This list includes 27 literary girl names that start with H, from “Hagar” to “Hélène”. They span biblical, classic, and modern literary sources and suit parents, writers, and baby-name seekers.
Literary girl names that start with H are female names found in novels, poems, plays, and other literary works. Notable example: Hélène appears prominently in classic novels such as Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”.
Below you’ll find the table with Name, Origin (author/work and language), Pronunciation, and Meaning.
Name: You see each literary name as it appears in texts, for quick recognition and selection.
Origin (author/work and language): You get the author, work, and language to show cultural and textual context.
Pronunciation: A simple phonetic respelling helps you pronounce the name correctly and confidently.
Meaning: Etymology or literary significance gives you the name’s original sense or its role in the story.
Literary girl names that start with H
| Name | Origin | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hester | Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850), English | HES-ter | Variant of Esther; possibly “star” or Persian origin |
| Hecuba | Euripides, Hecuba (c. 424 BCE), Ancient Greek | HEK-yoo-buh | Unknown; in myth, queen of Troy; tragic maternal figure |
| Heloise | Letters of Abelard and Heloise (12th c.), Latin/French correspondence | EH-loh-EEZ | Possibly “healthy” or Germanic origin; famed medieval scholar |
| Hermione | William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale (c.1611); also J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter (1997), English | her-MY-oh-nee | Greek origin, “messenger” or linked to Hermes; literary dignity and loyalty |
| Hermia | William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (c.1595), English | her-MEE-uh | Possibly Greek; diminutive of Hermione |
| Helen | Homer, Iliad (c.8th c. BCE), Ancient Greek | HEL-en | Torch or “shining one” |
| Heidi | Johanna Spyri, Heidi (1880), German/Swiss German | HAY-dee | Diminutive of Adelheid: “noble kind” |
| Holly | Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958), English | HOL-ee | From the holly plant; festive, bright |
| Hazel | John Green, The Fault in Our Stars (2012), English | HAY-zul | From the hazel tree; color or nut-bearing tree |
| Harriet | Jane Austen, Emma (1815), English | HAIR-ee-et | Feminine of Henry: “home ruler” |
| Hilda | Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives’ Tale (1908), English | HIL-da | Germanic “battle” or “war” |
| Hero | William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (c.1598), English/Greek myth | HEE-roh | From Greek myth; “heroine” or “protector” |
| Haidee | Lord Byron, Don Juan (1819), English | hi-DEE | Possibly Greek origin; exoticized in Romantic poetry |
| Hagar | Hebrew Bible, Genesis (c. ancient compilation), Hebrew | HAH-gar | Possibly “flight” or Egyptian origin |
| Hélène | Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (1869), Russian/French transliteration | heh-LEEN | Greek “torch” or “light” |
| Hetty | George Eliot, Adam Bede (1859), English | HET-ee | Diminutive of Henrietta: “home ruler” |
| Honey | Ian Fleming, Dr. No (1958), English (Honeychile Rider) | HUN-ee | Term of endearment; “sweet” |
| Hecate | William Shakespeare, Macbeth (c.1606); Greek myth sources, English/Ancient Greek | HEK-uh-tee | Possibly “worker from afar”; goddess of witchcraft |
| Hestia | Homer/Hesiod, Homeric Hymns / Theogony (c.8th–7th c. BCE), Ancient Greek | HES-tee-uh | Hearth or “home” |
| Hippolyta | William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (c.1595); Greek myth | hip-uh-LY-tuh | Greek “loose horse” or “unbridled”; Amazon queen |
| Hedda | Henrik Ibsen, Hedda Gabler (1890), Norwegian | HED-uh | Germanic diminutive of Hedwig: “battle” or “war” |
| Hypatia | Charles Kingsley, Hypatia (1853); historical Hypatia of Alexandria (4th–5th c. CE), English/Greek | hi-PAY-shuh | Greek “supreme” or “highest” |
| Hedwig | J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997), English/Germanic origin | HED-wig | Germanic “battle” + “war” elements; saintly associations |
| Helga | J.K. Rowling (Helga Hufflepuff reference, 1997–2007); Old Norse/Germanic origin | HEL-gah | Old Norse “holy” or Germanic “safe, blessed” |
| Henrietta | Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Henrietta Temple (1837), English | hen-ree-ET-uh | Feminine of Henry: “home ruler” |
| Hannah | Hebrew Bible, 1 Samuel (c. ancient compilation), Hebrew | HAN-uh | Hebrew “grace” or “favor” |
| Hera | Homer, Iliad & Odyssey (c.8th c. BCE), Ancient Greek | HEER-uh | Possibly “lady” or “ruler” |
Descriptions
Hester
Protagonist Hester Prynne: adulteress publicly shamed, resilient moral center of Hawthorne’s novel, canonical and well-documented.
