This list includes 30 Literary girl names that start with R, from “Rachel” to “Róisín”. These names span biblical figures, classic novels, and modern poetry, offering ready inspiration for parents and writers.
Literary girl names that start with R are female names found in novels, poems, plays, and myths. Many carry cultural meaning or symbolic weight, like Rachel’s biblical resonance or Róisín’s poetic Irish symbolism.
Below you’ll find the table with Name, Origin, Pronunciation, and Meaning.
Name: The name column lists each R name so you can scan choices quickly and compare favorites at a glance.
Origin: Shows the author, work, and language where the name appears, so you can trace its literary source.
Pronunciation: Provides a simple phonetic respelling so you can say the name confidently and check its sound.
Meaning: Explains etymology or literary significance so you understand context and symbolic associations for each name.
Literary girl names that start with R
| Name | Origin | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier — Rebecca — English | reh-BEK-ə | To bind; “captivating” (Hebrew) |
| Rosalind | William Shakespeare — As You Like It — English | ROH-zuh-lind | Pretty rose (Latin/Germanic) |
| Rosaline | William Shakespeare — Romeo and Juliet — English | ROZ-ə-leen | Little rose (Latin diminutive) |
| Romola | George Eliot — Romola — English | ROH-moh-lah | Roman woman; tied to Florence setting |
| Rowena | Sir Walter Scott — Ivanhoe — English | roh-WEE-nə | Possibly “fame” and “joy” (Old English) |
| Ruth | Elizabeth Gaskell — Ruth — English | ROOTH | Compassion; friend (Hebrew) |
| Rilla | L. M. Montgomery — Rilla of Ingleside — English | RIL-ə | Diminutive of Henrietta/Marilla |
| Rosaura | Laura Esquivel — Like Water for Chocolate — Spanish | roh-sah-OO-rah | Little rose (Spanish diminutive) |
| Rachel | L. M. Montgomery — Anne of Green Gables — English | RAY-chəl | Ewe; diminutive of Rachel (Hebrew) |
| Roxane | Edmond Rostand — Cyrano de Bergerac — French | ROKS-ahn | Dawn or “bright” (Persian) |
| Roxana | Daniel Defoe — Roxana, or The Fortunate Mistress — English | rok-SAY-nə | Dawn (Persian origin) |
| Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson — Ramona — English | rah-MOH-nah | Wise protector (Germanic roots) |
| Rhiannon | Anonymous — The Mabinogion — Welsh medieval literature | ree-AN-ən | Great queen or divine queen (Welsh) |
| Rapunzel | Brothers Grimm — Rapunzel — German (Grimm fairy tale) | RAP-un-zəl | Name of a plant; tied to “turnip/leaf” (German) |
| Renesmee | Stephenie Meyer — Twilight Saga — English | reh-NEZ-mee | Author-coined; blended “reborn” and “beloved” |
| Rhaenyra | George R. R. Martin — Fire & Blood / A Song of Ice and Fire — English | RAY-en-EER-ə | Fictional Targaryen name; royal significance |
| Rita | Willy Russell — Educating Rita — English | REE-tah | Diminutive of Margarita; “pearl” (Latin) |
| Roxie | Maurine Dallas Watkins — Chicago (play) — English | ROK-see | Diminutive of Roxane/Roxanne |
| Regan | William Shakespeare — King Lear — English | REE-gən | Possibly “queenly” or “regal” (interpretive) |
| Remedios | Gabriel García Márquez — One Hundred Years of Solitude — Spanish | reh-meh-DEE-ohs | Remedies or healing (Latin root) |
| Renée | Muriel Barbery — The Elegance of the Hedgehog — French | ruh-NAY | Reborn (French feminine of René) |
| Rosamond | George Eliot — Middlemarch — English | ROH-zə-mənd | Possibly “fame-protection” (Germanic) or linked to “rose” |
| Rose | Charles Dickens — Oliver Twist (Rose Maylie) — English | ROHZ | Rose (flower); symbol of beauty |
| Rima | W. H. Hudson — Green Mansions — English | REE-mah | Possibly “famous” or poetic invention |
| Rosa | Isabel Allende — The House of the Spirits — Spanish | ROH-sah | Rose (Spanish) |
| Róisín | Irish poetic tradition; used by W. B. Yeats — Irish | RO-sheen | Little rose (Irish) |
| Rosina | Pierre Beaumarchais — The Barber of Seville — French | roh-SEE-nah | Little rose (Italian/Spanish diminutive) |
| Rhea | Ovid — Metamorphoses — Latin classical literature | REE-ə | Mother of gods; “flowing” (interpretive) |
| Rebekah | Hebrew Bible — Genesis — Hebrew | reh-BEK-ə | To tie or “bind” (Hebrew) |
| Rusalka | Alexander Ostrovsky — Rusalka (play) / Slavic folktales — Russian | roo-SAL-kah | Slavic water-nymph; “mermaid” figure |
Descriptions
Rebecca
Title name and unseen presence in du Maurier’s gothic novel; synonymous with memory and mystery.
