Jane Eyre | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

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.

Lizzy

August 25, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Lizzie“, diminutive of “Elizabeth“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Elise, Elissa, Eliza, Ella, Elle, Ellie, Elsa, Else, Elsie, Elsje, Elyse, Ilsa, Ilse, Isa, Let, Lettie, Letty, Liana, Libby, Liddy, Lies, Liesl, Liese, Lillie, Lilly, Lily, Lis, Lisa, Lise, Lisette, Liz, Liza, Lizette, Lizy, Lizzie, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lizzy (Elizabeth) Bennet, the clever, “fine-eyed” second Bennet daughter, and heroine of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Lizzy (Eliza) Reed, one of Jane’s spoiled, mean-spirited cousins, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Lizzy Ryder, Nelly’s equally spiteful, petty sister, too inclined to assist in playing mean tricks, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

Rowland

August 22, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Medieval variation of “Roland“, meaning “famous land”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Laurand, Laurant, Laurend, Laurent, Lorend, Lorent, Lorand, Lorant, Roel, Roeland, Rolan, Roland, Rolando, Rolland, Rollie, Rolly, Roly, Rowle, Rowley, Rowlie, Orland, Orlando, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rowland Doone, a member of the murderous Doone clan, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Sir Rowland Nasmyth, who falls in love with Mistress Marian, in “Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story” (written in 1887, set circa 1630s-1669), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Sir Rowland, his son, who marries Lady Anne Lennox, older sister to Lady Dorothy and Lord Humphrey, in “Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story” (written in 1887, set circa 1630s-1669), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales.
– Rowland Rochester, Edward Rochester’s older brother, whose death gives him the ownership of Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.

Augusta

August 21, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Feminine form of “Augustus”, meaning “majestic” or “venerable”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gus, Gussie, Gussy, Gusta.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Augusta Brocklehurst, the second daughter of the formidable and hypocritical supervisor of Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Augusta Hawkins, the vain and self-important younger daughter of a Bristol merchant, who Mr. Elton selects for his wife after being disappointed in his first choice, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).

WRITERS:
– Augusta, Lady Gregory (1852-1932), Irish dramatist, folklorist, and theatre manager.

Bill

August 18, 2014 § 5 Comments

ORIGIN:
Like “Will“, a diminutive of “William“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bil, Billie, Billy, Gwil, Liam, Lyam, Pim, Vila, Vili, Viljo, Ville, Wil, Wilkie, Wilkin, Wilky, Will, Willie, Willis, Willy, Wim, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bill, a little boy who lives on the Street with the Pages and the Wilsons and the rest in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Bill, the bartender at Schwitter’s road-house in K.
– Bill Blacksmith, a friend of John Fry’s in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Bill (William) Creighton (b. 1838), Jethro’s favorite older brother, “a big, silent man who was considered ‘peculiar’ in the neighborhood”, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Bill Dadds, a workman on John Ridd’s farm, in Lorna Doone.
– Bill Oliver, wealthy owner of a needle-factory and iron-foundry near Morton, whose daughter, Rosamond, is in love with St. John Rivers, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.

WRITERS:
– Bill James (b. 1929), pen name of Welsh novelist James Tucker, who also publishes as “David Craig” and “Judith Jones”.

QUOTATIONS:
– The 1902 song “(Won’t You Come Home) Bill Bailey“, written by Hughie Cannon (1877-1912) remains a standard among Dixieland and classic jazz performers: “Won’t you come home, Bill Bailey, won’t you come home? / I’ve moaned the whole night long / I’ll do the cookin’, honey, I’ll pay the rent / I know I done you wrong.”
– In Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s 1927 musical Show Boat, torch singer Julie (working in a nightclub circa 1903), sings “Bill“, a lament for the less-than-perfect man who stole her heart: “But along came Bill / Who’s not the type at all / You’d meet him on the street / And never notice him / His form and face / His manly grace / Are not the kind that you / Would find in a statue / And I can’t explain / It’s surely not his brain / That makes me thrill / I love him because he’s wonderful / Because he’s just my Bill / . . . He’s just my Bill, an ordinary man / He hasn’t got a thing that I can brag about / . . . I love him, because he’s, I don’t know, / Because he’s just my Bill.”
– From the 1945 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical Carousel, set in 1873 or so, erstwhile barker Billy Bigelow sings a “Soliloquy” about his anticipated son: “Bill, my boy Bill, / I will see that he’s named after me, I will. / My boy Bill! He’ll be tall / And as tough as a tree, will Bill! / Like a tree he’ll grow / With his head held high / And his feet planted firm on the ground. / And you won’t see nobody dare to try / To boss him or toss him around.”
– In the “Wedding Bell Blues” (1969), written by Laura Nyro, the singer laments about a lover who won’t marry her: “Bill, I love you so, I always will / . . . I was on your side, Bill, when you were losing / I’d never scheme or lie, Bill, there’s been no fooling / But kisses and love won’t carry me ’til you marry me, Bill.”

