When searching for unique baby names from characters in popular culture books, parents must be careful to choose a name that is distinctive yet not overly bizarre. Fortunately, while the characters below may have been magicians, warriors, or even vampires, their character names aren’t too outlandish – but are exotic enough to add to their appeal.
Cool Baby Names for Boys
Caspian: The title character from Prince Caspian, the second book in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Caspian X was a prince of the Telmarines, who had conquered the magical land of Narnia. Deciding to turn away from the royal family and defend Narnia, Caspian summons back Narnia’s legendary kings and queens, defeats his wicked uncle, and becomes King Caspian X. In Disney’s 2008 movie adaptation, Caspian was played by British actor Ben Barnes.
Magnus: Meaning “Great” in Latin, Magnus was the name of several kings of Norway and Sweden. In Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles, Magnus was also the name of the vampire who created the vampire Lestat.
Strider: An alias used by the hero Aragorn from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Strider was the leader of the Rangers of the North, a secretive group of warriors that defended its territory from evil forces. As Aragorn, the character eventually became king of Gondor.
Trent: Bestselling fantasy author Piers Anthony created Trent the Transformer for his popular Xanth fantasy book series. A powerful magician with the ability to transform any creature into any living thing he could imagine, Trent also possessed a strong personal magnetism that made him a natural leader and, eventually, a charismatic king.
Xavier: Best known as the family name of Professor Charles Xavier, the telepathic founder and leader of Marvel Comics’ mutant superhero team the X-Men, “Xavier” is also associated with St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint.
Cool Baby Names for Girls
Arwen: A half-elven princess from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy who married the hero Aragorn, Arwen Undómiel played a minor role in the books, yet became a much more outspoken character in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Portrayed by Liv Tyler, the movie version of Arwen rescues the Hobbit Frodo Baggins from the Black Riders and later watches over Aragorn during his adventures.
Astra: A little-known character from Kurt Busiek’s critically acclaimed comic book series Astro City, Astra is a super heroine with the ability to transform herself into pure energy, enabling her to fly, project bolts of force, and pass through solid matter. Longing for a normal life, but also able to adapt to the strangest environments, Astra befriends a wide range of people, from elementary school girls to undersea beasts to extraterrestrials.
Lurline: Created by L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Queen Lurline is the fairy queen in Baum’s original fairy tale Queen Zixi of Ix or The Story of the Magic Cloak, and is mentioned in several Oz books. A beautiful and benevolent fairy, Lurline is credited with enchanting the Land of Oz and turning it from an ordinary country into a magical fairyland
Nova: A name held by several fictional women, including a primitive woman in Pierre Boulle’s Planet of the Apes, Nova was also the name of Frankie Raye, a powerful Marvel Comics character who became the herald of the world-devouring entity Galactus. Given the ability to soar through space to find planets for Galactus to devour, Nova eventually tried to save several of these worlds and was freed from her service.
Vadne: A Sorceress from Piers Anthony’s Xanth book series, Vadne possesses the power to reshape any object into any form she can imagine. Although initially jealous and treacherous, she later reformed and became a powerful ally.
Find more baby names lists at Unusual Baby Names from Children's Literature and More Unusual Baby Names from Children's Books.
Michael Jung - Michael Jung is a professional writer, children’s literature specialist, and online book dealer whose articles, reviews, interviews, ...
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