Top Ten YA Characters I'd Name My Children After

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.  It's a simple and absurdly fun meme featuring one of my favorite things ever: lists.  About books. ..  OK, two of my favorite things.  So check it out if you haven't already.  

This week the topic is Top Ten Characters I'd Name My Children After.  I'm somewhat infamous for wanting to name pets after characters from Greek and Egyptian mythology or nerdy movies (ie the cat becomes Bast, and the horse Epona or Shadowfax), but as for favorite YA book characters as namesakes... 

1.  Katniss from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I know a lot of people actually dislike this name and thought it was kind of random, but I positively adore it and most of the other unusual, futuristic Hunger Games names.  To me, Katniss is such a brave and admirable heroine and really the kind of person girls could strive to be like.  Maybe it's the similarity to my own name, on second thought... Kat... Katniss.  OK, I see it now.  ;) 

2.  Felicity from the Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray

Felicity is a name from Victorian times, proudly borne by Gemma's headstrong, outspoken best friend in the fabulous Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray.  Felicity is by far my favorite character in the series, and her name is just beautiful.

3.  Ethan from Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

The only somewhat common name on this list.  Ethan is one of my favorite male narrators in YA.

4.  Lyra from the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman

 Lyra is such a brave and clever little heroine.  I always loved these books when I was younger.  Lyra is also the name of a harp constellation... go figure.  Her daemon's name is Pantalaimon... now there's a male name with possibilities... (Kidding! ;)

5.  Luna from the Harry Potter series

I wish my name was Luna.  It's so beautiful, what with the moon and moon goddess connotations... and the Luna Lovegood ones, of course.  Luna is just awesome-- her wackiness and quotes are all priceless.

6.  Zane from the Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

 Uglies has some pretty bizarre character names running through it, but every once in a while Scott Westerfeld hits on a futuristic name that actually sounds pretty cool.  Zane was one of my favorite characters.  *sobs* Scott did wrong by him.  Honorable mention from Uglies: Shay (girls name).

7.  Rue from the Hunger Games Trilogy 

Another Hunger Games name.  Rue is named for a herb, not 'you'll rue the day you met me'.  I like the simplicity and uniqueness of it.

8.  Isabelle, Jace, or Alec from the Mortal Instruments series

I cheated.  I love all the names from the Mortal Instruments series.  Honorable mentions are Maryse (pronounced May-ris, I believe), and Clary.  Alec is a particular favorite.

9.  Hermione from the Harry Potter series 

This isn't the kind of pop culture-inspired name where you could get away with people not realizing your kid is named after a character.  Everybody knows Hermione, but I love the name and her character so much that I honestly don't care.  Realistically, I'd probably name a cat this rather than a kid, but still... worst thing would be the inevitable nickname 'Hermie'.  *Shudders*

10.  Morgaine from The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (or Arthurian legend, really)

The Mists of Avalon is technically not YA, but it's one of my favorite books of all time, so I had to include it.  Morgan (aka Morgana le Fey) was the half-sister of King Arthur in some legends, and a misnomer for a Celtic goddess in others.  I really love the strength and androgynous sound of the name, but this spelling would be for a girl, obviously.


So, any thoughts/comments? What favorite character from a book would you name a kid after?