In case you missed my big announcement I am pregnant so this week’s prompt “Top Ten Book Character Names I Love” on The Broke and the Bookish really strikes close to home. Unfortunately my husband and I have TOTALLY different opinions when it comes to deciding what counts as a “good name”. But just for fun here are some of MY favorite bookish names and some of my husbands opinions on those names.
- Ender – And I’d name the kid Andrew just like in the book and call him Ender. Also from the Ender books I like Valentine (for a girl), Petra, and Julian. He hates ALL of these!
- Artemis – I love Artemis for either a boy or girl. As in Artemis from the Percy Jackson books, Art3mis from Ready Player One, and Artemis Fowl.
- Ginerva – And I’d call her Ginny after one Ginny Weasley of Harry Potter awesomeness. Yeah anything obviously Harry Potter he TOTALLY shuts down.
- Gemma – I’ve liked this name for a long time. Most book worthy is Gemma Doyle from A Great and Terrible Beauty not my favorite book but enjoyable and a great name.
- Link – As in Linkubus from the Beautiful Creatures series. The husband thinks this is obviously a video game name (legend of Zelda) which he doesn’t like.
- Kai – I prefer this spelling to the Ky in Matched and I didn’t love the character but I’ve always liked the name. And I kind of like Xander too.
- Katsa – Oh I would so pick this name after the very very awesome Graceling character.
- Ari – I love the name Ari from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. But having a few degrees in philosophy I just could not do the long version of Aristotle.
- Lena – From the Delirium series. I just think it’s a pretty name.
- Will or Jem – I know I know it’s probably just because I love those boys so from the Infernal Devices so so much but I do like both the names William and James. But when talking about naming a kid I tend to want something a little more unique.
So what are some names that you like? Oh I’m really asking it’s not just an evil ploy to get comments although I love comments. We have a real live baby coming our way (March-ish) and we have no good names in the running. And since I like our little baby announcement I’ll share it again in case any of you guys missed it the first time around.
Let’s connect! You can also find me hanging out here.
sara says
I’m due mid april and right now I like lucy allegra and jack richard, though I would love to fid a way to honor my 95 year old grandma but I don’t love the name dorothy.
marissa says
Sara congrats I love your names!
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures says
Well… I’m thinking if you have a girl, her name could be MARCI! ;-) I do love family names. What are some of your favorite names within either of your families? -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
marissa says
haha you’re awesome Marci
Maegen says
I created the combo Emma Hermione when I was in high school. I absolutely adore it, and my husband says absolutely “NO!” He also says no to: Mary (The Secret Garden), Sophie (Howl’s Moving Castle), and Meggie (Inkheart). But he would maybe consider letting me use Anne (Anne of Green Gables of course!) as a middle name. So far our boys are Mackay and Baden. Neither are book names, but I love them. My brother is named Nathan for a character in The Work and the Glory.
Oh, and my cousin has a cute little girl they named Ginny.
marissa says
Boys! seriously those are all great names
Evonne says
I love Holden (Catcher in the Rye) and Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird). My husband did not support me in these choices, though. :(
Domanique says
We went classic, we named our lil guy Holden from The Catcher in the Rye.
ShootingStarsMag says
I would love to name my future kids after book characters (congrats on your pregnancy by the way!!) I think Lena is very pretty, and I like the name Ginny. A friend of mine’s husband is named Talon, which is from a book…though I don’t know which one. At any rate, I love his name.
marissa says
Talon is cool I know there’s one in the Under the Never Sky books.
Jen says
I wanted the name Phedré, but Zac said absolutely not. It’s from the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey.
marissa says
Well I love your kiddo’s name it’s always been one of my favorites but Phedre is super awesome too
Veronica says
My mom’s name was Pamelia which I have never ever seen or heard anywhere else. She went by Pam and people often thought her real name was Pamela though. I really like Avery for a boy or girl but my husband wanted something less gender neutral. Can’t wait to see what you decide to name the baby!
marissa says
Oh that’s a really cool name my mom is a Patti short for Pattidan so I totally understand.
Chrissi Reads says
Massive congratulations :-)
I have trouble when it comes to naming children as I work with children and often associate a name with a child I’ve cared for! I really like the name Lena though. So pretty.
marissa says
Thanks so much Chrissi!
Justine says
I just had a baby last May, and we named her Harvey. I did love the names Emmerson ( Hourglass series by Myra McEntire) and the name Hazel ( TFIOS)
marissa says
Oh I love those names!
Polly @ Pieces by Polly says
My brother named his son (now 3?) Ender…not Andrew…just Ender. (Their girls are named Arora and Avalon…which I think came from a book.) The advantage to naming a child Andrew and using Ender as a nickname is that there’s nothing obvious about the book connection if he decides to just go by Andrew when he’s older.
How about Virginia and calling her Ginny for short? I don’t feel like Ginny is so obviously Harry Potter to most people as Hermione is.
We’ve tended to use family names for our kids, and for our older two kids who we adopted they have a name from their birth side and adoptive side. If you look back far enough in your geneology you can find some really neat names.
