was named. If you
were named after a literary character, or know someone else who
is, please send your
contribution.
My comments are in black.
Other comments in color.
Bibliographic
information follows in Arial.
Abbie
My first daughter is named Abbie, thinking of
the character Abbie Deal from "A Lantern in Her Hand"
by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It was one of the first
books I ever bought for myself, through the Scholastic Book Club,
when I was in 6th grade in 1966. (My daughter's full name is
Adelaide Barbara, named for women in the family, and the initials
make her Abbie.)
Aldrich, Bess Streeter.
A Lantern in Her Hand. New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1950.
Abigail
My daughter Abigail Rose deserves honorable
mention. I would have named her Aurora Rose, like the
Sleeping Beauty, but Aurora Roberts is too much of a tongue
twister. So, we settled for Abigail after Abigail
Adams.
I'm a 34 year-old mommy of two, and when I
was a child I read voraciously. Nowadays my husband calls me a
'book whore' for obvious reasons. While I was a very young girl,
not even in school yet, I adored Holly Hobbie and declared that
I would definitely name my daughter someday "Holly" and as I
grew up I only ever met two other Hollys [Hollies?] and both
were delightful! As fate would have it, once I married, my last
name became 'Hall' thus dashing my hopes of having a Holly of my
own. Both 'Toot' and 'Puddle' were also out of the question! We
settled on Abigail two days after she was born. Seems my
husband's family on his mother's side is descended from Abigail
Adams. Nothing to sniff at, to be sure, but I had in mind that
nasty Abigail in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
I've never told anyone this before!!!!
Miller, Arthur. The
Crucible.
Adara
We named her Adara Luthien. Adara was a
name I found in a baby book, but it also is the name of one of my
favourite characters in David Edding's Belgariad
series. Adara was Belgarions cousin. Luthien was
the elf maiden in "Of Beren and Lúthien" from the Silmarillion,
and spoken about in various other spots in the LoTR
series. Aragorn and Arwen are both related through her. She was
'the fairest elf to ever walk Middle Earth'. I thought long
about appropriate names for my daughter, and knew these were
perfect.
Aenea
Our firstborn is named Thessaly
for the character in Neil Gaiman's graphic novel Sandman. Her
middle name is from Welsh Legend: Rhiannon. Our second
daughter's middle name is Cordelia after Lois McMaster Bujold's
Miles Vorkosigan series, which I devoured during my pregnancy with
her, though incidentally, Cordelia is also a figure in Welsh
mythology. With our third we chose Aenea from Dan
Simmons' Endymion/Rise of Endymion series, which I read
while pregnant with her. Aenea is also the feminine form of
Aeneas, the epic hero of Vergil's
Aeneid. We
love having chosen literary names.
Simmons, Dan.
Endymion series.
Vergil. Aeneid.
Aerin
My
son’s name is Kellan Emrys. Emrys is from Mary Stewart’s
The
Crystal Cave and is another name for Merlin. My
daughter is Luthien Aerin; Luthien from The
Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings books by
J.R.R. Tolkien, and Aerin for the heroine in Robin McKinley’s
The Hero
and the Crown. I am lucky that my husband likes
unusual names, too. We have since found a picture book
by Jane Yolen that also has Emrys as a name for Merlin.
Luthien sometimes has a hard time introducing herself,
and having people pronounce her name correctly, but she
doesn’t want to go by Aerin (we gave her that one to give her
a choice of names.) The names were from the books, the movies
didn’t come out till later.
Aislinn
I named my daughter aislinn, after The Wolf and the
Dove, we pronounce it with a long a--- aiz ---
lynn she is 28 now but she and her boyfriend were in a
restaurant and heard someone saying "sit down aislinn!! " she
never heard anyone else with her name but it was a little girl
about 10 they were talking to!!
Alexander
My son Alexander was named in part because my
favorite children's author was Alexander Key, who wrote Escape
to Witch Mountain, Magic Meadow, and Forgotten
Door.
Key, Alexander.
Alia
My daughter is named Alia, after Princess Alia
in the Dune books by Frank Herbert.
Her brother is named David Paul after his father and grandfather,
but of course, we call him by his middle name, Paul, the main
character in the books (and Alia's brother).
One of our best friends in
college named his daughter, born on a leap year February 29th, Alia for the character from Dune. Makes us sound like a bunch of Dune fanatics since we named our daughter Chani after another
character in the book.
Herbert, Frank. Dune. Philadelphia, Chilton Books, 1965.
Alienna
I was reading Ken Follett's Pillars
of the Earth when I was pregnant 11 years ago. I named
my baby girl Alienna for the character of Aliena in the book--she
was a strong, beautiful princess. My girl goes by "Ali,"
spelled like actress Ali McGraw. But whenever anyone asks, "Oh are
you an Alison?" she loves to respond that she was named for a
princess named Aliena. (I added the second "n" in her name to make
it look less like "Alien.")
Follett, Ken. Pillars of
the Earth. New
York, Morrow, 1989.
Allison
My friend has 2 daughters. When
the first one was five years old she was asked what she thought
would be a good name for the soon to come baby. The child thought
for a minute and said Snow White. Her mother told her although
that was a pretty name it wasn't one they could give their baby.
The child thought a few more minutes and said Alice in Wonderland.
Everyone laughed. The new baby was named Allison for short.
Carroll, Lewis.
Alice in Wonderland.
Alyson
My name is Alyson - my mom
got creative with the spelling, but she "got" the name from
Alison in "Peyton
Place".
Amberly
My husband and I wanted to give our children
unique names that have common derivatives. We could not
settle on a name for our first-born for many months. His
birth was drawing near when I stumbled on a name in a baby book
that was unique (historical welsh names). We each commented
that we'd only encountered that name one time before in our
lives. It was a character in a book that we both
enjoyed. It was settled our son became Corwin
(derivative:Corey). Three years later we named his sister Amberly
(derivative:Amber). The book that inspired us... Nine
Princes In Amber by Roger Zalazney.
Corwin was the main protagonist. 20 years and one divorce
later, I have fallen in love with another man. My stepson's
name? Also, Corwyn. The only other one we've ever heard
of. By the way my kids (all of them) love the origins of
their names.
Zelazny, Robert. Nine Princes
of Amber series.
Amos
I must make a plug for my first pet, a gerbil
named after the mouse who invented the Franklin stove and
discovered electricity, and all those other things Benjamin
Franklin was credited with. The book was my favorite children's
book, Robert Lawson's Ben and Me.When my mother
started collecting children's books years ago, I asked her if she
had this book, and when she responded no, then I told her she
wasn't really a children's book collector. She has since
discovered the wonderful world of Lawson, and has almost all of
his books now. Incidentally, Amos was the eldest of 26 siblings,
who were named successively through the alphabet to Z. So that's
how I've named all of my subsequent pets, too.
Lawson,
Robert. Ben and Me. Illustrated by the
author. Little, Brown, 1949.
Used copies usually available.
Sometimes collectible first editions are also available. Please inquire.
Amy
My mother gave me my name, Amy Jo, after her
two favorite characters in Little Women.
I was
supposed to be named Amy Jo,
from the two sisters in Little Women, my mom's favorite
book. But when the nurses in the hospital asked my mom
what she planned to name me, and she said "Amy," they all
squealed that they love that name and how wonderful it was
that there were 6 "Amy's" in the nursery right now! That
was the end of naming me Amy. I got "Annelisa," the
unusualness of which I am totally happy about, but secretly I
have feared that someday someone would figure out that I was
supposed to be just another Amy!
Alcott, Louisa May.
Little Women. Boston,
Roberts brothers, 1869.
Angelique
I on the other hand was almost named for Angelique
duPlessis-Belliere of the Sergeanne Golon novels,
but Mom felt the Dark Shadows reference would date
me.
I was named after Angelique also! I
own most of the books because my mom thought I would like to
know where she got the name from. I am missing two
(alas!). Everyone always thinks I am named after Dark
Shadows as well! I have never heard of anyone
else with this same connection to these series of books.
Cool!
Ann
One book I always got a kick out of was a very
simple one about a girl, Anne, and her favourite colour. I
only remember the lines "Anne loves red / Red, red, red".
Being named Anne myself and loving red, I'm am quite curious to
find out what the book was...
Seymour,
Dorothy Z. Ann Likes Red. Purple House Press,
1957, 2001. New hardback, $8.95
Now back in print!
Annika
We named our youngest daughter Annika, after
Pippi Longstocking's friend in the book series. Actually, my then
7-year-old daughter suggested the name when she was reading the
books.
Lindgren, Astrid. Pippi
Longstocking series. New York, Viking, 1996.
Ardis
My mom was named after a character in Jacqueline
Susann's Valley of the Dolls - Ardis. Can you give
me information on this book?
One of the most best-selling books ever published, Valley of
the Dolls garnered as much hostility and condemnation as it
did sales and fans. Susann's scathing portrayal of the private
lives of the rich and famous, and Hollywood's devastating effects
on the psyche and its penchant for drug abuse have recently been
made into a movie.
Susann,
Jacqueline. Valley of the Dolls. Random House,
1966.
Nice hardback copy available. DJ torn
a bit, otherwise G+/G. <SOLD>
Ariel
My daughter is Ariel, from Sylvia Plath’s
book of poems by the same name and from Shakespeare’s play
The Tempest. However, she was born 18 months
before the Disney movie came out. She’s been called the
Little Mermaid a lot. Only in India, where she spent a year
as an exchange student, do they realize at once it’s an homage to
the bard.
I read Robert
Heinlein's Podkayne
of Mars when I was 6, and the Venusian baby "fairy" in
it was named Ariel. I decided then that I would name my
child, boy or girl, Ariel. This is really where his name came
from! But we both simply tell most people that
he's named after Ariel from The Tempest, because it just sounds
too weird to say "I'm named after a fictional semi-sentient
ill-tempered Venusian creature of uncertain gender."
Besides, Heinlein's "Ariel" was named after Ariel from The Tempest (I
didn't read that until I was 12!) - so, it's sort of the truth.
Unfortunately
for Ariel, he was born the same year the Little Mermaid
movie came out. Poor guy!
Shakespeare,
William. The Tempest.
Plath,
Sylvia. Ariel. 1965.
Arwen
My daughter's name is Alexandra ARWEN
Parrish Hayes, according to my husband, ARWEN is the name of a
princess in Lord of The Rings, it means "Evening
Star", now my husband has a lil Irish in him, he can be full of
blarney, is he correct? my friends daughter told me that
ARWEN is the name of the pig in Disney's Black Cauldren
who is correct?
It's from Tolkien's The Lord
of the Rings. The Black Cauldron
oracular pig is named Hen Wen.
Wonderful site! I've been researching
people named after characters in The Lord of the Rings,
which is how I found your site. I talked to an Arwen
today who loves being named after an elvish princess who gave up
her immortality to marry a mortal. She has bought a Burger King
mug with her name on it, the only thing she's ever seen with her
name printed on it.
I was named Arwen Ann at my birth. My parents
loved the LotR trilogy and apparently the prequel, The Hobbit. My mother always
told me I fit the description but when I finally read them
myself and found she had black hair and grey eyes, I was
confused as I’m a redhead with brown eyes. She finally
elucidated on the comment to tell me I had her spirit, her
strength, and her stubbornness as much as her beauty.
I took that as a major compliment!! Through the years
I’ve had a dog named Pippin, hamsters named Frodo and Sam,
and my own pride and joy, a son named Stryder.
I’ve only ever met two other Arwen’s in my 32
years – one was a black lab and the other a college
classmate’s granddaughter, also a redhead… I love having
such a unique name, and one based on such a fantastic
character. Thanks, mom!!
