Norm
July 12, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Norman“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Normand, Normand, Normant, Normie
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Uncle Norm, youngest brother of Rosie, Len, and Gabe Shaine, whose choice of wife distances him from his family, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Norm Foster (b. 1949), Canadian playwright.
– Norm Ledgin (b. 1928), American author and journalist.
Len
July 7, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Leonard”, from the Germanic for “brave lion”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lenart, Lennart, Lennie, Lenny, Leo, Leon, Leonard, Leonardo, Leonhard, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Len Shaine, Gabe and Rosie’s brother, and Lily’s enigmatic uncle, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Len Deighton (b. 1929), English artist, historian, novelist, and writer.
– Len Fox (1905-2004), Australian activist, author, journalist, and painter.
– Len Peterson (1917-2008), Canadian novelist, playwright, and screenwriter.
– Len Roberts (1947-2007), American poet.
Morris
July 7, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Medieval English variation of “Maurice”; ultimately from Latin, meaning “dark-skinned”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maurey, Mauri, Maurice, Mauricio, Maurie, Mauritius, Maurits, Mauritz, Maurizio, Mauro, Maurus, Maury, Maurycy, Meuric, Meurig, Mo, Moe, Morey, Moric, Moris, Moriz, Morr, Morrie, Morrissey, Morrison, Morry, Morse, Mory, Moss, Muirie, Muiris, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Morris Snezak, co-owner (with his wife, Anna) of AnaMor Towers apartments, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Aaron
July 7, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the Hebrew name “Aharon”, possibly meaning “light” or “mountain”; or perhaps of Egyptian origin, meaning unknown.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Aaren, Aharon, Aran, Arin, Aron, Arran, Arrin, Arron, Eran, Erin, Eron, Haroon, Haroun, Harun, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Aaron Hassan, Susan’s older brother in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Gabe
June 11, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Gabriel”, from the Hebrew “Gavri’el”, meaning “man of God” or “God is my strength”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cebrail, Dzhabrail, Gabby, Gabey, Gabi, Gabie, Gabor, Gabriel, Gabriele, Gabrien, Gavrail, Gavrel, Gavriel, Gavril, Gavriil, Havryil, Jabrel, Jibril, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gabe Shaine, Rosie’s younger brother, a librarian who moves in to help raise Lily, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Gabe Hudson (b. 1971), American educator, novelist and writer.
Curly
June 11, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Unknown; possibly a nickname for someone with curly hair, or perhaps derived from the Gaelic last name “Curley”, ultimately meaning “in the shape of the god of thunder”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Curley, Curlie, Kerley.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Curly, a local tennis champ who dates Lily’s mother, Rosie, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Rosie
June 10, 2015 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Rosey ” / “Rosy“; diminutive of “Rose“, “Rosa“, names beginning with “Ros-“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Rohese, Rohesia, Ros, Rosa, Rosabel, Rosaleen, Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosaline, Rosamond, Rosamonde, Rosamund, Rosanne, Rose, Roselin, Roselind, Rosella, Roselle, Rosemond, Rosemund, Rosetta, Rosette, Rosey, Rosina, Rosine, Rosita, Roslyn, Rosy, Royse, Roz, Roza, Rozelle, Rozie, Rozy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rosie Pearl, Lily’s adored mother in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Rosie Boycott (b. 1951), English activist and journalist.
– Rosie Harris (b. 1925), pen name of Welsh romance author Marion Rose Harris.
– Rosie Malek-Yonan (b. 1965), Assyrian activist, actress, author, and director.
– Rosie O’Donnell (b. 1962), American actress, author, comedian, and media personality.
– Rosie Rushton (b. 1946), English novelist and non-fiction writer.
– Rosie Scott (b. 1948), Australian-New Zealander novelist.
– Rosie Thomas (b. 1947), pen name of Welsh journalist and romance author Janey King.
– Rosie Goldschmidt (R.G.) Waldeck (1898-1982), German-American author also known as “Rosa Waldeck”.
Susan
June 10, 2015 § 6 Comments
ORIGIN:
An English variation of “Susanna”, from the Hebrew “Shoshannah”, meaning “lily” or “rose”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sanna, Sanne, Sawsan, Shoshana, Shoshannah, Sooki, Sookie, Sooky, Sousanna, Su, Sue, Susana, Susanita, Susann, Susanna, Susannah, Susanne, Suse, Susey, Susi, Susie, Susy, Sukey, Suki, Sukie, Suzan, Suzana, Suzann, Suzanna, Suzannah, Suzanne, Suze, Suzelle, Suzette, Suzey, Suzi, Suzie, Suzy, Zana, Zanna, Zooey, Zooie, Zsazsa, Zsuzsa, Zsuzsanna, Zsuzsi, Zsuzsu, Zu, Zula, Zuza, Zuzana, Zuzanka, Zuzanna, Zuzi, Zuzia, Zuzka, Zuzu, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Susan Hassan, one of Lily’s best friends, and a natural enemy of her other best friend, Diana, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Susan Coolidge (1835-1905), pen name of American children’s book writer Sarah Chauncey Woolsey.
