Anthony
August 22, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
English version of the Roman last name “Antonius”, meaning unknown. It has been sometimes linked to “anthos”, meaning flower, but that’s Greek, so probably not the original meaning.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Akoni, Anakoni, Andon, Andony, Antal, Antanas, Ante, Anto, Antoine, Anton, Antonello, Antoni, Antonie, Antonij, Antonije, Antonio, Antonis, Antonius, Antono, Antony, Antoon, Doncho, Teun, Teunis, Theun, Theunis, Ton, Tone, Tonci, Toni, Tonino, Tonio, Tonis, Tono, Tony, Toon, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Anthony Butter (called “Tony“), the gardener at Amhurste Hall, who narrates “A Brother to Dragons” (written in 1886, set in 1586), and is made fun of by Humfrey Lemon and Bered Turnip for his envy of their large broods, 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.
– Anthony Styles, the shoemaker who passes Sibyl’s message on, in “Sibyl’s Slipper”, a story of the American Revolutionary War, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Anthony Armstrong (1897-1976), Anglo-Canadian writer, dramatist, and essayist.
– Anthony Bailey (b. 1933), English writer and art historian.
– Anthony Browne (b. 1946), English children’s book writer and illustrator.
– Anthony Burgess (1917-1993), English writer and composer.
– Anthony Gilbert (1899-1973), one of the pen names of English novelist Lucy Beatrice Malleson.
– Anthony Horowitz (b. 1955), English novelist and screenwriter.
– Anthony Powell (1905-2000), English novelist.
– Anthony Trollope (1815-1882), English novelist.
Kerr
August 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From a Scottish place name, meaning “rough, wet ground”. Lovely.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Carr, Carre, Ker.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Kerr is one of the names K. Le Moyne considers utilizing as his alias in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
King
August 17, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the Old English word “cyning”. Three guesses what it means. Yep. It means “king”. Surprising, no?
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None, really, unless we count synonyms, like “Royal”, or similar place names, like “Kingston”.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– King is one of the names K. Le Moyne considers utilizing as his alias in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
Palmer
August 17, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
An English last name, meaning “pilgrim”, derived from the Latin word for “palm tree”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Not sure that there are any, really.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Palmer Howe, Christine Lorenz’s “wild” fiancé, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
Harmon
August 12, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
An English last name derived from the Germanic “Herman”, meaning “army man”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hariman, Harimon, Harm, Harmie, Harmy, Hermon, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Harmon Gow, former stage-driver and town gossip, who fills the narrator in on some of the details of Ethan’s life, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
Jackson
August 12, 2014 § 6 Comments
ORIGIN:
From an English last name, meaning “son of Jack“. Bet you didn’t know that.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jack, Jackie, Jacks, Jacky, Jak, Jakin, Jaks, Jax, Jaxon, Jaxson.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jackson Tainter, whose wife is a friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
WRITERS:
– Jackson Lowry (b. 1947), pen name of American fantasy, science fiction, and Western author Robert E. Vardeman, who has also published under the pen names “Cliff Garnett”, “Daniel Moran”, “F.J. Hale”, “Edward S. Hudson”, “Karl Lassiter”, “Paul Kenyon”, and “Victor Appleton”.
– Jackson O’Reilly (1948-2007), pen name of American fantasy author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., who wrote under the pen names “Chang Lung”, “Reagan O’Neal”, and “Robert Jordan”.
Gorham
August 12, 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, “Gorham” was an Old English place name, meaning “muddy farmland”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None that I’m aware of . . .
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gorham Allerton, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
Carrol
August 12, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Carroll”, often used as a last name. Derived either from Irish, meaning “hacking with a weapon”, or related to “Carolus”, the Latin form of “Charles“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Carol, Carolus, Carroll, Caryl, Cearbhall, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mr. Carrol Benton, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
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.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 