Edwin
August 25, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
Old English, meaning “rich friend”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Eadwine, Ed, Edd, Eddi, Eddie, Eddy, Edvin, Edwyn, Ned, Nedd, Neddie, Neddy, Ted, Tedd, Teddie, Teddy, Win, Winnie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lord Edwin Vere, the young man Georgiana Reed nearly elopes with, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838-1926), English educator, novelist, and theologian.
– Edwin Balmer (1883-1959), American writer.
– Edwin Corle (1906-1956), American writer.
– Edwin Gilbert (1907-1976), German-American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter.
– Edwin DuBose Heyward (1885-1940), American dramatist, novelist, and poet, who wrote under the pen name “DuBose Heyward”.
– Edwin Honig (1919-2011), American poet, playwright, and translator.
– Edwin Palmer Hoyt (1923-2005), American writer.
– Edwin Markham (1852-1940), American poet.
– Edwin Morgan (1920-2010), Scottish poet and translator.
– Edwin Muir (1887-1959), Scottish author.
– Edwin O’Connor (1918-1968), American broadcaster, journalist, and novelist.
– Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935), American poet.
– Edwin Rolfe (1909-1954), pen name of American poet and writer Solomon Fishman.
– Edwin Way Teale (1899-1980), American naturalist, photographer, and writer.
Tedo
August 25, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Theodore“, meaning “gift of God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Fedir, Fedor, Fedya, Feodor, Fyodor, Tad, Taddie, Taddy, Ted, Teddie, Teddy, Teo, Teodor, Teodoro, Theo, Theodor, Theodore, Theodoros, Theodorus, Todor, Toshe, Tudor, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tedo (Theodore) Ingram, Blanche and Mary’s brother, one of the elegant people who make up Mr. Rochester’s social set, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Amy
August 25, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the Old French “Amée”, meaning “beloved”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Amelia“, “Emily“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Aimée, Amada, Amata, Amée, Ami, Amie, Emme, Emmie, Emmy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Amy Eshton, the oldest of the Eshton girls, members of Mr. Rochester’s social set, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Amy Robson, Dora’s saucy, slightly snobbish cousin in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Amy Stanton, a friend of Kitty’s and Laura’s, in “Esther Bodn”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
WRITERS:
– Amy Levy (1861-1889), English essayist, novelist, and poet.
– Amy Lowell (1874-1925), American poet.
– Amy Dora Reynolds (1860-1957), American crime author, poet, and romance author who published as “Mrs. Fred Reynolds”.
– Amy Tan (b. 1952), American author.
– Amy Wallace (1955-2013), American writer.
– Amy Witting (1918-2001), pen name of Australian novelist and poet Joan Austral Fraser.
Celine
August 25, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
French feminine form of “Caelinus”, meaning “heaven”, or a diminutive of “Marceline”, from Mars, the Roman god of war, or a variation of “Selene”, the name of a Greek moon goddess.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Caelina, Celena, Celene, Celina, Lena, Lina, Marcelina, Marceline, Marcellina, Marcelyn, Selena, Selene, Selina, Seline, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Céline Varens, the French opera-dancer who was Mr. Rochester’s one-time mistress, and mother of Adèle, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Sophie
August 25, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Sophy“, a diminutive of “Sophia“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Fifi, Sofi, Sofia, Sofie, Sofiya, Sonia, Sonja, Sonya, Sophia, Sophy, Vivi, Zophi, Zophia, Zophie, Zosia, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sophie, Adèle Varens’ French nursemaid, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Sophie Leyton (1928-2009), pen name of English romance author Sheila Walsh.
Adela
August 25, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “noble”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ada, Adalyn, Adalynn, Adel, Adele, Adelia, Adelina, Adeline, Adelita, Adella, Adelle, Adelyn, Alena, Alene, Alina, Aline, Alita, Delia, Della, Delle, Dellie, Delly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Adela (Adèle) Varens, Mr. Rochester’s ward and Jane Eyre’s pupil at Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Adele
August 25, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Adela“, meaning “noble”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ada, Adalyn, Adalynn, Adel, Adela, Adelia, Adelina, Adeline, Adelita, Adella, Adelle, Adelyn, Alena, Alene, Alina, Aline, Alita, Delia, Della, Delle, Dellie, Delly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Adèle Varens (sometimes called “Adela“), Mr. Rochester’s ward and Jane Eyre’s pupil at Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Leah
August 25, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “weary”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lea, Lee, Leia, Leigh, Leja, Lia, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Leah, a maid-servant at Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Bobby
August 25, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Robert” or “Roberta“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Bobbi, Bobbie, Roberta, Robertina, Robin, Robina, Robyn, Robynne, etc.
For boys: Bob, Bobbie, Dob, Dobbie, Dobby, Rob, Robb, Robbe, Robbi, Robbie, Robby, Robi, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bobby, the boy Sheila briefly went “steady” with while on summer vacation with her family, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Bobby Leaven, Bessie’s young son, who goes with her when she visits Jane Eyre at Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Mary Ann
August 25, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Marian” or “Marianne“, combining “Mary” with “Ann” / “Anne“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Manon, Marian, Mariana, Marianne, Marie, Marieanne, Marielle, Mariette, Marion, Marise, Mary, Maryann, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mary Ann Wilson, Jane’s shrewd, observant, and witty friend at Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880), English novelist and journalist who wrote under the pen name “George Eliot”.
– Mary Ann O’Malley (1889-1974), English novelist and traveler (also known as “Cottie Sanders”) who published under the pen name “Ann Bridge”.
– Mary Ann Shadd (1823-1893), American activist, editor, journalist, and publisher.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 