Nora Perry | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Janey

August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Jane“, meaning “Jehovah has been gracious”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jan, Janae, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janie, Janice, Janis, Janith, Jayne, Jean, Jeanette, Jeanne, Jenny, Joan, Joanie, Joanne, Joanna, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Janey Dobbin, William Dobbin’s doted-upon daughter, named after her godmother, Lady Jane Crawley (née Sheepshanks), in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Janey Evans, a little girl who lives in Mrs. Bell’s boarding house, and who insists Hope hang up a stocking for Christmas, in “What Hope Bell Found in Her Stocking”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Janey Miller, a pretty, well-dressed girl who could use a pinch more understanding and patience, in “A Little Boarding-School Samaritan”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

WRITERS:
– Janey King (b. 1947), Welsh journalist and romance author who publishes under the pen name “Rosie Thomas”.

Florence

August 5, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Latin “Florentia” or “Florentius”, meaning “blooming” or “prosperous”. Sometimes used as a variant of “Flora” or “Florent”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Fiorenza, Fleur, Flo, Flor, Flora, Florentia, Florina, Floris, Florrie, Florry, Floss, Flossie, Flossy, etc.
For boys: Fiorenzo, Florent, Florentius, Floris, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Florence Aplin (called “Flo“), a snobbish, bragging girl from a snobbish, bragging family, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Florence Ellery (called “Floss“), a rather snobbish and conceited young lady in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Florence Fleming, Ally’s cousin, who can be a bit spiteful, in “Ally”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Florence Scape, who, with her sister and mother, “fade away to Boulogne” after her father’s failure in the firm of Fogle, Fake, and Cracksman, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Florence Morse Kingsley (1859-1937), American novelist.
– Florence Nash (1888-1950), American actress and poet.
– Florence Scovel Shinn (1871-1940), American artist and metaphysical writer.

Molly

August 4, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
Like “Polly“, a diminutive of “Mary“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maille, Malle, Manon, Moll, Molle, Mollie, Pol, Pola, Poll, Pollie, Polly, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Molly, an old serving-woman who works for the Ridd’s, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Molly, the cook in the Crawley-Sharp household, who little Master Rawdon loved because she “crammed him with ghost stories at night, and with good things from the dinner”, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Molly Barnet, “a hospital nurse with a heart”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– “Major” Molly Elliston, whose determination to keep a promise helps save a garrison, in “Major Molly’s Christmas Promise” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Molly Gair, a resourceful and diligent young lady, in “Molly Gair’s New Dress”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Molly Grue, the “drab” who knows quite a lot about unicorns, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
– Molly Jameson, Ruth’s aunt, who has borne all that she can bear, in The Harvester.
– Molly (Maria) Mirvan, Evelina’s dearest friend, with whom she enters into London society, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Molly (Mary) Porter, a shopgirl Anna Winslow helps in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Molly Price, one of the guests the Lambert children invite for dinner, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.

WRITERS:
– Molly Childers (1875-1964), Irish activist and writer.
– Molly Holden (1927-1981), English poet.
– Molly Ivins (1944-2007), American writer, political critic, and humorist.
– Molly Kazan (1906-1963), American dramatist and playwright.
– Molly Keane (1904-1996), Irish novelist and playwright.
– Molly Lefebure (1919-2013), English writer.
– Molly Elliot Seawell (1860-1916), American historian and writer.
– Molly Weir (1910-2004), Scottish actress and memoirist.

Kate

August 4, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Catherine” / “Katherine“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cadi, Cady, Cait, Cat, Cate, Catey, Cathi, Cathy, Catie, Cato, Caty, Catya, Kady, Kaia, Kaity, Kaja, Kat, Kata, Katey, Kathi, Kathie, Kathy, Katie, Katka, Katri, Katy, Kay, Kaya, Kaye, Kaylee, Kayleen, Kit, Kitti, Kittie, Kitty, Kylee, Kyleen, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Kate, a rather sharp, though kind-hearted, young lady in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Kate Crawley, one of the Rev. Bute Crawley’s daughters in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Kate Fleming, Ally’s aunt, whose misunderstood remark leads to trouble, in “Ally”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Kate Gray (née Catherine Van Vliet), the kind-hearted, motherly woman who accepts her cousin’s daughter, Candace, as one of her own, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.

