Hallam
August 17, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
An English last name, meaning “at the rocks”, “at the nook”, “from the hills”, or “remote valley”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hal, Hall, Hallum, Halm, Halum.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of Jethro Hallam Creighton (b. 1852), the young boy through whose eyes we view the events of Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
Jeth
August 14, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Jethro“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jethro, Yitro.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jeth (Jethro) Creighton (b. 1852), the young boy through whose eyes we view the events of Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
Jethro
August 14, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the Hebrew name “Yitro”, meaning “abundance” or “pre-eminence”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jeth, Yitro.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jethro Hallam Creighton (sometimes called “Jeth“; b. 1852, so 9 years old at the start of the war), the young boy through whose eyes we view the events of Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Jethro Hallam, the “old doctor that the folks set such store by”, who young Jeth was named after, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
“I Named My Baby That Before It Was Cool”
August 11, 2015 § Leave a comment
Today I have a link for you to an article about hipster baby names. Fair warning: the author of the article is not a fan of hipster baby names, and pulls no punches when it comes to mocking them. If you intend to use one of these names — for your baby, for your character, for yourself — prepare yourself for complaints (some of them, let’s face it, well-deserved . . . especially if you decide to saddle an infant with a name like Salinger) like these:
“The List For Hipster Baby Names Is Out And It’s As Bad As You Imagined”
For girls: Briseida, Farrah, Inez, Liora, Minnie, Odette, Pandora, Romy, Suzette, Tessie, Wren, and Zola
For boys: Auden, Byron, Enoch, Gulliver, Ignatius, Lennon, Murray, Nico, Orson, Roman, Salinger, and Zane
(Related: “20 Baby Names That Will Become Overused in the Next 100 Years”
Would-be hipsters, beware! Use of these names will instantly out you as being bandwagon-jumpers rather than the cutting-edge trendsetters you aspire to be!
Addison, Aiden, Ariana, Audrey, Ava, Avery, Brooklyn, Caden, Carter, Chloe, Emma, Elijah, Jackson, Jayden, Leah, Logan, Mason, Noah, Sophia, and Zoe.)
Abdul
August 10, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Arabic, meaning “servant of” (usually combined with another name, to mean “servant of the [whatever the other name means]”).
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None, I don’t think? None that I’ve come across, at any rate.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Abdul Schwartz, one of Uncle Gabe’s two favorite students at his Jewish vocational school, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Jan
August 10, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
For girls, a variant of “Jane” or diminitive of “Janet“, “Janice”, “Janelle”, etc. For boys, a medieval version of “John“, or a variation on “Johannes”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Jana, Janae, Janelle, Janetta, Janet, Janette, Janey, Janie, Janice, Janis, Janith, Janna, Jannah, Jannetta, Jannette, Jayna, Jayne, Jaynie, Jean, Jeanette, Jeanne, Jenae, Jenna, Jennet, Jenni, Jenny, Joan, Joanie, Joanne, Joanna, etc.
For boys: Janek, Jani, Janne, Jannick, Jean, Jens, Jo, Johan, Johannes, John, Johnnie, Johnny, Jon, Jonas, Joni, Jono, Jovan, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jan Foot, the first of Lily’s high school friends to have “done it”, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Stuie
August 10, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of another of those “last name as first names”, in this case “Stuart” / “Stewart”, meaning “steward”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Stu, Stuart, Stew, Stewart, Stewie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Stuie Kriszinski, Sheila’s fitness-obsessed younger brother, the object of Lily’s devotion, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Carey
August 10, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
One of those “last names as first names” that were once a quite popular way for a mother’s maiden name to be passed on to her sons, “Carey” (alternately spelled “Cary”) may be from an English place name, meaning “fort”; or a Welsh place name, meaning “stony island”; or a French place name from Normandy or Burgundy; or an Irish name meaning “descended from Ciardha (the Black)”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Carew, Cary, Carrey, Carye, Ceary, Crey, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Carey Kriszinski, Sheila’s overweight older brother, “forever working the meat slicer”, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Carey Parrish (b. 1967), American author and writer.
– Carey Wilson (1889-1962), American producer, screenwriter, and voice actor.
Ira
August 9, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “watchful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
I . . . got nothin’.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ira Tourin, Marty’s younger brother, “born a month prematurely, and . . . permanently trying to catch up”, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Ira Aldridge (1807-1867), Anglo-American actor and playwright.
– Ira Berkow (b. 1940), American columnist, reporter, and writer.
– Ira Berkowitz (b. 1939), American crime author.
– Ira Berlin (b. 1941), American author, historian, and professor.
– Ira Cohen (1935-2011), American filmmaker, photographer, poet, and publisher.
– Ira Eisenstein (1906-2001), American author, rabbi, and theologian.
– Ira Lunan Ferguson (1904-1992), American author, essayist, and psychologist.
– Ira Joe Fisher (b. 1947), American broadcaster, educator, and poet.
– Ira Gitler (b. 1928), American historian and journalist.
– Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), American lyricist.
– Ira D. Gruber (b. 1934), American author, bibliographer, and historian.
– Ira B. Harkey, Jr. (1918-2006), American author, editor, professor, and publisher.
– Ira Ishida (b. 1960), Japanese actor, commentator, novelist, and short story writer.
– Ira M. Lapidus (b. 1937), American author, historian, and professor.
– Ira Levin (1929-2007), American dramatist, novelist, and songwriter.
– Ira Lewis (1932-2015), American actor, playwright, and writer.
– Ira Louvin (1924-1965), pen name of American musician, singer, and songwriter Ira Lonnie Loudermilk.
– Ira Sadoff (b. 1945), American critic, novelist, poet, and short story writer.
– Ira Schuster (1889-1945), American songwriter who also published under the pen name “John Siras”.
– Ira Stanphil (1914-1993), American songwriter.
– Ira Wallach (1913-1995), American novelist and screenwriter.
– Ira Wolfert (1908-1997), American reporter and writer.
Marty
August 9, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Martie”, a diminutive form of “Martin”; or, for girls, diminutive of names like “Martha“, “Martina”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Ina, Maartje, Maata, Maddi, Maddie, Maddy, Madge, Marfa, Mart, Marta, Marte, Martha, Marthe, Marti, Martie, Martina, Martine, Martita, Martta, Martti, Martuska, Martyna, Mat, Matt, Matti, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Maudy, Midge, Morta, Tina, Tineke, etc.
For boys: Maarten, Mairtin, Marcin, Mars, Mart, Marten, Marti, Martie, Martijn, Martim, Martin, Martinho, Martino, Martinus, Marton, Martti, Martyn, Martynas, Mattin, Matxin, Merten, Morten, Mortin, Mortie, Morty, Tijn, Tin, Tine, Tinek, Tino, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marty Tourin, Lily’s more likable friend in her new neighborhood, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Marty Feldman (1934-1982), English actor, comedian, and writer.
– Marty Peretz (b. 1938), American editor, journalist, and publisher.
– Marty Robbins (1925-1982), American musician, singer, songwriter, and race-car driver.
– Marty Wilde (b. 1939), English singer and songwriter.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 