Sometimes titles are tricky or symbolic or jam-packed with meaning, but this one keeps things nice and simple for us. The Goose Girl is named after the fairy-tale it's based on, "The Goose Girl" from Grimms' Fairy Tales. That's the long and the short of it, Shmoopsters, and if you'd like to read up on the original fairy tale—which is probably a good idea given that it's the basis for this entire novel—just click here.