Lizzy
August 25, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Lizzie“, diminutive of “Elizabeth“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Elise, Elissa, Eliza, Ella, Elle, Ellie, Elsa, Else, Elsie, Elsje, Elyse, Ilsa, Ilse, Isa, Let, Lettie, Letty, Liana, Libby, Liddy, Lies, Liesl, Liese, Lillie, Lilly, Lily, Lis, Lisa, Lise, Lisette, Liz, Liza, Lizette, Lizy, Lizzie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lizzy (Elizabeth) Bennet, the clever, “fine-eyed” second Bennet daughter, and heroine of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Lizzy (Eliza) Reed, one of Jane’s spoiled, mean-spirited cousins, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Lizzy Ryder, Nelly’s equally spiteful, petty sister, too inclined to assist in playing mean tricks, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
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.
Fitzwilliam
July 28, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
One of those “last names as first names” that were once a quite popular way for a mother’s maiden name to be passed on to her sons, “Fitzwilliam” was an Irish surname meaning “son of William“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None that I can think of . . . unless you like “Fitzie”?
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Fitzwilliam Darcy, the romantic-lead-to-end-all-romantic-leads in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813). Hard to imagine calling him “Fitzwilliam”, though, right? Kinda lessens the sex appeal a bit.
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.
George
July 28, 2014 § 12 Comments
ORIGIN:
English version of the Greek “Georgios”, meaning “farmer”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gino, Giorgio, Giorgino, Geordie, Georg, Georges, Georgios, Georgi, Georgie, Georgy, Jordi, Jordy, Jorge, Jorgen, Jorgie, Jorgy, Jori, Jory, Jurgen, Yorgos, Yuri, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– George Boulter, “Lord Levant’s son”, married to one of the Mango daughters and one of the “nobs” Mr. Osborne prides himself on being connected to through his daughter’s marriage, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– George Evans, one of the traveling salesmen who appear briefly in the pages of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Lord George Gaunt, Lord Steyne’s second son, on whom the family curse of insanity unhappily devolves, in Vanity Fair.
– Master George Gaunt, Lord Gaunt’s young son, in Vanity Fair.
– George Gustavus, Lord Steyne, who is responsible for Becky’s highest heights and lowest lows, in Vanity Fair.
– George Herrick, Virginia’s father, the overseer at Caryston Hall, in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.
– George (G.W.) Hurstwood, the illustrious manager of Fitzgerald and Moy’s saloon, whose fall from grace counters Carrie’s rising star, Sister Carrie.
– George Hurstwood, Jr., his self-centered son, in Sister Carrie.
– George Knightley, the youngest of John and Isabella’s three boys, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Mr. George Knightley, “a sensible man”, “a very old and intimate friend of the family”, and “the elder brother of Isabella’s husband”, who takes it upon himself to be the sole voice of criticism in Emma‘s life.
– George Lawrence, whose son is wounded at Shiloh / Pittsburgh Landing, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Sir George Lynn, a friend of Mr. Rochester, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– George Mac Turk, Lord Bajazet’s eldest son, who claims “that if he had his will when he came to the title, he would do what the sultans do, and clear the estate by chopping off all his younger brothers’ heads at once”, in Vanity Fair.
– George Osborne, the dashing cad Amelia falls for in Vanity Fair.
– George Osborne (called “Georgy“), the son of George and Amelia and the means of somewhat reconciling his mother with his father’s family, in Vanity Fair.
– George Otway, a member of the Otway clan, guests at Mr. and Mrs. Weston’s ball, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– George Page, Sidney’s father, whose death leaves Anna, Sid, and Aunt Harriet without a reliable income, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– George Rivington, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, brother of Tom Rivington, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Sir George Tufto, Lieutenant-General in the army in Vanity Fair.
– George Wickham, the likable rascal in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– George Winslow, Anna Winslow’s brother, whose letters from abroad Anna reads for the amusement of the working-class girls at the Union, in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
WRITERS:
– George B. Seitz (1888-1944), American actor, director, playwright, and screenwriter.
– George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish author, critic, and playwright.
– George Eliot (1819-1880), pen name of English novelist and journalist Mary Ann Evans.
– George Orwell (1903-1950), English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic.
– George Sand (1804-1876), pen name of French novelist and memoirist Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin.
