What is Holden Caulfield's older brother called?

Holden Caulfield's older brother is called D. B. Caulfield. Holden mentions D. B. as a successful writer who has moved to Hollywood and writes screenplays, a career Holden regards with considerable suspicion.

D. B. is not the sibling whose death most directly shapes Holden's grief: that is Allie, Holden's younger brother, who died of leukemia. Holden also has a younger sister, Phoebe, whom he deeply loves and visits during his crisis in New York. These three siblings—D. B., Allie, and Phoebe—are central to understanding Holden's family relationships.

Readers sometimes confuse D. B. with Allie because Holden discusses both brothers in emotionally charged passages. D. B. is alive during the novel and is later mentioned as being near Holden's California sanatorium. The initials are part of the character's name rather than a nickname for Allie, and the novel does not provide a full explanation of what the initials stand for.