Biddy
August 6, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Bridget“, an Irish name meaning “strength” or “exalted one”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bea, Bedelia, Bee, Biddie, Bidelia, Birdie, Birdy, Breda, Bride, Bridie, Brit, Brita, Britt, Britta, Gitta, Gittan, Gitte, Reeta, Rita, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Biddy Branghton, the peevish older daughter of Madame Duval’s (and Evelina’s) cousins, the crude, ill-mannered Branghton clan, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Biddy Henshawe, an aunt of Willoughby’s intended bride, Miss Sophia Grey, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Biddy Ryan, a disreputable old woman Marion Warren tries to help in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 
[…] Daphnes, Delias, Martias, Portias, and Cornelias, Nannys, Fannys, Jennys, Hettys, Dollys, Mollys, Biddys, Bettys, Sacharissas, Melesinas, Dulcibellas, Celestinas,— Say, is there one more free from […]
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