500+ Literary Dog Names for Bookish Dog Lovers 2023

Looking for dog names from books and movies? We’ve gathered the ultimate list of best literary dog names for bookworms and best friends for male and female puppies.

Pet lovers love to choose dog names from literature and mythology. All these dog names are magical and perfect for any philosopher.

Tired of old dog names like Max, Bella, or Rover? Want to give your best friend a unique and literary name that reflects your love for books and reading?

Look no further! In this blog post, we explore the world of literary names for dogs and give you inspiration for your next canine companion.

From classic literature to modern novels, there are countless literary titles to choose from. Plus, a literary name can make your dog feel like a sophisticated and intellectual companion, whether he likes to chase tennis balls or chew toys.

This dog name can reflect your interest in reading novels and paperback. We have gathered different types of ideas from a book, a name of a human character or city, or the name of an author.

Take inspiration from your favorite books and create an awesome name for your bookish dog. For the easiness, we have put together a list of 500+ dog names inspired by literature.

To help you to start the process of choosing a good name for a little puppy, we’ve handpicked a comprehensive list of the best classic literary names for male and female dogs.

List of Top Literary Dog Names for Male and Female Puppies

Looking for a unique and bookish name for your furry friend? Check out our list of literary dog names inspired by classic novels, famous authors, and more!

Quixote – Don Quixote
Siren
Violet – Lemony Snicket
Sansa – Game of Thrones
Cujo – from Stephen King’s book
Leopold – Ulysses
Gretel – Hansel & Gretel
Nana – The Darling family’s pet in Peter Pan
Capote or Truman – Truman Capote
Laska – Levin’s hunting dog in Anna Karenina
Inky
Faulkner – William Faulkner
Callisto
Gandalf – Lord of the Rings
Scribe
Ripley – The Talented Mr Ripley
Ribsy – Companion of Henry Huggins
Leo – Leo Tolstoy
Fitz – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Clifford – The beloved big red dog
Atlas
Titan
London – Jack London
Quill
Othello
King – Stephen King
Holden – Catcher in the Rye
Prim – Hunger Games
Jot
Puck – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Heidi
Watson – Sherlock Holmes

Related: St. Bernard Dog Names

Best Literary Dog Names

Kerouac or Jack – Jack Kerouac
Sherlock – Sherlock Holmes
Buck – Sled dog from Call of the Wild
Ghost – Jon Snow’s four-legged companion in Game of Thrones
Shakespeare – William Shakespeare
Lad – Lad, A Dog
Shiloh – Dog saved from abusive owner in Shiloh
Toby – Used by Sherlock Holmes when he needs help sniffing out a clue
Milo – Catch-22
Alice – Alice in Wonderland
Spartan
Pip – Great Expectations
Old Dan and Little Ann – Where the Red Fern Grows
Gatsby – The Great Gatsby
Edgar or Poe – Edgar Allan Poe
Sirius
Arwen – Lord of the Rings
Blue – The Sound and the Fury by William Falkner
Hera
Raven – from Edgar Allan Poe
Nyx
Arya – Game of Thrones
Max – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Dot
Bullseye – Bill Sikes’ dog in Oliver Twist
Perdita & Pongo – The Hundred and One Dalmatians
Fluffy – from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Huckleberry or Huck – Huckleberry Finn
Vonnegut – Kurt Vonnegut
Einstein – Watchers by Dean Koontz
Scout – To Kill a Mockingbird
Matilda – from Roald Dahl

More: Harrier Dog Names

Dog Names from Literary Characters

Syntax
Aries
Beatrice – Much Ado About Nothing
Scribble
Yeller – Old Yeller
Agatha – Agatha Christie
Hansel – Hansel & Gretel
Marley – The mischievous dog who made us laugh and cry in Marley and Me
Wallace – David Foster Wallace
Ginny – Harry Potter
Lassie – Lassie Come Home
Hercules
Snowy – Tintin’s dog in The Adventures of Tintin
Joyce – James Joyce
Luna
Charkie – Curious George
Jip – David Copperfield
White Fang and Kiche – White Fang by Jack London
Tolkien – JRR Tolkien
Ophelia – Hamlet
Moby – Moby Dick
Buddy / Toby / Bailey / Ellie / Bear – A Dog’s Purpose
Gulliver – Gulliver’s Travels
Hamlet
Luna – Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter
Austen – Jane Austen
Sirius – Harry Potter
Lyric
Winn-Dixie – Because of Winn-Dixie
Falstaff – Henry IV
Loki

