Here you’ll find 35 Literary girl names that start with A that begin with A, organized from “Abigail” to “Ayesha”. They range from classic, biblical, and mythic names to author-created names, useful for parents and writers.
Literary girl names that start with A are female names that appear in literature and begin with the letter A. Many come from beloved novels, plays, and poems—”Abigail” and “Ayesha” show the mix of biblical and exotic literary origins.
Below you’ll find the table with Name, Pronunciation, Origin (Author & Work), Language, and Meaning / Literary significance.
Name: The given name as it appears in literature, helping you scan familiar or fresh options at a glance.
Pronunciation: A simple phonetic respelling so you can say the name confidently when discussing it or testing it aloud.
Origin (Author & Work): The author and work where the name appears, giving you literary context and a quick citation for further reading.
Language: The original language or linguistic tradition linked to the name, which helps you understand pronunciation and cultural background.
Meaning / Literary significance: Etymology or the name’s role in its source, so you grasp literal meanings and the character’s symbolic weight.
Literary girl names that start with A
| Name | Origin | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alice | Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), English | AL-iss | Noble; noble-kind; childlike curiosity |
| Anne | L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables (1908), English | AN | Gracious, favored; classic feminine name |
| Anna | Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877), Russian | AHN-nah | Grace; derived from Hebrew Hannah, tragic heroine |
| Antigone | Sophocles, Antigone (c.441 BCE), Ancient Greek | an-TIG-uh-nee | Opposed birth; moral resistance to unjust authority |
| Antonia | Willa Cather, My Ántonia (1918), English | an-TOH-nee-ah | Beyond praise; immigrant prairie heroine |
| Ada | Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor (1969), English | AY-dah | Noble; short form of Adelaide |
| Abigail | Arthur Miller, The Crucible (1953), English | AB-ih-gail | Father’s joy; accusatory young woman |
| Agnes | Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey (1847), English | AG-nes | Pure, chaste; moral steadiness |
| Annabel | Edgar Allan Poe, “Annabel Lee” (1849), English | AN-a-bel | Lovable; beloved figure in elegy |
| Arwen | J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), English (Sindarin) | AR-wen | Noble maiden; royal Elven name |
| Arya | George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones (1996), English | AR-yah | Noble; noble-like; independent youth |
| Aurora | Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (1856), English | aw-ROHR-ah | Dawn; poetic light and rebirth |
| Amelia | Henry Fielding, Amelia (1751), English | ah-MEE-lee-ah | Industrious; striving; feminine virtue |
| Ayesha | H. Rider Haggard, She (1887), English | uh-SHAY-ah | She — mysterious, eternal queen |
| Amy | Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868), English | AY-mee | Beloved; second-syllable diminutive |
| Arabella | Georgette Heyer, Arabella (1949), English | air-uh-BEL-uh | Yielding to prayer; elegant, romantic heroine |
| Andromache | Homer, Iliad (c.8th c. BCE), Ancient Greek | an-druh-MAH-kee | Man’s fighter; devoted wife of Hector |
| Andromeda | Ovid, Metamorphoses (c.8 CE), Latin | an-dro-MEE-dah | Ruler of men; chained princess rescued by Perseus |
| Ariadne | Ovid, Heroides / classical sources (c.8 CE), Latin | air-ee-AD-nee | Most holy; helper to Theseus |
| Artemis | Homer, Iliad/Odyssey (c.8th c. BCE), Ancient Greek | ar-TEM-iss | Goddess of the hunt; protector of maidens |
| Antoinette | Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), English | an-twah-NET | Beyond praise; Creole identity and tragedy |
| Alison | Geoffrey Chaucer, The Miller’s Tale (late 14th c.), Middle English | AL-ih-sun | Noble; lively young woman |
| Althea | Richard Lovelace, “To Althea, from Prison” (1642), English | al-THEE-ah | Healer; poetic muse and liberty symbol |
| Angelica | Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1532), Italian | an-JEL-ih-kah | Angel-like; dazzling beloved of knights |
| Agnès | Molière, L’École des femmes (1662), French | ahn-YEZ | Pure and innocent; naive young bride-to-be |
| Aglaya | Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot (1869), Russian | ag-LAH-yah | Splendid; capricious noblewoman and love interest |
| Anya | Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard (1904), Russian | AHN-yah | Grace; hopeful daughter symbolizing renewal |
| Audrey | William Shakespeare, As You Like It (c.1599), English | AW-dree | Noble strength; rustic comic figure |
| Alina | Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone (2012), English | ah-LEE-nah | Bright; luminous, gifted heroine |
| Alcmene | Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Library (1st–2nd c. CE), Ancient Greek | al-KMEN-ee | Queenly strength; mother of Heracles |
| Asenath | Joseph and Asenath (late antiquity), Greek (apocryphal) | uh-SEE-nath | Belonging to Neith; biblical-apocryphal wife of Joseph |
| Amaryllis | Virgil, Eclogues (c.37 BCE), Latin | am-uh-RIL-is | Sparkling; bucolic beloved in pastoral verse |
| Alcina | Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1532), Italian | al-SEE-nah | Enchantress; alluring island sorceress |
| Asteria | Hesiod and classical sources (c.8th–7th c. BCE onward), Ancient Greek | as-TEER-ee-ah | Starry one; Titaness and poetic figure |
| Astraea | Ovid and classical tradition (c.8 CE and earlier), Latin | as-TRAY-ah | Star-maiden; personification of justice |
Descriptions
Alice
Young heroine who falls into a bizarre fantasy world; iconic Victorian children’s protagonist (Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland).
