The Art of Literary Nomenclature

ORIGIN:
Unknown; possibly a nickname for someone with curly hair, or perhaps derived from the Gaelic last name “Curley”, ultimately meaning “in the shape of the god of thunder”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Curley, Curlie, Kerley.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Curly, a local tennis champ who dates Lily’s mother, Rosie, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).

Tagged: 1950s, 1980s, C, English, Irish, Scottish, Unknown