This list isn’t comprehensive (due to the amount of classic childrens books out there!) However there are so many great names here: quirky, antique, exotic and more. And I hope it brings up some good memories as well.
*All names mentioned are worn by children in the listed books, whether they are the protagonist or one of the main characters.
BOYS
Axel (Journey to the Center of the Earth)
Babar (Babar the Elephant)
Bastian (The Neverending Story)
Bunty (Seven Little Australians)
Brian (Hatchet)
Cedric (Little Lord Fauntleroy)
Charlie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Edmund (Chronicles of Narnia)
Emil (Emil and the Detectives)
Ged (A Wizard of Earthsea)
Harry (Harry Potter Series)
Huckleberry (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
James (James and the Giant Peach)
Leslie (Bridge to Terabithia)
Max (Where The Wild Things Are)
Mowgli (The Jungle Book)
Oliver (Oliver Twist)
Peter (The Tale of Peter Rabbit)
Pip (Seven Little Australians)
Taran (The Chronicles of Prydain)
Tendai (The Ear, the Eye and the Arm: A Novel)
Thowra (The Silver Brumby)
Wilbur (Charlotte’s Web)
GIRLS
Alice (Alice In Wonderland)
Alumette (Alumette: A Fable)
Anne (Anne of Green Gables)
Anthea (Five Children and It)
Arrietty (The Borrowers)
Beatie (Playing Beatie Bow)
Dorothy (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
Eilonwy (The Chronicles of Prydain)
Fern (Charlotte’s Web)
Gilly (The Great Gilly Hopkins)
Harriet (Harriet The Spy)
Heidi (Heidi)
Irene (The Princess and the Goblin)
Karana (Island of the Blue Dolphin)
Lucy (Chronicles of Narnia)
Madeline (Madeline)
Mary (The Secret Garden)
Matilda (Matilda)
Pippi (Pippi Longstocking)
Pollyanna (Pollyanna)
Ramona (Ramona the Pest)
Sarah (A Little Princess)
Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Wendy (Peter Pan)
Winnie (Tuck Everlasting)
Naming the Fishes is all about names, a site that is dedicated to finding new gems and reminiscing with old ones. Ranging from the eclectic and quirky to the humble and classic you may find what you are looking for may it be a future baby name, character for a story or if you are like me (just for fun). There should be content almost every week, so keep posted!
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So many of these names are favourites of mine, simply because they feature in my favourite childhood books! Alice, Lucy, Edmund, Huck and Pip are like old friends. So glad you included Anthea: I love the names Nesbit chose for her books (especially Oswald).
Interesting you have Scout as a boy’s name …
Oh woops! I had this feeling I made a mistake there but couldn’t figure out what I had done. Changed Scout to the girls side now.
Oh I thought you were striking a blow for gender roles – “that’s a BOY’S name!” :)
Maybe!
Just kidding. I try not to be biased when it comes to the blog, but this time it was truly a simple mistake, aha.