Tolkien, J.R.R. The
Lord
of
the
Rings trilogy. London: George Allen
and Unwin, 1954, 1954, 1955.
Atticus
I named my son after the main
character/author/ and actor in my favorite book/film: To Kill A
Mockingbird
First Name: Atticus Gregory (for Atticus Finch played by Gregory
Peck)
Middle Name: Harper (after Harper Lee, author of book)
Last Name: Upton Lewis (my maiden name and his father's last
name)
Atticus Gregory Harper Upton Lewis <whew, that's a mouth
full>
Ayla
We named our daughter Ayla, from Jean Auel’s series, and she
lives up to her name. Ayla is the feisty, self-sufficient
heroine in The
Clan of the Cave Bear. Ayla also means “oak
tree,” so, in keeping with literary and flora reference, we
named our son Sawyer.
Auel, Jean. The Clan of
the Cave Bear.
Bagheera
Our black cat, Bagheera, is named for the
black panther in Kipling's Jungle Book
(although, to be honest, we picked it up from the Disney cartoon
and not the book!)
Kipling, Rudyard. The
Jungle Book. Garden
City, N.Y., Doubleday, Doran & company, inc., 1937.
Bastian
Growing up, one my very favorite children's
books was Michael Ende's The Neverending Story.
I had always loved the name Bastian Balthazar Bux, so much so that
I couldn't quite hold off until I had a child to bestow the name
on...so I named a small fat sharpei puppy Bastian- When I found
out I was having a boy less than a year later, it just didn't feel
quite right to name my son the exact same name I had just given a
dog. (Reminiscent of Indiana Jones, I thought). Instead he is
Sebastian Gryffin, and has grown to become quite a character
himself!
Ende,
Michael. The Neverending Story. London,
Allen Lane, 1983.
Beth
Hi, My name is Beth and I have 3 sisters,
actually named Meg , Amy and Jo!! Obviously my mother was a Louisa
May Alcott fan. Luckily, my brother did not get stuck
with the names Laurie or Theodore (Laurence)!
Alcott, Louisa May.
Little Women. Boston,
Roberts brothers, 1869.
Bogwoppit
Bogwoppit arrived this
morning. It nearly landed on one of my cats - the one who's
called Bogwoppit !!! At last I can prove that his name comes
from a book ! I do remember the story from when I was a
child, but it may have been on TV. Thankyou very, very, very,
very, very, very much !!!
Williams,
Ursula Moray. Bogwoppit. Thomas Nelson,
1978.
Boots
Sometime in the seventies I read a book about
a cat that was named Boots, because its body was a solid
color, except for the feet, which had a different color, so it
looked like it was wearing boots. That is absolutely all I can
remember, but this book is significant to me, because when I was
little, my neighbors cat had kittens, and one had boot coloring. I
remembered the book and suggested they give it that name, which
they did. The cat was around for many years, but I never
remembered in what book I had read about its namesake.
Pursell, Margaret Sanford.
Boots The Kitten.
Carolrhoda Books, 1976.
Series: the Animal Friends books. "Having observed his
kitten for its first three months in his aunt's house, Mike and
his sister are better able to care for the new kitten when they
bring it home."
Boxcar
I found a small box turtle at the lake when I
was a kid and named it Boxcar after the wonderful Boxcar
Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
The originals of this series are extremely hard to find, and the
modern paperback reprints aren't the same. And Boxcar the turtle
went back to the lake after spending only three days in my
makeshift tub.
Warner,
Gertrude Chandler. The Boxcar Children. Albert Whitman
& Co., 1942.
Reissued in paperback. Used paperback
copies usually available. Please inquire.
Brenna
My daughter's name is Brenna for a
character in Mary Canon's O'Hara Dynasty Series
(The Defiant, The Survivors, The Renegades). I
happened to be at my sister in law's house one day early in my
pregnancy, paging through some of her books. On the first
page was a synopsis of characters, and the name Brenna caught my
eye right away. Because people often have trouble
pronouncing it (many say Brenda or Brianna) there is now a
website, Brenna.com devoted to this beautiful name. Their
motto: "NO DA".
Canon, Mary. The O'Hara
Dynasty series.
Brooklyn
My Russian Blue mix cat, Brooklyn, was named
after the title of my favorite book, A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn. I'm Irish and so why shouldn't my wonderful
cat get to have a little bit of Irish "in" her, too? Funny, she
has no interest in reading, though.
Smith, Betty. A Tree
Grows in Brooklyn. 1944.
Caitlin
I was named Caitlin, after the dedication in
many Dylan Thomas works.
Thomas, Dylan.
Caleb
Franklyn Meyer's Caleb and Me (1970ish) is a story written in first person by a
boy named Bud. His adventures growing up with his little brother
named Caleb. I liked this book so much I named my son
Caleb. Could you please find this book for me. There
was a second book written by the same author called Caleb
and Me Again I am looking for that one also. :)
I too named my son Caleb, 20 years after
loving the Franklyn Meyer books, Me and Caleb, and Me and Caleb
again. In fact, I have 3 children. a girl and two boys, the
youngest is Celeb, and I am now reading them these great
stories.
Meyer, Franklyn. Caleb
and Me.
Follett Publishing Company, 1962.
Carmen
What do you do with a goldfish you win at
the Jubilee? I named mine Carmen and put her in the
bathroom. She was a fiesty little fish and lived for three
years.
Bizet,
Georges. Carmen. An French
opera, premiered in 1875.
Caroline
I SO want any of the Caroline
books to give to my own Caroline. It is no coincidence that I
chose this name for my only daughter. I'm 41, and my copy of the Golden
Treasury of Caroline and her Friends is so beat up
from the countless number of times I read it as a child. I can't
tell you how long I studied every last detail of those
illustrations. How about that one where all the animals are
running scared out of their tent at camp because of the little
mouse or the scene of all the animals getting their check-ups at
the camp infirmary? They're so dear!!! Anyway, I have no
clue as to how to go about securing a copy of a book(s) that I now
know is also treasured by others. Any suggestions are
welcome. What I'd give for my daughter to know the joy of this
wonderful heroine who shares her name. Help please!
Probst, Pierre. The
Golden Treasury of Caroline and Her Friends. Golden Press, 1961.
See more fan mail for Caroline on the Most
Requested
Books page.
Carrie
My daughter Carrie was named after baby
Caroline in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little
House on the Prairie series. She was such a
pretty baby, and grew up to be a beautiful young woman. I’ve
always loved that name!
Wilder, Laura Ingalls . Little
House on the Prairie. New York and London, Harper &
brothers, 1935.
Caspian
I had a beautiful doberman one time.
Because he was so regal looking, I named him Prince Caspian after
the Narnia book.
Lewis, C. S.. Prince
Caspian.
New York, Macmillan, 1951.
Cassandra
And she named my sister Cassandra (from
Homer's Iliad).
Homer. The Iliad.
Charis
My oldest daughter is named Charis after a girl who lived
in Atlantis in the novel Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead. In Greek,
Charis means grace and is often used to represent charity.
Lawhead, Stephen.
Taliesin.
Charlotte
My daughters are both named for books: My
eldest daughter is Madeline (rhymes with "half past-nine", as is
only correct) and I am thrilled that though not red-headed, she is
as loving, curious and brave as her namesake (at age 12) and my
youngest is Katherine Charlotte, and while we have found lots of
"Katie" books that we love, she is truly named for the kind, smart
and loyal spider in the classic Charlotte's Web. I only regret that
I do not have a third, who would most probably be Eloise.
White, E.B. Charlotte's
Web.
Christopher
Hi, my son is in his mid-30s now, and was
named for Christopher Robin in the Winnie-the-Pooh books. His
father didn't like the name Robin, so his name is Christopher
Sean. At that time, there were no other Christophers that I'd
heard of. Now, it seems, it's gotten to be quite a popular name.
A. A. Milne. Winnie the Pooh.
Christy
I am 30 years old and my mother
named me for the title character in Catherine Marshall's novel Christy,
who was a self-sacrificing, strong, brave, smart, pretty,
spiritual, clever, and loving schoolteacher in a one-room
schoolhouse in the Great Smokies. I must say, it's been a
lot to live up to!
Marshall, Catherine.
Christy.
Cialdene
My father's middle name is Cialdene. His
mother was reading a book and liked the name and the character in
the book so that is the name she chose.
Cimarron
I named my first son Cimarron from Edna Ferbers book "Cimarron."
His middle name is Star, from Mollie Hardwick's book "Dutchess of
Duke Street."
Ferber, Edna. Cimarron.
Garden City, NY,
Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1930.
Hardwick, Mollie. The
Duchess of Duke Street.
Cinderella
The first day we brought our kitten home, she
tried to run away from us and ran into the fireplace (fortunately
empty!). I named her Cinderella because she was in
the cinders!
Chani
My daughter Chani, was
named after the character in Frank Herbert’s Dune. She was around before either the movie or
mini-series so it is pronounced as we saw fit, SHAW-nee, as we
were going by pronunciation of other names starting with Cha such
as Charmaine and Charlotte.
Claudia
I named my daughter Claudia after the main
character in From
the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. I read
this book dozens of times when I was a child. Claudia in the
book is smart, brave, resourceful, and interesting. My
7-year old daughter has many of these qualities, too. I just
hope she never decides to run away from home!
Konigsburg, E.L.. From
the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. New York, Atheneum, 1967.
Colleen
My second daughter is Colleen Brown. My
husband and I weren't finding a name that we both could agree
on. Then my copy of Phyllis
McGinley's "Sugar and Spice," illustrated by Colleen
Browning, caught my eye from the bookcase. It had been a
gift for my 12th birthday from my uncle. I am of Irish
heritage; there are is an Eileen in the family and several
Kathleens. And so Colleen it would be, joining the clan
named for a treasured book given by a dear man.
McGinley, Phyllis. Sugar
and Spice. New
York, F. Watts, 1960.
Constance
Although not named for any Constance, three of
my favorites are Constance by Patricia Clapp,
Constance in Sabrina by Madeleine Polland,
and the Constance (although she goes by Connie) who is the friend
of Sue Barton, Student Nurse.
Clapp,
Patricia. Constance: a story of early Plymouth. 1991.
Corally
My name is Corally. My sister who was
eight when I was born. She named me from The tale of
Corally Crothers. I guess she liked the idea
that Corally Crothers had no sisters or brothers. I am 47
now. My sister got over it.
I was intrigued with the person age 47 who
was named Corally after Corally Crothers. The same thing
happened in our family. In 1954, that was my daughter
Lynnette's favorite poem from a thick collection of poems from
which I read to her every day. She said that if our
expected baby was a girl, she would like to name her
Corally. The baby arrived on Lynnette's 6th birthday, and
we did indeed name her Corally. We gave her no middle
name--it seemed that Corally was a mouthful. Those two
lovely women are now in their 50's and and are a delight in
every way to me and her father as we experience the travail of
growing older.
Gay, Romney. The Tale
of Corally Crothers. Cleveland, OH, Harper Pub. Co., 1932.
Cordelia
Well, not so much the book, but a character
within the story. My name is Cordelia, after King Lear's favorite daughter in Shakespeare's play of the same
name. I owe this knowledge to Ms. Heslep, my 7th grade English
teacher who told me to be proud of my unique name (I wanted to be
named Rita - boring).
Shakespeare, William. King Lear.
Our firstborn is named Thessaly
for the character in Neil Gaiman's graphic novel Sandman. Her
middle name is from Welsh Legend: Rhiannon. Our second
daughter's middle name is Cordelia
after Lois McMaster Bujold's
Miles
Vorkosigan series, which I devoured during my pregnancy
with her, though incidentally, Cordelia is also a figure in Welsh
mythology. With our third we chose Aenea from Dan Simmons'
Endymion/Rise of Endymion series, which I read while pregnant with
her. Aenea is also the feminine form of Aeneas, the epic
hero of Vergil's Aeneid. We love having chosen literary
names.