I will say as a former school teacher…you’ll be doing your kid a huge favor if their name is both easy to read and spell. As in Ender is easy to read if you see it written and spell if you hear it said. So you can still choose some really unique names and still make them easy to read and spell.
marissa says
I totally hear you about being able to know how to pronounce a name when you look at it. I know so many people with “creative spellings” and it takes so much effort to try and remember how to pronounce their names
Kay says
What about Tobias from the Divergent series?
marissa says
One of my high school friends is a Tobias and I’ve always loved the name but I think it would be too close to home
Camille says
i love the idea of naming a child with a favorite book character’s name. i hope you end up choosing the best for you and your husband.
Oh, Will and Jem. I was debating whether to include them but Magnus’ name just jumps off the page for me.
Patty says
*Sigh* Why can’t husbands just see that it is definitely necessary to name children after after book characters?! Lena is definitely a pretty name. Hopefully you guys can settle on something you like!
marissa says
I know right!? I’ve learned to stop telling him where I know the names from well unless he’s suggesting something I don’t like and want him to agree hahah ;)
Lee says
I’ve always loved the name Gemma! I’ve had that book on my shelf for a while. I need to read it!
Romi says
(Ahahaha, a jar of pickles!)
This is a realy great list- I love Lena and Gemma (though I think they can both become not so nice names, depending on the character they’re given to) and Link is great, though I do like it more from Zelda than Beautiful Creatures- Zelda is also BEAUTIFUL! Aretmis is perfect.
Chene Sterckx says
Love your list and I also was thinking of adding Jem to my list but wasn’t sure if it was just because I adored his character!
here is my Top Ten Tuesday. list
Chanzie @ Mean Who You Are.
marissa says
It’s so hard to tell if it’s the name or the character when the character is so great!
Dawn Ritchie says
I read the Graceling series during this pregnancy and totally loved Katsa for a girl… but I’m having a boy and the husband wasn’t into William. :X
marissa says
Katsa would be so great! When are you due Dawn?
crystal says
So my name isnt book related, crystal rae eclipse, but it is unique because my mom was (is) a total hippy. My husbands grandfather was named merlin and I really wanted to use merlin draco, but we decided it was a bit out there. We ended up picking a really popular name that we both liked.
Theresa says
I had the opposite problem, my husband liked some crazy names. He talked about Ezekiel for three years before I got pregnant that when it actually happened the name had grown on me. Then we found out we were having twins, and he threw Jedidiah out there (seriously I cant make this stuff up) . Needless to say I put my foot down and we named the second one Alexander. So we have a Zeke and Xander.
I absolutely love Lena, and Ended sounds so strong for a boy. Good luck!
marissa says
Oh I love Zeke and Xander they are interesting but not totally crazy!
emily says
I like names from the classics. Alice, Jane, Scout Finch, Holden, and Dorothy.
Tanya says
Linkubus! Linkubus! Linkubus!!!
Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook says
Congrats on baby!!! I love the name Ginevra, too, and Ginny. I have a coworker named Ginny. Well, her name is Virginia, but we all call her Ginny. It’s just so friendly.
I love Katsa, too. It’s pretty. And I love the name Artemis! I hope this doesn’t bother you, but I have a fish named Artemis after Artemis Fowl.
marissa says
Thanks so much Quinn! I still love Artemis, but hubby totally hates it. I love that your fish is named Artemis
Mommy says
No Tobias, no ender, yes Artemis, yes Link, yes yes yes Lena, no Virginia or Gemma.
Mommy says
Oh, if you want a family name, your great grandma was Alamo!
Heidi says
Oh, Alamo is pretty awesome.
I tried to push Albus for a while, but that didn’t happen. ;) I think Blue would be cool, since it ties to Blue from the Raven Boys and Bitterblue (an awesomely strong and smart character). But for me, I prefer to like a name and just make sure the book or obvious reference is something I’m ok with, rather than naming someone after a character. Although there is a name from Harry Potter that I’d totally use as a middle name because of all the things it stands for.
Lisa says
I vote for Gemma for a girl. :) Also – Xander reminds me of Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer – not a book, but a classic TV show! Can’t wait to find out what the little one is!! -Lisa
Reviews from a Bookworm says
Some really beautiful names. My boyfriend and I also have different opinions when it comes to names, I am hoping to do what my mum did – agree on a name and then once I’m actually in labour demand to name it what I want; how could my dad say no? That’s how I got my unusual name and my dads choice of Paris got stuck as a middle name!
Congratulations! That baby announcement is incredible, have never seen one like it! =D
My TTT
Vale says
First of all, CONGRATULATIONS!!
And about your list, I really liked Gemma and Katsa. I still need to read Graceling, though.
Thanks for stopping by at my blog and sharing your love for Étienne.
marissa says
Thanks so much Vale!
Ellie says
Those are some awesome names! I totally forgot about some of these! Thanks for stopping by earlier :)
Erin @ Quixotic Magpie says
Congrats!!!