Anne
Red-haired orphan Anne Shirley is imaginative, talkative, and beloved in Montgomery’s coming-of-age novel (L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables).
Anna
Complex, passionate heroine whose affair and social fate drive Tolstoy’s novel (Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina).
Antigone
Daughter of Oedipus who defies the king to bury her brother; emblem of principled rebellion (Sophocles, Antigone).
Antonia
Title figure representing pioneer endurance, memory, and the American frontier (Willa Cather, My Ántonia).
Ada
Central, multilingual heroine in Nabokov’s intricate, time-bending novel (Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor).
Abigail
Abigail Williams catalyzes the Salem witch-hunt hysteria in Miller’s dramatic allegory (Arthur Miller, The Crucible).
Agnes
Governess-narrator whose quiet virtue and social observations anchor Brontë’s novel (Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey).
Annabel
Title beloved mourned by Poe’s narrator in a famous Romantic lyric (Edgar Allan Poe, “Annabel Lee”).
Arwen
Elven princess and Aragorn’s love; Tolkien-created Sindarin name with lyrical resonance (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings).
Arya
Young Stark daughter famed for grit, survival, and a personal quest (George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones).
Aurora
Poet-narrator of Barrett Browning’s verse-novel, name evokes dawn and artistic awakening (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh).
Amelia
Title heroine portrayed as virtuous and resilient in Fielding’s 18th-century novel (Henry Fielding, Amelia).
Ayesha
Powerful, immortal ruler whose allure and danger drive Haggard’s adventure tale (H. Rider Haggard, She).
Amy
Youngest March sister who grows into an artist; playful and vain at times (Louisa May Alcott, Little Women).
Arabella
Regency-era heroine who navigates manners, marriage prospects, and social comedy (Georgette Heyer, Arabella).
Andromache
Bereaved, dignified wife who embodies loyalty and the costs of war (Homer, Iliad).
Andromeda
Mythic figure rescued from a sea-monster; vivid in Roman poetry (Ovid, Metamorphoses).
Ariadne
Gave Theseus the thread to escape the labyrinth; tragic lover abandoned on Naxos (classical sources, e.g., Ovid).
Artemis
Olympian goddess appearing across Greek epic and drama; powerful, chaste figure (Homer, Iliad).
Antoinette
Rhys reimagines the life of Dickens’s “madwoman” as Antoinette Cosway (Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea).
Alison
Vivacious young wife at the center of Chaucer’s bawdy fabliau (Geoffrey Chaucer, The Miller’s Tale).
Althea
Poetic addressee representing love and freedom in Cavalier poetry (Richard Lovelace, “To Althea, from Prison”).
Angelica
Enchanting princess whose beauty triggers epic chases and rivalries (Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso).
Agnès
Naïve heroine whose prospective marriage is comedic fodder in Molière’s play (Molière, L’École des femmes).
Aglaya
Young society woman whose charm and moods complicate Myshkin’s life (Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot).
Anya
Optimistic young woman who plans to emigrate; voice of the future (Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard).
Audrey
Country girl courted by the clown Touchstone in Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy (William Shakespeare, As You Like It).
Alina
Protagonist with rare magical power (the Sun Summoner) in Bardugo’s fantasy novel (Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone).
Alcmene
Mother of Heracles in classical myth, appearing in mythographic compilations (Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Library).
Asenath
Title figure in an early romance about Joseph’s Egyptian marriage (Joseph and Asenath).
Amaryllis
Stock pastoral love interest in Roman and Hellenistic poetry (Virgil, Eclogues).
Alcina
Sorceress who beguiles knights and transforms lovers in the Renaissance epic (Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso).
Asteria
Mythic figure referenced across Greek poetry and later classical literature (classical sources).
Astraea
Goddess/personification who leaves earth at the end of the Golden Age (classical sources, e.g., Ovid).