Bujold, Lois McMaster.
Vorkosigan. Riverdale,
NY : Baen ; New York : Distributed by Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Corwin Miles
Our son is named Corwin Miles after two
different books -- Corwin in Roger Zelazny's Nine
Princes of Amberseries and Miles in Lois McMaster
Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books. Also, our baby name
book said that Corwin means "heart's desire" or "friend of the
heart." He certainly is that.
My husband and I wanted to give our
children unique names that have common dirivities. We
could not settle on a name for our first-born for many
months. His birth was drawing near when I stumbled on a
name in a baby book that was unique (historical welsh
names). We each commented that we'd only encountered that
name one time before in our lives. It was a character in a
book that we both enjoyed. It was settled our son became
Corwin (derivitive:Corey). Three years later we named his
sister Amberly (derivitive:Amber). The book that inspired
us... Nine Princes In Amber by Roger Zalazney.
Corwin was the main protagonist. 20 years and one divorce
later, I have fallen in love with another man. My
stepson's name? Also, Corwyn. The only other one we've
ever heard of. By the way my kids (all of them) love the
origins of their names.
Zelazny, Roger. Nine Princes
of Amber series.
Bujold, Lois McMaster.
Vorkosigan. Riverdale,
NY : Baen ; New York : Distributed by Simon & Schuster,
1994.
Cressida
Our dog was Cressida after Troilus and
Cressida.
Dante
The fishy friend I bought to keep Carmen
company. Actually named after my favorite pinto horse at camp who
was called Dante.
Alighieri,
Dante. The Inferno.
My favorite edition is illustrated by
Gustave Dore c. 1860. I have the Altemus Edition of this
available, a large book with great black and white engravings.
Endpapers ripped, corners bumped, otherwise a nice copy at an
affordable price. Tooled decorated cover. <SOLD>
David
My mother used to read David and the
Phoenix book to my six siblings and I at
bedtime. it was our favourite and her 67th birthday is
coming up. We would all like to sign it and tell her how
much we enjoyed her reading to us and how this has extended to a
life long love of books and reading. My brother "David" who
is now 39 years of age and works for the forestry still likes to
pretend it was about him.
Ormondroyd,
Edward. David and the Phoenix. Purple House
Press, 1957, 2000. $24
See more on the Most Requested page.
Deegie
I am on a mission! First of all my name is
Deegie and secondly my very old Aunt tells me that my name is
after a book titled A Boy Named Deegie - I can find no reference
to this book anywhere - but have found the Deegie and the Fairy
Princess book around - well, not the actual book - rather
references to it. Anyway, I want to know if you can help me
determine if the book ever existed or if she is mistaken?
Rempel, Ruth. Deegie and the
Fairy Princess. Rempel
Manufacturing, 1949.
Dill
Our cat Dill got his name because his
personality so reminded us all of the boy in To Kill A
Mockingbird.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a
Mockingbird. Philadelphia,
Lippincott, 1960.
Dinah
My small cat, Dinah, is named for Alice
in Wonderland's cat. Mine is not capital for
catching mice, but she does catch lots of zzzzzzs on the back of
the couch, and she's black and fuzzy.
Carroll,
Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Macmillan, 1866.
Way too much Alice stuff to list here;
please inquire. Expect a most enthusiastic response from
one of the two Alice buffs, Harriett or Audrey (that's MY
Dinah.)
Dorian
Hi! I love browsing your site - so much
to read there! I've loved books as far back as I can
remember, and when I was young I had fun planning how many kids I
would have and what characters I would name them after. Mostly
they would be named after the Edward Eager and E. Nesbit kids.
Once I planned to have 12 kids, just because I liked so many
names! Eventually, I had only one child, though, a son, and
named him Dorian, after a book I became enchanted by in my late
teens: Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Grey".
I named one of the stray cats that I feed
Dorian the Grey. She's all grey with a white spot on her
nose. I swear that, since her naming, she has become just
a tad evil looking. I figured the name could be male or
female, and the cat doesn't seem to care as long as I put the
food out at the appointed hour.
Wilde, Oscar. Picture of
Dorian Grey.
Dorie
When I was young I
thought I was named after a favorite book of mine
Dorrie the Witch. My name is spelled Dorie and much to
my dismay I was told I was named after a boat, a cape
Dory but my mom wanted it spelled Dorie. Anyway I
still tell everyone its after that book.
Duward
A patron's father was born in 1915 and was
named Duward after a character in a book. She is wondering
what the book could be.
Dylan
Just to jump on the bandwagon, my oldest son
Dylan is named for Dylan Eil Ton, the child who swam away upon
birth in "The Mabinogi" (the Welsh book of legends). Of
course, I can't hate the fact that it belonged to Dylan Thomas,
either.
Ford, Patrick K. (translator). The
Mabinogi.
University of California Press, 1977.
Edgar
Every Halloween, my daughters and I have
a tradition of reading "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
together. Last Halloween, we found a kitten that we assume
had been dumped near here and somehow found his way into our
garage, so we named him Edgar.
Poe, Edgar Allen. The
Raven.
Edmund
I named my cat King Edmund, after my favorite
of the Pevensies in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.
Edith
My name is Edith and I grew up near New York
City in the early '60s, reading the wonderful Edith and the
Bears series. Having recently unearthed four,
1st edition Edith books that my aunt (an editor with Doubleday)
gave me, I noticed that there was one from that era that I'd never
seen, The Little One It would mean a lot if I
could add this book to my collection. Thanks so much!
Zelda Dare gets her middle name not from
the doll, but from the bold author of this acclaimed series of
picture books.
Wright, Dare. The
Lonely Doll. Doubleday, 1957. Houghlin Mifflin, 1998.
Back in print! Hardback $16. Paperback
$6.95 See more on the Most Requested page.
Elanor
My daughter is named Elanor, from Lord of the
Rings. She hated her name being pronounced 'ell-R-nor'
which is correct from the appendices on pronunciation, and what we
had called her from birth. When she went to school she told
everyone her name was pronounced 'ell-A-nor', and now no-one
spells her name properly and she is forever having to correct
them. You just can't win, can you?
Tolkien, J.R.R. The
Lord of the Rings trilogy. London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1954, 1954, 1955.
Elisabeth
I have been a voracious reader since a very
young age. One of my prized possessions as a young child was
the collection of Louisa May Alcott books my grandmother
had given to my sisters and me. They never did read theirs,
so I adopted them. My daughter, Elisabeth is named for Beth
in Little Women. I always wanted to be sweet
and gentle like Beth, but identified more with Jo.
Alcott, Louisa May.
Little Women. Boston,
Roberts brothers, 1869.
Eliza
My third daughter is named Eliza, who was a
favorite character of mine in the book Except for Me and
Thee by Jessamyn West. It is the sequel
to Gentle Persuasion. It is a lovely name for
a gentle personality, as my eleven year old daughter has.
West, Jessamyn. Except
for Me and Thee.
New York, Harcourt Brace & World, 1969.
Elizabeth
This is the story of a little girl who gets a
doll for Christmas, names her Elizabeth, has a rotten cousin who
gets a
fancier doll but doesn't really love
it....Elizabeth is "lost" and eventually found. The book was
small, and we got it from the library several times but never
found it in a bookstore. It would make a lovely graduation gift
for my Elizabeth, who loved it!
Skorpen, Liesel Moak. Elizabeth.
Harper & Row,
1970.
Note: it's rare and expensive. We'll keep looking!
I know several Elizabeths named for Betsy
Ray in Betsy-Tacy, and even one Tacy!
Lovelace, Maud Hart. Betsy-Tacy. 1940.
Elnora
My grandmother loved A Girl of the
Limberlost, by Gene Stratton-Porter. My
father loved it. I loved it--and named my first daughter
"Elnora", in honor of our shared affection. It's the quaint
and lovely story of a poor but determined girl, named Elnora
Comstock, growing up fatherless in the Indiana "Limberlost" at the
turn of the (last...it's 2001, now!) century. The book
lovingly details the beauties of nature that inspire Elnora...and
despite it's typical "syrupy" tone, remains fresh and comforting
reading even today. A useful benefit of having such an
unusual name is that she rarely has to compete with other
"Elnora's" to maintain her identity. <g> And we're
charmed by how many older women, in particular, upon hearing her
name, beam and say, "Oh! You're named after the book!
How I loved that book when I was a girl!"
Stratton-Porter, Gene. A
Girl of the Limberlost. Doubleday, 1909.
Eloise
As a child I used to stay at the Plaza Hotel
in New York City. During that time (late 1950s-early 1960s)
my mother was on the road and I have a nanny. My favorite
story was Eloise at the Plaza then because I really
identified with the precociousness of the character and her life
situation. My fantasy always was to have a daughter
and name her Eloise. I shared my dream with a friend who
many years later sent me an old copy. At the time the books
were no being re-released. I noticed that the illustrators
name was Hilary knight……given the fact that my first name
is Hillary……. I named my daughter Eloise in 1981 when she was
born. I search long and hard for the Eloise books
then. Today the Eloise series is
everywhere due to Kay Thompson’s death. I suspect there will
be a new generation of little girls named Eloise in the near
future. A truly wonderful name for a little girl…a fabulous
name for a woman. That’s my little story. Have a
great day. Thanks
Thompson,
Kay. Eloise. Illustrated by
Hilary Knight. Simon & Schuster, 1955.
Back in print! See the Back in Print page.
Elspeth
For a long time, one of my favorite books has
been The Flame Trees of Thika, by Elspeth
Huxley. So when our daughter was born five years ago,
that was the name we had already settled on - Elspeth. She
is VERY good at correcting people who don't listen and call her
'Elizabeth' or 'Elsabeth'. I've told her where her first name
comes from, and it makes her eyes get sooo big. I hope she
reads and loves that book just as I do.
I named my daughter Elspeth, after Elspeth
Huxley's memoir The Flame Trees of Thika. We have met only
a few Elspeths over the years (my daughter is 18), but
invariably we find that this book is the source of the
name. The little girl who played Elspeth in the BBC
adaptation of the book was just marvelous and that may have
inspired parents as well.
Huxley,
Elspeth. The Flame Trees of Thika. William Morrow,
1959.
Emily
Anne
I loved all of the L.M. Montgomery
books, in fact I named my daughter Emily Anne after Anne of
Green Gables and Emily of New Moon.
Montgomery,
L.M. Anne of Green Gables. Page, 1908.
Montgomery,
L.M. Emily of New Moon. Frederick A. Stokes
Co. 1923.
Wow... two books in one name! Used copies
of the Anne series usually available. The Emily
series is only sometimes available. Please inquire.
Emily Elizabeth
When I was pregnant with my
third child my 2 older daughters wanted to name the baby
EMILY ELIZABETH after the character in the book CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG.
When
they went to see the ultrasound they waved to the baby on the
screen and said hi to EMILY ELIZABETH. We did not know the
sex of the child but my older daughters just knew that would be
the name. The baby was a girl and of course we had to name
her EMILY ELIZABETH and we all read her the book series many times
over the years.
Emily and Adam
I'm very interested in 2 different books
written by Anglund: Emily and Adam, Book of
Opposites and Emily and Adam.
Apparently there is also a line of collectables in the Emily and
Adam series- can you shed any light on this for me? I
recently had boy/girl twins and guess what their names are?
EMILY and ADAM!!! I'm determined to find these
books/memorablias! Thanks in advance!
