Names to explore
Subtle literary connections
Names that work easily on their own even if nobody catches the reference.
Bram
Bram recalls author Bram Stoker and also works as a compact established given name.
2025 U.S.: 56 births · #2,422Peak: 2016 · 72 births
Caspian
Caspian has a strong literary association through C. S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian while standing on its own as a modern given name.
2025 U.S.: 614 births · #491Peak: 2025 · 614 births
Dorian
Dorian carries a clear literary echo through The Picture of Dorian Gray and remains uncommon in current U.S. use.
2025 U.S.: 557 births · #539Peak: 2008 · 641 births
Ishmael
Ishmael is both a biblical name and the unforgettable narrator’s name at the opening of Moby-Dick.
2025 U.S.: 121 births · #1,469Peak: 2017 · 158 births
Orlando
Orlando appears across literature, including Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf, giving the name several very different literary associations.
2025 U.S.: 275 births · #873Peak: 1987 · 877 births
Oberon
Oberon is the fairy king in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a bold, very uncommon modern choice.
2025 U.S.: 17 births · #5,544Peak: 2021 · 37 births
Character names with presence
Choices that carry a recognizable story without being the most obvious baby-name picks.
Peregrine
Peregrine has a long literary life, including Tobias Smollett’s Peregrine Pickle, and an adventurous sound of its own.
2025 U.S.: 35 births · #3,359Peak: 2024 · 36 births
Sherlock
Sherlock is inseparable from Sherlock Holmes, which makes it memorable but also gives it a very strong character association.
2025 U.S.: no published countPeak: 2017 · 12 births
Darcy
Darcy is best known to many readers through Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice and works naturally as a modern given name.
2025 U.S.: 25 births · #4,159Peak: 1970 · 80 births
Heathcliff
Heathcliff has one of literature’s strongest name associations through Wuthering Heights and remains exceptionally rare in U.S. data.
2025 U.S.: 5 births · #12,708Peak: 2020 · 6 births
Quill
Quill has a writerly word-name feel that fits a literary shortlist even without pointing to one classic character.
2025 U.S.: 35 births · #3,361Peak: 2019 · 63 births
Aramis
Aramis is one of the musketeers in Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers and remains highly uncommon in the U.S.
2025 U.S.: 30 births · #3,663Peak: 2004 · 77 births
For committed book lovers
Very distinctive names with strong literary associations that are difficult to separate from the character or author.
Byron
Byron brings an immediate literary association with poet Lord Byron while also functioning as an established given name.
2025 U.S.: 233 births · #981Peak: 1964 · 1,284 births
Dante
Dante is closely tied to poet Dante Alighieri and has far more current use than most names on this literary list.
2025 U.S.: 1,104 births · #308Peak: 1998 · 1,670 births
Fitzwilliam
Fitzwilliam is Mr. Darcy’s first name in Pride and Prejudice and is exceptionally uncommon as a modern U.S. first name.
2025 U.S.: 5 births · #12,636Peak: 2017 · 10 births
Leopold
Leopold has many historical bearers and a major literary association through Leopold Bloom in Ulysses.
2025 U.S.: 76 births · #2,001Peak: 2020 · 120 births
Prospero
Prospero is the central magician and deposed duke in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, giving the name an unmistakably theatrical connection.
2025 U.S.: no published countPeak: 1928 · 8 births
Robin
Robin appears throughout folklore and literature, most famously through the Robin Hood tradition, while remaining an established given name.
2025 U.S.: 382 births · #705Peak: 1956 · 2,247 births
The data line uses the exact spelling shown. “No published 2025 count” can mean the spelling had zero births or fewer than five, because SSA does not publish counts below five.
A literary association can be stronger than the name itself
Sherlock and Heathcliff, for example, immediately point to famous characters. Decide whether you want that association to follow the name everywhere.
Author names and character names feel different
Bram and Byron can honor writers, while Dorian or Oberon point more directly to fictional characters. Think about which kind of connection you actually want.
Read the work before using a strong character name
A beautiful-sounding name may belong to a complicated character. If the reference matters, knowing the story is worth more than a list of meanings.
Roscoe's pick
Bram
Bram is short, uncommon and literary without forcing the association. It works even for people who never think of Bram Stoker.
More names to explore
Questions parents ask
Are all of these names rare in the United States?
They are selected for uncommon U.S. use or for a distinctive heritage style. Each card shows the exact-spelling 2025 U.S. count when Social Security published one, so you can see the current context for yourself.
Does a missing 2025 count mean the name was unused?
No. The national public file does not publish a spelling when fewer than five boys received it that year, so a missing count can mean zero or one to four births.
Can the same name belong to more than one naming tradition?
Yes. Names travel between languages and cultures, and spellings can have more than one history. These guides group names by the tradition most relevant to the page rather than claiming every name has only one possible background.
Should U.S. popularity decide which name I choose?
No. The numbers are context. Family connection, pronunciation, cultural fit and how the name sounds with your surname usually matter more.