Also Look: Cairn Terrier Dog Names

Dog Names from Famous Authors

Snowball – Animal Farm
Rhett – Gone with the Wind
Pippi – Pippi Longstocking
Fern – Charlotte’s Web
Toto – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Juliet – Romeo & Juliet
Marlowe – from Raymond Chandler series
Fable
Artemis
Romeo – Romeo & Juliet
Bond – James Bond
Scarlett – Gone with the Wind
Dodger – Oliver Twist
Fang – The lumbering boarhound in Harry Potter
Twain – Mark Twain
Maya – Maya Angelou
Orwell – George Orwell
Tock – Watchdog of the Phantom Tollbooth
Dickens – Charles Dickens
Oscar – Oscar Wilde
Pilot – Mr. Rochester’s dog in Jane Eyre
Atticus – To Kill a Mockingbird
Argos – the faithful dog in the Odyssey
Hunter – Hunter S. Thompson
Daisy – The Great Gatsby
Novella
Hemingway – Ernest Hemingway

Literary Dog Names and Meanings

Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) – meaning “one who gathers information”
Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) – meaning “man of Attica”
Gatsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald) – meaning “by God’s grace”
Daisy (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald) – meaning “day’s eye”
Holden (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger) – meaning “hollow valley”
Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger) – meaning “person from Salinum”
Ishmael (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville) – meaning “God hears”
Ahab (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville) – meaning “father’s brother”
Huck (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain) – meaning “short form of Huckleberry”
Twain (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain) – meaning “two”

Dog Names from Fantasy Books

Shadowfax (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Saphira (Eragon by Christopher Paolini)
Falkor (The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende)
Drogon (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)
Fizzgig (The Dark Crystal by A.C.H. Smith)
Abraxos (Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas)
Smaug (The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Rhaegal (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)
Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell)
Norbert (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Grawp (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)
Aragog (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Hedwig (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Pegasus (Greek mythology, featured in several works of literature)
Cerberus (Greek mythology, featured in several works of literature)
Fawkes (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Buckbeak (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Dobby (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Sauron (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Balrog (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Drogo (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)
Hagrid (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Nagini (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki)
Moro (Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki)
Calcifer (Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones)
Falkor (The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende)
Gmork (The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende)
Atreyu (The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende)

Bookish Dog Names

Page
Bookmark
Spine
Cover
Ink
Quill
Parchment
Scroll
Manuscript
Library
Bookshelf
Chapter
Index
Glossary
Footnote
Bibliography
Volume
Edition
Typeset
Margins
Dustjacket
Endpaper
Binding
Dedication
Foreword
Epilogue
Prologue
Appendix
Preface
Colophon

Poetic Dog Names

Sonnet
Bard
Haiku
Elegy
Lyric
Epic
Ballad
Meter
Rhyme
Stanza
Verse
Limerick
Ode
Quatrain
Couplet
Pantoum
Villanelle
Terza Rima
Sestina
Rondeau
Ghazal
Tanka
Cinquain
Prose Poem
Acrostic
Blank Verse
Free Verse
Rhapsody
Idyll
Epigram

