Timothy
August 16, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the Greek “Timotheos”, meaning “to honor God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Tim, Timmer, Timmie, Timmy, Timo, Timofei, Timofey, Timotei, Timoteo, Timoteus, Timotheos, Timotheus, Timoti, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Uncle Timothy, the little Dunbars’ wealthy, somewhat cantankerous uncle, in “The Little Dunbars, and Their Charming Christmas Plans”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Timothy Makeshift, a local farrier who might be competition for the Lemons, in “The Farrier Lass o’ Piping Pebworth” (written in 1887, set circa 1600), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Timothy Pooke, proprietor of the Spit and Gridiron, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
WRITERS:
– Timothy Findley (1930-2002), Canadian novelist and playwright.
– Timothy Leary (1920-1996), American psychologist and writer.
– Timothy Titcomb (1819-1881), pen name sometimes used by American novelist and poet Josiah Gilbert Holland.
Isabella
August 14, 2014 § 10 Comments
ORIGIN:
Latinate version of “Isabel“, a medieval variant of “Elizabeth“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Beileag, Bell, Bella, Belle, Belina, Belinha, Ibbie, Ibby, Ilsa, Ilse, Isa, Isabel, Isabela, Isabele, Isabell, Isabelle, Isbel, Iseabail, Isebel, Isebela, Isebele, Isebell, Isebella, Isebelle, Ishbel, Isobel, Isobela, Isobele, Isobell, Isobella, Isobelle, Issie, Issy, Izabel, Izabela, Izabele, Izabell, Izabella, Izabelle, Izzie, Izzy, Libbie, Libby, Sabella, Sabelle, Ysabel, Zabel, Zabella, Zabelle, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Isabella Knightley (called “Bella“), the older of John and Isabella’s two daughters, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Isabella Knightley, née Woodhouse, “a pretty, elegant little woman, of gentle, quiet manners”, “a devoted wife, a doting mother”. Emma’s older sister, married to Mr. Knightley’s younger brother John, in Emma.
– Isabella McGilvray (called “Bella“), the daughter of a wash-woman and house-cleaner who lives in the tenement behind Grandpa Bennet’s house, and who Katy befriends, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
WRITERS:
– Isabella Bird (1831-1904), English explorer, naturalist, photographer, and writer.
Richard
August 14, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “strong ruler” or “brave power”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dickey, Dickie, Dickon, Dickson, Dicky, Dicun, Dix, Dixon, Rhisiart, Ric, Ricard, Ricardo, Rich, Richie, Rick, Rickey, Rickie, Ricky, Rico, Ritchie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Richard, a cousin of the two Miss Steele’s, who stay with his family in their London home in Bartlett’s Buildings, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Sir Richard Blewitt, a local magistrate in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Richard de Lindsay, one of Sir Peter and Lady Constance’s two sons, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Mr. Richard Lorton, whose failure to teach his youngest daughter to curb her chattering results in much trouble for the whole family, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Richard Mason (called “Dick“), Bertha Mason’s brother, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Richard Allen (1922-1993), pen name of Anglo-Canadian pulp novelist James Moffat, who also published under the pen names of “Etienne Aubin” and “Trudi Maxwell”.
– Richard Bach (b. 1936), American writer.
– Richard Cargoe (1911-1983), pen name of Cornish biographer, historian, lecturer, novelist, poet, and professor Robert Payne, who also used the pen names “Howard Horn”, “John Anthony Devon”, “Robert Young”, and “Valentin Tikhonov”.
– Richard Hugo (b. 1947), pen name of English author Jim Williams, who also publishes as “Alexander Mollin”.
– Richard Lovelace (1618-1657), English poet.
– Richard Matheson (1926-2013), American author and screenwriter.
– Richard Price (b. 1949), American novelist and screenwriter.
– Richard Pryor (1940-2005), American actor, comedian, critic, director, and writer.
– Richard Raine (1923-2006), pen name of English author Raymond Sawkins, who also wrote under the pen names “Colin Forbes”, “Harold English”, and “Jay Bernard”.
– Richard Russo (b. 1949), American author and screenwriter.
– Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816), Irish playwright and poet.
– Richard Wilbur (b. 1921), American poet.
– Richard Wright (1908-1960), American writer and poet.
