Alban
December 19, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the Latin place name, meaning “from Alba”, derived from the Latin word “albus”, meaning “white”. Also the name of a prominent English saint.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Albano, Albanus, Albany, Alben, Albin, Albinus, Aubin, Aubyn, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duke Alban, whose land needs to be saved from a rampaging ogre, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Alban Butler (1710-1773), English author and priest.
– Alban Stoltz (1808-1883), German author and theologian.
– Alban Thomas (c. 1660?-c.1740), Welsh cleric, poet, and translator.
Mabruk
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Probably Persian, meaning “blessed” or “prosperous”, or related to the Arabic “Mabrouk”, meaning “congratulations”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mabrouk. And I don’t know what else.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mabruk, the master magician Schmendrick usurps as a member of King Haggard’s court in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Amalthea
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of the Greek “Amaltheia”, meaning “tender goddess” (after one of the foster mothers of the god Zeus).
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Amaltheia, Thea, Theia.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lady Amalthea, the name Schmendrick gives to the unicorn when she is in her human form, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Drinn
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Unknown. Possibly related to an Arabic word for a particular type of wild grass or grain, or to a Germanic word, meaning “inside”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dirin, Dirini, Dren, Drini, Drin, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Drinn, the miserly and mean-spirited leader of the villagers of Hagsgate, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Lir
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
The Irish version of the Welsh “Llyr”, meaning “the sea”. These were the names of the Irish and Welsh gods of the sea, respectively.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lear, Leier, Leir, Leire, Leyr, Leyre, Lhyr, Llyr, Lur, Lyer, Lyr, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Lír, the young hero in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Haggard
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
A medieval English or Scottish last name, with three possible origins: from Gaelic, meaning “son of the priest”; or from the Middle English/Old French “hagard”, meaning “wild” or “untamed”; or from Danish, after the Viking place-name “Agard”, meaning “farm by the stream”. Also possibly referencing the English word “haggard”, meaning “very thin or tired, especially from great hunger, worry, or pain.”
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hagard, Hagart, Hager, Haggart, Haggarth, Hagger, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– King Haggard, the discontented, miserly monarch who can only find joy in the sight of unicorns, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Nikos
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
A shortened version of the Greek “Nikolaos”, meaning “victory of the people”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cai, Caj, Claes, Claus, Col, Colas, Cole, Colet, Colin, Collin, Kai, Kaj, Kay, Klaas, Klaes, Klas, Klaus, Kolya, Miklos, Mikolas, Miksa, Mykola, Neacel, Nels, Nic, Niccolo, Nichol, Nicholas, Nichols, Nick, Nickie, Nickolas, Nicky, Nico, Nicol, Nicola, Nicolas, Nicolaas, Nicolaos, Nicolau, Nicolaus, Nicolo, Nicos, Niek, Niels, Nigul, Nik, Nika, Nikko, Niklas, Niklaus, Niko, Nikola, Nikolai, Nikolaj, Nikolajs, Nikolaos, Nikolas, Nikolaus, Nikolay, Nikoloz, Niksa, Nikusha, Nils, Nixon, Nykko, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nikos, the great wizard who tried his best to teach Schmendrick everything he knew, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Nikos Engonopoulos (1907-1985), Greek painter and poet.
– Nikos Gatsos (1911-1992), Greek lyricist, poet, and translator.
– Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas (1906-1994), Greek academic, artist, and writer.
– Nikos Karouzos (1926-1990), Greek poet.
– Nikos Kavvadias (1910-1975), Greek poet and writer.
– Nikos Nicolaides (1884-1956), Greek painter and writer.
– Nikos Nikolaidis (1939-2007), Greek director, producer, and writer.
– Nikos Tsiforos (1916-1970), Greek director and screenwriter.
Schmendrick
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “fat person”, or Yiddish, meaning “stupid person”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Not sure that there are any.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Schmendrick, the aspiring magician who accompanies the unicorn on her quest to find the rest of her people, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Rukh
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Probably Persian, meaning “face”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
I, um, don’t know.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rukh, Mommy Fortuna’s henchman and guide at her Midnight Carnival, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Fortuna
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Latin, meaning “fortunate” or “lucky”, after the Roman goddess of Fortune (obviously).
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Fortune? Maybe Lucky, in a roundabout sort of way?
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mommy Fortuna, the witch who captures the unicorn for her Midnight Carnival, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 