| 100% | BRONTE | 6 | Author with a first name in 20-A, 35-A or 53-A |
| 42% | ELLE | 4 | Lifestyle magazine with a palindromic name that means "she" or "her" in French |
| 40% | GRETA | 5 | A first name in film annals |
| 39% | AAMILNE | 7 | Author with a son named Christopher Robin |
| 39% | ALABAMA | 7 | "Love in the First Degree" country-rock band with a state for a name |
| 39% | ZIP | 3 | Nothing ... or a hint to what's hidden in 20-, 35- and 52-Across |
| 39% | OBAMA | 5 | First president whose name ends in a vowel other than E or Y |
| 38% | ANSEL | 5 | First name in the name of a Yosemite peak |
| 38% | BLACK | 5 | With 41- and 43-Across, cop cruiser ... or a description of the five animals named in this puzzle |
| 38% | ZSA | 3 | When repeated, a first name in Hollywood |
| 38% | ETHELMERMAN | 11 | ... and 99-Across starred in musicals and share their first names with a classic sitcom couple |
| 38% | NOAH | 4 | First name in a dictionary |
| 38% | ANNABEL | 7 | First name in a Poe poem |
| 38% | ROBINSON | 8 | First name in a Defoe book |
| 38% | URIAH | 5 | First name in a Dickens classic |
| 38% | MOLL | 4 | First name in a Defoe title |
| 38% | MICHELLE | 8 | With 35-Across, a member of Destiny's Child, or an actress in "Brokeback Mountain" |
| 38% | TOMMYGUNN | 9 | Rocky's opponent in "Rocky V," played by real-life boxer Morrison (who shares a first name with his character): 2 wds. |
| 37% | BRAD | 4 | First name in the Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood cast |
| 37% | MALIA | 5 | First name in a 2010s first family |
| 37% | ICHABOD | 7 | First name in a Washington Irving story |
| 37% | DRED | 4 | First name in a noted 1857 decision |
| 37% | BABA | 4 | First name in a Who song title |
| 37% | AARON | 5 | First name in a Biblical Who's Who |
| 37% | MARC | 4 | First name that's a verb in reverse |
| 37% | TOM | 3 | First name in a 1973 David Bowie hit |
| 37% | MARCO | 5 | First name shouted in a swimming pool game |
| 36% | FERN | 4 | Girl with a botanical name, in “Charlotte’s Web” |
| 36% | ANDY | 4 | "Toy Story" boy ... or, with the circled letters, a hint to 20-, 39- and 53-Across |
| 36% | NATIVEAD | 8 | An "article" with a brand name in lieu of a byline, perhaps |