Hecuba
Queen of Troy in Greek tragedy, grieving mother who endures loss and seeks revenge; classical, primary-source tragedian.
Heloise
Abbess and scholar Heloïse, lover and correspondent of Abelard; letters shaped medieval literary biography.
Hermione
Shakespeare’s queen (falsely accused) and popular modern name via Rowling’s Hermione Granger; literary and contemporary resonance.
Hermia
Young Athenian woman in Shakespeare’s comedy, in love with Lysander; charming, canonical Elizabethan source.
Helen
Helen of Troy: legendary beauty whose abduction sparks the Trojan War; foundational epic figure, widely attested.
Heidi
Protagonist Swiss orphan, joyful and pastoral heroine; classic children’s novel with wide cultural reach.
Holly
Holly Golightly: charming, free-spirited New York socialite; iconic 20th-century literary figure.
Hazel
Hazel Grace Lancaster: witty, introspective teen narrator with cancer; modern YA favorite and name-booster.
Harriet
Harriet Smith: gentle, naive friend of Emma Woodhouse; a well-known Austen minor protagonist with nineteenth-century grounding.
Hilda
Hilda Lessways: one half of Bennett’s dual-protagonist novel, ambitious and complex; early 20th-century realist literature.
Hero
Hero: young noblewoman wrongly accused of infidelity, central to Shakespearean romantic plot; classical name used effectively.
Haidee
Byronic love interest in Don Juan: island-born, passionate and devoted; Romantic-era poetic source.
Hagar
Handmaid of Sarah and mother of Ishmael; biblical figure appearing in literature and theological reflection.
Hélène
Hélène Kuragina: beautiful, socially ambitious noblewoman in Tolstoy’s epic; memorable Russian-novel character.
Hetty
Hetty Sorrel: pretty dairymaid whose vanity and choices lead to tragedy; well-known Victorian realist heroine.
Honey
Honeychile “Honey” Rider: independent island-born woman and Bond love interest; memorable mid-century popular-literature figure.
Hecate
Goddess/figure in Shakespeare and classical sources, presiding over witches and mysteries; strong mytho-literary presence.
Hestia
Goddess of the hearth in Greek literature; symbolic of domestic stability and ritual, cited in many classical texts.
Hippolyta
Amazon queen and betrothed to Theseus in Shakespeare’s comedy; heroic-mythic royal figure.
Hedda
Title character Hedda Gabler: complex, manipulative, tragic protagonist of Ibsen’s modern drama; canonical realist modernist figure.
Hypatia
Philosopher dramatized in Kingsley’s novel and later works; combines historical biography and Victorian fiction.
Hedwig
Hedwig: Harry Potter’s loyal snowy owl in Rowling’s series; feminine name used for beloved animal companion.
Helga
Helga Hufflepuff: legendary founder in Rowling’s Hogwarts lore; also common Norse literary name, hospitable and kind.
Henrietta
Title heroine of Bulwer-Lytton’s romantic novel; sentimental nineteenth-century heroine and name with historical literary usage.
Hannah
Biblical Hannah: prayerful mother of Samuel, model of piety; widely referenced in later literature and sermons.
Hera
Queen of the gods in Homeric epic, powerful and jealous; central mythic figure appearing across Western literature.