– Susan Glaspell (1876-1948), American actress, journalist, novelist, and playwright.
– Susan Eloise (S.E.) Hinton (b. 1948), American children’s book writer, novelist, and screenwriter.
QUOTATIONS:
– From the popular ballad “Black Ey’d Susan, or Sweet William’s Farewell“, by John Gay, first published in 1730: “The noblest captain in the British fleet, / Might envy William’s lips those kisses sweet. / ‘O Susan, Susan, lovely dear, / My vows shall ever true remain; / Let me kiss off that falling tear, / We only part to meet again. / Change, as ye list, ye winds; my heart shall be / The faithful compass that still points to thee. / ‘Believe not what the landsmen say, / Who tempt with doubts thy constant mind: / . . . ‘If to far India’s coast we sail, / Thy eyes are seen in diamonds bright, / Thy breath is Afric’s spicy gale, / Thy skin is ivory, so white. / Thus every beauteous object that I view, / Wakes in my soul some charm of lovely Sue. / ‘Though battle call me from thy arms, / Let not my pretty Susan mourn; / Though cannons roar, yet safe from harms, / William shall to his dear return.’”
Nan
June 9, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Ann” / “Anne“, or shortened version of “Nancy“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ann, Anne, Annie, Anny, Nainsi, Nancie, Nancy, Nana, Nance, Nandag, Nanette, Nanice, Nanine, Nannie, Nanny, Nanse, Nansi, Nansie, Nansy, Nenci, Nensi, Neske, Nest, Nesta, Nina, Ninette, Ninon, Nona, Nonna, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nan Duval, Diana’s younger sister, who lost an eye in a dart accident, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
QUOTATIONS:
– From The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602), Act IV scene 4, by William Shakespeare: “My Nan shall be the Queen of all the fairies, / Finely attired in a robe of white.”
WRITERS:
– Nan Agle (1905-2006), American children’s book writer.
– Nan Chauncy (1900-1970), Anglo-Australian children’s book writer.
– Nan Cohen (b. 1968), American poet.
– Nan Fairbrother (1913-1971), English lecturer and writer.
– Nan McDonald (1921-1974), Australian editor and poet.
– Nan C. Robertson (1926-2009), American author, educator, and journalist.
– Nan (Anna) Shepherd (1893-1981), Scottish novelist and poet.
– Nan Bentzen Skille (b. 1945), Norwegian biographer and editor.
By Any Other Name: Writers Named Barbara
May 31, 2015 § 1 Comment
There are well over a hundred writers named “Barbara“, and here is a by-no-means complete list:
– Barbara Amiel (b. 1940), English journalist, socialite, and writer.
– Barbara Anderson (1926-2013), New Zealander novelist and short story writer.
– Barbara Angell (b. 1935), Australian entertainer and writer.
– Barbara Barrie (b. 1931), American actress and author.
– Barbara Baynton (1857-1929), Australian novelist, poet, and short story writer.
– Barbara Brackman (b. 1945), American author and historian.
– Barbara Taylor Bradford (b. 1933), Anglo-American novelist.
– Barbara Bray (1924-2010), English critic and translator.
– Barbara Ninde Byfield (1930-1988), American children’s book author and illustrator.
– Barbara Cartland (1901-2000), English businesswoman, composer, dramatist, playwright, romance author, and socialite, who also published under the pen name “Barbara McCorquodale”.
– Barbara Chase-Riboud (b. 1939), American artist, novelist, and poet.
– Barbara Christian (1943-2000), American author and professor.
– Barbara Colley (b. 1947), American mystery and romance author who sometimes publishes as “Anne Logan”.
– Barbara Comyns (1907-1992), pen name of English artist and novelist Barbara Comyns Carr.
– Barbara Cooney (1917-2000), American children’s book author and illustration.
– Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi (b. 1932), Austrian journalist.
– Barbara Crossette (b. 1939), American author and journalist.
– Barbara Cully (b. 1955), American poet.
– Barbara Daly (b. 1939), American romance author.
– Barbara Delinsky (b. 1945), American romance author who also publishes under the pen names “Billie Douglass” and “Bonnie Drake”.
– Barbara Deming (1917-1984), American activist and writer.
– Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941), American activist and author.
– Barbara Epstein (1928-2006), American editor.