Anglund, Joan Walsh. The
Adam Book, The Emily Book and The
Emily and Adam Book of Opposites. Random
House, 1979.
For more on JWA, see Most Requested
Books.
Emrys
My
son’s name is Kellan Emrys. Emrys is from Mary
Stewart’s The Crystal Cave and is another name for
Merlin. My daughter is Luthien Aerin; Luthien from The
Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings books by
J.R.R. Tolkien, and Aerin for the heroine in Robin
McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown. I am lucky
that my husband likes unusual names, too. We have
since found a picture book by Jane Yolen that also has Emrys
as a name for Merlin. Luthien sometimes has a hard
time introducing herself, and having people pronounce her
name correctly, but she doesn’t want to go by Aerin (we gave
her that one to give her a choice of names.) The names were
from the books, the movies didn’t come out till later.
Eowyn
One of my nieces is named after a Lord of the Rings
Princess, "Eowyn" (pronounced AY-o-win). The family at first
thought they were crazy but the name has grown on us and she is a
delightful little girl. My youngest calls her "Ay-o".
Tolkien, J.R.R. The
Lord of the Rings trilogy. London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1954, 1954, 1955.
Evangeline
My daughter is named Evangeline (it's
a long story, but has to do with a vacation home in Nova Scotia,
etc., etc.) Several years ago I began a collection of published
copies of the Longfellow poem for her. I collect copies in all
languages (I have one in German already), all years, all
illustrations, etc.
I gave my daughter the middle name
Evangeline from Longfellow.
Longfellow,
Henry Wadsworth. Evangeline. 1847.
Many editions and poetry collections both in
and out of print. Please
inquire.
Einstein
& Frolic
I wouldn't want you to think that I skipped
over E and F in my pet alphabet, but I must admit that these
aren't really book names. Frolic and Einstein were the two
gerbils I had as a youth and for whom I built massive Habitat
mansions and mazes. Fun stuff. Einstein was named for her tiny
brains, and Frolic for her behavior. But they were sometimes
hard to tell apart...
Many of Einstein's books and essays as well as some interesting
biographies are often available. Please inquire.
Faline
Hi how are you going? my parents named me
faline, after the deer in Bambi. I have only ever
heard of one other faline but the spelling was different. I have
been wondering if anybody knows if Faline means anything or where
it was from origonally?
Faramir
My family has had two cats with Tolkien
inspired names. First was Faramir, a black kitten my sister
adopted while attending the University of Georgia in 1983.
When she moved to an apartment that didn’t allow pets, my sister
gave Faramir to our father, who fell in love with him and doted on
him for years. Faramir grew up to be strong but gentle, very
much like his namesake in The Lord of the Rings.
He was a great hunter and fearless in his determination to rid the
world, or at least the neighborhood, of rats and mice. At
the same time Faramir was very friendly, patient with children,
and a natural leader. The other neighborhood pets respected
him, too. Faramir lived to be 15 before his health broke
down and he had to be put to sleep. People in the
neighborhood still talk about him.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The
Lord of the Rings trilogy. London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1954, 1954, 1955.
Felim
Our cat, Thomas Felim O'Leary is named for Felim
Brady, the Bard of Armaugh, as per the folk song.
Franny
My first cat was named Francis by his first
owner. I called him Franny after I adopted him.
When I got another cat I decided to name him Zooey. Franny
and Zooey were best friends and I was reminded of one of my
favorite books every time I said their names at the same time.
J.D.
Salinger. Franny and Zooey. 1961.
Gareth
When my mother was in high school she
decided to name her first child after Gareth of "King Arthurs
Round Table" Eight years later in 1953 I was born but there
was a slight problem, I was a girl. So she named me Kareth
instead.
Garp
...for the bucket full of tadpoles that I
caught at my uncle's pond in Massachuetts and transported back
to our lake in Ohio. Wonder if any of them ever grew up into
frogs?
Irving,
John. The World According to Garp. Ballantine, 1978.
Used copies usually available.
Sometimes collectible first editions are also available. Please inquire.
Gawain
I have a very special black cat whose official
name is Sir Gawain Van Tassel. Sir Gawain comes from the
Knights of the Round Table tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Van Tassel was the last name of the family Icabod Craine was sent
to aid in the classic tale of the Headless Horseman.
Arthurian Legend
Gaynell
My grandmother was named after this book and
it is my middle name and my daughter's also. Read it once in my
early teens and would love to get my hands on a copy. Its a story
of a working class girl Gaynell
who falls in love with Percy the man who owns the cotton mill she
works in. Tragedy befalls them over and over but love survives
Libbey, Laura Jean. Willful
Gaynell. New
York, N. L. Munro, 1890.
Georgina
I must admit... My daughter Georgina was named
after Roger Brook's friend Lady Georgina Worsley in Dennis Wheatley's Roger Brook
series.
Wheatley, Dennis. Roger Brook
series.
London, Hutchinson, 1955.
Gertie
My mother-in-law was born 10
years after her oldest sister. Their mother let the oldest
daughter choose the baby's (my mother-in-law) name. Aunt Cora was
reading a book at the time whose main character was Gertie, thus Gertie was the baby's name. It
is not short for Gertrude.
Gillian
This was a children's novel set, I think, in
the English countryside. It seems as if there were four or
five children, possibly from two families. I think they
might have been on holiday. It seems as if there was a lot
of outdoor activity and adventure, children roaming about without
the benifit of close adult superivsion. The main thing I
remember is a girl named Gillian who was called by either Gill or
Gilly and that I was fond of the book. I would love to find
this book to read to my little girl, Gillian.
Reply to Book Stumper #G58--Gillian, Gilly,
Gill: Mystery of the Witches' Bridge, by Barbee
Oliver Carleton, has a girl named Gilly, and similarities
to the book described. Even if it's not the right one,
it's cheaply and easily available online and well worth
having! Doesn't sound like The Great Gilly Hopkins,
or Gillian, Gillian, Gillian Jiggs, your room looks as if it
was lived in by pigs!
My
sister was named after a movie (I don't know if it was a book
first), Gillian from
"Bell,
Book & Candle".
Ginny
I raise Border Collies, particularly in the
rare color of red. When I knew I would be keeping a red
haired female, and knowing the very intelligent, spunky and
energetic yet shy nature of the breed I could think of no better
name than Ginny, as in Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter
series! Boy, does the name ever fit the dog!
Rowling, J.K.. Harry
Potter series. Arthur
A. Levine Books, 1998.
Grahame
My second son is named Grahame, for the author
of "Wind in the Willows" Kenneth
Grahame.
Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in
the Willows. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1908.
Gregory
My third son is named Gregory.
He is named after Gregory Peck who portrayed Atticus Finch in Who
Killed a Mockingbird. I really didn't think a child would like to
be Atticus but nowadays, who knows!?
Grendel
...And, several of my cats have been named for
literary monsters: Grendel from Beowulf, Fafnir from the Norse myths
and Caliban from The Tempest.
Raffel, Burton. Beowulf.
Harriett
I wasn't named after Harriet Tubman (I have
more t's than she does), but I've been on a Harriet Tubman kick
lately. At least a children's book Harriet
Tubman kick. She's the ultimate feminist role model: born
into slavery, escaping, and then returning to rescue hundreds of
people from slavery. Live free or die. Go, Harriet,
go!
McGovern,
Ann. "Wanted Dead or Alive" The True Story of Harriett
Tubman. Scholastic, 1965.
New paperback, <SOLD>
Lawrence,
Jacob. Harriet and the Promised Land. Simon
& Shuster, 1968, 1993. Gorgeously
illustrated with simplicity and power and song-like narration by
Harlem Renaissance artist Jacob Lawrence. A New York Times
Best Illustrated Book. New hardback, <SOLD>
McMullan,
Kate. The Story of Harriet Tubman, Conductor of the
Underground Railroad. Illustrated
by Steven James Petruccio. Gareth Stevens Publishing,
1997. New hardcover. <SOLD>
Ringgold,
Faith. Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky. Crown Publishers,
1992. New hardback, <SOLD>
Hazel and Pipkin
I had two hamsters named for characters from Watership
Down. Hazel was a chubby brown hamster and
Pipkin was a tiny fluffy teddy bear hamster. This book has
been my favourite throughout my entire life, and I loved being
able to use those names.
Adams, Richard. Watership
Down. London,
Rex Collings Ltd, 1972.
Hedda
Hedda is my darling cat, named after Ibsen's
great Hedda Gabler, one of my favorite plays.
Someday I will work on a production of this, do you think Hedda
is up for the role?
Ibsen,
Henrik. Hedda Gabler. Norway, 1890.
Used copies usually available in several
translations. Please
inquire.
.
Heffalump
and Woozle
Heffalump and Woozle are our adopted Brooklyn
cats, litter mates saved from behind the River Cafe. We named them
after the Heffalump and Woozle that Pooh and Piglet hunt in the
Winnie the Pooh books. Heffalump is the girl, and Woozle the
boy.
Milne, A. A.. Winnie the Pooh.
Heidi
Hello! I am Heidi. Enough said.
Spyri, Johanna. Heidi.
Munchen, F.
Schneider, 1968.
Several used copies of Heidi
usually in stock. Please
inquire.
Hermione
Long before the fantastic success of the Harry Potter
movies, my husband Aaron was a rabid fan of the series by JK
Rowling. Having met in a bookstore, our marriage is
firmly rooted in the idea that books are the most important thing
you can have in common. Before we married Aaron was lonely
bachelor and got himself a puppy. He didn't get a manly dog
or a big dog, he chose a tiny Yorkshire Terrier. He had
several names in mind, including Adia (from the Sarah McLachlan
song), but dashed all of those ideas as soon as he laid eyes on
his pup. Her scrappy disposition and wild hair and her
intelligence left him no choice but to name her Hermione. As she has
aged Hermione has come to embody more and more of her namesakes
qualities. We named her sister dog Pixie and everyday
Hermione wrestles her to the ground like so many magical creatures
in a Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. Before the HP
movies people had a hard time remembering little Hermione's name,
now we have a different problem, convincing them that we named her
for the character in the books, not the films.
Rowling, J.K.. Harry
Potter series. Arthur
A. Levine Books, 1998.
Hilary Ruth
I named my daughter Hilary Ruth after the main
characters in the book Jane's House.
Imajica
Above and beyond the literary character
influence for a name, I named my daughter after an entire
universe. Imajica
by Clive Barker struck me
in the chest and wouldn't let me breathe for two months.
Years later, tossing around endless boy and girl names, I plopped
down in front of my bookcase. Hours later it was decided
without much conscious thought. Bastian for a boy (after the
Neverending Story character), and the perfect girl-child now two
and confusing Day Care Providers everywhere, Imajica
Catherine. She has a lifetime ahead including the phrase
"It's a 'j', not a 'g'."
Barker, Clive. Imajica. New York, NY, HarperCollins, 1991.
India
I had a great-aunt by marriage with the first
name of India. This
great-aunt was born in Georgia and had lived in Atlanta, according
to family legend, a few a blocks from the house where Margaret
Mitchell was writing "Gone with the Wind." We often wondered
if my relative's first name somehow came to the attention of
Margaret Mitchell and was then used in the book. My
great-aunt never confirmed nor denied our questions about her
name. She would have already been a middle-aged woman in the
mid/late 1930's. Nevertheless, she was to me, a child
growing up in Pennsylvania, a wonderful "Southern Lady", always
gracious, always displaying the best manners, and having sense of
what was "correct." I've never encountered another person
with the first name of India.