Author Names for Dogs

Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway)
Austen (Jane Austen)
Dickens (Charles Dickens)
Poe (Edgar Allan Poe)
Twain (Mark Twain)
Steinbeck (John Steinbeck)
Orwell (George Orwell)
Fitzgerald (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Salinger (J.D. Salinger)
Morrison (Toni Morrison)
Shakespeare (William Shakespeare)
Doyle (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Wilde (Oscar Wilde)
Vonnegut (Kurt Vonnegut)
Melville (Herman Melville)
Tolkien (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Rowling (J.K. Rowling)
King (Stephen King)
Garcia (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Plath (Sylvia Plath)
Nabokov (Vladimir Nabokov)
Camus (Albert Camus)
Rushdie (Salman Rushdie)
Bradbury (Ray Bradbury)
Angelou (Maya Angelou)
Shelley (Mary Shelley)
Woolf (Virginia Woolf)
Morrison (Toni Morrison)
Faulkner (William Faulkner)
Joyce (James Joyce)

Novel-Inspired Dog Names for Bookworms

Gatsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Holden (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Jo (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
Lennie (Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck)
Scarlett (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)
Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Ponyboy (The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton)
Katniss (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
Bilbo (The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Frodo (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Hermione (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Sirius (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Luna (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Remus (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Hazel (The Fault in Our Stars by John Green)
Augustus (The Fault in Our Stars by John Green)
Oy (The Dark Tower series by Stephen King)
Liesel (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak)
Yossarian (Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)
Ignatius (A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole)
Anna (Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)
Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Humbert (Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov)
Holden (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Zaphod (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams)
Ishmael (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)
Pip (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)
Tris (Divergent series by Veronica Roth)
Hazel (Watership Down by Richard Adams)

Fictional Dog Names from Literature

Toto (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum)
Fang (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Fluffy (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)
Buck (The Call of the Wild by Jack London)
White Fang (White Fang by Jack London)
Cujo (Cujo by Stephen King)
Shiloh (Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor)
Lassie (Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight)
Old Dan (Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls)
Little Ann (Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls)
Gmork (The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende)
Gip (The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting)
Buck (The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck)
Gaspode (Discworld series by Terry Pratchett)
Chopper (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick)
Tramp (Lady and the Tramp by Ward Greene)
Lady (Lady and the Tramp by Ward Greene)
Nana (Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)
Grendel (Beowulf by Anonymous)
Garm (The Book of the Dead by Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge)
Marley (Marley & Me by John Grogan)
Winn-Dixie (Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo)
Krypto (Superman comics by DC Comics)
Cerberus (Greek mythology, featured in several works of literature)
Goliath (David and Goliath from the Bible, referenced in literature)
Argos (The Odyssey by Homer)
Tock (The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster)
George (Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck)
Snowy (The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé)

Dog Names Inspired by Classic Novels

Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)
Catherine (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)
Darcy (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
Oliver (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
Scrooge (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)
Pip (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)
Fagin (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
Rochester (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte)
Jane (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte)
Nana (Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)
Wendy (Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)
Huck (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
Tom (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain)
Sawyer (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain)
Ishmael (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)
Ahab (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)
Dracula (Dracula by Bram Stoker)
Lucy (Dracula by Bram Stoker)
Grendel (Beowulf by Anonymous)
Bilbo (The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Frodo (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Samwise (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Gandalf (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Arwen (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Sherlock (Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle)
Watson (Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle)
Holden (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

Bookish Dog Names for Literature Lovers

Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Holden (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Huck (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
Ishmael (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)
Melville (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)
Dante (The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri)
Virgil (The Aeneid by Virgil)
Tolstoy (War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy)
Anna (Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)
Kafka (The Trial by Franz Kafka)
Beckett (Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett)
Rosencrantz (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard)
Guildenstern (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard)
Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde)
Eliot (The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot)
Orwell (1984 by George Orwell)
Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck)
Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway)
Gulliver (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)
Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare)
Ariel (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
Rosalind (As You Like It by William Shakespeare)
Desdemona (Othello by William Shakespeare)
Cordelia (King Lear by William Shakespeare)
Lear (King Lear by William Shakespeare)
Brutus (Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)