Sally
August 14, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Sallie”, diminutive of “Sarah“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sadie, Sal, Sallie, Sairey, Sairy, Sarey, Sari, Sary, Suri, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sally, a maid in the Huckabuck household, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Sally, one of the Lexington girls clamoring to partner with Rab at the Silsbee country dance in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Sally, a servant at Barton Park, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Sally Snowe, one of Farmer Nicholas’ three lively, comely daughters, in Lorna Doone.
– Sally Ware, the friend who takes Dolly Lorton to task for her gossiping and rumor-mongering, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
Lucy
August 13, 2014 § 7 Comments
ORIGIN:
English version of “Lucia”, the feminine form of “Lucius”, from the Latin for “light”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Lucasta”, “Lucille”, “Lucinda”, “Lucretia“, “Louisa” / “Louise”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Luca, Lucasta, Luce, Lucetta, Lucette, Luci, Lucie, Lucia, Lucienne, Lucila, Lucile, Lucilla, Lucille, Lucinda, Lucinde, Lucine, Lucretia, Lulu, Luzia, Louisa, Louise, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miss Lucy Boler, whose life is saved when her cat, Cora, alerts her to a fire, as told in “The Kit-Kat Club”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Lucy Miles, one of Dolly’s friends, in “Dolly Varden”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Mrs. Lucy Mirvan, Lady Howard’s daughter, who carries Evelina into London society as friend and companion to her own daughter, Maria, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Lucy Steele, a clever, manipulative, and self-serving young woman, whose beauty and shrewdness can’t quite cover for her “want of real elegance and artfulness” for those who are paying attention, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
WRITERS:
– Lucy M. Boston (1892-1990), English novelist.
– Lucy Clifford (1846-1929), British novelist and journalist (known as “Mrs. W.K. Clifford”).
– Lucy Grealy (1963-2002), American poet and memoirist.
– Lucy Herbert (1669-1743/44), English devotional writer.
– Lucy Beatrice Malleson (1899-1973), English author who wrote under the pen names “Anne Meredith” and “Anthony Gilbert”.
– Lucy Maud (L.M.) Montgomery (1874-1942), Canadian author.
– Lucy Fitch Perkins (1865-1937), American children’s book writer and illustrator.
– Lucy Walker (1907-1987), pen name used by Australian writer Dorothy McClemans (also as “Dorothy Lucy Sanders” and “Shelley Dean”).
Julia
August 12, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Feminine form of “Julius”, a Roman name possibly derived from the Greek “Ioulos”, meaning “downy-cheeked” or “youthful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Giulia, Giulietta, Jules, Juli, Juliana, Julianne, Julie, Juliet, Julietta, Juliette, Juliska, Juliya, Yulia, Yuliya, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Julia Bennet, Katy’s oldest sister, who lacks sympathy, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Julia Hurstwood, George Hurstwood’s beautiful-but-cold wife, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Julia Prime, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Julia Severn, a pupil at Lowood Academy, guilty of the unthinkable crime of having naturally curly hair, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Julia Cameron (b. 1948), American writer.
– Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), American activist, poet, and writer.
– Julia Peterkin (1880-1961), American author.
– Julia Sweeney (b. 1959), American actress, comedian, and author.
QUOTATIONS:
– Probably the most famous usage of the name is “Julia“, from The Beatles’ 1968 album The Beatles (known as the White Album), which begins: “Half of what I say is meaningless / But I say it just to reach you, Julia / Julia, Julia, oceanchild, calls me / So I sing of song of love, Julia”
– “Upon Julia’s Clothes“, written in 1630 by Robert Herrick, famously begins: “Whenas in silks my Julia goes, / then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows / That liquefaction of her clothes.” Apparently, this Julia was a favorite of Herrick’s, because he wrote a ton of poetry to her. This should come in super handy to anyone who wants to romance a Julia.
– From “Upon Julia’s Riband“, by Robert Herrick: “As shows the air when with a rainbow grac’d, / So smiles that riband ’bout my Julia’s waist”
– From “The Dream“, by Robert Herrick: “Only remained a little bit, / Which will be burnt up by-and-by; / Then, Julia, weep, for I must die.”
– From “Upon Roses“, by Robert Herrick: “They blush’d, and look’d more fresh than flowers / Quicken’d of late by pearly showers / And all because they were possess’d / But of the heat of Julia’s breast”
– From “How His Soul Came Ensnared“, by Robert Herrick: “My soul would one day go and seek / For roses, and in Julia’s cheek / A richesse of those sweets she found”
– From “To Julia“, by Robert Herrick: “How rich and pleasing thou, my Julia, art / In each thy dainty and peculiar part!”
