Literary Names for Boys

A fancy TV western name that didn't catch on like fellow cowboys Luke and Josh, but definitely has a certain amount of charm. It is also spelled Yancy, as in the 1950s series Yancy Derringer. It was first spotted in the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, which became a popular movie.

This name of a character in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying is short, sweet and Southern-sounding.

A solid, brief but not brusque single-syllable surname with a presidential pedigree.

Is it a real name....or no?

The name of the hero of Nathan Englander's The Ministry of Special Cases is also the name of the prayer Jews say for the dead, so be aware that this could definitely be seen as an offensive choice to avoid.

Falmouth may be a beautiful seaside spot in Massachusetts, but as a name it's perilously close to "foul mouth." Falmouth Kearney was the name of Barack Obama's great-great grandfather.

Samuel Johnson invented the name Rasselas for the title character of his novel, Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Rasselas is actually the son of the prince.