The Art of Literary Nomenclature

ORIGIN:
One of those “last names as first names” that were once a quite popular way for a mother’s maiden name to be passed on to her sons, “Fitzwilliam” was an Irish surname meaning “son of William“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None that I can think of . . . unless you like “Fitzie”?

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Fitzwilliam Darcy, the romantic-lead-to-end-all-romantic-leads in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813). Hard to imagine calling him “Fitzwilliam”, though, right? Kinda lessens the sex appeal a bit.

Tagged: 1790s, 1810s, English, F, Irish