I love the name Jem, its on my list too. :) My husband is a big fan of Ender’s game its his favorite, and he would love to name a kid after Valentine or Ender.
Jess @ Such A Novel Idea says
YES YES YES YES to all of those! You have great taste.
OMG your baby announcement is about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait to see what you are having and the name you choose!
Thanks for stopping by my TTT.
marissa says
Aww thanks Jess!
Cecelia says
Oh, I like your list! I think Ender and Katsa are my two favorite, but I don’t know that I’d bestow those monikers on a child. Ginerva lends itself to Ginny, which is my sister’s nickname (and it’s very nice, of course, just like her!).
Thanks for visiting my TTT post!
BrigitteWhoa says
Congrats on the baby on the way!! You have some great picks on your TTT list. Thanks for stopping by my blog!!!
Jessica L. Brooks says
Shoot I totally forgot about Katsa! (Love that one, too.) And of COURSE Will is on my list as well. Lots of Wills. Love ’em :) http://coffeelvnmom.blogspot.com/2013/10/top-ten-character-names-i-love.html
Alyssa @ Swept Away By Books says
Congrats on the great news! I really love Gemma.
Great list and thanks for checking out Swept Away By Books!
M @ Backlist Books says
First of all, congrats! Love the baby announcement post. And this is a great list. I think you just doubled my TBR list, because now I want to read every single one of these I haven’t already! My name is Emily and one of my nicknames growing up was “Jem,” so I’m biased in saying that’s a super cool name. ;)
Andy @ OABR says
This week was hard for all of us over at the blog, so many amazing names to choose from! Looks like you had no trouble at all. ;) Great picks!
Our List
Andy @ Owl Always Be Reading
Mary says
I love the name Link, but Lincoln is a family name. I do like The Legend of Zelda, though. :) Love your list & congratulations!
Mary @ Mary Had a Little Book Blog
My TTT
Karla Sil (KarlaReads) says
Great list! Ginerva is probably my favorite!
Thank you so much for checking out my TTT :)
Karla @ Silver Readings
Becky @ Utah Sweet Savings says
I’m so boring when it comes to names. The more classic the better. But that is just me. I love your names. Good luck on picking out one for your little bump! I’m SO DANG EXCITED!! Now the question still remains… Boy name or Girl name….
Heather@The Flyleaf Review says
I much prefer Katsa to Katniss–I have seen both on lists today. Last year there was a little boy on my son’s t ball team named Ender and I always wondered if his parent’s named him after that character! Great list!
marissa says
I totally agree it seems like loads of people love Katniss which I just don’t but I love love Katsa. It does seem like Ender is becoming more popular
Read Books and Blog says
I like Kai instead of Ky too. But Kai kinda seem like short for something else. Xander is a nice sounding name especially since X names are very rare. And it reminds me of Xander in Buffy!
Jess @ Gone with the Words says
I love Kai! And I love Gemma. Also, Link..but I prefer Lincoln better. Any of these names would be wonderful for you baby. Great list!
megan @ Love, Literature, Art, and Reason says
Great names! I really like Kai, too. Spelled that way.
Lucy @ The Reading Date says
Congrats! You are too cute :) Love your maternity style.This must have been a fun topic for you this week! Kai, Katsa and Ari are awesome names.
marissa says
Aww thanks Lucy!
Kate @ whYAnot says
Your baby announcement is so cute! My sister in law is pregnant with twins and she hates all the names I suggest… like Fred and George or Bert and Ernie :P
Xander is a name that I’ve loved since my days watching Buffy. Will and Link are fantastic names too!
marissa says
bwahaha my husband totally suggested both Ber and Ernie too! ANd he was dead serious
Jillian @ Hi! It's Jilly says
Love those names! My hubby would probably roll his eyes, too. I have a fellow HP-loving friend whose son is named Harrison, but they call him Harry. She did it that way on purpose so her hubby wouldn’t protest. Sneaky, sneaky. Ha ha!
marissa says
I think I need to be more sneaky!
Mommy says
Kai short for kaiser…… Ky, better…..
Sharmaine says
Congratulations! I’m happy for you guys :))
Go with Katsa.. or Gemma.. Wait, is it a boy?? Will then.. or Jem or Jace!
This is harder than I thought! lol
marissa says
I know baby names are SO hard!
Isa says
Lena and Katsa are beautiful names! I resisted adding Will and Jem to my list because as much as I love those boys, I prefer less common names.
Yehudit says
So fun to contemplate names! If you really love Ari, but not Aristotle, Ari is also short for Ariel- lion of G-d in Hebrew
foyupdate says
I have a baby girl and she’s named after my Grandma Fern. We found out gender a little late, around week 35, so we had worked out some boy names too. They were family names as well; Turns out when you get back far enough into German lines you get Latin names; so Aurelius was among them. Noble Nash (which occurs twice as a father and son pair on my mom’s side of the family during the Civil War era) and Lancelot (oddly another Father and son pair from a generation earlier) with Lael and Thaddeus rounding out our options.