Parenting

20 Lovely Literary Baby Names for Girls

ParentingPublished Dec 29, 2014
By Stephanie Booth
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If you're searching for a baby name, don't forget to page through your favorite books. There are plenty of great girl (and boy) names to be gleaned from literature -- and a name carries even more meaning when it's from a book you love. 

To get you inspired, check out our list of favorite literary names for baby girls.

Alice: Just like Lewis Carroll's heroine who fell down the rabbit hole and strolled into the looking glass, we find this name sweetly adventurous.

Arietty: Sprightly and curious, this head-turner of a name originates in Mary Norton's The Borrowers, about a family of very little people who live in the walls of a house.

Beatrice: We love the idea of paying homage to the long-suffering older sister in Beverly Cleary's beloved books. Try Bee for short.

Brett: In Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Lady Brett Ashley is the confident, charming woman all the men fall for.

Cordelia: "Cor" means heart -- just one reason this name so well-suited King Lear's loyal-to-the-end daughter. It's elegant and strong.

Daisy: The object of Jay Gatsby's obsession in The Great Gatsby, this name has effervescence to spare.

Eloise: Irresistibly impish, much like the little girl who lives on the "tippy-top" floor of the Plaza Hotel, causing all kinds of chaos, in Kay Thompson's beloved picture books from the 1950s.

Emma: A name that's "handsome, clever, and rich," just like the heroine of Jane Austen's 1815 novel.

Holly: A sparkly jewel of a name, in tribute to Holly Golightly in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Jane: Like Charlotte Bronte's beloved heroine, Jane Eyre, this name has a lovely, understated moxie.

More From The Stir: 70 Prettiest Baby Girl Names From Around the World

Josephine: Intelligent, independent, and surprisingly feisty, much like Jo March in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.

Juliet: A solidly romantic choice. It's impossible not to make the connection with this name and Shakespeare's star-crossed lover.

Phoebe: Although Phoebe carries a certain brightness, its namesake is the grounding younger sister of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye.

Pippi: Fun and puckish, a la the red-pigtailed, super-strong heroine of Astrid Lindgren's children's books.

Portia: Gracious and intelligent, just like Shakespeare's heroine in The Merchant of Venice.

Rosalind: Another Shakespearean choice, this time from As You Like It. Also a great mix of spark, beauty, and wit.

Scarlett: The epitome of Southern charm, Scarlett is both pretty and powerful -- like its Gone With the Wind namesake.

Scout: We adore the nickname of the young, idealistic narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird. An even bolder choice: the character's real name, Jean Louise.

Tacy: We're mystified as to why this cheerful name has never taken off, considering the Betsy-Tacy series, written by Maud Hart Lovelace, has an enormous fan base. Another great name from the book: Tib, Betsy and Tacy's other BFF.

Tess: True, Thomas Hardy's heroine had something of a, um, difficult life (understatement!), but we appreciate the easy beauty of the name itself.

Which favorite book character would you name your daughter?

For more great baby name ideas to find your perfect baby name match, visit Baby Name Wizard.

Images via Kaylie Walls and Lisa A./shutterstock

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