– From a different “To Julia“, by Robert Herrick: “The saints’-bell calls, and, Julia, I must read / The proper lessons for the saints now dead: / To grace which service, Julia, there shall be / One holy collect said or sung for thee.”
– From “A Ring Presented to Julia“, by Robert Herrick: “Julia, I bring / To thee this ring / Made for thy finger fit; / To show by this / That our love is / (Or should be) like to it.”
– From “His Sailing From Julia“, by Robert Herrick: “But yet for love’s sake let thy lips do this, / Give my dead picture one engendering kiss: / Work that to life, and let me ever dwell / In thy remembrance, Julia. So farewell.”
– From “The Transfiguration“, by Robert Herrick: “Immortal clothing I put on / So soon as, Julia, I am gone / To mine eternal mansion.”
– From “Cherry-Pit“, by Robert Herrick: “Julia and I did lately sit / Playing for sport at cherry-pit”
– Robert Herrick also wrote “The Candour of Julia’s Teeth“, “To Julia In The Temple“, “His Charge To Julia At His Death“, “On Julia’s Picture“, and “His Covenant; Or, Protestation To Julia“. He really dug this Julia chick.
Henry
August 11, 2014 § 11 Comments
ORIGIN:
From German, meaning “home-ruler” or “leader of the army”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Amerigo, Amery, Anri, Arrigo, Emmerich, Emery, Emory, Enrico, Enrique, Enzo, Hal, Hank, Harald, Harold, Harri, Harry, Heimrich, Heinrich, Heinz, Hennie, Henny, Henri, Hendrik, Hendry, Henning, Henrik, Henryk, Herrold, Herry, Imre, Imrich, Imrus, Ric, Rico, Rik, Rikki, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Uncle Henry, one of the several relatives who always give in to Dolly’s pleading, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Henry Arden, Cannie’s minister father, who lacks the strength for life on a New England farm, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Henry Biltmer, owner of the small ranch Thea visits in Arizona, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Henry Pierre Bowdoin, Esther’s artist father, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Henry Dashwood, father to our heroines Elinor and Marianne, their younger sister Margaret, and their selfish and greedy half-brother John, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Henry de Lindsay, one of Sir Peter and Lady Constance’s two sons, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Henry Giles, Israel Thomas’ son-in-law, who joins in the watch over the Creighton farm when it’s threatened by Guy Wortman and his gang, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Henry Jameson, “a trader without a heart”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– Henry Knightley, the oldest of John and Isabella’s children, the heir of Donwell Abbey should Mr. Knightley never wed and have children of his own, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Henry Lynn, one of the Lynn brothers who are members of Mr. Rochester’s social set, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Col. Henry Mortimer, who must solve a ghostly mystery to save his son’s life, in “The Open Door” (1881), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Henry Nathanmeyer, the kindly Jewish businessman whose wife serves as Thea’s patroness in Chicago, in The Song of the Lark.
– Mr. Henry Woodhouse, Isabella and Emma’s father, a “much older man in ways than in years”, in Emma.
WRITERS:
– Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918), American historian and writer.
– Henry Beston (1888-1968), American writer and naturalist.
– Henry Cole (b. 1955), American children’s book writer and illustrator.
– Henry Fielding (1707-1754), English novelist and dramatist.
– Henry Green (1905-1972), pen name of English novelist Henry Vincent Yorke.
– Henry James (1843-1916), Anglo-American novelist.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), American poet and educator.
– Henry Lucy (1842-1924), English journalist and humorist.
– Henry Louis (H.L.) Mencken (1880-1956), American editor, critic, satirist, and writer.
– Henry Miller (1891-1980), American writer.
– Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American activist, author, poet, and philosopher.
