Where did Lewis Carroll get the name Alice?

Answer 1

"Grin like a Cheshire cat" was a well known phrase in Victorian England, and there are several examples of its use prior to Alice being written, so Carroll must have taken the name from there - perhaps because of his place of birth: Daresbury, Cheshire, England. The origin of the term is unknown.

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Answer 2

The majority of the characters in Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass come from Lewis Carroll's imagination. However, some do find their origins in real life:

Alice

Alice in Wonderland was first made up to entertain a little girl who Carroll was friends with, called Alice Liddell. Carroll has made her the star of the story and many things in the book refer to things in Alice's real life.

Elsie, Lacie and Tillie

At the Mad Tea Party, the Dormouse tells a story about three little girls who live in a treacle well. Their names, Elsie, Lacie and Tillie refer to Alice and her sisters; Elsie is LC, or Lorina Charlotte, Lacie is an anagram of Alice and Tillie is an abbreviation of Edith's nickname, Matilda.

The Lory and the Eaglet

This is another reference to Alice's sisters. The Lory and the Eaglet, who Alice meets in the Pool of Tears, are Lorina and Edith Liddell.

The Dodo

The Dodo is Lewis Carroll himself. Carroll's real surname was Dodgson, but because he had a stammer he used to pronounce it do-do-dodgson.

The Duck

The Duck is Carroll's friend Robinson Duckworth. He was also on the rowing trip where Carroll first told the story to Alice and her sisters.

Several other curious creatures

Along with Alice, the Lory, the Eaglet, the Duck and the Dodo, "several other curious creatures" swam to shore after getting soaked in the Pool of Tears. These refer to Carroll's sisters, Fanny and Elizabeth and his aunt Lucy Lutwidge, who had been on another rowing trip with Carroll and the Liddell girls.

The Cheshire Cat

The phrase "grinning like a Cheshire Cat" was well known in Carroll's day, although its origin is unknown. Perhaps because he is actually from the county of Cheshire, Carroll decided it would be fun to invent a real grinning Cheshire cat.

The March Hare

Again, this character's origins lie in a well known phrase, "as mad as a March hare".

The Hatter

Although the Hatter may have simply been created because of the well known saying "as mad as a hatter" he might also have been based on a real person.

From Martin Gardner's annotated Alice:

There is good reason to believe that Tenniel adopted a suggestion of Carroll's that he draw the Hatter to resemble one Theophilus Carter, a furniture dealer near Oxford...Carter was known in the area as The Mad Hatter, partly because he always wore a top hat and partly because of his eccentric ideas.

The Dormouse

It is possible that the inspiration for the Dormouse came from the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti's pet wombat, which used to sleep on the Rossetti's table. Carroll knew Rossetti and used to visit him.

The Queen of Hearts

Like the King and Knave of Hearts and the Two, Five and Seven of Spades, the Queen of Hearts is a playing card come to life.

Answer 3

Lewis Carroll was friends with a little girl named Alice Liddell. She was the daughter of the dean of the college where Carroll worked. He originally made up the story to entertain Alice and her sisters and he gave the lead character Alice's name.

Answer 4

Lewis Carroll got the name Alice from a real girl named Alice Liddell, who was the daughter of a friend and the inspiration for his famous book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."