Fame/Flynet

Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough welcomed a second child with wife Leigh Boniello last week, choosing quite the literary name. They named their new son Holden John Dorough. Holden is the couple's second son, joining James Hoke, who is 3 years old. 

Although the most famous Holden comes from J.D. Salinger's book The Catcher in the Rye, which was published in 1951, the name didn't get really popular until the 1990s. Since then it has been on a steep incline, rising to No. 299 in 2011. It is also popular among celebrities with Mira Sorvino and Brenda Fraser, among others, choosing the name for their sons.

It's an interesting combination with the very common place, yet still extremely popular, John. It is similar to Holden's brother's name James Hoke, except in reverse. James, which remained one of the most popular names for decades, comes first and Hoke, an obscure name is in the middle. Hoke comes from Dorough's late father, who was named Hoke Dorough. Holden's middle name, John, is also the name of Dorough's brother. 

Their initials also follow this pattern - J.H and H.J. We don't know whether this was intentional or not, but it is a nice little naming tradition. However, if they have a third child, they might have to switch it up a bit. May we suggest Phoebe for a girl?

What do you think of the name Holden? What major literary characters' names do you like?

--A.F.