Literary Dog Names for Book Lovers

Winn-Dixie (Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo)
Snowy (The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé)
Gromit (Wallace and Gromit by Nick Park)
Fang (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)
Sirius (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)
Hagrid (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)
Buck (The Call of the Wild by Jack London)
Cujo (Cujo by Stephen King)
Old Dan (Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls)
Little Ann (Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls)
Shadow (Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford)
Sassy (Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford)
Chance (Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford)
Shiloh (Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor)
Roscoe (Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo)
Dug (Up by Pixar)
Gatsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Marley (Marley & Me by John Grogan)
Max (How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss)
Odie (Garfield by Jim Davis)
Old Yeller (Old Yeller by Fred Gipson)
Perdita (101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith)
Pongo (101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith)
Winnie (Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne)
Pluto (Mickey Mouse by Walt Disney)
Goofy (Mickey Mouse by Walt Disney)
Balto (Balto: The Dog Who Saved Nome by Margaret Davidson)
Tock (The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster)
Ribsy (Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary)
Skippy (Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner)

Classic Literature Names for Dogs

Toto (The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum)
Lady (Lady and the Tramp by Walt Disney)
Buck (The Call of the Wild by Jack London)
Jip (David Copperfield by Charles Dickens)
Fagin (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
Bill Sykes (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
Oliver (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)
Gatsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Snowball (Animal Farm by George Orwell)
Napoleon (Animal Farm by George Orwell)
Boxer (Animal Farm by George Orwell)
Rosalind (As You Like It by William Shakespeare)
Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare)
Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare)
Romeo (Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
Juliet (Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
Hamlet (Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
Ophelia (Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
Portia (The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare)
Shylock (The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare)
Viola (Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare)
Orsino (Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare)
Desdemona (Othello by William Shakespeare)
Iago (Othello by William Shakespeare)
Cordelia (King Lear by William Shakespeare)
Lear (King Lear by William Shakespeare)
Ariel (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
Caliban (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)
Catherine (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)

Famous Literary Names for Dogs

Lassie (Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight)
Snoopy (Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz)
Clifford (Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell)
Old Yeller (Old Yeller by Fred Gipson)
Cujo (Cujo by Stephen King)
Beethoven (Beethoven: The Ultimate Canine Caper by Bob Thomas)
Toto (The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum)
Gromit (Wallace and Gromit by Nick Park)
Fang (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)
Einstein (Back to the Future by Robert Zemeckis)
Argos (The Odyssey by Homer)
Grendel (Beowulf by Unknown)
Huan (The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Buck (The Call of the Wild by Jack London)
Cerberus (Greek mythology)
Anubis (Egyptian mythology)
Sirius (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)
Tock (The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster)
Hagrid (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)
Benji (The Benji Series by Joe Camp)
Buck (The Call of the Wild by Jack London)
Marley (Marley & Me by John Grogan)
Zeus (Greek mythology)
Thor (Norse mythology)
Pluto (Mickey Mouse by Walt Disney)
Gatsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Bilbo (The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Krypto (Superman by DC Comics)
Odie (Garfield by Jim Davis)
Balto (Balto: The Dog Who Saved Nome by Margaret Davidson)

Unique Literature Names for Dogs

Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Frodo (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Toto (The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum)
Yossarian (Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)
Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)
Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Winn-Dixie (Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo)
Sherlock (Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle)
Marlowe (The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler)
Holden (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare)
Nana (Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)
Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)
Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Snowball (Animal Farm by George Orwell)
Sula (Sula by Toni Morrison)
Beowulf (Beowulf by Unknown)
Kilgore (Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut)
Grendel (Grendel by John Gardner)
Kiwi (Kiwi by Nicholas Houston)
Yorick (Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
Gatsby (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Ripley (The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith)
Katniss (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
Hester (The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Galadriel (The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Buck (The Call of the Wild by Jack London)
Garp (The World According to Garp by John Irving)
Ishmael (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)
Zephyr (Zephyr Takes Flight by Steve Light)

Conclusion

Guys, these are the best collection of best dog names inspired by literature. We hope that you like the precious collection of dog names. Please share this article with friends and family on social media sites like Facebook, Whatsapp, and Twitter.

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