1840s | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Marianne

August 4, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
French diminutive of “Marie“, from “Maria“. Also a combination of “Marie” / “Mary” and “Anne” / “Ann“, or an alternate spelling of “Marian“.

VARIANTS and NICKNAMES:
Manon, Marian, Mariana, Marie, Marieanne, Marielle, Mariette, Marion, Marise, Mary, Maryann, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marianne Clarke, scandalously spotted entering the “petits appartements of Lord Steyne” in company with an unnamed Duke in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Marianne Dashwood, the emotionally-wrought, passionately romantic second Dashwood sister, “generous, amiable, interesting: she was every thing but prudent”, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).

WRITERS:
– Marianne Moore (1887-1972), American poet and writer.

Macduff

August 4, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
One of those “last names as first names” that were once a quite popular way for a mother’s maiden name to be passed on to her sons, “Macduff” is a Scottish name meaning “son of the dark man”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Other than Mac? I don’t know.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Macduff McMull, the little son of James McMull and Rhoda Swartz, who “will be Viscount Castletoddy”, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Molly

August 4, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
Like “Polly“, a diminutive of “Mary“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maille, Malle, Manon, Moll, Molle, Mollie, Pol, Pola, Poll, Pollie, Polly, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Molly, an old serving-woman who works for the Ridd’s, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Molly, the cook in the Crawley-Sharp household, who little Master Rawdon loved because she “crammed him with ghost stories at night, and with good things from the dinner”, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Molly Barnet, “a hospital nurse with a heart”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– “Major” Molly Elliston, whose determination to keep a promise helps save a garrison, in “Major Molly’s Christmas Promise” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Molly Gair, a resourceful and diligent young lady, in “Molly Gair’s New Dress”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Molly Grue, the “drab” who knows quite a lot about unicorns, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
– Molly Jameson, Ruth’s aunt, who has borne all that she can bear, in The Harvester.
– Molly (Maria) Mirvan, Evelina’s dearest friend, with whom she enters into London society, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Molly (Mary) Porter, a shopgirl Anna Winslow helps in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Molly Price, one of the guests the Lambert children invite for dinner, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.

WRITERS:
– Molly Childers (1875-1964), Irish activist and writer.
– Molly Holden (1927-1981), English poet.
– Molly Ivins (1944-2007), American writer, political critic, and humorist.
– Molly Kazan (1906-1963), American dramatist and playwright.
– Molly Keane (1904-1996), Irish novelist and playwright.
– Molly Lefebure (1919-2013), English writer.
– Molly Elliot Seawell (1860-1916), American historian and writer.
– Molly Weir (1910-2004), Scottish actress and memoirist.

Glory

August 4, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
From the Latin, “Gloria”, meaning, well, “glory”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gloria, Gloriana, Glorvina, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Glory (Glorvina) O’Dowd is Major O’Dowd’s unmarried sister in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Minos

August 4, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Greek, meaning “son of Zeus”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mannus, Manu, Menes, Meon, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sir Minos Smith, “the puisne judge”, whose wife famously quarreled with Mrs. Major O’Dowd, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Frederica

August 4, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Feminine version of “Frederick“, “Frederico”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Federica, Fred, Freda, Fredda, Freddey, Freddi, Freddie, Freddy, Frederiek, Frederika, Frederikke, Frederique, Fredrica, Fredrika, Frici, Friderici, Frieda, Friederike, Frioriki, Fritzi, Fryderyka, Rica, Riika, Rika, Rike, Rikka, Rikke, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Frederica, Uncle Len’s long-suffering girlfriend, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Lady Frederica Bullock, Fred Bullock’s mother, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Frederica Sagor Maas (1900-2012), American author, dramatist, essayist, memoirist, playwright, and screenwriter.
– Frederica J. Turle (1880-19??), English children’s book author.

