GIRL NAMES | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Gertrude

August 11, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “spear of strength” or “spear-maiden”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gert, Gertie, Gertrud, Gerty, Trudi, Trudie, Trudy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gertrude Gray, the middle of the Gray girls, prettiest and most popular of the three, but most prone to hardness and snobbishness, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.

WRITERS:
– Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), American novelist, poet, and playwright.

Georgie

August 11, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Georgy“. Diminutive of “Georgia”, “Georgina“, “Georgiana“, “Georgette”, etc. Or, diminutive of “George“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Geena, Gena, Geordie, Georgeanna, Georgia, Georgiana, Georgina, Georgine, Georgette, Georgy, Gigi, Gina, etc.
For boys: Gino, Giorgio, Giorgino, Geordie, Georg, George, Georges, Georgios, Georgi, Georgy, Jordi, Jordy, Jorge, Jorgen, Jorgie, Jorgy, Jori, Jory, Jurgen, Yorgos, Yuri, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Georgie Gray, the oldest of the Gray girls, a bit dreamy and weak and too easily led astray, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.

Berry

August 11, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Berenice“, “Bernice”, “Beryl”, etc., or simply referring to the fruit. As a masculine name, an alternate spelling of “Barry“, from Irish, meaning “fair hair” or “spear”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Barrie, Berenice, Bernelle, Bernice, Berri, Beryl, Bunnie, Bunny, Vernice, Veronica, Veronika, Veronique, etc.
For boys: Bairre, Barrie, Barry, Berach, Finbar, Finbarr, Finnbar, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Berry (Berenice) Joy, Georgie Gray’s friend, who is not a good influence, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.

Myra

August 11, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Invented by English poet Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke (1554-1628) in the 17th century, possibly from the Latin for “myrrh”, or a variation on the name “Mary“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mayra, Maira, Mira, Myrra, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Aunt Myra, the elderly spinster who looks after young orphan Candace, until Cousin Kate Gray and her family invite the girl to stay with them, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Myra, the name of a lost pig advertised in The Observer in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).

WRITERS:
– Myra Bradwell (1831-1893), American activist, lawyer, and publisher.
– Myra Kelly (1875-1910), Irish-American educator and children’s book writer.
– Myra MacPherson (b. c.1935), American activist, author, and journalist.
– Myra Morris (1893-1966), American children’s book author, novelist, and poet.
– Myra Sklarew (b. 1934), American biologist, poet, and teacher.

Courtenay

August 11, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Courtney”, an English last name from a French place name, meaning “short” or “short nose”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cort, Cortnay, Cortney, Court, Courtnay, Courtney, Kort, Kortnay, Kortney, Kourt, Kourtenay, Kourtnay, Kourtney, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mr. Courtenay Gray (called “Court” by his wife), the father of the clan which, after some trials, adopts Candace Arden, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.

Candace

August 11, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Greek “Kandake”, meaning “queen mother”, the title and name of the hereditary Queens of Ethiopia.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Candice, Candis, Candi, Candie, Candy, Candyce, Kandace, Kandice, Kandis, Kandi, Kandie, Kandy, Kandyce, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Candace Arden (called “Cannie“), the “little country girl” of the title, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Candace Van Vliet, Cannie’s mother and Kate’s cousin, who married Henry Arden and settled down in New England for too short a while, in A Little Country Girl.

WRITERS:
– Candace Bushnell (b. 1958), American novelist and producer.
– Candace Camp (b. 1949), American romance novelist.
– Candace Fleming (b. 1962), American writer of children’s books.
– Candace Stevenson (1883-1968), American poet.

Bella

August 10, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Like “Belle“, a diminutive of “Belinda”, “Beulah”, etc., or names ending in “-ella” (such as “Isabella”, “Annabella”, “Arabella“, etc.), or names ending in “-belle” (such as “Maybelle”, “Dorabelle”, etc.) Possibly from Italian, meaning “beautiful”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Arabel, Arabella, Arabelle, Amabel, Amabella, Amabelle, Anabel, Anabella, Anabelle, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Bell, Belle, Belina, Belinda, Belinha, Beulah, Elizabeth, Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, Izabel, Izabella, Izabelle, Sabella, Sabelle, Zabel, Zabella, Zabelle, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bella, little Rosamond Carey’s favorite doll, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Cousin Bella, who introduces Susy to the concept of Fate, without being clear on how much our actions may influence it, in “Susy’s Dragon”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Bella (Isabella) Knightley, the older of John and Isabella’s two daughters, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Bella (Isabella) McGilvray, the daughter of a wash-woman and house-cleaner who lives in the tenement behind Grandpa Bennet’s house, and who Katy befriends, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.

Cis

August 10, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Cecily” / “Cicely“, “Cecelia”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cecile, Cecille, Cece, Cecelia, Cecelie, Cecilia, Cecilie, Cecily, Celia, Cili, Cilla, Cille, Cissie, Cissy, Sheila, Silla, Sille, Sissie, Sissy, Zilla, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Cousin Cis (Cecily) Carey, a somewhat frivolous and impatient young lady, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

Roxy

August 10, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Roxana” or “Roxane” / “Roxanne”, meaning “bright” or “dawn”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Rockie, Rocky, Roksana, Rosana, Roshanak, Rossana, Roxana, Roxane, Roxanne, Roxie, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Roxy, the maid at the Carey house in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

Rosy

August 10, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Rosey” / “Rosie“; diminutive of “Rose“, “Rosa“, names beginning with “Ros-“, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Rohese, Rohesia, Ros, Rosa, Rosabel, Rosaleen, Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosaline, Rosamond, Rosamonde, Rosamund, Rosanne, Rose, Roselin, Roselind, Rosella, Roselle, Rosemond, Rosemund, Rosetta, Rosette, Rosey, Rosie, Rosina, Rosine, Rosita, Roslyn, Royse, Roz, Roza, Rozelle, Rozie, Rozy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rosy (Rosamond) Carey, the “Button-Rose” who brings peace and joy to the lives of several cranky adults, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

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