WRITERS:
– Kate Atkinson (b. 1951), English author and playwright.
– Kate Chopin (1850-1904), American author.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “Epistle to Earl Harcourt, on his wishing her to spell her name of Catherine with a K“, by an unknown poet (“F—-“), found in A Collection of Poems, Chiefly Manuscript, and from Living Authors, 1823, edited by Joanna Baillie: “Then cast it in a Grecian mould, / Once modell’d from a living scold; / When from her shelly prison burst / That finished vixen, Kate the curst! / . . . Nor was it even then too late, / When crown’d and register’d a Kate; / When all had trembling heard, and seen, / The shriller voice, and fiercer mien”
– “Kiss Me, Kate“, a song from the 1948 Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter, has Petruchio singing to Katherine: “So, kiss me, Kate, thou lovely loon, / Ere we start on our honeymoon. / So, kiss me, Kate, darling devil divine, / For now thou shall ever be mine.”

Polly

August 4, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Variant of “Molly“, a diminutive of “Mary“. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Pauline“, “Paulette”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Moll, Mollie, Molly, Paula, Pol, Pola, Poll, Pollie, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Polly, one of the Lexington girls clamoring to partner with Rab at the Silsbee country dance in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Polly (Mary) Clapp, daughter of the Sedley’s landlord, who bestows on Dobbin the nickname “Major Sugarplums” owing to his habit of bringing gifts for all at every visit to the house, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Polly Branghton (sometimes called “Poll“), the youngest child of Madame Duval’s (and Evelina’s) cousins, the crude, ill-mannered Branghton clan, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Polly Green, the nurse’s daughter passed off as the child of Sir John Belmont, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World.
– Polly Moore, daughter of a chandler’s-shop woman, who Madame Duval uses as an example of how much life in Paris can “improve” a young lady, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World.
– Polly Price, a generous little girl who learns about Valentines in “Polly’s Valentine” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Polly Snowe, one of Farmer Nicholas’ three lively, comely daughters, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Polly Talboys, a village girl who lives near Queen’s Crawley, in Vanity Fair.

QUOTATIONS:
– The nursery rhyme “Polly Put the Kettle On“, published in 1797: “Polly put the kettle on, / We’ll all have tea.”

Dolly

August 4, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Dorothy“, from the Greek, meaning “gift of God”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Dolores”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dee, Dodie, Doll, Dolley, Dollie, Dora, Dorit, Dory, Dot, Dottie, Dotty, Lola, Lollie, Lolly, Moll, Molly, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Dolly, one of the Boston children roused to their chores at the start of Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Dolly, the kindly housemaid who cares for little Rawdon Crawley after his French nursemaid leaves, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Dolly, who foolishly attempts to imitate her famous namesake by “putting on airs”, in “Dolly Varden”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Dolly (Lady Dorothy Lennox), one of the children in the care of Nurse Crumpet who beg her to tell the sad story of their Aunt Patience, 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.
– Dolly Lorton (sometimes called “Doll“), the heedless, gossiping youngest sister of the Lorton family, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.

Fanny

August 2, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Frances” or “Francisca” (feminine versions of “Francis“, meaning “Frenchman”), or of “Stefania”, etc.