Bella
August 10, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Like “Belle“, a diminutive of “Belinda”, “Beulah”, etc., or names ending in “-ella” (such as “Isabella”, “Annabella”, “Arabella“, etc.), or names ending in “-belle” (such as “Maybelle”, “Dorabelle”, etc.) Possibly from Italian, meaning “beautiful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Arabel, Arabella, Arabelle, Amabel, Amabella, Amabelle, Anabel, Anabella, Anabelle, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Bell, Belle, Belina, Belinda, Belinha, Beulah, Elizabeth, Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, Izabel, Izabella, Izabelle, Sabella, Sabelle, Zabel, Zabella, Zabelle, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bella, little Rosamond Carey’s favorite doll, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Cousin Bella, who introduces Susy to the concept of Fate, without being clear on how much our actions may influence it, in “Susy’s Dragon”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Bella (Isabella) Knightley, the older of John and Isabella’s two daughters, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Bella (Isabella) McGilvray, the daughter of a wash-woman and house-cleaner who lives in the tenement behind Grandpa Bennet’s house, and who Katy befriends, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
Biddy
August 6, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Bridget“, an Irish name meaning “strength” or “exalted one”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bea, Bedelia, Bee, Biddie, Bidelia, Birdie, Birdy, Breda, Bride, Bridie, Brit, Brita, Britt, Britta, Gitta, Gittan, Gitte, Reeta, Rita, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Biddy Branghton, the peevish older daughter of Madame Duval’s (and Evelina’s) cousins, the crude, ill-mannered Branghton clan, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Biddy Henshawe, an aunt of Willoughby’s intended bride, Miss Sophia Grey, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Biddy Ryan, a disreputable old woman Marion Warren tries to help in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
Harry
August 6, 2014 § 10 Comments
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Harold”, “Harris”, “Henry“, “Harriet“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Enrica, Etta, Ettie, Etty, Halle, Hallie, Harriet, Harriett, Harrietta, Harriette, Hattie, Hatty, Henrietta, Henriette, Het, Hettie, Hetty, Yetta, etc.
For boys: Amerigo, Amery, Arrigo, Emmerich, Emery, Emory, Enrico, Enrique, Enzo, Hal, Hank, Harald, Harold, Harri, Heinrich, Heinz, Hennie, Henny, Henri, Hendrik, Hendry, Henrik, Henry, Henryk, Herrold, Herry, Imre, Imrich, Imrus, Ric, Rico, Rik, Rikki, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Harry, Mr. Knightley’s butler, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Harry, a beau of one of the other shop girls in the Chicago shoe factory where Carrie first finds employment, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Harry, a boy-of-all-work at Fitzgerald and Moy’s, in Sister Carrie.
– Harry, the regular desk clerk at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Harry, the name of more than one of the boys Lily dates, who perhaps not-so-coincidentally often have names which rhyme with her long-absent father, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Harry Burbeck, a fellow Elk who will be performing in blackface for the lodge theatrical fundraiser, in Sister Carrie.
– Harry Camden, the consummate gentleman, who seems everything a woman could wish for, in “What Hope Bell Found in Her Stocking”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Harry Dashwood, John’s little boy, for whose benefit Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters are entirely overlooked and impoverished, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Harry (Harriet) Dunbar, a confident, stout-hearted girl, one of the founding members of the children’s society for the prevention of cruelty to cats, in “The Kit-Kat Club”, and who refuses to be bullied by the snobs who come into the shop in “The Little Dunbars, and Their Charming Christmas Plans”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Harry Elliott, Edith’s brother, who Dolly embarrasses herself in front of, in “Dolly Varden”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Harry McGarren, one of Hurstwood’s friends, the managing editor of the Times, in Sister Carrie.
– Harry Quincel, a fellow Elk and friend of Drouet’s, who asks him to find a girl to star in the lodge’s theatrical fundraiser, in Sister Carrie.
– Harry Warren, Marion Warren’s brother in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Sir Harry Willing, an officer in His Majesty’s army who admires and courts the lovely Sibyl, in “Sibyl’s Slipper”, a story of the American Revolutionary War, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Harry Bates (1900-1981), American editor and writer.
– Harry Brown (1917-1986), American novelist, poet, and screenwriter.
– Harry Harrison (1925-2012), American author.
– Harry Patterson (b. 1929), English author who also published under the pen names “Hugh Marlowe”, “Jack Higgins”, “James Graham”, and “Martin Fallon”.
– Harry Bache (B.) Smith (1860-1936), American composer, lyricist, and writer.
– Harry Whittington (1915-1989), American writer.
QUOTATIONS:
– In “Tom, Dick or Harry“, a song from the 1948 Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter, Bianca and her suitors sing of her eagerness to wed: “I’m a maid who would marry / And would take with no qualm / Any Tom, Dick or Harry, / Any Harry, Dick or Tom. / I’m a maid mad to marry / And will take double-quick / Any Tom, Dick or Harry, / Any Tom, Harry or Dick!”
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 