Broughton
August 25, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
English place name, meaning “brook town”, “fortress town”, or “hill town”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Broctune, Broghtone, Browton, Burghton, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Master Broughton Brocklehurst, oldest son of the formidable and hypocritical supervisor of Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Georgy
August 25, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Georgie“. Diminutive of “Georgia”, “Georgina“, “Georgiana“, “Georgette”, etc. Or, diminutive of “George“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Geena, Gena, Geordie, Georgeanna, Georgia, Georgiana, Georgie, Georgina, Georgine, Georgette, Gigi, Gina, etc.
For boys: Gino, Giorgio, Giorgino, Geordie, Georg, George, Georges, Georgios, Georgi, Georgie, Jordi, Jordy, Jorge, Jorgen, Jorgie, Jorgy, Jori, Jory, Jurgen, Yorgos, Yuri, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Georgy (Georgiana) Reed, one of Jane’s spoiled, mean-spirited cousins, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Orizaba
August 24, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Possibly somehow from “Citaltépl”, the Aztec name for the Pico de Orizaba, meaning “star mountain” in the Nauhuatl language.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ori, Orry, Zabe? Your guess is as good as mine.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Orizaba Page (called “Zabe“), a young servant at Caryston Hall, in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.
Zabe
August 24, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
As I’ve seen it used so far, a shortened version of “Orizaba“, possibly from “Citaltépl”, the Aztec name for the Pico de Orizaba, meaning “star mountain” in the Nauhuatl language.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Well, I probably would have gone with Ori, or Orry, or something, before Zabe, but what do I know?
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Zabe (Orizaba) Page, a young servant at Caryston Hall, in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.
Popocatepetl
August 24, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From an Aztec myth, meaning “smoking mountain” in the Nauhuatl language.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Well, it seems “Popo” is an option . . .
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Popocatepetl Page (called “Popo“), a young servant at Caryston Hall, in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.
Popo
August 24, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
As I’ve seen it used so far, a shortened version of “Popocatepetl“, from an Aztec myth, meaning “smoking mountain”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
. . . No idea. None, maybe.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Popo (Popocatepetl) Page, a young servant at Caryston Hall, in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.
Herbert
August 22, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “bright army”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bert, Bertie, Berto, Berty, Herb, Herberto, Herbie, Herby, Heribert, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Herbert Crane, one of the snobbish Jessica Hurstwood’s schoolmates, scorned for not being rich, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Herbert Kennedy, who hopes to make Ruth forget about David Langston, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
WRITERS:
– Herbert Agar (1897-1980), American editor, journalist, and historian.
– Herbert S. Scott (1931-2006), American editor and poet.
– Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), English philosopher, scientist, and writer.
– Herbert George (H.G.) Wells (1866-1946), English writer.
Amos
August 22, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Hebrew, meaning “burden” or “bearer of a burden”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Um . . . Amy? Actually, no, probably shouldn’t do that.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Amos Peters, a local farmer, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
Alexander
August 22, 2014 § 14 Comments
ORIGIN:
Latin version of the Greek “Alexandros”, meaning “defender of men”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ace, Al, Alasdair, Alastair, Alastar, Ale, Alec, Alejandro, Aleks, Aleksander, Aleksandr, Alessandro, Alex, Alexandre, Alexandros, Alexis, Alick, Alisander, Alistair, Alister, Ally, Eskandar, Iskandar, Lexi, Olek, Oleksander, Oleksandr, Sacha, Sander, Sandor, Sandy, Sandro, Sascha, Saunder, Sawney, Sender, Shura, Sikandar, Skender, Xander, Xandinho, Zander, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of James Alexander Creighton (1849-1852), one of the three young Creighton boys who died of “paralysis” the year Jethro was born, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Alexander Herron, Ruth Jameson’s grandfather, “who made a concession”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
WRITERS:
– Alexander Brown (1843-1906), American historian and writer.
– Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757- 1804), American essayist, economist, and political leader.
– Alexander King (1899-1965), Austrian-American humorist and memoirist.
– Alexander Mollin (b. 1947), pen name of English author Jim Williams, who also publishes as “Richard Hugo”.
– Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet.
– Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), Russian author and poet.
– Alexander Ross (c.1590-1654), Scottish writer.
– Alexander Scott (c.1520-1582/83), Scottish poet.
– Alexander Scott (1920-1989), Scottish poet and scholar.
– Alexander Tayler (1870-1937), British author and historian who published under the pen name of “Alasdair Tayler”, and often published jointly with his sister, Hetty.
– Alexander Wilson (1893-1963), English writer and spy.
David
August 22, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “beloved”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dai, Daividh, Dauid, Dave, Daveth, Davey, Davide, Davie, Davis, Davit, Davy, Daw, Dawid, Dawud, Dewie, Dewey, Dewydd, Dovid, Taavetti, Taavi, Tavi, Taffy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Brother David, the stonemason, one of the monks at St. Mark’s in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– David Langston, the titular clean-living “harvester of the forest”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– David Wyburn, Esther’s cousin, who works as a clerk at Weyman & Co.’s importing-house, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– David Craig (b. 1929), pen name of Welsh novelist James Tucker, who also publishes as “Bill James” and “Judith Jones”.
– David Herbert (D.H.) Lawrence (1885-1930), English critic, essayist, novelist, painter, playwright, and poet.
– David Malouf (b. 1934), Australian novelist, playwright, and short story writer.
– David McCullough (b. 1933), American author, historian, and lecturer.
– David Mitchell (b. 1969), English novelist.
– David Sedaris (b. 1956), American author and humorist.
– David Foster Wallace (1962-2008), American essayist, novelist, professor, and short story writer.
– David Walliams (b. 1971), English activist, actor, children’s book writer, and comedian.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 