I saw your entry
with the name India from Gone with
the Wind. My
daughter’s name is India and her little sister’s name is Honey
(India’s sister in the book). I’ve always loved the book and
fantasized when I was younger that I would name all my children
after characters, but I did not name my little boy Rhett. By the
way, they have a cousin named Scarlett, and yes, we live in the
South. I collect copies of books for her with the name India
in them, like Gone with the Wind,
India Allen, and Adopting Jane. I love your Website and
recommend it to all who love children’s books, as I do!
Mitchell, Margaret. Gone
With
the
Wind. New York,
The Macmillian company, 1939.
Indigo
A good friend of mine named her daughter Indigo
after Ntozake Shange's novel. Must be a good luck name,
'cause her daughter has racked up what seems a monopoly of
awards in sports, academics, good will, theatre... yooza.
Shange,
Ntozake. Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo : A Novel. New York, St.
Martin’s Press, 1982.
Used copies of many of Shange's titles often
in stock. Please
inquire.
Iphigenia
A white pelican got lost one year and took up
residence in the Shaker Lakes near my home. I've seen brown
pelicans in the Carolinas, but not their southern relatives, the
whites, so it was most exciting and disorienting to see one in
Ohio. She stayed in the same place day after day, feasting on
fish, and despite efforts to scare her into migration, she stayed
after the first and second frosts. But when it really began to
snow, I think she figured out that south was the way to go.
Generally named after the Greek mythological character,
specifically after the title character in Euripides' Iphigenia
in Aulis.(I think everyone in the area "adopted" this
bird as their own special friend...)
Euripides.
Iphigenia in Aulis. Athens, 405 B.C.
Used copies usually available in several
translations. Please
inquire.
Isabel
My Sara got her middle name from a famous
character: Isabel Archer from James' A Portrait of
a Lady. Of course, that poor woman didn't suffer
the happiest fate, but still, she's one of my heroines.
James. A Portrait of a
Lady.
Isabella
My other cat's name is Isabella. I was reading
books by Sharon Kay Penman
at the time and this was a popular lady's name in the historical
time periods she writes about.
Ivy
When I was a kid I loved Zilpha Keatley
Snyder and one of my favorites was The Changeling,
which featured an exotic free-spirited girl named Ivy. When
I had my first daughter, Ivy
was the only name I considered! Turns out, she's much like
her namesake! :)
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The
Changeling.
Jace
I named my dog Jace. I got the name from
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.
James
My son James was named after James from
the Giant Peach.
Dahl, Roald. James and
the Giant Peach. New York, Knopf, 1961.
Jasper
My favorite
dog was named Jasper, after the dog in Rebecca, my all time
favorite novel.
Jennifer
I was interested to hear that Jennifer's
Rabbit is such a rare item. The copy my friend showed
me is in very good condition. I will tell her to make sure she
takes very good care of it. My interest in the book is purely
sentimental. Our elder daughter, 31 next week, was partly named
after Jennifer in the song. My husband and I were
keen Tom Paxton fans in
the sixties and heard him sing "Jennifer's Rabbit" at a concert at
The Royal Albert Hall. I didn't know the book existed until it
came up in a casual conversation. I thought it would be a
lovely idea to find a copy for our daughter. I do also have an
interest in old books and love second hand book shops and cannot
pass a second book shop or even charity shop without having a
look.
I named my first daughter after Jennie in Portrait of
Jennie by Robert
Nathan. It was my favorite book as an older
child, both mysterious and romantic. Almost didn't do it
when I realized Jennifer was the most-used name in 1980, but
after watching Jennifer Jones in the film I just couldn't
resist. I save copies for her whenever I find them.
Jenny
I named my black cat Jenny Linsky after the
cat in Jenny
and the Cat Club. Another cat is named Tinker, after
Captain Tinker, a character in the same book.
Averill, Esther. Jenny
and the Cat Club. New York, Harper & Row, 1973.
Jim
Jim the black cat was named after Captain
James Kirk on Star Trek by my friend's nephew.
I'm not a Trekkie, but my favorite English professor happened to
be Jonathan Frakes' father (who's an actor on Star Trek: The
Next Generation), so I have a certain fondness for
Trekkies. I always thought Professor Frakes looked like Ernest
Hemingway, myself.
Used copies often available. Please inquire.
John
Hi Harriett...I found Just Only John
at a site on the web and unbelievably it was on hold for another
customer! So sad, too, because it was a special favorite of my
daughter's, who now has a son John of her own.
See also comments about this book on the Solved Mysteries
page.
Kent, Jack.
Just Only John. Parents Magazine
Press, 1968. Out-of-print.
Used copies sometimes available. Please inquire.
Jon
My son Jon is named for Jon
Remillard aka St. Jack the Bodiless of Julian
May's Milieu trilogy. I made the huge mistake of
reading it when I was pregnant with him. It's about a mother
facing down an entire government to carry an illegal pregnancy to
term. After he's born, the genetic problems cause him to
discorporate, leaving behind only a naked brain.
Jonathan Carter
We named
our son Jonathan Carter, after John
Carter, Warlord of Mars from the Edgar Rice Burroughs books,
my ex-husband's favorite series. Our son goes by his
middle name, and is it any wonder that Carter is now, at age 7,
a budding sci-fi/fantasy fanatic? He's already read the first
four Harry Potter books, and we have the Philip Pullman
books waiting in the wings for when he finishes the Rowling
series. I'm only glad it turned out we were having a
boy; I would have fought naming a daughter Dejah Thoris.
:)
Jordan
Daughter Jordan was named after Jordan Baker
in The Great
Gatsby. I had to read it in 9th grade, and while
it's not my favorite book and she was not a terribly likeable
character, I thought it was a great name for a girl. I wish
I would have known 11 years ago that it would be so popular!
Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
The Great Gatsby. New York, Scribner, 1967.
Jordana
my youngest daughter is named Jordana after a
character in Exodus.
Uris, Leon. Exodus.
Justin
My younger son, Justin, was named after a man
and a horse, same name: Justin Morgan (Had A Horse).
Henry, Marguerite.
Justin Morgan Had a Horse. Chicago, Wilcox & Follett co., 1945.
Kandinsky
ok, it's art, not literature, but my little
grey kitten (ok, he's a big tub of grey cat now) is named
for the master and inventor of abstract art, the great Wassily Kandinsky.
Known fondly as Baby K.
Many monographs and biographies of Kandinsky usually available. Please
inquire.
Kanga
We have 3 cats named after
literary characters: Kanga
(from Winnie
the Pooh) and Sam and Pippin, who are named after Hobbits
from Lord of the Rings. Kanga has big back feet, like her
namesake. Sam is stocky and loyal, and Pippin is always
getting into trouble, just like their namesakes.
A. A. Milne. Winnie the
Pooh.
Kiersten
Hi Harriett--My daughter Kiersten is named for
Kirsti, the title character of a book by Helen Markley Miller. I've
always loved the book & the way the name is pronounced
("Keer-stee"), so the name went to the top of my baby-names list.
My husband's family has a good bit of English background, &
there's no Finnish (or even Scandinavian) in either of our
families, so we choose the English spelling of Kirsten/Kirsti. I'm
an amateur genealogist & my daughter is quite happy that she
is the only Kiersten anywhere in the family tree! : )
Miller, Helen Markley.
Kirsti.
Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1964.
Kinsey
My best friend named her now 8-year-old
daughter "Kinsey" after getting hooked (both of us are!) on the
"Alphabet Mysteries" written by Sue
Grafton (eg: A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar,
etc.). The main character is a self-relliant female private
investigator in her mid-30's named Kinsey Millhone....and we
thought that was just a really neat name. So when she
"surprise" got pregnant on vacation with her family (her other
children were 8 + 10...she thought her family was done) she named
her little girl after our favorite
character.
Grafton, Sue. Alphabet
Mysteries series.
Kristin
I was named Kristin after the Kristin
Lavransdatter by Sigrid
Undset.
Undset, Sigrid.
Kristin Lavransdatter. Kristiania, H. Aschehoug & co. (W.
Nygaard), 1920.
Lamb
My late sweet cat Lamb was named after the
youngest child in Five Children and It, though I have yet to meet
anybody who made the connection.
Nesbit, E. Five
Children and It.
Lara
Lara - I was named for the Russian heroine of
Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago,
though more people know the movie and theme song "Lara's Theme."
Pasternak, Boris. Doctor
Zhivago. New
York Pantheon, 1958.
Laura
We named our daughter Laura after Laura
Ingalls Wilder of the Little House
books. I'm really looking forward to when our Laura is old
enough to enjoy those wonderful stories.
I was named Laura after Laura Ingalls Wilder.
My mother loved those books when she was a kid and read "Farmer
Boy" to my brother and I when we were little.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls . Little
House on the Prairie. New York and London, Harper &
brothers, 1935.
Laurel
As a child, I had asthma and spent many hours
in bed, reading and listening to soap operas. One of my
favorites was Stella Dallas by Croson. The daughter's name
was Laurel. I liked the way it rolled off the tongue,
especially with our name: Laurel Ann.
Laurie Jo
I'm Laurie Jo. I would have been Amy Jo,
but for some reason (according to Mama) my dad said, "Amy Jo has
gotta go," and so it was Laurie. The next child would have
been Beth, but he turned out to be a boy, Brad.
Alcott, Louisa May.
Little Women. Boston,
Roberts brothers, 1869.
Leto
Our huge German Shepherd dog is named Leto,
after Duke Leto in the Dune books by Frank Herbert. It's a
nice, sharp name and it conveys a sense of dignity, although our
dog sometimes seems more like Scooby Doo.
Herbert, Frank. Dune. Philadelphia, Chilton Books, 1965.
Levi
I named my son, Levi, after a character in the
book, Girls Turn Wives. It has been close to
thirty years now so all I remember is he was the kind of man
I wanted my son to be.
Klein, Norma. Girls
Turn Wives.
New York, Simon & Schuster, 1976.
Lia
My middle daughter is named Lia after a
character in Foucault's
Pendulum (a nice, light book...)
Eco, Umberto. Foucault's
Pendulum. London,
Secker & Warburg, 1989.
Limpopo
When I was 9 or 10 (1953-54), I kept checking
a book out of the library because I loved it so much. I have
thought about it often over the years, but I don't remember the
author or title. It was about a young girl who moved with
her parents to Los Angeles. They would ride the trolley to
the Farmers' Market. The girl had a cat, possibly an orange
tiger, who loved to sleep and hide in the geraniums that they had
bought at the Farmers' Market. At some point toward the end
of the book, the father bought a car which he named "Limpopo",
after the "greasy green Limpopo" river because the car was both
green and greasy. (I have named all the cars I have ever
owned and I attribute that to this book!) I hope you can
help me.
this sounds good - Ginny and Custard,
by Frances Clarke Sayers, illustrated by Eileen Evans,
published New York, Viking 1951. "A charming story of a
little New York girl's happy year in Los Angeles with an
understanding father and mother to enjoy exploring with her
all sorts of new and exciting things - the famous Farmer's
Market; the wonderful fields of wild flowers; Olvera Street
where they took Ginny's much-loved cat, Custard, for the
Easter Saturday Festival; and many, many more. I enjoyed the
story of Ginny; and the book left me with a feeling of really
having had a happy time myself in Los Angeles, so well does
Mrs. Sayers picture the city." (Horn Book Sept/51
p.331)
Liza Dare
I'm 48 and still have all of my Edith and the
Bear books, and even Date with London. I was so affected by these
books that I called my younger daugher (now 16) Liza Dare.
Wright, Dare. The Lonely Doll.
Logan
Hi, I have a 9mo. old grandson named Logan.
