Since April is National Poetry Month, this seems like a perfect time to look at some of the most poetic of baby names. We’ve already seen starbabies named Poet (Soleil Moon Frye), Sonnet (Forest Whitaker), Auden (Noah Wyle), Tennyson (Russell Crowe), and of course any number of Dylans (traceable back to poet Thomas). By some quirk of fate — or maybe it’s prophecy fulfillment — poets in general seem to have more poetic surnames than prose writers do.  Here are some poet-name possibilities:

　　ANGELOU

　　AUDEN

　　BARAKA

　　BLAKE

　　BLYBOGANBRONTE

　　BYRON

　　CAMPBELL

　　CAREW

　　CHAUCERCORSOCRANE

　　DANTE

　　DICKINSON

　　ELIOT

　　EMERSON

　　FLETCHER

　　FROST

　　HARDY

　　HERRICK

　　JARRELL

　　KEATS

　　KENYONKIPLINGLANDOR

　　LARKIN

　　LORCA

　　LOWELL

　　MACAULAY

　　MARLOWEMARVELLMERRILL

　　MERWIN

　　MILLAY

　　MILTON

　　MISTRAL

　　MORRISON

　　NERUDA

　　OLIVER

　　OWEN

　　PAZ

　　POEQUARLESRUMIRUSKIN

　　SHELLEY

　　SPENSER

　　TENNYSON

　　THOREAU

　　VAUGHANVERLAINEWHITMANWHITTIERWYATT

　　YEATS

　　Another group of poetically romantic names consists of the idealized Greek, Latinate, and other names used by the early English pastoral poets, in verse dedicated to their “coy mistresses” and such:

　　ALTHEA

　　AMARANTHA

　　AMINTA

　　ANTHEA

　　AUDRIA

　　CELIA

　　CLORINDA

　　CORINNA

　　CHLOE

　　CHLORIS

　　DELIA

　　DORINDA

　　FAWNIA

　　FLORA

　　GRATIANA

　　ISABELL

　　JULIA

　　LAURA

　　LUCASTAPERILLAPHILOMELA

　　PHILLIDA

　　PHILLIS

　　PHOEBE

　　ROSALIND

　　ROSALINE

　　SABRINASAMELASILVIA

　　VEVINA

　　And then there are the names connected to poetry via goddesses, muses, and other poetic associations–here are just a few of the almost endless possibilities:

　　ARIEL— The name of Sylvia Plath’s most famous group of poemsBEATRICE — Dante‘s muse in The Divine ComedyBRIANA –one of many symbolic names in Spenser‘s The Faerie QueenBRIGID — Celtic goddess of poetry and songCALLIOPE — The Greek muse of epic poetryCERIDWEN — Legendary Welsh enchantress said to possess the cauldron of poetic inspirationCLARINDA — Invented by Edmund Spenser and used by Robert Burns in Verses to ClarindaDEVIN — Gaelic name meaning musical poetELAINE and ENID –Revived by Tennyson in Idylls of the KingERATO –The Greek muse of love poetryEULALIE — Subject of a Poe poemEVANGELINE — Popularized via the Longfellow poemFIAMMETTA — From Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando FuriosoIANTHE — Appears in the poetry of Byron and Shelley; the latter used it for his daughterLEILA — Arabic name popularized in the works of Byron

　　LENORE — An Edgar Allan Poe favoriteMALVINA — invented by the Scottish poet James MacphersonPAMELA — invented by pastoral poet Sir Philip SidneyTHALIA — Greek muse of idyllic poetryUNA — Symbolic name used in Spenser‘s The Faerie QueenVANESSA — Created by Jonathan Swift for his autobiographical poem Cadenus and VanessaZULEIKA — Heroine of one of Byron‘s narrative poems

　　And finally there are the word names that cut straight to the chase:

　　BALLADBARD/BAIRDCADENCECANZONEHAIKULYRIC

　　MUSEOTTAVAPOEM

　　POESY

　　POETPOETICAQUATRAINSESTINASONNETVILLANELLE