20 Baby Names Inspired By Classic Literature

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With baby #3 on HIS way, we’re in full baby naming swing at our house. It’s such a hard balance to find something both my husband and I like, something the kids enjoy and something that is meaningful.

We’ve pulled the short lists from my previous pregnancies, but the perfect name hasn’t found us yet. So, I’ve started doing some theme brainstorming. I’m finding that this is a wonderful way to discover new, unique names! First up, I’ve found myself swooning over names inspired by classic literature – many of which can be used for boys or girls. Here is a round up of my top 20 … (plus a few bonuses)!

1. Alcott – From the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
2. Scout (or Atticus) – From one of the main characters in To Kill a Mockingbird
3. Holden – From Catcher In the Rye
4. Scarlett (Rhett) – From Gone With the Wind
5. Ophelia – From Hamlet
6. Matilda – From, of course, Matilda
7. Imogen – From Shakespeare’s classic, The Tragedy of Cymbeline
8. Huck (or Sawyer or Finn) – Mark Twain is just full of great ideas between The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer
9. Ransom – From C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy
10. Lucy (or Peter, Susan or Edmund) – From The Narnia Series
11. Antonia – From My Antonia
12. Robinson – From Robinson Crusoe
13. Gilbert (or Anne, Diana or Marilla) – From Anne of Green Gables
14. Viola – From another Shakespeare classic, Twelfth Night
15. Estella – From Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
16. Fitzgerald – From the author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
17. Prynne – From The Scarlett Letter
18. Ramona – From Beverly Lewis’ Ramona Quimby, Age 8
19. Esmerelda – From The Hunchback of Notre Dame
20. Austen – From none other than author, Jane Austen, and her medley of classics

What names inspired by classic literature do you love?