GIRL NAMES | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Millie

August 7, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Milly“, a diminutive of “Mildred”, “Millicent“, “Emilie” / “Emily“, “Camille”, “Amelia“, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mila, Mili, Milla, Milli, Milly, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Millie, the little girl Ruth Bowen heroically saves in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

Floss

August 7, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Flossie” / “Flossy”, diminutive of “Florence“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Flo, Floella, Flora, Floris, Florrie, Florry, Flossie, Flossy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Floss (Florence) Ellery, a rather snobbish and conceited young lady in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

Nabby

August 7, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Abigail”, from Hebrew, meaning “my father is joy”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Abegail, Abi, Abigail, Abigayle, Abbey, Abbi, Abbie, Abby, Avigail, Avi, Gail, Gaila, Gala, Gale, Gayla, Gayle, Tabbie, Tabby, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Aunt Nabby, who looks after Ruth and Sammy Bowen in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

Sammy

August 7, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Samuel”, “Samson”, or “Samantha”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sam, Sami, Sammi, Sammie.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sammy Bowen, Ruth Bowen’s energetic younger brother in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Sammy (Sam) Turner, Ed Turner’s 18-year-old son, who gives Jethro a dog (to help keep him company and to protect his family), and who ends up part of Sherman’s army, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).

WRITERS:
– Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American lyricist, songwriter, and musician.

Ruth

August 7, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “friend” or “companion”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ruta, Rute, Ruut, Ruthie, Ruthy.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ruth Bowen, the noble, sea-loving young heroine of “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Ruth Huckabuck, Reuben’s dwarfish granddaughter and heir, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Ruth Jameson (sometimes called “Ruthie“), “a girl of the city” who cannot see herself as the Harvester’s dream girl, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– Ruth Varnum (later Mrs. Ned Hale), a friend of Ethan’s and Mattie’s, who, as landlady to the narrator, is able to fill him in on some of the details surrounding Ethan’s tragic life, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
– Ruth Visor, Keren Lemon’s cousin, who fears she will be forced to compete with Keren for Robert Racket’s love, in “The Farrier Lass o’ Piping Pebworth” (written in 1887, set circa 1600), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.

WRITERS:
– Ruth Gordon (1896-1985), American actress and writer.
– Ruth Prowler Jhabvala (1927-2013), German-born British-American writer.
– Ruth Edna Kelley (1893-1982), American author and librarian.
– Ruth Rendell (b. 1930), English author.
– Ruth Stout (1884-1980), American author.
– Ruth Plumly Thomson (1891-1976), American children’s book author.

Helen

August 7, 2014 § 10 Comments

ORIGIN:
English form of the Greek “Helene”, meaning “torch” or “bright one”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Alaina, Alayna, Alena, Aleena, Alenka, Alyona, Eleanor, Elena, Elene, Eleni, Elin, Ella, Elle, Ellen, Ellie, Elly, Helaine, Helayne, Helena, Helene, Ileana, Iliana, Jelena, Jelica, Jelka, Léan, Leena, Lena, Leni, Lenka, Lina, Nell, Nelle, Nellie, Nelly, Olena, Yelena, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Helen Burns, Jane’s pious, calm, and intelligent friend at Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Helen Warburton, née Harper, who tries to teach valuable lessons to her young guests, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Helen Bannerman (1862-1946), Scottish children’s book writer.
– Helen Diner (1874-1948), pen name of Austrian historian, journalist, and writer Bertha Eckstein-Diener.
– Helen Forrester (1919-2011), pen name of English author June Bhatia.
– Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885), American activist, poet, and writer.
– Helen Keller (1880-1968), American activist and author.
– Helen MacInnes (1907-1985), Scottish author.
– Helen Hooven Santmeyer (1895-1986), American poet and writer.
– Helen Tayler (1869-1951), British author and historian who published under the pen names “Hetty Tayler” and “Henrietta Tayler”, and often published jointly with her brother, Alexander.
– Helen Thomas (1920-2013), American author, columnist, and reporter.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “The First Kiss“, by Norman Rowland Gale: “On Helen’s heart the day were night! / But I may not adventure there: / Here breast is guarded by a right, / And she is true as fair.”
– From “Old Letters“, also by Norman Rowland Gale: “How rough a hill my eager feet / Flung backward when upon its crest / I saw the flutter of the lace / The wind awoke on Helen’s breast!”

Lucretia

August 7, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
From a Latin last name, “Lucretius”, probably meaning “gain” or “profit”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lucrece, Lucrezia, Lu, Lulu.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lucretia Harper, Mrs. Warburton’s older sister, who sets a good example all her life, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Lucretia Peabody Hale (1820-1900), American author.
– Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880), American Quaker activist and writer.

Alice

August 7, 2014 § 8 Comments

ORIGIN:
From Greek, meaning “truth, or from German via French, meaning “noble”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ada, Adelheid, Adelaide, Adelais, Aileas, Aleece, Aleida, Ali, Alicia, Alida, Alise, Alisha, Alisia, Alison, Alissa, Alix, Aliz, Alli, Allie, Ally, Alyce, Alys, Alyssa, Elicia, Elke, Heidi, Lecia, Lise, Lisa, Lissa, Lyssa, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Alice, a young guest of Mrs. Warburton’s, rather inclined to be bookish, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Alice Bennet, one of Katy’s older sisters, who comes down with the measles, forcing Katy to go and stay with their grandfather, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Alice Fairfax, housekeeper at Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Alice Fleming (called “Ally”), a little orphan girl who can’t seem to find her place in the world, in “Ally”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Alice Frewen, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, youngest of the group of girls next to Cannie and Marian, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Alice King, a girl who could do more good in the world if she were more thoughtful, in “A Little Boarding-School Samaritan”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Alice Lorton, the sensible oldest sister of the Lorton family, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Alice Raymond, the wonderful girl Jim Marlowe hopes to marry, in “The Tragedy of the Unexpected”, from Nora Perry’s The Tragedy of the Unexpected and Other Stories (published in 1880, but set in the 1870s).
– Alice Turner, Connie’s older sister, who refuses to sleep in a “haunted” room, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Alice Wood, the girl chosen by Miss Oliver to help Jane with her school, in Jane Eyre.

WRITERS:
See here for a starter list of writers named “Alice”.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “The Children’s Hour” (1859), by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “From my study I see in the lamplight, / Descending the broad hall stair, / Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, / And Edith with golden hair.”

Carrie

August 7, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Caroline“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cady, Caddie, Caddy, Calleigh, Callie, Cari, Carla, Carry, Kallie, Kari, Karla, Karrie, Karry, Keri, Kerri, Kerrie, Kerry, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Carrie, a young guest of Mrs. Warburton’s, rather inclined to be frivolous, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Carrie (Caroline) Meeber (also known as “Cad” or “Miss Madenda”), the titular self-interested dreamer of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).

Fan

August 6, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Fannie” / “Fanny“, diminutive of “Frances“, “Francisca”, “Stefania”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Chica, Cissie, Cissy, Fannie, Fanny, Fran, Franca, Franci, Francie, Francka, Franka, Frankie, Franky, Frannie, Franny, Franzi, Paca, Paquita, Sissie, Sissy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Fan (Fanny) Fletcher, a friend of Jessie Delano who needs dancing lessons, in “An Ivy Spray and Ladies’ Slippers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Fan (Frances) Wentworth, Will’s conceited, snobbish cousin in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

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