May
August 17, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Name for the hawthorn flower, or referencing the month of May, named after “Maia”, the Roman goddess of spring. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Mary“, “Margaret“, “Mabel”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mabella, Madge, Mae, Maggie, Maggy, Maia, Maisie, Maisy, Malia, Mame, Mamie, Manon, Mara, Maralyn, Maret, Margaux, Marge, Margie, Margo, Margot, Margy, Mari, Mariel, Marilyn, Marilynn, Marinda, Marise, Maja, Marlyn, Marylyn, Maya, Maybell, Maybella, Maybelle, Maybelline, Mayme, Meg, Megeen, Meggie, Meggy, Mele, Meri, Merilyn, Merrilyn, Metta, Mette, Mia, Miep, Mies, Miia, Midge, Moll, Mollie, Molly, My, Mya, Peg, Pegeen, Peggie, Peggy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– May, a married woman who befriends Ruth while she spends the winter with her grandparents in the city, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– May Franklin, a little girl who lives near the Bell’s boarding-house, in “What Hope Bell Found in Her Stocking”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
Tagged: 1880s, 1910s, English, M
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 
[…] Diminutive of “Mary” / “Marie” / “Maria“, “May“, or […]
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