Isabel
August 27, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
A medieval variation of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Beileag, Belina, Belinda, Belinha, Bell, Bella, Belle, Ibb, Ibbie, Ibby, Isa, Isabela, Isabell, Isabella, Isabelle, Isbel, Iseabail, Isebella, Ishbel, Isibéal, Isobel, Issie, Issy, Izabela, Izabelle, Izzie, Izzy, Sabela, Sabell, Sabella, Sabelle, Sibeal, Spela, Ysabel, Ysobel, Zabel, Zabell, Zabella, Zabelle, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Isabel Pelham, Margaret’s older sister, in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Berkeley
August 27, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Anglo-Saxon place name, meaning “from the birch meadow”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bar, Barclay, Barklay, Barkley, Barklie, Barrclay, Berk, Berke, Berkie, Berklee, Berkley, Berky, Birk, Birkeley, Birkley, Bourke, Burk, Burke, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mr. Berkeley Pelham, Margaret’s uncle, who lives in Brazil, in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Berkeley Pelham (called “Berk“), Margaret’s older brother, in “That Little Smith Girl” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
Benning
August 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
English last name, from the Roman name “Benedictus”, meaning “blessing”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Banish, Benech, Benedict, Benedicte, Beneit, Benet, Bening, Bennet, Bennett, Benoit, Benyt, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– General Benning Wentworth, a venerable ancestor who married his kitchen maid, an act Will Wentworth takes pride in, while his cousin Fanny dislikes to speak of it, in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Frances
August 27, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Feminine form of “Francis“, from the Germanic / Old French word for “free”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Chica, Cissie, Cissy, Fan, Fannie, Fanny, Fran, Franca, Franci, Francie, Francka, Franka, Frankie, Franky, Frannie, Franny, Franzi, Paca, Paquita, Sissie, Sissy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Frances Wentworth (called “Fan” or “Fanny“, Will’s conceited, snobbish cousin in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924), English author and playwright.
– Frances (Fanny) Burney (1752-1840), English diarist, novelist, and playwright.
– Frances Cornford (1886-1960), English poet.
– Frances FitzGerald (b. 1940), American historian and journalist.
– Frances Scott (“Scottie”) Fitzgerald (1921-1986), American journalist and writer.
– Frances Marion (1888-1973), American author, journalist, and screenwriter.
– Frances Osborne (b. 1969), English biographer and novelist.
– Frances Eleanor Trollope (1835-1913), English novelist.
– Frances Milton Trollope (1779-1863), English novelist and writer.
– Frances Vane, Viscountess Vane (c.1715-1788), English memoirist and socialite.
Dora
August 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Dorothy“, “Isadora”, “Theodora”, “Dorcas“, “Doris”, “Dolores”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dede, Dee, Ditte, Dittie, Ditty, Dodie, Dody, Doll, Dollie, Dolly, Dolores, Dorcas, Doreen, Dorelle, Dorene, Dorete, Doretta, Dorie, Dorinda, Dorine, Doris, Dorit, Dorita, Doro, Dorota, Dorothea, Dorothy, Dorte, Dorthe, Dory, Dosia, Dot, Dottie, Dotty, Feodora, Isadora, Isidora, Teodora, Theodora, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Great Aunt Dora, Etka’s kid sister, “maybe the most affectionate woman who ever lived”, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Dora Robson, a good-humored, slightly snobbish Boston girl in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Dora Acuña (1903-1987), Paraguayan journalist and poet.
– Dora (Doralina) Alonso (1910-2001), Cuban journalist and writer.
– Dora Birtles (1903-1992), Australian novelist, poet, short story author, and travel writer.
– Dora d’Istria (1828-1888), pen name of Hungarian activist and writer, the duchess Helena Koltsova-Massalskaya.
– Dora Gabe (1886-1983), Bulgarian essayist, poet, short story writer, translator, and travel writer.
– Dora Read Goodale (1866-1953), American poet and teacher.
– Dora (Dorothy) Greenwell (1821-1882), English poet.
– Dora Heldt (b. 1961), German novelist.
– Dora Maar (1907-1997), Argentinian muse, painter, photographer, and poet.
– Dora Malech (b. 1981), American poet.
– Dora (Dorothy) Montefiore (1851-1933), Anglo-Australian activist, poet, and writer.
– Dora Levy Mossanen (b. 1945), American novelist.
– Dora Pavel (b. 1946), Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, and short story writer.
– Dora Russell (1894-1986), English activist and writer.
– Dora Oake Russell (1912-1986), Canadian editor, educator, and writer.
– Dora Jessie Saint (1913-2012), English novelist who published under the pen name “Miss Read”.
– Dora Sigerson Shorter (1866-1918), Irish poet and sculptor.
– Dora (Theodora) van der Meiden-Coolsma (1918-2001), Dutch children’s book author and columnist who also published under the pen name “Constanze Hazelager”.
– Dora Van Gelder (1904-1999), Dutch-American occultist, theosophist, and writer.
– Dora Wasserman (1919-2003), Ukrainian actress, director, and playwright.
Tilly
August 27, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Tillie“, diminutive of “Matilda“, meaning “strength in battle” or “mighty battle-maid”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Malta, Mathilda, Mathilde, Matilda, Matilde, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Tilda, Tilde, Tillie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tilly Drake, a girl someone played a mean trick on the year before Marian’s much-talked-of party, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Tilly Morris, a kind-hearted, level-headed New York girl in “That Little Smith Girl” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
WRITERS:
– Tilly Aston (1873-1947), Australian activist and writer.
St. John
August 26, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
A Norman last name (pronounced “SIN-jun”), possibly referring to any one of the many, many Saint Johns or to one of the many places named for them.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Singen, Sinjin, Sinjon, Sinjun, St. Jean, Stjohn, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– St. John Eyre Rivers, Jane’s hard, cold, deeply religious cousin, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Diana
August 26, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Latin, meaning “divine”, from the Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests, and childbirth.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dajana, Dede, Dee, Di, Diahann, Dian, Diane, Dianna, Dianne, Dijana, Kiana, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Diana, a girl at school Lily befriends, one of the other “irregular” children in her grade, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Diana Duval, one of Lily’s first friends, “a dirty blonde in every sense”, in Sleeping Arrangements.
– Diana Rivers (later Fitzjames), one of St. John’s sisters, who befriend Jane after she leaves Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Diana Athill (b. 1917), English editor, novelist, and memoirist.
– Diana Gabaldon (b. 1952), American author.
– Diana Gould (b. 1944), American author and screenwriter.
– Diana Hendry (b. 1941), English author and poet.
– Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011), English writer.
– Diana Mitford, the Hon. Lady Mosley (1910-2003), English socialite and writer.
– Diana Morgan (b. 1913), English novelist.
Giacinta
August 26, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Italian feminine form of “Hyacinthus”, from the name of the hyacinth flower.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gia, Hyacintha, Hyacinthe, Jacinda, Jacinta, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Giacinta, the “unprincipled and violent” Italian woman Mr. Rochester took as a mistress following Céline Varens’ betrayal, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 