I was playing around and entered www.logan.com into my
computer and your site came up. I chuckled when I saw Loganberry
because that is my name for my little grandson. My little
"Loganberry." Secondly, we live in Cuyahoga Falls and my son lives
in Cleveland - west side. Last but not least I am crazy about
books. I have already bought so many for Logan. It is soooo
important to read to children and to teach them to love books.
Right now he loves to eat them, but he'll soon learn about all the
places books can take him. I'll check your site for directions to
your shop and the next time I come up to visit my son, I'll stop
in and say hi. Hope to see you soon.
Hi, I just stumbled across your website
because I named my son, Logan. I thought I had
heard of Loganberry books somewhere in the back of my mind, so I
checked out that in particular. Then I noticed that you
are near Cleveland and I just got a kick out of that because I
was born there! That's all I have to say, really.
Just thought it was neat! Have a good day!!
Hello, my name is Kathy, and our first
grandson was born this March 11th. His name is Logan
Alexander, which is what prompted me to go into the web and see
if there was a website for Logan---interesting tidbits on the
name, origin, whatever is what I thought I'd find. Not
sure why I thought that, but that was it. Anyhow, I was
not disappointed to open it to a family name of Logan, and see
that children's books are a part of the website.
HI. I HAVE A 17 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER NAMED LOGAN
(AVARIE). I LOVE THE NAME LOGAN. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS MORE
FOR A BOY, BUT THEN I FIGURED IT COULD GO EITHER WAY. NOW, I
KNOW AT LEAST 7 LITTLE GIRLS NAMED LOGAN (AND 3 NAMED AVARIE
WITH VARIOUS SPELLINGS). SHE FITS THE NAME LOGAN, TOO.
Logan
is my 4 year old grandson who is all BOY!
I came across your website by looking for
books with a girl character named Logan. I just want to
shout out to the mom with the 17 month old GIRL LOGAN, can
definitely go both ways and I'm glad to hear that I'm not the
only one out there!
Add me to the list of people who found your
site because their child is named Logan and I was curious about who had this web
address. My son's name is linked to the title character
from William F. Nolan's
novel "Logan's
Run" which more folks know from the movie than the book
that spawned it. The book is not a particular favorite of
mine - I had to read it for a class - but the name stuck with me
and I always knew it would be near the top of the list of boy
baby names in my future. Luckily, my hubby liked it, too,
so I didn't have to fight for it. I was also happy to see
the name Logan for a little boy in a delightful children's book
called "The
Sunflower Parable" by Liz
Curtis Higgs which is now my 3 1/2 year-old's favorite
book (of course!). Thanks for letting us post on your
wonderful site - these are really fun to read!
Hi, I was looking for items for children
named Logan and I came across your website. My son is also named
Logan Alexander and he
was born in March. I was tickled to see Kathy also has a son
with the same name and birthday month. His nickname is
also Loganberry. This website made my day! Thanks.
We named our son (now 3 years old) after
the character "Logan" or "Wolverine" in the X-Men comic
books. I know a lot of people don't consider comic books
as literature but that's just because they never have read
them. My husband and I love that character and when we
found out we were having a boy, we knew that had to be his
name. If it wasn't for comics, my husband wouldn't have
become the reader he is today.
Lucy
Our second daughter, Lucy, was named after two
literary characters, Lucy Pevensie, or "Queen Lucy the Valiant,"
from the Chronicles
of Narnia books (my husband's favorite as a child), and
Lucy Honeychurch from E. M.
Forster's A Room With A View (my favorite as a teenager).
Lewis, C. S. The
Chronicles of Narnia series.
Forster, E. M.
A Room with a View.
Lydia
Two of my cats – Phoebe is
named for the heroine of Elswyth Thane’s The Light
Heart, and Lydia is named for the
heroine of Gladys Malvern’s Dear Wife.
Two of my childhood favorites!
Lyddie
Another kitten? It's true.
Something about going to a funeral and coming home with a cat
(it made sense at the time). And what a wonderful fluff of
fur she is! Lydia looks like the perfect mix between my
other cats Hedda and Baby K (see above), and they're all getting
along famously. Oh yes, and she is officially named after
a great feminist children's book by Katherine Paterson
called Lyddie about a young woman who goes to
work in the notorious weaving mills of Lowell,
Massachuetts. I do hope my Lydia has an easier life!
Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie.
New York, Lodestar
Books, 1991.
Used and new copies sometimes available. Please inquire.
Madeleine
Madeleine was named after Madeleine
L'Engle the author.
Madeline
My daughter, Olivia Madeline, is named for
both Madeline Remillard of Julian May's Milieu
trilogy and Madeline the children's book
character. "In an old house in Paris, covered with vines,
lived twelve little girls in two straight lines" etc. (also for
Mary Magdalene, but that's another story)
My daughters are both named
for books: My eldest daughter is Madeline (rhymes with "half
past-nine", as is only correct) and I am thrilled that though
not red-headed, she is as loving, curious and brave as her
namesake (at age 12) and my youngest is Katherine Charlotte, and
while we have found lots of "Katie" books that we love, she is
truly named for the kind, smart and loyal spider in the classic
Charlotte's Web. I only regret that I do not have a third, who
would most probably be Eloise.
Maggie
In response to your collection of people named
after book characters, here is my little story: I have a
10-year-old daughter named Maggie. A couple years ago, I was
talking with my Grandma Dot about how I just love the name Maggie,
and she reminded me that a few months before I was even expecting
(after 10 years of infertility), I pointed to a book on the shelf
called Maggie Now by Betty Smith (of A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn), and told her, "If the Lord ever
gives me a daughter, that is what I am going to name her." So it
was that I remembered that I named my daughter Margaret, with the
nickname Maggie due to the book Maggie Now.
Smith,
Betty. Maggie-Now. New York,
Harper & Brothers, 1958.
Mandy
About my name..lol..I was named after the
Barry Manalow song "Mandy"..about his dog named Mandy that
he gave away and missed..lol. How crazy,
huh? =) My Mom read this book Mandy to
me when I was a little kid and I totally loved it. I
remember the whole book and it's been probably 17 or so years
since. So I figured I need to get a copy, and I want the
book made the way I saw it when I was a kid.
Edwards, Julie. Mandy.
New York, Harper
& Row, 1971.
Marguerite
My name is Marguerite. I'm not a
"spinster aunt", over 70, or even french... It was my
grandmother's inspiration really. To name me for the french
courtisan who gives everything she has for love, in Alexander
Dumas' Camille. Perhaps that is why I've
always been such a great romantic.
Dumas, Alexandre, fils.
Camille.
McGee
I am looking for the little book, sold in a
grocery store, in 1959...purchased for my daughter, by Grandma,
while I was birthing my oldest son.....This little book, called The Yellow Cat,
was all rhyming and parts of it read...."Jonathan Wonathan Higgins
McGee, jumped out of bed in a one, two, three, put on his coat,
and his tie, and his spats.......said there's no such thing as a
yellow cat".....anyway.....baby boy John and I come home from the
hospital, to Daddy John, and Grampa John....so a nickname was in
order, and being folks who utilized "baby talk", we began calling
the baby..."Jonathan Wonathan Higgins McGee", and finally just
"McGee"....which he is still called today....43 years later....It
fits him, he loves it, and the little book was so loved by all the
kids...(we eventually had a pair of twins, in addition to the
daughter and son)
The Yellow Cat.
Meg
When I was born 60 years ago, I was named for
my Mother, Mary, and my Grandmother, Marguerite. They said,
"Mary Marguerite is too big a name for this tiny baby." My
mother's friend suggested Meg as a nickname from "Little
Women." I always loved having a different name,
tho' it's become more popular. I never hesitate to correct
people who think it is from "Megan.: I'm a true Meg and always
have been (even tho' Jo was my favorite of the Little Women). My
sisters and I collect Little Women dolls, too.
My mother was a high school English teacher
who loved to read and passed that gift on to me. My
brother and I were born in the 60s and given the then uncommon
names of Todd and Meg which are of course from "Little Men"
and "Little Women". I have always
loved being just "Meg" and always let people know that it is not
short for anything. I worked at a wonderful place with a
just "Jo" (named for the same), Amy and Beth.
Alcott, Louisa May.
Little Women. Boston,
Roberts brothers, 1869.
Meggie
We named our youngest daughter
Meggie, when we fell in
love with the name after watching on TV (and then, reading) Colleen McCullough's Thornbirds.
And her given name truly is, simply, Meggie. It's a perfect
fit.
McCullough, Colleen.
The Thorn Birds. New York, Harper & Row, 1977.
Meghan
I named one of my cats Meghan and call her
Meggie from the main character in The Thorn Birds -
one of my all time favorite books.
McCullough, Colleen. The
Thorn Birds. New York, Harper & Row, 1977.
Merlin and
Arthur
I was reading Stephen Lawhead's Arthur trilogy at
the time my Husband and I decided to adopt a cat. We named him Merlin, which was pretty
fitting, considering he's mostly black, and at a vet-approved
normal weight of 15 lbs, pretty imposing. And he's also extremely
intelligent. A year later, we decided to adopt a second cat. His
name posed a bigger problem. Nothing we thought of really seemed
to fit his personality. So we finally settled for Arthur, just to keep the theme
going. But it turned out to fit him perfectly. Being slightly
smaller and younger than Merlin, he's learned a lot from him. He
sometimes tends to jump into something without thinking it all the
way through, and it's always Merlin that helps him out of a
scrape. If you don't mind, a small plug...both of our boys
were adults when we adopted them from the local Humane Society.
Contrary to the horror stories we had heard, neither of them had
behavioural problems. They are not destructive, and they have
always used the litter box from day one--no exceptions. And even
though they're both male, neither of them sprays. So if you're
considering adoption, please consider older animals from a local
shelter. They do come with fewer antics than kittens, but they up
the ante with lots of love and affection, and I even believe
appreciation.
Lawhead, Stephen. Arthur.
Milo
We named our son Milo after Norton Juster's "The Phantom
Tollbooth." I was never lucky enough to read this
book as a child, but a college roommate introduced me to it and I
loved it. Thanks Maura, wherever you are. I decided
then and there, 12 years ago, that I would name my son Milo.
Over the years my resolve waned and it was just one of the names I
suggested to his father. Unbelievably, it was the one name
he truly loved. We agreed, with my only exception being that
we could not name our son Milo if he was born with red hair.
It would just be too much. But after 31 hours of labor and a
C-section and all of the Demerol, morphine and whatever else I had
in me, I was too tired to object when Jack proclaimed our
red-headed son was to be named Milo. I hope Milo learns to
love his name as much as we do.
Juster, Norton. The
Phantom Tollbooth. Yearling, 1988.
Minnow
I encountered your site this morning while
trying to find one story I read as a child, and discovered a lead
to a different story that has eluded me for years. I read stumper
T90, and one of the suggestions was for "Worry Week" by Anne Lindbergh. Based on the
description given, this is a book my aunt loaned to me as a
pre-teen. I've wanted to read it again, but my aunt is no longer
with us. Over the years, I've done several searches and asked
librarians for help finding this story. My aunt thought I
would like it because the protagonist is, like me, the eldest of
three sisters. I empathized with how the oldest sister wanted to
stay on the island though her parents had to return to the city.
I, too, have always loved being near the sea. The youngest sister
is nicknamed "Minnow," and after reading this story, that became
my pet name for my youngest sister, previously called "Minna."
Perhaps that makes this fit in your collection of people named for
literary figures.
Lindbergh, Anne. Worry
Week. San
Diego, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985.
Morgan
Morgan was named after Morgan LeFey from Sir
Thomas
Malory's "La Morte D'Arthur"
Morgan is for Morgan LeFay.
Malory, Sir Thomas. La
Morte D'Arthur.
Mrs. Frisby
I also had a pet mouse named Mrs. Frisby from
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
O'Brien, Robert C., Mrs.
Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. New York, Atheneum, 1971.
Nathaniel
My son was named Nathaniel after a character
in The Witch of Blackbird Pond that I read when I
was in 6th grade.
Speare,
Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. 1958.
Neeley
My beagle mix, Neeley, was named for a
character in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She's 7
years old, and before I got her (knowing I was looking for a
puppy) I had many names picked out, but Neeley in the book is a
boy. I wanted a male puppy but I ended up with the runt of the
litter, the only girl. Sooooo......I didn't tell her she was
named after a boy. I considered naming her Francie, after the main
character, but I wasn't keen on the name and since nobody else I knew had read the book
anyway, and since they wouldn't know the REAL Neeley was a boy, I
decided to go ahead and name her Neeley after all. (I call her
Neeley Nolan when I'm mad at her!) At the time I never
thought of using Brooklyn as a pet name, or Tree, either.
Fortunately for the dog! 2 years ago I got a cat and by that
time had reserved the name Brooklyn for my next female pet. Long
after that I heard a Spice Girl named her poor SON,
Brooklyn. And to think I was worried about a dog having a
girl's name!
Smith,
Betty, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 1944.
Nicholas
Through the years Earnest Hemmingway
has become my favorite author. When my wife and I had our
first son we both wanted his name to be more than a selection
from The Baby Name book she received as a shower gift.
Believe it or not, I couldn't get her to buy-into Earnest so I
focused on one of Hemmingway's main characters, Nick
Adams. From this we found our son's middle
name, Nicholas. Being born two months early we wanted a
name to signify strength. Preferably something with a
religious connotation (from The Bible) to acknowledge
our thanks. We choose Joshua for his first
name. It was the aged man Joshua who went off into the
desert alone as Moses had asked, and found "The Land of Milk and
Honey." By-the-way, exactly one year later to this
day Son, Mother, Brookei (our Golden Retriever) and Father are
all doing just perfectly!!
Hemingway,
Ernest. The Nick Adams Stories. Macmillan, 1981 reprint.
New paperback, $12
Nikita
The name is officially Manx Nikita to keep her
within the pet alphabet. She already came with a name you
see, and even though we changed it slightly from Nocoda to Nikita,
the cat seems to think it's the same name. But no literary
source? This cannot be!! Help--we need a literary
source for our newest feline, Nikita. Free books for best
contribution! Thanks for your help.
It's a male rather than a female Nikita;
but there is Nikita's Childhood by Alexei
Tolstoy.
Olivia
My daughter is Olivia Madeline. Her
favorite book is Olivia, by Ian Falconer.
"This is Olivia. She's good at a lot of things. She's
very good at wearing people out." One morning when I got her
up to dress and potty, the cat was sitting on the closed
toilet. "Get up. Move cat" she announced, just like in
"her" book.
Falconer, Ian. Olivia.
New York, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000.
Omar
Sharing space with an Oriental Rug dealer,
as I do, I usually keep several editions of the classic Rubaiyat
of Omar Khayyam around. But the other day, I
actually sold a copy to someone who named her son Omar after the
famous poem.
Otto
My favorite goldfish of all time who lived
a very long life and died recently was named Otto from the
children's book Fish Out of Water by Helen
Palmer. I loved that book, especially the magic fish
seller who turned the fish small again in the end. Anyhow,
my fish bore a strong resemblance to his namesake, minus the
size issue.
Palmer, Helen. Fish Out
of Water.
Random House Beginner Book. New copy, $8
Owen
After my husband named our first son Nathan
Arizona for the baby in the movie "Raising Arizona,"
I demanded the right to name our second after a character in my
favorite book, A Prayer for Owen Meany. I
decided that Meany was a tough middle name to stick a kid with,
though, so we went with "Owen William" instead. And
surprise, surprise, like his namesake, Owen has turned out to be a
tiny little boy with a huge personality!
Irving, John. A
Prayer for Owen Meany.
Paddington
My dog is a very, very fluffy, buff-colored
chow-mix dog with little drop ears. He greatly resembles a
small bear. When I first got him, I wasn't sure what to call
him and started looking around for ideas. However, as soon
as I saw it, I knew instantly that he was a Paddington (Bear)
through and through. It was the perfect name for my bear
dog, and everyone who has heard it agrees. All he's missing
is the hat and duffle coat. He has the Paddington-esque
habit of getting into trouble too, so I'll continue keeping an eye
on my Paddington and hope that he doesn't take up carpentry,
plumbing or cooking like the bear he was named for...my house
couldn't take it.
Bond, Michael. Paddington
Bear.
London, Collins, 1972.
Paige
I was named for a character in a book. I
was born in 1963 and my mom named me Paige after a character in a novel.
Unfortunately, she doesn't remember the title or author, just the
main character was named Paige and she liked the name. I, on
the other hand, wish she'd never read the book (whatever it's called) because being named Paige
in a small town in the 1960's and 70's when everyone was named
Lisa, Nancy, or Lori was pure torture.
In answer to the
gal who asked if anyone knew the name of a novel that had a
character named "Paige" after whom she was named, I found out the
following: I also was named after a character in a novel named
"Paige", and I was born in 1960. Since my mother died in 1969, I
was never able to figure out which novel it was. My father
recently remembered enough for us to find it on the internet.
The novel is called Parrish, and was written in 1958 by
Mildred Savage. It was about "shade" tobacco growers in CT,
USA. The character for whom I was named was Paige Raike.
The novel was made into a movie in 1961, so it is a good
possibility that this is the novel containing the character Paige
that the previous inquirer who was born in 1963 was referring to.
I also did not like the name growing up, but now I love it. Kids
can be mean, so a lot of people don't like their names until they
get out of school. Hope this helps. On another
internet board, a lot of Paiges were looking for this same info.
Parris
When I was in 9th grade, I
met a red-haired boy named Parris Lusk. Having read
"King's Row" by Henry Bellaman, I asked him about his name,
and he said his mother had, indeed, named him after Parris
Mitchell. He hadn't read the book, though.
Pescato
Pesky is the older of our two boys.
His nickname really stands for Pescato. If you haven't
heard of this heroic cat, I suggest you read The Town Cat
and Other Tales, by Lloyd Alexander.
In fact, even if you have heard of him, this book is worth
reading again. If you are looking for good names for your
cats, Mr. Alexander certainly has the knack. I hope you enjoyed
our stories. I know I've enjoyed sharing them.
Thanks for asking.
Alexander, Lloyd, The Town
Cat and Other Tales.
Phoebe
Two of my cats – Phoebe is
named for the heroine of Elswyth Thane’s The Light
Heart, and Lydia is named for
the heroine of Gladys Malvern’s Dear Wife.
Two of my childhood favorites!
Phronsie
I have an unusual name-my mother's favorite
book was The
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney, and she
named me Phronsie after the youngest daughter in the book.
Sidney, Margaret. The Five
Little Peppers and How They Grew Up.
Pinky
My sister's nick-name is Pinky. While we
were awaiting her birth, our babysitter read me and my brother our
favorite book about a family expecting a baby. When the baby
was born it was so pink, the family called it Pinky. No one
in my family remembers the name of the book, and I've sent this
request in as a stumper. Nevertheless, from the day my sister was
born to this very day, she is called Pinky, regardless of the fact
that she has a beautiful given name. She is about to turn
50, and I would love to find the book for her.
Pippin
My sister adopted another cat in 1985 and
named him Pippin.
Pippin lived to be 17. He was a large, rambunctious,
friendly cat (again, his personality was very similar to that of
his Lord of the rings counterpart) who never met an enemy.
He would hunt mice but only to try to make friends with them
(normally they weren’t interested). He led a long, happy
life with very little illness until he finally died in his sleep
with his favorite toy beside him.
We have 3 cats named after
literary characters: Kanga (from Winnie the Pooh) and Sam and Pippin, who are named after
Hobbits from Lord of the Rings. Kanga has big back
feet, like her namesake. Sam is stocky and loyal, and
Pippin is always getting into trouble, just like their
namesakes.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The
Lord of the Rings trilogy. London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1954, 1954, 1955.
Polyxena
... and a subsequent cat was Polyxena after
Hector's sister in The Tale of Troy by Roger
Lancelyn Green.
Puss-Puddy
I wanted to share a little story for your
Loganberry Books web site. From 1991 to 2007 I had a cat
named Puss-Puddy, (whom we usually called Mama Cat). She was
a young wild cat whom my husband (soon to be ex-husband) and I had
tamed and adopted, along with her kittens. Puss-Puddy was
named for a fictional brand of cat food called Puss-Puddy Cat Food
whose commercials somehow impressed Ramona in Ramona Forever. I
had come across the book in the public library as a grown up and
read it for some reason. One thing that I remember to this
day about Ramona was that she loved TV shows with nice cats in
them and did not like the shows if the cats in them were not
nice. Puss-Puddy turned out to be an exceptionally
nice cat!
Rebecca
Mother said the last thing she saw before they
wheeled her into the delivery room was Daphne du Maurier's
Rebecca lying on her table. I think Rebecca's
beauty, glamour, elegance, and mystery must have meant more to
Mother than Rebecca's probity, because she named me Rebecca at a
time when it was uncommon. And she was very strict about my
moral character!
Maurier, Daphne du.
Rebecca.
København, Jespersen og Pio, 1947.
Regan
My name is Regan. My
father chose to name me after one of King Lear's evil
daughters. Actually, I am quite nice. Even my father
thought so.
Rhaegar
A couple friends of mine
named their dog (a big lovely handsome and kind halfwolf, very
regal and protective) after the heir-apparent to the Iron Throne
from the Song
of Ice and Fire books- Rhaegar!
Robin
Hi! My name is Robin, and my older
brother’s name is Christopher. We were named by our
librarian mother BEFORE Disney got hold of Winnie-the-Pooh.
She figured nobody would ever figure out that we were named after
an obscure English author’s main character. We
always wanted her to have more children and name them “Winnie,”
“Pooh,” etc. but the best we got was a cat named
Tigger.
A. A. Milne. Winnie the Pooh.
Rosemary
I was named Rosemary after the line in Shakespeare’s
Hamlet where Ophelia talks about flowers and says “
..rosemary, that’s for remembrance…”.
Rowan
In 1994, I read "The Witching Hour"
by Anne Rice, and the name Rowan just always stuck with
me. Fast forward to 10 years later, and the only name my husband
and I could agree on for a girl was Rowan, so Rowan she is. I love
it, and it suits her. People either love it, or they ask me what I
was thinking!
Rumor
The cats are another story entirely.
Rumor is our youngest. He gets his name from a large Moor cat
which appears in Terry Brooks' Shannara
series. While these books don't pretend to be for
children, they are great reading nonetheless.
Brooks, Terry. The Sword
of Shannara.
Random House, 1977.
Sally
I am looking for a book I had as a child
during the 1940's and 1950's I do not know the name of the book
but is it about a little girl who goes by herself to a department
store to buy her mother a present. I believe the the little girl's
name is either Belinda or Melinda- however I am not certain. Each
time she makes a purchase the store clerk asks her if she wants to
carry the package or have it sent. Each time she decides to carry
the package. After she has finished shopping she realizes that she
no longer has the present she bought for her Mommy. The
floorwalker attempts to help the child. I would really like to
find this book.
Her name is Sally. Here's the book you're looking for:
Eppenstein, Louise. Sally Goes
Shopping Alone. Platt
& Munk, 1940. Illustrated by Esther Friend. Out-of-print.
Used copies sometimes available. Please inquire.
Thank you so much for responding to my
search. I would very much like to have the book. It is rather
ironic that I remember the story in great detail (as my mother
read it to me many, many times)--however I did not remember the
little girls name and it is the same as mine!