– George Caryl Sims (1902-1966), American author and screenwriter who wrote under the pen name “Paul Cain”.
Lewis
July 28, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
Anglicized version of “Louis”, the French form of “Ludovicus”, the Latinized version of the Germanic “Ludwig”, meaning “famous warrior” or “warrior prince”. Whew.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lew, Lou, Louie, Luis, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sir Lewis de Bourgh, late husband of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
AUTHORS:
– Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, English writer, poet, mathematician, logician, deacon, and photographer.
Charles
July 28, 2014 § 10 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the German “Karl”, meaning “man”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Carl, Carlos, Carroll, Charlie, Charley, Chas, Chaz, Chick, Chip, Chuck, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Charles Bingley, the amiable young gentleman whose pending residence at Netherfield Park kicks off the events of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Charles Stuart “Barebones” Crawley was a twig on the Crawley family tree in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Charles H. Drouet (sometimes called “Charlie“), the traveling salesman who first offers Carrie a way out of her poverty, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Charles Lambert, who encourages his children in the lovely tradition of inviting someone in need to join them for Thanksgiving dinner every year, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Lord Charles Radnor, Lady Elizabeth’s brother, who leaves her the care of his son, Ernie, to be raised with her daughters, 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.
– Mr. Charles Raggles, the former butler to Miss Crawley who later becomes Rawdon and Becky’s landlord, much to his disadvantage, in Vanity Fair.
– Charles Raggles is also the name of Mr. Raggles’ son, sent to boarding school on the strength of his father’s presumed prosperity as landlord, in Vanity Fair.
WRITERS:
– Charles Bukowski (1920-1944), German-American novelist, poet, and short story writer.
– Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English writer and social critic.
– Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), English writer, poet, mathematician, logician, deacon, and photographer who wrote under the pen name “Lewis Carroll”.
– Charles Frazier (b. 1950), American historical novelist.
– Charles Hamilton (1876-1961), English writer.
– Charles R. Jackson (1903-1968), American author.
– Charles Johnson (1679-1748), English playwright and tavern keeper.
– Charles Lamb (1775-1834), English essayist and writer.
– Charles Morris (1833-1922), American journalist, novelist, and historical author.
– Charles Reade (1814-1884), English novelist and dramatist.
– Charles Shaw (1900-1955), Australian journalist and novelist.
– Charles Burr Todd (1849-1928), American historian.
– Charles Williams (1886-1945), English critic, novelist, playwright, poet, and theologian.
– Charles Williams (1909-1975), American crime writer.
– Charles Norris (C.N.) Williamson (1859-1920), British author who often collaborated with his wife, Alice Muriel Williamson.
Caroline
July 28, 2014 § 9 Comments
ORIGIN:
The French feminine version of the Latin “Carolus”. Like “Charlotte,” a feminine version of “Charles.”
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cady, Caddie, Caddy, Calleigh, Callie, Cari, Carla, Carrie, Carry, Carlyn, Carol, Carola, Carolina, Carolyn, Carrie, Caryl, Charlize, Coraline, Kaja, Kaia, Kallie, Karla, Karolina, Karrie, Karry, Kaya, Keri, Kerri, Kerrie, Kerry, Lili, Line, Lina, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Caroline Belmont, née Evelyn, Mme. Duval’s daughter (by her first husband), Evelina’s mother, and Sir John Belmont’s spurned and forsaken wife, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Caroline Bingley, Mr. Bingley’s proud and spiteful sister with designs on Darcy, in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Caroline Lambert, who encourages her children in the lovely tradition of inviting someone in need to join them for Thanksgiving dinner every year, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Caroline Meeber (usually called “Carrie“, sometimes “Cad”; “Miss Madenda” in her acting career), the titular self-interested dreamer of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Miss Caroline Otway, a member of the Otway clan, guests at Mr. and Mrs. Weston’s ball, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
WRITERS:
– Caroline Courtney (1946-2011), pen name of English romance author Penelope Halsall, who also published under the pen names “Annie Groves”, “Lydia Hitchcock”, “Melinda Wright”, and “Penny Jordan”.
QUOTATIONS:
– From “Dainty June and Her Farmboys” from the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy, by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents: “I have a moo cow / a new cow / a true cow / named Caroline / she’s an extra-special friend of mine / I like everything about her fine”
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 