Dudley
January 6, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
An Old English last name, meaning “from Dudda’s meadow”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None that I can think of.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lord Dudley, the evil Duke Wulf’s fat son, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Dudley Carew (1903-1981), English critic, journalist, poet, and writer.
– Dudley Costello (1803-1865), Anglo-Irish journalist, novelist, and soldier.
– Dudley Doust (1930-2008), American author and journalist.
– Dudley Fitts (1903-1968), American critic, educator, poet, and translator.
– Dudley Leavitt (1772-1851), American editor and publisher.
– Dudley Nichols (1895-1960), American screenwriter.
– Dudley Randall (1914-2000), American poet and publisher.
– Dudley Pope (1925-1997), English author.
Colin
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Anglicized version of the Celtic “Cailean” or “Coilean”, or a diminutive of “Nicholas“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cailan, Cailean, Cailin, Calan, Calum, Coilean, Col, Colan, Cole, Coley, Collin, Collins, Colombe, Colombo, Colombano, Colson, Columbanus, Colyn, Kolman, Koloman, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Colin, one of Princess Alison Jocelyn’s three brothers, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Colin Campbell (1859-1928), Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter.
– Colin Dann (b. 1943), English author.
– Colin Dexter (b. 1930), English author.
– Colin Douglas (b. 1945), pen name of Scottish novelist Colin Thomas Currie.
– Colin Fletcher (1922-2007), Welsh outdoorsman and writer.
– Colin Forbes (1923-2006), pen name of English author Raymond Sawkins, who also wrote under the pen names “Harold English”, “Jay Bernard”, and “Richard Raine”.
– Colin Greenland (b. 1954), English author.
– Colin Harvey (1960-2011), English author and editor.
– Colin Henry Hazlewood (1823-1875), English playwright.
– Colin Higgins (1941-1988), Australian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.
– Colin Kapp (1928-2007), English author.
– Colin MacInnes (1914-1976), English journalist and novelist.
– Colin Mackay (1951-2003), Scottish novelist and poet.
– Colin McDougal (1917-1984), Canadian author.
– Colin McEvedy (1930-2005), English author, historian, and scholar.
– Colin Morton (b. 1948), Canadian poet.
– Colin Thiele (1920-2006), Australian author and educator.
– Colin Turbayne (1916-2006), Australian philosopher and writer.
– Colin Ward (1924-2010), English activist and writer.
– Colin Watson (1920-1983), English author.
– Colin White (1951-2008), English historian.
– Colin Wilson (1931-2013), English philosopher and writer.
Corin
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Medieval French version of the Latin “Quirinus”, possibly from the Sabine word meaning “spear”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Quirijn, Quirin, Quirino, Quirinus.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Corin, one of Princess Alison Jocelyn’s three brothers, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Wulf
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Germanic variation of “Wolf”, a shortened version of names like “Wolfgang”, “Wolfgar”, “Wolfram”, etc., or simply referencing the animal.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ulf, Wolf, Wolfe, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duke Wulf, Princess Alison Jocelyn’s evil uncle, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Alban
December 19, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the Latin place name, meaning “from Alba”, derived from the Latin word “albus”, meaning “white”. Also the name of a prominent English saint.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Albano, Albanus, Albany, Alben, Albin, Albinus, Aubin, Aubyn, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duke Alban, whose land needs to be saved from a rampaging ogre, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Alban Butler (1710-1773), English author and priest.
– Alban Stoltz (1808-1883), German author and theologian.
– Alban Thomas (c. 1660?-c.1740), Welsh cleric, poet, and translator.
Mabruk
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Probably Persian, meaning “blessed” or “prosperous”, or related to the Arabic “Mabrouk”, meaning “congratulations”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mabrouk. And I don’t know what else.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mabruk, the master magician Schmendrick usurps as a member of King Haggard’s court in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Amalthea
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of the Greek “Amaltheia”, meaning “tender goddess” (after one of the foster mothers of the god Zeus).
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Amaltheia, Thea, Theia.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lady Amalthea, the name Schmendrick gives to the unicorn when she is in her human form, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Drinn
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Unknown. Possibly related to an Arabic word for a particular type of wild grass or grain, or to a Germanic word, meaning “inside”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dirin, Dirini, Dren, Drini, Drin, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Drinn, the miserly and mean-spirited leader of the villagers of Hagsgate, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Lir
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
The Irish version of the Welsh “Llyr”, meaning “the sea”. These were the names of the Irish and Welsh gods of the sea, respectively.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lear, Leier, Leir, Leire, Leyr, Leyre, Lhyr, Llyr, Lur, Lyer, Lyr, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Lír, the young hero in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Haggard
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
A medieval English or Scottish last name, with three possible origins: from Gaelic, meaning “son of the priest”; or from the Middle English/Old French “hagard”, meaning “wild” or “untamed”; or from Danish, after the Viking place-name “Agard”, meaning “farm by the stream”. Also possibly referencing the English word “haggard”, meaning “very thin or tired, especially from great hunger, worry, or pain.”
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hagard, Hagart, Hager, Haggart, Haggarth, Hagger, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– King Haggard, the discontented, miserly monarch who can only find joy in the sight of unicorns, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 