Literary Inspired Dog Names

Introduction

For many people, books and literature is an important part of their lives, and they celebrate this by naming their dogs after fictional characters or the authors who crafted them. The options for literary-inspired dog names is boundless and guided by one's personal favorites. For many people, literature characters are like old, steady friends who can revisit over and over again as the years pass. Dog owners may wish to honor their dogs and their favorite literary pieces by selecting a name that befits the disposition or appearance of their dog. Or, dog owners may just have a favorite literary reference they have to use, no matter how the fit.

Literary Inspired Dog Names in Pop Culture

Featured Famous Dog with a Literary Inspired Name

Banga

Dogs in literature are prevalent from sad stories such as Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller to literary masterpieces. Some satires masterpieces feature dogs as well, such as Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and Kurt Vonnegut's reoccurring dog character, Kazak, first seen in The Sirens of Titan.

The Master and Margarita is hailed as perfectly capturing the heart, soul, and life of the Russian people living under the dark regime of Stalinism and may also be considered one of the greatest masterpieces of the 20th Century. Though the novel takes place in two settings, modern-day Russia in the 1940's and the days leading to the crucifixion of Yeshua Ha-Nozri (Jesus Christ), the two time periods are masterfully interconnected by time and space in the third part of the novel. The second setting is where Baga, the dog is introduced and involves the immortalized Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea and condemner of Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Pilate is plagued by his decision to condemn Yeshua Ha-Nozri and spends eternity in deep contemplation with his faithful dog Banga. Banga, while in Pilate's lifetime, was the only creature that loved Pilate. Banga did not leave Pilate's side during the entirety of his two thousand years of contemplation. When the two settling are brought together, the Master, a Russian author who tells the story of Pontius Pilate, is given the opportunity to free Pilate from his torment with the truth of his words. The Master does so by proclaiming Pilate free, and both Pilate and his faithful dog Banga run off together down the path of moonlight to rejoin Yeshua Ha-Nozri.

If Banga seems a little too heavy a name for your dog, another satirical work by American author Kurt Vonnegut may be called for. Zazak is a Doberman Pinscher guard dog, a space dog, and even a seeing-eye dog who appears in several of Vonnegut's novels. The re-use of the same characters was a particular style of Vonnegut though the stories were not necessarily connected. Kazak makes for a great Doberman Pincher's name or any other dog name given by a Vonnegut loving dog owner.

Literary Inspired Dog Name Considerations

There are very few considerations dog owners need to make when selecting a literary name for their new pooch. Overall, just about any size or breed of dog can fit into a literary-inspired name reference. However, some names are better suited to different types of dogs. Overall, dog owners should consider what their canine companion would look like if he or she were human. This is helpful in determining if the name fits and should be relatively easy for most readers considering they use a vast deal of imagination during reading. For example, Atticus is a reference to Harper Lee's Atticus Finch. Lee's Atticus is a man of tall character who agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, in a criminal case. Atticus is hailed as America's most noted literary hero and while any dog might share his name, consider naming a large, loyal dog this classic name. Some dog owners may wish to name their dog after one of their favorite authors. If you already have your dog, consider his color, size, and disposition. Shelley is a great name for a large female dog considering Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Fitz, after F. Scott Fitzgerald, is more fitting for a small Terrier type or a possibly a red-colored dog. The beauty of the literary-inspired dog name is that there are hardly any restrictions or even great considerations to make. Go with your heart and have fun.

Male Literary Inspired Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
10	Atticus Harper Lee's Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, dubbed an American hero
8	Kazak American satire writer, Kurt Vonnegut's, reappearing dog character
6	Holden Holden of The Catcher in the Rye
6	Pip Charles Dickens's Pip from Great Expectations
6	Binx Walker Percy's Binx Bolling, a New Orleans stock broker
5	Dantes Dantes from The Count of Monty Cristo
5	Santiago Hemingway's The Old Man in the Sea
3	Hamlet William Shakespeare's masterpiece
3	Huck American satire novelist, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn
3	Fitz Reference to American author F. Scott Fitzgerald
2	Copper A reference to David Copperfield
2	Yossarian The protagonist in Joseph Heller's Catch 22
2	Scout The name of one of Atticus Finch's children in To Kill a Mockingbird
1	Archer From Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence
1	Watson Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character from the Sherlock Holmes series
1	Banga Pontius Pilate's faithful Hound in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita
0	Kerouac Beatnik author of On the Road
0	Rhett Frankly, guys with this name "don't give a damn"
0	Oliver Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist
0	Poirot Agatha Christie's legendary Belgian detective
0	Gandalf The Grey, then White Wizard of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series
-1	Bob A Wheaten Terrier from Agatha Christie's The Dumb Witness
-2	McMurphy From One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
-2	Macbeth Another William Shakespeare masterpiece
-2	Brett Hemingway's Brett from The Sun Also Rises
-3	Mr Darcy Every girl's dream boat and Jane Austen's most well known male character
-3	Hemingway Great American novelist
-3	Ichabod The protagonist in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
-3	Kilgore One of Kurty Vonnegut's characters
-3	Pilgram From Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

Female Literary Inspired Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
8	Pippi A reference to Pippi Longstockings
6	Harper Harper Lee wrote the single-most important American novel of 20th Century, To Kill a Mockingbird
6	Shelley Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein
6	Beatrice One of Shakespeare's functional lovers in Much Ado About Nothing
6	Phoebe From the Catcher in the Rye
6	Rosaline Shakespeare's female protagonist in As You Like It
5	Jo Louisa May Alcott's Josephine, a fictional authoress from Little Women
5	Agatha Agatha Christie's novels are the most translated in history
5	Flossie One of the Bobbsie twins
4	Lolita Vladimir Nabokov's Charlotte "Lolita" Haze from Lolita
4	Blanche From a Street Car Named Desire
4	Hester Hester from The Scarlet Letter
4	Hazel The protagonist from Flannery O'Connor's 1952 novel, Blood Wise
4	Charlotte One of the famed Bronte sisters
2	Emily Another of the famous Bronte sisters
2	Ursula Anthropologist and Science Fiction write of dystonia novels
2	Coredelia A fictional character in William Shakespeare's tragedy, King Lear
2	Bridget Bridget Jones had quite a diary
2	Heidi A fictional work by Swiss author Johanna Spyri
1	Celie From the Color Purple
1	Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov's Margarita from The Master and Margarita
1	Jane Jane Eyre or Jane Austen, take your pick they're both amazing
1	Zora African-American novelist and shorty story writer
1	Alice The main character in Alice in Wonderland
0	Daisy F. Scott Fitzgerald's Daisy from The Great Gatsby
0	Blume Get light-hearted with Judy Blume
0	Estella Charles Dickens's Estella from Great Expectations
-1	Wendy Miss Wendy Moira Angela Darling of Peter Pan
-2	Elinor Jane Austen's Elinor from Sense and Sensibility