– Barbara Field (b. 1935), American playwright.
– Barbara C. Freeman (1906-1999), English children’s book author and illustrator.
– Barbara Frischmuth (b. 1941), Austrian poet and writer.
– Barbara Garson (b. 1941), American activist, author, and playwright.
– Barbara Gowdy (b. 1950), Canadian novelist and short story writer.
– Barbara Guest (1920-2006), American poet and writer.
– Barbara Hambly (b. 1951), American novelist and screenwriter.
– Barbara Hamby (b. 1952), American author, critic, editor, and poet.
– Barbara Hannah (1891-1986), English author, biographer, lecturer, and psychotherapist.
– Barbara Henning (b. 1948), American author and poet.
– Barbara Grier (1933-2011), American publisher and writer who also used the pen name “Gene Damon.”
– Barbara Grizzuti Harrison (1934-2002), American essayist, journalist, and memoirist.
– Barbara Haskell (b. 1946), American curator and historian.
– Barbara Haworth-Attard (b. 1953), Canadian children’s book author.
– Barbara Honigmann (b. 1949), German artist, author, director, and dramatist.
– Barbara Howes (1914-1996), American poet.
– Barbara Jefferis (1917-2004), Australian novelist.
– Barbara Jelavich (1923-1995), American author, historian, and professor.
– Barbara Johnson (1947-2009), American critic, scholar, translator, and writer.
– Barbara M. Joosse (b. 1949), American children’s book author.
– Barbara Jordan (b. 1949), American poet and professor.
– Barbara Kingsolver (b. 1955), American essayist, novelist, and poet.
– Barbara Ann Kipfer (b. 1954), English author, lexicographer, and linguist.
– Barbara La Marr (1896-1926), American actress and screenwriter.
– Barbara Lefcowitz (b. 1935), American poet and professor.
– Barbara Levick (b. 1931), English author and historian.
– Barbara McMartin (1931-2005), American environmentalist, historian, and mathematician.
– Barbara Moraff (b. 1939), American poet.
– Barbara Nickel (b. 1966), Canadian poet.
– Barbara Owens (1934-2008), American mystery author.
– Barbara Park (1947-2013), American children’s book author.
– Barbara Parker (1947-2009), American mystery author.
– Barbara Paul (b. 1931), American mystery and science fiction author.
– Barbara Pym (1913-1980), English novelist.
– Barbara Ras (b. 1949), American poet, publisher, and translator.
– Barbara Jane Reyes (b. 1971), American poet.
– Barbara Reynolds (1914-2015), English author, lexicographer, scholar, and translator.
– Barbara Ann Reynolds (b. 1942), American author and journalist.
– Barbara Leonard Reynolds (1915-1990), American activist, author, and educator.
– Barbara Robinson (1927-2013), American children’s book author, poet, and short story writer.
– Barbara Rose (b. 1938), American critic and historian.
– Barbara Rosenthal (b. 1948), American artist, performer, and writer.
– Barbara Katz Rothman (b. 1948), American author, professor, and scholar.
– Barbara Samson (b. 1975), French activist and poet.
– Barbara Santucci (b. 1947), American artist, children’s book author, and poet.
– Barbara Seaman (1935-2008), American activist, author, and journalist.
– Barbara Seranella (1956-2007), American novelist.
– Barbara Skelton (1916-1996), English memoirist, novelist, and socialite.
– Barbara Smith (b. 1946), American activist, critic, lecturer, publisher, scholar, teacher, and writer.
– Barbara Herrnstein Smith (b. 1932), American critic and scholar.
– Barbara Probst Solomon (b. 1928), American author, essayist, and journalist.
– Barbara Stephens (1922-1947), American journalist.
– Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger (b. 1955), German historian.
– Barbara Thiering (b. 1930), Australian historian, scholar, theologian, and writer.
– Barbara Euphan Todd (1890-1976), English children’s book author and poet.
– Barbara Trapido (b. 1941), English novelist.
– Barbara Margaret Trimble (1921-1995), English mystery and romance author who published under the pen names “Barbara Gilmour”, “B.M. Gill”, and “Margaret Blake”.
– Barbara Turner (b. 1936), American actress and screenwriter.
– Baroness Barbara Von Krüdener (1764-1824), German author and mystic.
– Barbara G. Walker (b. 1930), American activist and author.
– Barbara Wiedemann (b. 1945), American poet and professor.
– Barbara Willard (1909-1994), English children’s book author and novelist.
– Barbara Wood (b. 1947), American romance author who also publishes under the pen name “Kathryn Harvey”.
– Barbara Wright (1915-2009), English scholar and translator.
– Barbara Yorke (b. 1951), English historian.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 