Libby
July 30, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Libbie”, diminutive of “Elizabeth” or “Isabel“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Libbie, Liddy, Liddie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Libby Holton, a friend of the older Gilbreth girls in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
Lillie
July 30, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Lillian“, “Lilith”, etc., and variant spelling of “Lily“.
VARIATIONS or NICKNAMES:
Lil, Lili, Lily, Lilly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lillie (Lillian Moller) Gilbreth (b. 1878), the industrial engineer and efficiency expert whose family life is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
Martha
July 30, 2014 § 6 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the Aramaic for “lady” or “mistress”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Madge, Maddie, Maddy, Marita, Mart, Marta, Marte, Marty, Mat, Mattie, Matty, Pat (from Mat, I guess), Patsy, Pattie, Patty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Martha, the chambermaid hired to work at the orphanage, in “Polly’s Valentine” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Martha Abbott, a servant Jane once overheard Bessie gossiping with on the subject of presentiments, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Martha Crawley, née MacTavish, the Rev. Bute Crawley’s wife in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Miss Martha Crawley, one of the Rev. Bute Crawley’s daughters in Vanity Fair.
– Martha G., mentioned in the Child’s Guide pamphlet Mr. Brocklehurst gives to Jane at their first meeting, urging her to “read it with prayer, especially that part containing ‘An account of the awfully sudden death of Martha G—, a naughty child addicted to falsehood and deceit'”, in Jane Eyre.
– Martha Gilbreth (b. 1909), the fourth of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Martha Griswold, one of snobbish Jessica Hurstwood’s schoolmates, who is scorned for her poor family, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Martha Hilton, the kitchen maid Gen. Benning Wentworth married, mentioned in “That Little Smith Girl” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Martha Jocelyn, Angela’s older sister, whose disillusionment has made her slightly bitter, in “An April Fool”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Martha Langston, David’s dear departed mother, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– Martha Pierce, the aunt Zeena Frome stays with while in Bettsbridge to see the doctor, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
– Martha Sharpe, a friend of Miss Anne Steele’s, with whom she shared many confidences for her sister Lucy to eavesdrop on, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
WRITERS:
– Martha Finley (1828-1909), American author and educator who sometimes wrote under the pen name “Martha Farquharson”.
– Martha Gellhorn (1908-1998), American journalist, novelist, and travel writer.
Ernestine
July 30, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Feminine variant of “Ernest”, from the Germanic, meaning “serious”, “vigor”, or “intent”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Earnestine, Erna, Ernesta, Ernestina, Tina, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ernestine (b. 1908), the third of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
WRITERS:
– Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (1908-2006), American author and memoirist.
Lillian
July 30, 2014 § 6 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternative spelling of “Lilian”, from the Latin for “lily”. Possibly also originally a diminutive form of “Elizabeth“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Leann, Leanna, Leanne, Liana, Liane, Liann, Lianna, Lianne, Lileas, Lilias, Lilian, Liliana, Lilla, Lillah, Lillia, Lillianna, Lillianne, Lilli, Lillias, Lillie, Lily, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lillian (b. 1914), called “Lill” by the family, the seventh of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Lillian Moller Gilbreth (b. 1878), called “Lillie” by her husband and family, the industrial engineer and efficiency expert whose family life is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
AUTHORS:
– Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), American playwright and screenwriter.
Daisy
July 29, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Anglo-Saxon flower name, “the day’s eye”. Plant and flower names were popular in the 19th century.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None, really. Although it seems to be used as a nickname for “Annie“. Go figure.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Daisy Miller, the title character in Daisy Miller by Henry James (1879).
QUOTATIONS:
– The classic popular song “Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)” by Harry Dacre, 1892: “Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do / I’m half-crazy / All for the love of you”
Anne
July 28, 2014 § 10 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Ann“, this is a French variant of “Anna“, from “Hannah” (as used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament), a version of the Hebrew name “Channah”, meaning “favor” or “grace”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ana, Anabel, Anabelle, Anabella, Anais, Andie, Andy, Aneta, Ani, Anica, Anika, Anita, Anitra, Anka, Anke, Anna, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Anne, Anneke, Annetta, Annette, Annick, Annicka, Annie, Annika, Anniken, Annis, Anouk, Antje, Anya, Hanna, Hannah, Hanne, Nan, Nancy, Nanette, Nannie, Nina, Ninon, Ona, Onna, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Anne (b. 1905), the eldest of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Anne Cox, one of Mr. Cox’s sisters, who Emma Woodhouse calls “the two most vulgar girls in Highbury”, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Lady Anne Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s late mother and Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s sister, in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Lady Anne de Bourgh, Lady Catherine’s daughter and Mr. Darcy’s sickly cousin, in Pride and Prejudice.
– 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 (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Miss Anne Steele (sometimes called “Nancy“), Lucy’s well-intentioned but empty-headed ninny of an older sister, a woman of “vulgar freedom and folly”, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
WRITERS:
– Anne Dudley (née Seymour), Countess of Warwick (1538-1588), English writer.
– Anne Ker (1766-1821), English novelist.
– Anne Lamott (b. 1954), American activist and writer.
– Anne Logan (b. 1947), pen name of American mystery and romance author Barbara Colley.
– Anne Meredith (1899-1978), one of the pen names of American writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson.
– Anne Rice (b. 1941), American novelist.
Georgiana
July 28, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
One of the many feminine variations of “George“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Geena, Gena, Georgeanne, Georgette, Georgia, Georgiana, Georgie, Georgine, Gigi, Gina, Giorgia, Giorgina, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Georgiana Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s younger sister in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Georgiana Reed (sometimes called “Georgy“), one of Jane’s spoiled, mean-spirited cousins, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Georgiana Cavendish (née Spencer), Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806), English author, poet, and socialite.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 