The most beautiful names in literature

Finding a baby name is sometimes a headache. We hesitate, we bicker, we change our minds. What if it was enough to simply look at our library to find the ideal first name? Books are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. From the great classics of our childhood to the fantastic novels that thrilled us as teenagers, literature is populated by unforgettable characters. If some come to mind immediately, like Julien, the tragic hero of Red and Black of Stendhal, or Emma, ​​the heroine of Madame Bovary by Flaubert, others are more audacious and original. Discover our selection of first names from literature, for girls and boys.

Which first name inspired by literature to choose for a girl?

Are you waiting for a girl ? Let yourself be seduced by the first names worn by literary heroines. Thus, Manon meets an undeniable success. Derived from the first name Miryam, which means “drop of the sea”, this first name is worn by the fierce Manon in Manon des Sources, Water from the hillsby Marcel Pagnol.

Derived from a Greek term meaning “weaver”, Penelope will also appeal to parents who have been moved by the patience of Odysseus’ faithful wife in The Odyssey of Homer.

You were marked by the famous tirade of Cyrano de Bergerac in the eponymous novel? THE Roxanne’s first name, the sweet young woman who makes the heart beat of our tender hero with the long nose, should make you crack!

As for Ariadne, she is remembered for the famous thread mentioned in Greek mythology, but it is also the first name borne by the heroine of the novel. Beauty of the Lord of Albert Cohen who falls madly in love with Solal.

We can also mention Justine (The Misfortunes of Virtue de Sade) or even Blanche. First name taken from the term blank which means “shining” or “clear”, it is worn by Blanche Dubois, a dreamer who falls into madness in A Tramway Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

What first name in literature for a boy?

The novels that marked our childhood and our adolescence contain many ideas for first names that are both charming and inspiring. So, Solal will seduce parents who dream of a romantic first name. Derived from the Hebrew term “solel”, which means “the guide” or “the one who shows the way”, it is the first name borne by the charismatic hero, but also manipulator of the novel Beauty of the Lord by Albert Cohen.

Another very romantic first name, Tristan. Of Celtic origin, this first name comes from Drystan which means “tumult”, “noise” or even “revolt”. In Tristan and Yseult of Béroul, it is the nephew of King Marc who falls madly in love with Yseult after drinking a filter of love.

Do you want to give your child the first name of a mythical hero of literature ? Ulysse has everything to seduce you! Of Greek origin, it means “to get angry” or “to travel”. It is obviously the first name borne by the unforgettable and courageous hero of the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer.

Finally, Hippolyte may also have your favors. Derived from the Greek first name Hippolutos which means “the one who tames the horses”, it is carried by the son of Theseus and Antiope in Phaedrus by Jean Racine. And how can we forget Lancelot or Romeo?

First names in French literature

How not to be inspired by first names from French literature, novels as well as plays. In the theater, let’s dwell on Molière, whose work offers us Agnes (from the Greek meaning “pure” and “chaste”), a 16-year-old girl whom Arnolphe wants to marry in women’s school, Elise (The Miser), Elvira (Don Juan) or Lucile in the Bourgeois gentleman.

For boys’ first names, of course we think of Alceste (of Latin origin, this first name means “the strong”), the hero who defends moral values ​​in The Misanthrope, Octave in Deceits of Scapin or at Cléante (The Tartuffe).

But novels are also an immense source of inspiration, at all times. We can thus cite Aurelianwho is both the hero of the eponymous novel‘Aragon and that of Grand Meaulnes by Alain FournierEdmund (h eros of the novel the count of Monte Cristo of Alexandre Dumas), Paul (from the first name Paulus which means “little”) the passionate hero of the novel Paul and Virginia by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre.

For girls, the choices are also numerous. For example, we can mention Hortense (Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac), Chloe, name taken from the Greek Khloê and means “young shoot” or “nascent grass”. In the foam of the days of Boris Vian, it is the name of Colin’s fiancée. do not forget Clelia, first name of The Charterhouse of Parmaby Stendhal.

List of given names in English literature

English literature has also given us some wonderful first names. While some have difficulty crossing the Channel, others, on the other hand, can perfectly be worn by children living in France.

• Oliver (Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens)
• Mark (Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen)
• Jane (Jane EyreCharlotte Bronte)
• Estela (The great expectationsCharles Dickens)
• Ophelia (HamletWilliam Shakespeare)
• Olivia (Twelfth nightWilliam Shakespeare)
• Robinson (Robinson CrusoeDaniel Defoe)
• Clarisa (Mrs DallowayVirginia Woolf)
• Jonathan (Dracula, bram stoker)
• Emma (EmmaJane Austen)
• Constancy (Lady Chatterley’s Lover, DH Lawrence)
• Alice (Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll)
• Hermione (first name of the daughter of Helen and Menelaus in Andromache of Racine but also of the best friend of Harry Potter in the eponymous saga of JK Rowling)
• Robin (Peter the PlowmanWilliam Langland)

names in classical literature

Classical literature enchants and inspires us. Hearing these first names immediately transports us to our reading and reminds us of our emotion when we discovered these books.

Girl name from classic literature

We can start this selection by quoting the first name augustine. Taken from the old first name Augustina itself from the Latin term augustus which means “venerable”, it is the first name of Augustine Lansot, the adored mother of Marcel Pagnol in my mother’s castle. continue with Bérénice, heroine of the eponymous tragedy by Jean Racine, Léopoldine (first name of the daughter of Victor Hugo), or Albertine (one of the young girls in bloom described by Marcel Proust in In Search of Lost Time). Let’s end with Carmen, Spanish first name of Latin origin, the first name carmen literally means song. She is the heroine of the short story of the same name by Prosper Périmée and from which the famous opera is taken. There is no shortage of names for boys inspired by classic literature.

Boy’s name from classic literature

THE names for boys inspired by classic literature do not miss. We can cite Frederic, first name of Germanic origin which means “the power of peace. It is found in Flaubert’s Sentimental Education. Let’s continue with Georges, first name borne by the Georges Duroy in the novel Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant, Charles, first name derived from the Latin name Carolus worn by the husband of Emma Bovary in the book Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.

Another first name in classical literature, Emile (from the Latin term Aemilius which means “rival”), hero of the novel Emile or Education by Jean Jacques Rousseau. Less common today, Etienne and Fabrice are also two emblematic first names in literature. The first is one of the main characters of Germinal of Émile Zola, the second is the luminous and enthusiastic hero of The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal.