Unusual Baby Names from Literature – for Boys

When list-topping male baby names like Jacob, Christopher, and Ethan begin to seem tired, prospective parents turn to music, sports, geography, religion, and other realms for inspiration. For bookish parents who loved their literature classes, fictional characters often provide ideas for an unusual or meaningful names. Books abound with remarkable male names, so the literary canon is worth a look. Here are some of my favorite potential baby names taken from memorable male fictional characters in literature.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Heathcliff
Catherine’s lifelong love in Charlotte Bronte’s plot-twisted novel Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is a representation of love so intense and peculiar that it’s essentially tragic. But out of tragedy comes memory. The name has retained a remote sophistication and odd power since the late 19th century.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Holden
The hero of J.D. Salinger’s much-celebrated though much-banned The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a
difficult, troubled protagonist – but a character strangely beloved for his ultimately understandable, if cyncial, humanity. From the book that captured teen anomie before it became “the thing” to capture, this is a name that might prove powerful for parents whose own teen years were brought into perspective by the masterful story.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Romeo
If you don’t mind the “star-cross’d” history, Shakespeare’s Romeo is a worthy namesake for his hopefulness and his wide-eyed pursuit of love. Instantly identifiable but still rare as male names go, Romeo is worth a second thought. Its double “o” sound is also uncommon in American names.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Parson
While many would recognize Parson (or perhaps Parsons) as a surname, it was indeed the first name of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s cloak-faced clergyman in “The Minister’s Black Veil.” In this didactic short story, Hawthorne’s dark but honest world view emerges. For more cunning parents, Parson might make a potent choice.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Lysander
Though originally a Spartan hero’s name, Lysander is one of the lovers in Shakespeare’s comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. More light-hearted than the names above (and perhaps more aesthetically appealing on paper), Lysander is extremely unusual as far as male baby names go.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Rhett
Even if you’ve never touched an American novel, chances are that you know the name Rhett from the movie version of Gone with the Wind. Margaret Mitchell’s maverick character is tenacious and outspoken. Visually, some parents might consider the name Rhett appealing because of combines a rarely seen “Rh” with a double-T.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Rodion
His full name is Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov – the central character is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, sometimes called Rodka for short. Starting with an extraordinary self-concept and coming around to humbled salvation in Siberia, the character might seem like a peculiar choice. But maybe you just like Russian literature?

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Alleyne
From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The White Company, Alleyne emerges from a monastic upbringing to explore the world, becoming a squire and eventually a knight during the Hundred Years’ War. Besides providing an alternative to Alan/Allan/Allen, it has connotations of chivalry and medieval-style masculinity.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Troilus
Chaucer and Shakespeare both tell the story of a fabled prince who feel in love with Criseyde (or Cressida). The story of this pair is larger than any one author, as it has appeared over and over since medieval times.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Roderick
As in Roderick Usher – from Poe’s gothic masterpiece, “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Though the story is one of bleak horror, it’s a captivating classic. If you’re looking for a multi-syllable name than also has three potential short forms (Rod, Erick, and Rick), Roderick may work.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys: Quentin
Most people know the name Quentin on account of the director, Mr. Tarantino. But William Faulkner’s fictional character, Quentin Compson, is a sharp but pensive Harvard freshman in The Sound and the Fury. “Q” names are still rare – at least for the time being.

Unusual Baby Names from Literature – For Boys:Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Dorian
Though Oscar Wilde was known more for his drama than his novels, The Picture of Dorian Gray has long been a favorite of high school English teachers.�¯�¿�½ While hardly a role model for temperance or virtue, Dorian is an attractive, compelling character nonetheless.