Names Borrowed from JD Salinger: Holden, Esme, and More

JD Salinger character names make for a short, highly edited list.

And yet, many of his choices have become quite stylish in the twenty-first century.

We tend to talk about names from Shakespeare. Or the characters fantasy series, like Game of Thrones.

But Salinger’s one enduring novel, paired with many beloved short stories, produced some current favorites.

Like many authors, Salinger borrowed from his own experiences. Pensey Prep, Holden Caulfield’s school, is probably based on Valley Forge Military Academy, a school Salinger himself attended. The writer and his most famous character also shared New York city roots. Salinger attended New York University, but did not graduate. He served in World War II, another experience he shared with several characters.

Many JD Salinger character names come from the same complicated family tree. They don’t tend to live happily ever after, either.

Still, they’re such powerful and compelling choices that parents have embraced them in recent years.

Here’s a look at the list.

GIRL NAMES INSPIRED BY JD SALINGER

BEATRICE

Beatrice already reads smart and sophisticated. In Salinger’s writing, she’s the eldest of the Glass family daughters, lending her even more literary sheen. The fact that she’s usually referred to as Boo Boo is something that we can quietly overlook.

BERNICE

In Catcher in the Rye, Holden meets Bernice out on the town. They’re in a nightclub in the fictional Edmont Hotel. She’s described as pretty, and a good dancer. After all, Bernice has been a Top 100 favorite from 1900 into the 1930s; it would’ve been a very appropriate name for a young woman in the 1950s.

CORINNE

A young heiress from 1961 novella The Inverted Forest, and the kind of name that suits parents seeking the unusual, but not outlandish choice.

ELAINE

From Arthurian legend to a Salinger short story. His Elaine is a movie buff from the Bronx who decides against marriage.

ELOISE

The main figure in “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut,” unhappy housewife Eloise Wengler is among the only Salinger characters to ever be portrayed on film. SusanHayward played Eloise in the movie adaptation, re-titled My Foolish Heart.

ESME

She’s thirteen year old British orphan wise beyond her years in For Esme – With Love and Squalor. Strictly speaking, it’s Esmé, with the accent, in the story.

FRANNY; FRANCES

Another member of the Glass family, with a short story of her very own. Spunky Franny is short for the demure Frances. Franny introduces the “Jesus Prayer” to the characters in Salinger’s stories. 

GINNIE

In our era of Sadie and Hattie, doesn’t Ginnie seem like she would make for an appealing choice?

JANE

Jane Gallagher is another love interest for Holden.

LOIS

A disappointed former debutante. Lois Lane might be a more likely source of inspiration.

MATILDA

A soldier’s little sister in a series of war stories, also called Mattie.

MURIEL

She marries into Salinger’s Glass family, the self-absorbed wife of the ill-fated Seymour. She features in the short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.”

PHOEBE

She’s Holden’s little sis in Catcher in the Rye, one of the few people Holden loves without reservation.

RAMONA

Eloise’s young daughter in “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut.” Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal has a daughter named Ramona, but it’s not clear if she took inspiration from Salinger’s stories or another source. 

RHEA

Muriel’s mom and Seymour’s mother-in-law … and a rather unpleasant character. But this name from Greek mythology has potential.

SALLY

Sally Hayes is Holden’s companion in New York during Catcher in the Rye. The name also appeared in an early pre-cursor to Catcher, the short-story “Slight Rebellion Off Madison.”

SELENA

From “Just Before the War with the Eskimos,”and a thoroughly pretty name.

SYBIL

Sybil is a young girl playing on the beach, the one to whom Seymour Glass spins his tale of the gluttonous bananafish in the 1948 short story. Somehow this feels like the pinnacle of JD Salinger characters and their names. 

VIOLA

Another Holden sibling, mentioned in short story “I’m Crazy.”

ZOOEY

Zooey is a nickname for Franny’s brother, Zachary Glass. But actress Zooey Deschanel put this name on the map for girls, as an elaborate alternative to the spare Greek Zoe or more phonetic Zoey.

BOY NAMES FROM SALINGER CHARACTERS

ACKLEY

Robert Ackley lives next door to Holden in his dorm at Pencey Prep. While Ackley doesn’t sound especially name-like, surnames have a way of catching on.

BUDDY 

Another member of the Glass family. Buddy is a nickname for Webb Gallagher Glass. It’s said that he’s JD Salinger’s alter ego. This tracks – Buddy is frequently described as a writer in the stories. He takes center stage in “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters,” a story set during his leave from the Army for his brother’s wedding. 

FRANKLIN

From Just Before the War with the Eskimos, a surname-y name with an offbeat, Americana energy.

HOLDEN

A complicated figure, the narrator of the novel Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a synonym for teen angst and the literary nervous breakdown. The Caulfields are affluent New Yorkers with ambitions for their children. Other stories, however, make Holden older, even drafting him in World War II. Salinger’s stories have launched lots of names, but Holden is probably the most closely, immediately associated with the author. 

LANE

He’s Franny’s date in her short story, though Lane proves to be rather unexciting. The name, however, has possibilities. 

LIONEL

Another member of the extended Glass clan, a child in Down at the Dinghy.

SALINGER

Many of the author’s characters have a hint of autobiography about them, though none actually answer to Salinger. But it could work as a given name, couldn’t it?

SEYMOUR

The oldest of the Glass children, he returns from World War II a changed man. His character is appealing, though his ending is sorrowful.

TEDDY

In the final of the Nine Stories in Salinger’s 1953 collection, Teddy is a brilliant child aboard a cruise ship, chatting with a fellow passenger. He seems to be smart, even eerily wise, beyond his years. As with many of Salinger’s prodigies, this is not necessarily a plus. While just Teddy doesn’t rank, it’s often short for Theodore, currently a Top Ten favorite.

VINCENT

He’s a brother to Holden, from the short story “This Sandwich Has No Mayonnaise.”

WAKER

One of the less-known members of the Glass family, a Roman Catholic monk who never actually appears in the stories.

WALTER

Another Glass brother, twin to Walker.

WARD

From Ward Stradlater, Holden’s prep school roommate.

Are you a fan of JD Salinger character names? 

Originally published on October 26, 2012, this post was revised and re-published on September 22, 2022; May 6, 2024; and April 2, 2026.