Hannah

August 17, 2014 § 10 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Hebrew name “Channah”, meaning “favor” or “grace”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Aina, Ana, Anabel, Anabela, Anabell, Anabella, Anabelle, Anais, Anca, Ane, Aneta, Ania, Anica, Anika, Aniko, Anita, Anja, Anka, Anna, Annabel, Annabela, Annabell, Annabella, Annabelle, Annabel, Anne, Annetta, Annette, Anneli, Anni, Annica, Annick, Annie, Annika, Anniken, Annikki, Annukka, Annushka, Annuska, Anny, Anushka, Anya, Chanah, Channah, Hana, Hanna, Hanne, Hannele, Hania, Hena, Henda, Hendel, Hene, Henye, Jana, Janna, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Johannah, Nainsi, Nan, Nancie, Nancy, Nanette, Nannie, Nanny, Nina, Ninon, Ona, Onna, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Hannah, a houseservant at the Elliston’s, in “Major Molly’s Christmas Promise” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Hannah, the servant in the Rivers household, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Hannah, “a civil, pretty-spoken girl”, housemaid at Randalls and daughter of Mr. Woodhouse’s coachman, James, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Aunt Hannah, who might be a fallback matron for Hope should something happen to Mrs. Bell, in “What Hope Bell Found in Her Stocking”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).

WRITERS:
– Hannah Arendt (1906-1975), German-American political theorist and writer.

QUOTATIONS:
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Elizabeth” (published in 1873, but set in 1701-02; from Tales of a Wayside Inn, Part the Third: The Theologian’s Tale) tells the love story of John Estaugh (1676-1742) and Elizabeth Haddon (1680-1762), with her servants Joseph and Hannah as supporting characters, and Hannah described thusly: ” . . . Hannah the housemaid / Laughed with her eyes, as she listened, but governed her tongue, and was silent, / . . . Hannah the housemaid, the thrifty, the frugal . . . / . . . for a season was silent the penitent housemaid; / . . . Nothing was heard for a while but the step of Hannah the housemaid / Walking the floor overhead, and setting the chambers in order. / And Elizabeth said, with a smile of compassion, ‘The maiden / Hath a light heart in her breast, but her feet are heavy and awkward.’ / . . . Hannah the housemaid, the homely, was looking out of the attic, / Laughing aloud at Joseph, . . . / . . . Hannah the housemaid / Diligent early and late, and rosy with washing and scouring, / Still as of old disparaged the eminent merits of Joseph, / And was at times reproved for her light and frothy behavior, / For her shy looks, and her careless words, and her evil surmisings, / . . . And not otherwise Joseph, the honest, the diligent servant, / Sped in his bashful wooing with homely Hannah the housemaid; / For when he asked her the question, she answered, ‘Nay;’ and then added: / ‘But thee may make believe, and see what will come of it, Joseph.'”

Jeannette

August 16, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Jean” / “Jeanne” or “Joan“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Genette, Jana, Janina, Janine, Janna, Jeanette, Jeanine, Jeannine, Nettie, Netty, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mademoselle Jeannette is what Adèle Varens sometimes calls her governess, Jane, since she can’t pronounce “Eyre” very well, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Jeannette, one of the French servants in the Lamonte household in “The Story of Little Syl”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).

Bessie

August 15, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Bessy“, a diminutive of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of God”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bess, Bessy, Betje, Bette, Betsy, Bettie, Bettina, Betty, Bettye, Buffy, Let, Lettie, Letty, Pet, Pettie, Tess, Tessie, Tessy, Tetty, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bessie (sometimes called “Bess“), Laura’s sister, the “Bright-Eyes” Ted tells his rag-bag story to, in “In a Rag-Bag”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Bessie Lee (Leaven, after her marriage), the kind-hearted though quick-tempered nursemaid who looks after Jane and her cousins, the Reeds, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.

WRITERS:
– Bessie Head (1937-1986), South African author.

Theodore

August 15, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Greek “Theodoros”, meaning “gift of God”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Fedir, Fedor, Fedya, Feodor, Fyodor, Tad, Taddie, Taddy, Ted, Teddie, Teddy, Tedo, Teo, Teodor, Teodoro, Theo, Theodor, Theodoros, Theodorus, Todor, Toshe, Tudor, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Theodore, Ray Kennedy’s deceased chum, in whose honor he nicknames Thea “Thee”, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Theodore Brocklehurst, one of the children of the formidable and hypocritical supervisor of Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Theodore Ingram (called “Tedo“), Blanche and Mary’s brother, one of the elegant people who make up Mr. Rochester’s social set, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Mr. Theodore Shaffer (known as “Teddy“, and later “Ted“), who found his long-lost ship captain father while working in a paper mill, in “In a Rag-Bag”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).

WRITERS:
– Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), American novelist and journalist.
– Theodore Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), American writer, poet, and cartoonist, most famous for his work under the pen name “Dr. Seuss”.
– Theodore Roethke (1908-1963), American poet.
– Theodore Taylor (1921-2006), American author.
– Theodore H. White (1915-1986), American journalist and historian.

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