Fred

August 4, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Frederick“, meaning “peaceful ruler”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Alfred“, “Manfred”, “Wilfred”, etc., or, for girls, for names like “Frederica” or “Winifred”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Freda, Freddi, Freddie, Frieda, Fritzi.
For boys: Fred, Fredde, Freddie, Fredo, Fritz.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nickname for Frederick (b. 1916), the eighth of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Fred, a rather snobbish and foppish young man in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Fred (called “Freddy“) Allen, whose wife is a friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, and frequently serves as chaperone for their parties, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Fred (Frederick Augustus) Bullock, the young man Maria Osborne hopes to marry in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Fred (Philip Frederick) Ottenburg, the dynamic young brewing heir who launches Thea’s operatic career, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).

WRITERS:
– Fred Thompson (1884-1949), English writer and librettist.
– Fred Urquhart (1912-1995), Scottish short story writer.

Lawrence

August 4, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Laurence”, a Latin place name related to “laurel”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Enzo, Larkin, Larrie, Larry, Lars, Lasse, Lassi, Laurance, Lauren, Laurence, Laurent, Laurie, Lauritz, Lawrance, Lawrie, Loren, Lorencio, Lorens, Lorenzo, Lorin, Lorrin, Rance, Rens, Renzo, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Lawrence Grills, the clergyman Becky references when trying to conciliate Lady Southdown in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Lawrence Jones, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Rev. Lawrence Veal, who is engaged to educate young Georgy Osborne, in Vanity Fair.

WRITERS:
– Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990), English dramatist, novelist, poet, and travel writer.

Kate

August 4, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Catherine” / “Katherine“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cadi, Cady, Cait, Cat, Cate, Catey, Cathi, Cathy, Catie, Cato, Caty, Catya, Kady, Kaia, Kaity, Kaja, Kat, Kata, Katey, Kathi, Kathie, Kathy, Katie, Katka, Katri, Katy, Kay, Kaya, Kaye, Kaylee, Kayleen, Kit, Kitti, Kittie, Kitty, Kylee, Kyleen, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Kate, a rather sharp, though kind-hearted, young lady in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Kate Crawley, one of the Rev. Bute Crawley’s daughters in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Kate Fleming, Ally’s aunt, whose misunderstood remark leads to trouble, in “Ally”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Kate Gray (née Catherine Van Vliet), the kind-hearted, motherly woman who accepts her cousin’s daughter, Candace, as one of her own, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.

WRITERS:
– Kate Atkinson (b. 1951), English author and playwright.
– Kate Chopin (1850-1904), American author.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “Epistle to Earl Harcourt, on his wishing her to spell her name of Catherine with a K“, by an unknown poet (“F—-“), found in A Collection of Poems, Chiefly Manuscript, and from Living Authors, 1823, edited by Joanna Baillie: “Then cast it in a Grecian mould, / Once modell’d from a living scold; / When from her shelly prison burst / That finished vixen, Kate the curst! / . . . Nor was it even then too late, / When crown’d and register’d a Kate; / When all had trembling heard, and seen, / The shriller voice, and fiercer mien”
– “Kiss Me, Kate“, a song from the 1948 Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter, has Petruchio singing to Katherine: “So, kiss me, Kate, thou lovely loon, / Ere we start on our honeymoon. / So, kiss me, Kate, darling devil divine, / For now thou shall ever be mine.”

Rosalind

August 4, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
A Norman variation on a Germanic name meaning something like “tender horse”; later influenced by Latin meaning “beautiful rose”. Sometimes used a variation of “Rose“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ros, Rosa, Rosaleen, Rosalie, Rosalinda, Rosalina, Rosaline, Rosalyn, Rosalynn, Rosalynne, Rose, Roselin, Roselind, Roselyn, Rosie, Roslyn, Rosy, Roz, Rozlyn, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rosalind (Rose) Crawley is the elder of the two little Crawley girls Becky Sharp is hired to be governess for in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Where Am I?