Oliver
December 3, 2014 § 6 Comments
ORIGIN:
Variation of the French “Olivier”; either from German, meaning “elven army”, or from Latin, meaning “olive tree”, or from the Nordic “Olaf”, meaning “ancestor’s descendant”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Oli, Olivier, Oliviero, Ollie, Noll, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Oliver Landry, Thea’s accompanist, and friend to both Thea and Fred, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Oliver Crawford (1917-2008), American author and screenwriter.
– Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, and poet.
– Oliver Herford (1863-1935), American artist, humorist, illustrator, and writer.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894), American author, lecturer, physician, poet, and professor.
– Oliver Lodge (1851-1940), English physicist and writer.
– Oliver W.F. Lodge (1878-1955), English author and poet.
– Oliver Onions (1873-1961), English writer.
– Oliver Sacks (b. 1933), Anglo-American author and neurologist.
Therese
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Teresa” / “Theresa”, possibly from Greek, meaning “summer” or “harvest”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Teca, Tena, Teresa, Terese, Teresia, Teresinha, Tereza, Tera, Tere, Teresita, Teri, Terra, Terri, Terrie, Terry, Tess, Tessa, Tessan, Tessie, Tessy, Thera, Theresa, Theresia, Tracee, Tracey, Traci, Tracie, Tracy, Treasa, Treece, Trees, Treese, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Thérèse, Thea’s French lady’s maid, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Thérèse Bentzon (1840-1907), pen name of French essayist, journalist, and novelist Marie Thérèse Blanc.
– Therese Huber (1764-1829), German author.
– Thérèse-Adèle Husson (1803-1831), French writer.
– Therese von Lützow (1804-1852), German author.
– Therese Albertine Luise Robinson (1797-1870), German-American author, linguist, and translator.
Tai
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Possibly Chinese, meaning “great” or “extreme”, or Romanian, meaning “yours”, or Maori, meaning “the tide”, or a shortened version of the Yoruba “Taiwo”, meaning “first of twins” or “taste of the world”, etc. There are many possibilities here.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
I don’t rightly know.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tai, one of Dr. Archie’s Japanese servants in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Tai (Augustus Taiwo) Solarin (1922-1994), Nigerian activist, author, and educator.
Pinky
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Pinkie”; an English nickname meaning “healthy”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Pinkie. It’s already a nickname. It would be weird to nickname a nickname, wouldn’t it?
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Pinky Alden, the governor of Colorado, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
Otto
December 3, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of the Germanic “Audo” or “Odo”, meaning “wealth”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Audo, Eudes, Oddo, Ode, Odi, Odilon, Odo, Otello, Otho, Othello, Ottone, Ottorino, Rino, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Otto Ottenburg, Fred’s brewing magnate father, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Otto Julius Bierbaum (1865-1910), German writer.
– Otto Binder (1911-1974), American author and comic book writer.
– Otto Ludwig (1813-1865), German critic, dramatist, and novelist.
– Otto Manninen (1872-1950), Finnish poet, translator, and writer.
– Otto Rank (1884-1939), Austrian educator, psychoanalyst, and writer.
– Otto Scott (1918-2006), American author, biographer, and journalist.
– Otto Steiger (1909-2005), Swiss broadcaster and writer.
Katarina
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Catherine” / “Catharine” / “Katherine” / “Katharine“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cadi, Cady, Cait, Caitlin, Caitlyn, Caity, Caren, Carina, Casia, Cat, Catalina, Cate, Catey, Catharine, Catherine, Cathie, Cathleen, Cathrine, Cathryn, Cathy, Catie, Cato, Catrina, Catrine, Catriona, Caty, Catya, Ekaterina, Ina, Jekaterina, Kady, Kaia, Kaisa, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Kaity, Kaja, Kalena, Karen, Karin, Karina, Kasia, Kat, Kata, Katalin, Kate, Katenka, Katerina, Katey, Katharina, Katharine, Katherine, Kathi, Kathie, Kathleen, Kathrine, Kathryn, Kathy, Kati, Katie, Katinka, Katja, Katka, Katri, Katrina, Katrine, Katy, Katya, Kay, Kaya, Kit, Kitti, Kittie, Kitty, Kylee, Kyleen, Nienke, Nina, Rina, Riona, Tina, Tineke, Trina, Trine, Yekaterina, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Katarina Fürst Ottenburg, Fred’s mother, and heiress to a brewing empire herself, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
Selma
December 3, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Unknown origin; possibly a shortened form of “Anselma”, a feminine form of the Germanic “Anselm”, meaning “divine helmet” or “protection of the gods”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Anselma, Ellie, Elly, Elma, Salma, Sellie, Selly, Selmah, Selme, Zellie, Zelly, Zelma, Zelmah, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Selma, the Nathanmeyer’s maid, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), Swedish author and Nobel Prize winner.
Miles
November 24, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Either from the Germanic “Milo”, possibly meaning “gracious” or “merciful”, or referencing the Latin word for “soldier”, or a variation of “Michael“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Milo, Myles.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miles Murdston, a professional singer who hires Thea as a rehearsal accompanist in Chicago, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Miles Clark (1960-1993), Irish journalist, sailor, and writer.
– Miles Franklin (1879-1954), pen name of Australian activist and writer Stella Miles Franklin.
– Miles J. Stanford (1914-1999), American minister and writer.
Katharine
November 24, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Katherine”, “Catherine” / “Catharine”, etc., from the Greek for “pure”. Also an alternate spelling for the German “Katharina”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cadi, Cady, Cait, Caitlin, Caitlyn, Caity, Caren, Carina, Casia, Cat, Catalina, Cate, Catey, Catharine, Catherine, Cathie, Cathleen, Cathrine, Cathryn, Cathy, Catie, Cato, Catrina, Catrine, Catriona, Caty, Catya, Ekaterina, Ina, Jekaterina, Kady, Kaia, Kaisa, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Kaity, Kaja, Kalena, Karen, Karin, Karina, Kasia, Kat, Kata, Katalin, Kate, Katenka, Katerina, Katey, Katharina, Katherine, Kathi, Kathie, Kathleen, Kathrine, Kathryn, Kathy, Kati, Katie, Katinka, Katja, Katka, Katri, Katrina, Katrine, Katy, Katya, Kay, Kaya, Kit, Kitti, Kittie, Kitty, Kylee, Kyleen, Nienke, Nina, Rina, Riona, Tina, Tineke, Trina, Trine, Yekaterina, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Katharine Priest, a professional singer who hires Thea as a rehearsal accompanist in Chicago, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929), American author, editor, educator, lyricist, poet, and songwriter.
– Katharine Coman (1857-1915), American activist, economist, educator, and writer.
– Katharine Gordon (b. 1916), Scottish novelist.
– Katharine Tynan Hinkson (1861-1931), Irish novelist and poet.
– Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883-1969), Australian activist and author.
– Katharine Pyle (1863-1938), American artist, children’s book writer, and poet.
– Katharine Sergeant Angell White (1892-1977), American author and editor.
Hiram
November 24, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Hebrew, meaning “exalted brother”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hi, High, Hirem, Huram, Hurem, Hy, Hyram, Hyrem.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Hiram Bowers, Madison Bowers’ father, a Boston choirmaster, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Hiram M. Chittenden (1858-1917), American historian.
– Hiram Alfred (H.A.) Cody (1872-1948), Canadian clergyman and novelist.
– Hiram Fuller (1814-1880), American educator and journalist.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 