When my son, Avraham Moshe,
was five years old, he named his turtles Sally and Jack. Sally was from the
girl in "The
Cat in the Hat." Jack was because he liked the name.
(One of my brothers is Jacob, called Jake. He was called Jackie
when he was little.) I had suggested Harry for the boy turtle
(from the movie "When Harry Met Sally") but Avi didn't care for
that name. Unfortunately, Jack died after a year or so, but
Sally is now four and a half and doing well, thank G-d. Avi is
nine and a half. He is not named for the children's author
Avi, but rather after my husband's grandfathers who were both
named Avraham Moshe.
Sam
We have 3 cats named after
literary characters: Kanga (from Winnie the Pooh) and Sam and Pippin, who are named
after Hobbits from Lord of the Rings. Kanga has big back
feet, like her namesake. Sam is stocky and loyal, and Pippin
is always getting into trouble, just like their namesakes.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The
Lord of the Rings trilogy. London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1954, 1954, 1955.
Samuel
My son Sam (Samuel) I named after reading Tabitha King's "One on One"
and just loving the character Sam.
King, Tabitha. One on One.
Sara
as for names...my Mom named me for Sara
Crewe, her favorite book as a girl. But threw on the
"h" at the end for some reason. Love your site and will keep an
eye out for an answer to my stumper!
My oldest daughter was named Sara
for the main character in The Little Princess
(probably one of many!) It was one of my favorite books as a
girl. Sara Crew was (unrealistically, perhaps) brave,
smart, kind and possessed a vivid imagination. I can only
hope my Sara turns out so well.
Burnett,
Frances Hodgson. Sara Crewe. (later reworked and
renamed The Little Princess.)
Used copies sometimes available. Please inquire.
Sasha & Lera
In San Francisco, I worked with two women:
Sasha and Lara. Though they were not related, both had been
named for characters in Dr. Zhivago.
Pasternak, Boris. Doctor
Zhivago. New
York Pantheon, 1958.
Sawyer
Adlai
My son is named Sawyer Adlai, both for the
obvious.
Saylor
My son Saylor is named for Eloise's broken
doll in the first Eloise book.
Scout
Our boxer, Scout, is named after Scout Finch
in To Kill A Mockingbird.
Just wanted to say that a married couple
I'm good friends with prefers literary names for their dogs, all
Yellow Labs. So far, they've had Scowt [sic](To Kill A
Mockingbird), Taggart (Atlas Shrugged), and Bentley (Prince
Ombra).
My favorite book (since childhood) has
always been To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper
Lee. I always told my family that I would name my
first child (boy or girl) Scout after the character in the
book. When I reached age 28 and still wasn't married and
childless, I named my dog (female) Scout. Now that I'm 33
and married, I wish I could still name my first child Scout, but
I still have my wonderful dog, and it may be a bit strange to
have a kid AND a dog named Scout. Since my dog IS my first
child, in a way, it turned out okay
Lee, Harper. To Kill a
Mockingbird. Philadelphia,
Lippincott, 1960.
Sebastian
Hi- saw this and thought I'd add my son to the
list. Growing up, one my very favorite children's books was Michael
Ende's
The Neverending Story. I had always loved
the name Bastian Balthazar Bux, so much so that I couldn't quite
hold off until I had a child to bestow the name on...so I named a
small fat sharpei puppy Bastian- When I found out I was having a
boy less than a year later, it just didn't feel quite right to
name my son the exact same name I had just given a dog.
(Reminiscent of Indiana Jones, I thought). Instead he is Sebastian
Gryffin, and has grown to become quite a character himself! ~Liana
(named after a plant. Go figure.)
Ende,
Michael. The Neverending Story. London,
Allen Lane, 1983.
Seralinda
Don't know if you'd want to mention this,
since it's not about my own name, but I have friends who named
their daughter Saralinda
after the princess in THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS. They feel that every
child should have a namesake in a good book. They usually
call her "Lindy."
Thurber, James. The
Thirteen Clocks. Dutton Adult, 1990.
Shelley
I am named after a great great great great
(etc) uncle of mine, the English poet Percy Shelley. Percy's wife Mary wrote Frankenstein.
Shirley
My first cat, Shirley, was named when we
adopted her, but I'm quite sure someone named her either for Shirley
Jackson or L.M. Montgomery's Anne Shirley.
Note: her second name was Fu-Wah Kitty. This was for a
restaurant in Baltimore, but I think with that moniker and her
attitude that she would have done well in the Wu-Tang Clan.
Sierra
I read the book Remember Today
when I was 13, and decided that if I ever had a daughter I would
name her Sierra after the girl in the book. Twenty-one years
later I did.
Thane, Elswyth. Remember
Today. New
York, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1941.
Skyler
My oldest daughter is named Skyler
after a character in the Elisabeth Ogilvie books. HIS name
was Schuyler, and I was determined to name my first child, male or
female, Schuyler. My husband was willing to compromise with
Skyler. In 1988, she was the only one we knew...now there are lots
of them, both male and female. Still think it is one of the
neatest names out there.
Skyylar
My daughter is named for fairies. Skyler was
the name of a fairy in a book i once read (but can't
rember the title). The fairy was male and he thought he was a runt
alien, with a hump on his back till he went to a different planet,
then he became a fairy. I loved it but changed the spelling to be
even more different to Skyylar.
Stuart
When I was about 13 or 14, I read Stephen
King's "The Stand." Oh, what a dramatic book!
I fell in love with the integrity and quiet confidence of Stu
Redman, and my crush only deepened when I re-read the book a few
years later. Stuart, what a nice name for a boy! I thought at the
time. And now, my five year old son bears that same name. He wears
it well.
King, Stephen. The Stand. New York, Doubleday, 1978.
Sunday/Sundae
I just met a girl whose name is Sunday.
I asked her how she got her name, she said her father named her
from a character in his favorite book. She was born in 1965
and is confined to a wheelchair. She spells her name Sunday
but thought the character's name was spelled Sundae. Her
father is now deceased. She said he liked reading westerns
and books about Indians. She would love to know the name of
the book that her name came from. Could anyone help me to
help Sunday?
Sylvie
our beautiful daughter sylvie (a
wonderfully functioning autistic-asperger's child) is named for
the faeire-queen-type person in john crowley's LITTLE,
BIG.
Crowley,
John. Little,
Big. New
York, Bantam Books, 1981.
Tango
My good ole' bicycle, Tango.
Tango is a great road bike/mountain bike hybrid that served as my
main transportation in grad school, and is still good recreation
now. She's named after the play by avant-garde Polish
playwright Slawomir Mrozek. I was on a Polish
theatre kick for a while... even met Mrozek in the midst of
an awful snowstorm in Minneapolis!
Mrozek, Slawomir. Tango.
Polish,
1965.
English
translation
by
Ralph Manheim and Teresa Dzieduscycka, 1968.
Used copies of Tango and
other plays often available. Please inquire.
I am a theatre student, in thessaloniki,
Greece, and I am doing an essay on slawomir
mrozek.Unfortunately, there is not any copy of this play in
Greece, which makes my project very difficult to
acomplish.Please, send me a copy of Tango, if possible.
Taran
Your site is a delight. I named my oldest son
Taran, after the
protagonist of the Chronicles of Prydain (Lloyd
Alexander). Taran is five years old and, to date, he is
pleased with the name.
Alexander, Lloyd. The
Chronicles of Prydain. New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1964-1973.
Tatiana
My Russian father named me Tatiana after the
heroine of Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin.
(When
I
was
a
child
in school everyone was afraid of trying to pronounce my name but
that changed with Diane Von Furstenburg's perfume called
"Tatiana.")
Pushkin, Alexander.
Eugene Onegin. Berkeley, University of California
press, 1937.
Tatsinda
I named our Siamese cat Tatsinda after the Elizabeth
Enright book because she looked different from other cats.
Enright,
Elizabeth. Tatsinda. 1963.
Taylor
Hello, I just stumbled onto your site and as
soon as I type this, I'm going right back to have a better look
around. It looked enchanting. Anyway, Before I get
side-tracked again, I thought I'd share our family history of
names. The children are named for historical
characters: Taylor Philip after Phineus Taylor Barnum,
who might not be the most reputable of characters, but qualifies
as one of the most interesting.
Telemachus
This is the name of the cat which appears on
the cover of Carole King's album "Tapestry." When the album first
came out, I wrote her a fan letter and asked his name, and she
replied with a nice hand written letter. (Telemachus was the son
of Odysseus in Homer's epic "The Odyssey".)
Homer. The Odyssey.
Theodore Lawrence
My Aunt Laurie was named for Theodore Lawrence
in Little Women despite the fact that he is a boy.
I think that as she was the fourth girl born in that family, my
grandfather was getting a little desperate to have a boy. :)
Alcott, Louisa May.
Little Women. Boston,
Roberts brothers, 1869.
Thessaly
Our firstborn is named Thessaly for the character in
Neil Gaiman's graphic
novel Sandman.
Her middle name is from Welsh Legend: Rhiannon. Our second
daughter's middle name is Cordelia after Lois McMaster Bujold's
Miles Vorkosigan series, which I devoured during my pregnancy with
her, though incidentally, Cordelia is also a figure in Welsh
mythology. With our third we chose Aenea from Dan Simmons'
Endymion/Rise of Endymion series, which I read while pregnant with
her. Aenea is also the feminine form of Aeneas, the epic
hero of Vergil's Aeneid. We love having chosen literary
names.
Gaiman, Neil. Sandman.
Thomas Tinkertoes
Many a male cat in our family is referred
to as Thomas Tinkertoes, because we so liked a poem from Father
Fox's Pennyrhymes, and it seems very fitting for a michevious
cat. One of the lines went something like: Thomas Thomas
Tinkertoes. Upside down and away he goes.
Father Fox. Pennyrhymes.
Travis
My youngest son is named Travis, after
Travis McGee from the John D McDonald series. Same thing
as Skyler, he was the only one we knew at the time, lol....
Trillian
My daughter, Trillian, is named for Zaphod
Beeblebrox's girlfriend in Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy. She loves having a name that no one else at
school has and that author Douglas Adams describes as a
name that has no specific meaning because he just made it up.
Adams,
Douglas, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. New York, Harmony
Books, 1979.
Truly
We named our cat Truly after Penny's cat in "Here's a Penny",
by Carolyn Haywood.
Penny's cats names are Really and Truly!!
My daughter named her beloved cat Truly,
after one of the kittens (Really and Truly) in the Carolyn Haywood book, Here's a Penny.
Haywood, Carolyn. Here's a
Penny. New
York, Harcourt, Brace, 1944.
Victorine
My daughter, Victorine Day Lamothe, was named
after her paternal great-great grandmother. When my
mother-in-law suggested the name, I was familiar with the name
because of Frances Parkinson
Keyes' mystery Victorine. (I am from Arkansas
and married a New Orleanian - there aren't a lot of French
names in Hope, Ark. so I am grateful to Mrs. Keyes.)
My daughter loves her name, noting how strong it makes her
feel. Also, I think she likes the attention it brings to
her.
Keyes, Frances Parkinson. Victorine. Julian Messner, Inc., 1958.
Wendy
I was named for Wendy in Peter Pan.
Barrie, J. M. Peter and
Wendy. New
York, C. Scribner’s Sons, 1911.
Will
My son, whose full name is Willem, is named in part in
honor of the Will Stanton character in Susan Cooper's The
Dark is Rising series. They have always
been among my favorite books and Will has been one of my favorite
characters since I first started reading her books in the 1970s.
Cooper, Susan. The Dark is Rising series.
5/21/11
