Here you’ll find 14 Literary girl names that start with G, organized from “Gaia” to “Gwendolen”. They range from mythic and poetic choices to classic novel heroines, suitable for parents and writers.
Literary girl names that start with G are names appearing in literature, myth, or poetry. Notable examples include Gaia and Gwendolen, drawn from myth and Victorian fiction.
Below you’ll find the table with Name, Origin, Pronunciation, and Meaning.
Name: This lists each literary girl’s name in quotation marks so you can scan candidates quickly and compare options.
Origin: Brief citation of the literary source, author, and language so you know where the name first appears.
Pronunciation: Simple phonetic respelling that helps you say the name correctly and test how it sounds aloud.
Meaning: Short etymology or literary significance explaining roots, translations, or role in the original work.
Literary girl names that start with G
| Name | Origin | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guinevere | Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1136), Latin (Arthurian Welsh sources) | GWIN-eh-VEER | white/holy phantom (Welsh gwen + hwyfar) |
| Gwendolen | Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1136), Latin/Welsh tradition | GWIN-DOH-len | Welsh, “white/blessed woman” |
| Galadriel | J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1954), English (Sindarin/Quenya name) | GAL-uh-DREE-el | maiden crowned with radiant garland |
| Galatea | Theocritus, Idylls (3rd century BCE); also Ovid, Metamorphoses (1st century CE), Greek/Latin | GAL-uh-TEE-uh | milk-white (from Greek gala, “milk”) |
| Gaia | Hesiod, Theogony (c.8th–7th century BCE), Ancient Greek | GAY-uh | earth |
| Goneril | William Shakespeare, King Lear (c.1606), English (based on British legend) | GON-er-il | Unknown; literary name of Lear’s eldest daughter |
| Griselda | Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron (c.1353), Italian; popularized by Chaucer, The Clerk’s Tale (late 14th c.), Middle English | grih-ZEL-dah | grey battle (Germanic elements) |
| Gretel | Brothers Grimm, “Hänsel und Gretel” (1812), German | GREH-tel | Diminutive of Margaret, “pearl” (via Margaret) |
| Goldilocks | Robert Southey (modernized tale forms), “The Story of the Three Bears” (1837), English | GOLD-ee-LOKS | golden locks (descriptive nickname) |
| Gráinne (Grania) | Medieval Irish literature, Fenian Cycle; e.g., “The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne” (medieval manuscripts), Middle Irish | GRAH-nee-uh | grain or uncertain; Gaelic origin |
| Glauce | Euripides, Medea (431 BCE), Ancient Greek (mythic sources) | GLAW-see | bluish-green, gleaming (from Greek glaukos) |
| Gloriana | Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene (1590), English | gloh-ree-AH-nuh | glory (allegorical form) |
| Galene | Hesiod and Homeric lists of sea-nymphs (Nereids) in ancient Greek epics (c.8th–7th century BCE), Greek | GAL-uh-nee | calm sea |
| Galehaut (feminized forms in romance contexts) | Chrétien de Troyes and later Arthurian romances (12th–13th century), Old French (Romance literature) | GAYl-uh | Courtly-love figure name in Arthurian romance |
Descriptions
Guinevere
The classic Arthurian queen; iconic romantic and tragic figure appearing across medieval Welsh and later English romances and modern retellings.
Gwendolen
An early medieval legendary queen in British pseudo-history; the name was revived in later Victorian literature and drama.
Galadriel
Tolkien’s high-elven lady — elegant, wise, and influential in fantasy naming; a modern literary coinage from his invented languages.
Galatea
A sea-nymph/beautiful maiden in classical poetry; later used in Renaissance and modern art and literature as an archetype of idealized beauty.
Gaia
Primordial Earth goddess in Hesiodic cosmogony; foundational mythic name reused in literature, poetry, and modern naming for its powerful natural connotations.
Goneril
Shakespeare’s sharply drawn eldest daughter in King Lear; the name is now synonymous with treachery and harshness in literary discussion.
Griselda
A patient, long-suffering wife in late-medieval tales; famous for the virtue-testing story repeated across European literature.
Gretel
The plucky child alongside Hänsel in the famous Grimm fairy tale; a widely recognized name from folk literature.
Goldilocks
The curious young heroine of the Three Bears tale; a literary nickname that entered popular culture and idiomatic usage.
Gráinne (Grania)
A major heroine in Irish myth and medieval romance, famed for elopement with Diarmuid; important in Celtic literary tradition.
Glauce
Appears in classical tragedy as a Corinthian princess whose fate is entwined with Medea’s vengeance; a name from Greek myth and drama.
Gloriana
Spenser’s idealized, allegorical queen — an Elizabethan symbol of glory and sovereign virtue, later used poetically and nostalgically.
Galene
One of the Nereids in classical epic lists; a literary sea-nymph whose name literally evokes the calm ocean and poetic sea imagery.
Galehaut (feminized forms in romance contexts)
Although Galehaut is historically male, various medieval romances and later adaptations created feminine echoes or inspired similar female names in Arthurian retellings; included where texts present feminine forms.