Elise
August 28, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Eilis, Eilish, Eli, Eliisa, Elisa, Eliza, Ella, Elle, Elli, Ellie, Elly, Elsa, Else, Elsje, Elyse, Elze, Ilsa, Ilse, Lies, Liesa, Liese, Liesel, Liesel, Liesje, Liisa, Liisi, Liisu, Lili, Lilli, Lilly, Lily, Lis, Lisa, Lise, Lisette, Liza, Lys, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Elise Wheatley, the daughter of the kind woman Polly meets at the shop, in “Polly’s Valentine” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Lula
August 28, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of names like “Louise” / “Louisa“, names that begin with “Lu-“, such as “Lucy” or “Lucretia“, or that contain “-ula”, such as “Wallula” or “Ursula”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Loola, Lou, Louella, Lulu, Oola, Ula, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lula, the nickname Molly Elliston gives to her friend Wallula, in “Major Molly’s Christmas Promise” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Bert
August 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Albert”, “Herbert“, “Robert“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bertie, Bertil, Berto, Berty, Burt, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bert Purcel, Royal’s kid brother, in “The Egg-Boy” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Bert Rice, Anna Kronborg’s beau, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Bert Schierbeek (1918-1996), Dutch writer.
– Bert Stiles (1920-1944), American short story writer.
– Bert Sugar (1937-2012), American sports historian and writer.
– Bert Leston Taylor (1866-1921), American author, columnist, humorist, and poet.
Elsie
August 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Elizabeth“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
El, Elise, Elisheva, Elissa, Eliza, Ella, Elle, Ellie, Elly, Elsa, Else, Elsy, Elsje, Elspet, Elspeth, Elyse, Ilsa, Ilse, Isa, Lies, Liesl, Liese, Lis, Lisa, Lisbeth, Lise, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Elsie Lambert, the oldest daughter of the family, whose generous choice leads to a reconciliation, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Elsie Lloyd, an impetuous girl whose carelessness causes trouble, in “The Egg-Boy” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
WRITERS:
– Elsie Finnimore Buckley (1882-1959), English writer and translator.
– Elsie Johannson (b. 1931), Swedish writer.
– Elsie Lessa (1912-2000), Brazilian journalist and writer.
– Elsie Locke (1912-2001), New Zealander activist, writer, and historian.
– Elsie J. Oxenham (1880-1960), pen name of English author Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley.
Marge
August 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Margaret” or “Margery” / “Marjorie” / “Marjory“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maarit, Madge, Mae, Maisie, Maisy, Maggi, Maggie, Maggy, Mamie, Maret, Margaux, Margie, Margit, Margo, Margot, Margy, Marji, May, Meg, Megeen, Megan, Megen, Meggie, Meggy, Midge, Peg, Pegeen, Peggie, Peggy, Peigi, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marge Lloyd, Elsie’s kind and tender sister, in “The Egg-Boy” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Marge Piercy (b. 1936), American activist, novelist, and poet.
Berk
August 27, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Berkeley” / “Berkley”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bar, Barclay, Barklay, Barkley, Barklie, Barrclay, Berke, Berkeley, Berkie, Berklee, Berkley, Berky, Birk, Birkeley, Birkley, Bourke, Burk, Burke, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Berk (Berkeley) Pelham, Margaret’s older brother, “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Dora
August 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Dorothy“, “Isadora”, “Theodora”, “Dorcas“, “Doris”, “Dolores”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dede, Dee, Ditte, Dittie, Ditty, Dodie, Dody, Doll, Dollie, Dolly, Dolores, Dorcas, Doreen, Dorelle, Dorene, Dorete, Doretta, Dorie, Dorinda, Dorine, Doris, Dorit, Dorita, Doro, Dorota, Dorothea, Dorothy, Dorte, Dorthe, Dory, Dosia, Dot, Dottie, Dotty, Feodora, Isadora, Isidora, Teodora, Theodora, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Great Aunt Dora, Etka’s kid sister, “maybe the most affectionate woman who ever lived”, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Dora Robson, a good-humored, slightly snobbish Boston girl in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Dora Acuña (1903-1987), Paraguayan journalist and poet.
– Dora (Doralina) Alonso (1910-2001), Cuban journalist and writer.
– Dora Birtles (1903-1992), Australian novelist, poet, short story author, and travel writer.
– Dora d’Istria (1828-1888), pen name of Hungarian activist and writer, the duchess Helena Koltsova-Massalskaya.
– Dora Gabe (1886-1983), Bulgarian essayist, poet, short story writer, translator, and travel writer.
– Dora Read Goodale (1866-1953), American poet and teacher.
– Dora (Dorothy) Greenwell (1821-1882), English poet.
– Dora Heldt (b. 1961), German novelist.
– Dora Maar (1907-1997), Argentinian muse, painter, photographer, and poet.
– Dora Malech (b. 1981), American poet.
– Dora (Dorothy) Montefiore (1851-1933), Anglo-Australian activist, poet, and writer.
– Dora Levy Mossanen (b. 1945), American novelist.
– Dora Pavel (b. 1946), Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, and short story writer.
– Dora Russell (1894-1986), English activist and writer.
– Dora Oake Russell (1912-1986), Canadian editor, educator, and writer.
– Dora Jessie Saint (1913-2012), English novelist who published under the pen name “Miss Read”.
– Dora Sigerson Shorter (1866-1918), Irish poet and sculptor.
– Dora (Theodora) van der Meiden-Coolsma (1918-2001), Dutch children’s book author and columnist who also published under the pen name “Constanze Hazelager”.
– Dora Van Gelder (1904-1999), Dutch-American occultist, theosophist, and writer.
– Dora Wasserman (1919-2003), Ukrainian actress, director, and playwright.
Tilly
August 27, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Tillie“, diminutive of “Matilda“, meaning “strength in battle” or “mighty battle-maid”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Malta, Mathilda, Mathilde, Matilda, Matilde, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Tilda, Tilde, Tillie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tilly Drake, a girl someone played a mean trick on the year before Marian’s much-talked-of party, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Tilly Morris, a kind-hearted, level-headed New York girl in “That Little Smith Girl” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
WRITERS:
– Tilly Aston (1873-1947), Australian activist and writer.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 