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

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Fanny, a cousin of Col. Brandon’s, who Mrs. Jennings guesses may have recently married, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility(set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Fanny Bludyer, a friend of the social-climbing Maria Bullock (née Osborne) Fanny Bludyer, a friend of the social-climbing Maria Bullock (née Osborne) in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Fanny de Butterbrod, a Countess of Pumpernickel who nearly captures Joseph Sedley’s all-too-susceptible heart in Vanity Fair.
– Fanny Crawley, one of the Rev. Bute Crawley’s daughters in Vanity Fair.
– Fanny Dashwood (née Ferrars), John Dashwood’s wife and Edward Ferrar’s sister, a cold, greedy, snobbish woman with no consideration for others, in Sense and Sensibility.
– Fanny (called “Fan“) 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.
– Fanny Hamlin, Susy’s best friend in “Susy’s Dragon”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Fanny Magenis, one of the army wives who make up the social circle for Amelia Sedley after her marriage to George Osborne, in Vanity Fair.
– Fanny Scape, who, with her sister and mother, “fade away to Boulogne” after her father’s failure in the firm of Fogle, Fake, and Cracksman, in Vanity Fair.
– Fanny (Frances) Wentworth, Will’s conceited, snobbish cousin in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

WRITERS:
– Fanny (Frances) Burney (1752-1840), English diarist, novelist, and playwright.
– Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), American composer, lyricist, mission worker, and poet.
– Fanny de Beauharnais (1737-1813), French salon-holder, socialite, and woman-of-letters.
– Fanny Fern (1811-1872), pen name of American children’s book writer, columnist, humorist, and novelist, Sara Willis.
– Fanny Howe (b. 1940), American novelist, poet, and short story writer.
– Fanny Kemble (1809-1893), English actress and writer.
– Fanny Lewald (1811-1889), German activist and author.

Michael

August 2, 2014 § 5 Comments

ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “who is like the Lord?”

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maikel, Micha, Micah, Michail, Michel, Mick, Mickey, Micky, Miguel, Mika, Mikael, Mike, Mikel, Mikelo, Mikey, Mikhael, Mikhail, Mijo, Mikkel, Mikki, Misha, Miska, Mitch, Mitchell, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Michael, one of the servants in the Lorton household, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Brother Michael, the monk who cares for the garden at St. Mark’s, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Michael Eady, Denis Eady’s “rich Irish grocer” father, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
– Michael Mulligan, one of the tenants of the boarding-houses and tenements behind Grandpa Bennet’s home, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Major Michael O’Dowd (called “Mick” by his wife), commander of the regiment in which George Osborne and William Dobbin go to war, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Michael Crichton (1942-2008), American author, director, physician, producer, and screenwriter.
– Michael Pollan (b. 1955), American activist, author, journalist, and professor.
– Michael Strange (1890-1950), pen name of American actress, playwright, and poet Blanche Oelrichs.

Rhoda

August 2, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
From Greek, meaning “rose”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Roda, Rodina, Rhode, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rhoda Davis, the cook in the Lloyd household, in “The Egg-Boy” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Rhoda Swartz, the West Indies heiress who was a school chum of Amelia Sedley’s in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Rhoda Broughton (1840-1920), Welsh novelist and short story writer.
– Rhoda Power (1890-1957), English broadcaster and children’s book writer.
– Rhoda Truax (1901-2000), American author.

Ann

August 2, 2014 § 14 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Anne”, this is an English 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, Annag, Anne, Anneke, Annella, Annetta, Annette, Annick, Annicka, Annie, Annika, Anniken, Annis, Anouk, Antje, Anya, Chana, Channah, Hanna, Hannah, Hanne, Nan, Nancy, Nanette, Nannie, Nina, Ninon, Ona, Onna, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ann, a maidservant in the Lloyd household, in “The Egg-Boy” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Ann, a maidservant in the Lambert household, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Ann, one of the Boston children roused to their chores at the start of Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Ann, the little Dunbars’ aunt, married to the wealthy, somewhat cantankerous Uncle Timothy, in “The Little Dunbars, and Their Charming Christmas Plans”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Aunt Ann, Agnes Brendon’s aunt, who she relies on to introduce her to the splendid Pelhams, in “That Little Smith Girl” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Aunt Ann, Jim Marlowe’s aunt, who hosts the get-together where all the trouble starts, 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)
– Ann Dobbin, one of William Dobbin’s sisters in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Ann Fleming, Ally’s aunt, who is perhaps too quick to judge, in “Ally”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.

WRITERS:
– See this post for a starting list of writers named Ann.

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