Rosalind
Witty, resourceful heroine who disguises herself as a youth; a favorite Shakespearean stage role.
Rosaline
Romeo’s early, unrequited love; appears as a plot point and offstage figure.
Romola
Title character in Eliot’s Florence novel, a complex portrait of idealism and history.
Rowena
Medieval heroine and love interest in Scott’s romance, evoking chivalric ideals.
Ruth
Gaskell’s title heroine navigates social stigma and moral reform in a Victorian novel.
Rilla
Nickname-turned-title for Montgomery’s wartime novel heroine; beloved in Anne series.
Rosaura
Sister whose marriage and rivalry drive the family drama in this magical-realist novel.
Rachel
Rachel Lynde is the nosy, hilarious neighbor in Montgomery’s classic series.
Roxane
Beautiful object of Cyrano’s and Christian’s love; central to blend of comedy and tragedy.
Roxana
Title character whose scandalous life probes gender, commerce, and survival in early novel.
Ramona
Title heroine of a sentimental, reform-minded novel about Californian Indigenous and mixed-race life.
Rhiannon
Enchanting horse-woman of Welsh myth who features in medieval storytelling and later novels.
Rapunzel
Fairy-tale heroine famed for long hair and tower imprisonment; major literary and cultural symbol.
Renesmee
Author-coined hybrid name for Bella and Edward’s daughter; modern pop-literary creation.
Rhaenyra
Dragonlord princess and claimant-queen in Martin’s Targaryen history; high-fantasy nobility.
Rita
Working-class heroine who seeks education and self-transformation in a stage play.
Roxie
Ambitious, fame-seeking protagonist whose trials satire celebrity and justice.
Regan
One of Lear’s daughters; morally complex antagonist in Shakespeare’s tragedy.
Remedios
Remedios the Beauty is an otherworldly, ethereal woman whose ascension becomes a magical-realist emblem.
Renée
Philosophical or modest women named Renée appear as intelligent, life-questioning figures in modern fiction.
Rosamond
Rosamond Vincy is the pretty, delicate wife whose marriage examines social and moral expectations.
Rose
Gentle, virtuous figure in Dickensian fiction; often a sentimental or moral contrast.
Rima
Mysterious forest maiden with ethereal qualities in Hudson’s romance and tropical setting.
Rosa
Tragic sister in Allende’s multi-generational family saga; motifs of beauty and loss.
Róisín
Personification of Ireland in poetry and song; a recurring poetic female figure.
Rosina
Ingenue heroine courted and rescued in Beaumarchais’s comedy; later Countess in The Marriage of Figaro.
Rhea
Titaness mother appearing in classical Roman poetry; a literary symbol of fertility and maternal power.
Rebekah
Biblical matriarch—Isaac’s wife—featured directly in scripture and often reimagined in later literature.
Rusalka
Tragic supernatural woman of Slavic tales and drama, later adapted into opera and modern retellings.