GIRL NAMES | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Mamie

August 10, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Mary” / “Marie” / “Maria“, “May“, or “Margaret“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mae, Madge, Maggie, Maggy, Maisie, Maisy, Mame, Marge, Margie, Margy, Mariella, Marietta, Marji, May, Mayme, Maymie, Meg, Meggie, Meggy, Mia, Midge, Mim, Mimi, Mimsie, Mimsy, Moll, Mollie, Molly, etc. etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mamie Parsons, Rosamond Carey’s best friend, with whom she sometimes quarrels, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Mamie (Mary) Dickens (1838-1896), English editor and writer.

Henny

August 10, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Henrietta” / “Henriette”, or, as a nickname for “Henry“, “Hendrik”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Enrica, Etta, Ettie, Etty, Harriet, Harriett, Harrietta, Harriette, Hattie, Hatty, Hen, Hennie, Henny, Henriette, Henrika, Henrike, Het, Hettie, Hetty, Yetta, etc.
For boys: Amerigo, Amery, Arrigo, Emmerich, Emery, Emory, Enrico, Enrique, Enzo, Hal, Hank, Harald, Harold, Harri, Harry, Heinrich, Heinz, Hennie, Henri, Hendrik, Hendry, Henrik, Henry, Henryk, Herrold, Herry, Imre, Imrich, Imrus, Ric, Rico, Rik, Rikki, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Cousin Henny (Henrietta) Carey, a plump old lady rather inclined to hold grudges, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

Penny

August 10, 2014 § 5 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Penelope“, meaning “weaver”. Could also simply refer to the small coin. Although, if you think about it, it’s a little odd to name someone after money. But, I suppose, people do, nevertheless . . .

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Pen, Pene, Penelope, Penney, Pennie, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Cousin Penny (Penelope) Carey, a quiet old lady who loves children, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Penny Jordan (1946-2011), pen name of English romance author Penelope Halsall, who also published under the pen names “Annie Groves”, “Caroline Courtney”, “Lydia Hitchcock”, and “Melinda Wright”.

Cicely

August 10, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Variant of “Cecily” or “Cecilia”, feminine versions of “Cecil”, from the Latin, meaning “blind”.

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:
– Cicely Carey (called “Cis“), Rosamond’s somewhat frivolous and impatient older cousin, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Cicely Hamilton (1872-1952), English activist, actress, journalist, and writer.
– Cicely Saunders (1918-2005), English activist, nurse, physician, social worker, and writer.
– Cicely (C.) Fox Smith (1882-1954), English poet and writer.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “Cicely Bathing” by Norman Rowland Gale: “The brook told the dove / And the dove told me / That Cicely floating on the wave / Woke music in the tree.”

Henrietta

August 10, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Like “Harriet“, an English version of “Henriette”, the French feminine version of “Henry“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Enrica, Etta, Ettie, Etty, Halle, Hallie, Harriet, Harriett, Harrietta, Harriette, Hattie, Hatty, Hen, Hennie, Henny, Henriette, Henrika, Henrike, Het, Hettie, Hetty, Yetta, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Henrietta Carey (called “Henny“), a plump old lady rather inclined to hold grudges, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Henrietta Tayler (1869-1951), pen name of British author and historian Helen Tayler, who also published as “Hetty Tayler”, and often published jointly with her brother, Alexander.

Penelope

August 10, 2014 § 9 Comments

ORIGIN:
Greek, meaning “weaver”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Pen, Pene, Penney, Pennie, Penny, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Penelope Carey (called “Penny“), a quiet old lady who loves children, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Penelope Fitzgerald (1916-2000), English biographer, essayist, novelist, and poet.
– Penelope Halsall (1946-2011), English romance author who published under the pen names “Annie Groves”, “Caroline Courtney”, “Lydia Hitchcock”, “Melinda Wright”, and “Penny Jordan”.
– Penelope Lively (b. 1933), English author.

Rosamond

August 10, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Rosamund”, from the Germanic, meaning “horse protector”. Also related to the Latin for “pure rose”, or meaning “rose of the world”. Sometimes used as a variant of “Rose” or “Rosa“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ros, Rosa, Rosamonde, Rosamund, Rose, Rosemond, Rosemonde, Rosemund, Rosey, Rosie, Rosy, Roz, Roza, Rozie, Rozy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rosamond Carey (called “Rosy“), 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.
– Rosamond Oliver, the beautiful young woman St. John Rivers is in love with, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.

AUTHORS:
– Rosamond Lehmann (1901-1990), English novelist.

Marie

August 7, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
French and Czech version of “Maria” / “Mary“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mae, Maja, Mame, Mamie, Manon, Maree, Mari, Maria, Marianne, Mariel, Marielle, Marietta, Marika, Marilee, Marilisse, Marilla, Marilyn, Marinda, Marion, Marise, Marita, Maritta, Mary, May, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marie, the flighty French girl Ethel Amory hopes to take along as companion on her trip to Europe, in “Poppies and Wheat”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Marie Corelli (1855-1924), English novelist.
– Marie Manning (1872-1945), American advice columnist and novelist.
– Marie Thérèse Blanc (1840-1907), French essayist, journalist, and novelist who wrote under the pen name “Thérèse Bentzon”.

Jenny

August 7, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Jane” or “Jennifer”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jan, Jane, Janey, Janie, Jayna, Jaynie, Jen, Jena, Jeni, Jenn, Jenna, Jenni, Jennie, Jinny, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jenny, a maidservant in Merchant Lyte’s household, in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Jenny, the “little Spanish horse” who carries Robin to St. Mark’s, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Jenny, Katy Bennet’s alert, quick-minded cousin, who realizes that little Katy is not ridiculous, after all, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Jenny (Jane) Bassett, the quiet, hard-working young lady who makes the most of her trip to Europe, and reaps the benefits, in “Poppies and Wheat”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Jenny Carver, one of the guests the Lambert children invite for dinner, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Jenny Elizabeth Creighton (b. 1847), Jethro’s pretty sister, clever and strong-willed, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Jenny Smiley, Thea’s best student in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).

QUOTATIONS:
– “Jenny Kiss’d Me” is a short, charming poem written by Leigh Hunt in 1838: “Jenny kiss’d me when we met, / Jumping from the chair she sat in; / Time, you thief, who love to get / Sweets into your list, put that in! / Say I’m weary, say I’m sad, / Say that health and wealth have missed me, / Say I’m growing old, but add, / Jenny kiss’d me.”

Ethel

August 7, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “noble”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Adele, Adell, Ethelina, Etheline, Ethelinda, Ethelinde, Ethelyn, Ethelynne, Ethyl, Ethyle, Etta, Ette, Ettie, Etty, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ethel Amory, the somewhat spoiled, impetuous young lady who wastes a trip to Europe on frivolity, in “Poppies and Wheat”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Ethel Curtis, Berry Joy’s friend, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.

WRITERS:
– Ethel M. Dell (1881-1939), English novelist and short story writer.
– Ethel Mannin (1900-1984), English novelist and travel writer.
– Ethel Brilliana Tweedie (1867-1940), English journalist and travel writer (as Mrs. Alec Tweedie).
– Ethel Lilian Voynich (1864-1960), Irish novelist and musician.
– Ethel Lina White (1876-1944), English author.

Where Am I?