Jos
August 5, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Joseph“, meaning “He will add”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jef, Jo, Joe, Joep, Joey, Jojo, Joop, Joos, José, Josef, Josip, Jozef, Osip, Pepe, Pepito, Seph, Sepp, Sjef, Zef, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jos (Joseph) Sedley, Amelia’s silly, conceited older brother in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Roger
August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Variant spelling of “Rodger”, from the Germanic, meaning “famous spear”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hrodger, Rod, Rodge, Rodger, Rodgers, Rogerio, Rogers, Ruggerio, Ruggero, Rutger, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Roger, a local boy Robin went to school with, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Sir Roger Bassett, who sells Tom Faggus some land at great cost, and is lucky to escape from the legal entanglements with anything left at all, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Sir Roger Bludyer, whose wife befriends Amelia after Dobbin’s and Joseph’s return to England, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Felix
August 5, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Latin, meaning “fortunate” or “successful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Felice, Feliks, Phelix, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Felix Rabbit, country curate and father of fourteen daughters (including Mrs. Hardyman), eleven of whom are married off during their stay in India, which event is a topic of conversation between Joseph Sedley and his friends, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
WRITERS:
– Felix Francis (b. 1953), English crime novelist.
– Felix Salten (1869-1945), Austrian author and critic.
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.
Walter
August 5, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “powerful warrior” or “ruler of the army”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gautier, Gualtiero, Valter, Waldhar, Wally, Walt, Walther, Wat, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Walter Scape, who is “withdrawn from Eton and put into a merchant’s house” after his 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:
– Walter of Swinbroke (died c. 1360), English chronicler, also known as Geoffrey the Baker.
– Walter Besant (1836-1901), English historian and novelist who sometimes published in collaboration with James Rice.
– Walter Ericson (1914-2003), pen name of American novelist and television writer Howard Fast, who also wrote under the pen name “E.V. Cunningham”.
– Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864), English writer and poet.
– Walter Pater (1839-1894), English writer and critic.
– Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet.
Bessy
August 5, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Bessie“, a diminutive of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bess, Bessie, Betje, Bette, Betsy, Bettie, Bettina, Betty, Bettye, Buffy, Let, Lettie, Letty, Pet, Pettie, Tess, Tessie, Tessy, Tetty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bessy is the name Mr. Sedley uses for his wife after her death (although earlier she is called “Mary“), in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Osborne
August 5, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Variant of the English last name “Osborn”, meaning “divine bear” or “godly strength”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Asbjorn, Esben, Osbeorn, Osbern, Osborn, Osbourn, Osbourne, Oz, Ozzie, Ozzy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Osborne Todd, Mr. Osborne’s godson and friend, schoolmate, and hanger-on to Georgy Osborne, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
WRITERS:
– Osborne Henry Mavor (1888-1951), Scottish playwright, screenwriter, and surgeon, who wrote under the pen name “James Bridie”.
Finette
August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
French diminutive of “Josephine”, feminine form of “Joseph“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Etta, Ette, Ettie, Etty, Fifi, Fifine, Netta, Nette, Nettie, Netty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Finette de Saint-Amaranthe, Becky’s mercenary French maid (paid for by Lord Steyne) in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Philomèle
August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
French version of the English name “Philomel”, meaning “nightingale”, from the Greek “Philomela”, meaning “lover of song”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Philomel, Philomela.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Philomèle is one of the characters Becky plays in the famous presentation of charades which attracts the attention of a certain royal personage, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Bedwin
August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
An English last-name-as-first-name, deriving from Welsh “Bedwyn”, meaning “birch”, or Arabic “Bedouin”, meaning “nomad” or “wanderer”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bedouin, Bedwyn. . . um . . . Beddy?
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bedwin Sands, the “elegant dandy and Eastern traveler” who manages Becky’s famous presentation of charades at a party given at Gaunt House, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 