Storybook-Inspired Names

Several names appear in literature. However, that does not automatically make these names literary. Literary names are not automatically storybook-inspired, either. What are storybook-inspired names, then?

Storybook-inspired names have a fairy tale-like quality to them. They connect to a timeless, memorable story that's appropriate for at least children. Storybook-inspired names must also not be too tied to the characters (sorry, Rapunzel) and be the character's actual given name. 

Some fairy tale characters don't even have names-think Little Red Riding Hood. However, this post is about names that are present in fairy tales:

GIRLS' NAMES:

Alice 

Alice is the titular character of Lewis Carrol's nineteenth-century novel Alice in Wonderland. He originally based it on a little girl by the name of Alice Liddell (1852-1934). The story follows a little girl who dreams of going to a land where lots of strange things happen. It went on to be adapted into an animated Disney film. 

Clara

Clara is famous as the heroine of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet The Nutcracker. In the ballet, Clara dreams of defending her nutcracker doll. The nutcracker then turns into a prince and dances with her. The ballet continues to be popular today, keeping this name accessible. 

Dorothy

Dorothy Gale is well-known as the heroine of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. As many of us know, she gets transported from her Kansas home to a yellow brick road. There, she meets several male friends along with a good witch and bad witch. 

Goldie

Goldie is an old-fashioned nickname that immediately brings to mind Goldilocks from the English fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We all know the story of the golden-haired girl who broke into the house of three bears to find the porridge, chair, and bed that was "just right". 

Jill

Jill connects to the famous nursery rhyme Jack and Jill. The titular characters of the rhyme go up the hill to grab a bucket of water. Jill can substitute for other single-syllable classics like Claire and Grace.

Mary

Mary isn't just one of the most classic names for girls. It also has a storybook-like feel though Sarah Josepha Hale's nursery rhyme Mary had a Little Lamb. As we all know, the rhyme is about a lamb who went "everywhere where Mary went."

Snow

Snow is most famous as the titular Snow White. She was a fair-skinned girl who runs away from her evil stepmother and enters the cottage of seven dwarves. There, she promises to cook and clean for the dwarves. She then dies from a poisoned apple only to be saved by a prince. The tale has had many adaptations over the years, including the 1937 Disney film. 

BOYS' NAMES:

George

Classic George is a fairy tale name via the medieval legend George and the Dragon. The legend described how St. George slayed a dragon that wanted human sacrifices. 

Huck

Huck is most famous as the titular character of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Huck has never been common as a first name, so for now, it's exclusively literary. It can make a less-common alternative to the also-literary Jack. 

Jack

Jack is a classic name that has always ranked within the top 200. As I stated above, it is also literary via the English fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk. It tells the story of a boy who plants a beanstalk and climbs it to meet a giant. The nursery rhyme Jack and Jill adds to its literary status. 

Peter

Peter is a classic that appears in several literary works. There's the nursery rhyme Peter Piper along with Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit. J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, which features a flying boy who never grows up, gives the name more magic. That story became a famous Disney movie in the 1950s. 

Robin

Robin is unisex today, but it is masculine in literature. The medieval legend Robin Hood describes a man who took from the rich and gave to the poor. The legend later became a Disney movie, though Disney's Robin Hood was a fox. 

Tom

Tom, which is as classic as Jack, connects to a few stories. These include Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and the English fairy tale Tom Thumb. Tom Thumb tells the story of a tiny boy, only about the size of your thumb.  

What are your favorite storybook-inspired names?