1840s | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Bartholomew

August 2, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
From Aramaic via Greek / Hebrew, meaning “son of Talmai (abounding in furrows)”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bart, Barth, Bartie, Bartlett, Bartley, Bartol, Barty, Bertok, Mees, Mies, Tolly, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Bartholomew Irons, an “awakening man” befriended by Lady Southdown in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Bartholomew of Lucca (also known as “Bartolomeo Fiadóni”, “Tolomeo da Lucca”, or “Ptolemy da Lucca”; c.1236-c.1327), Italian historian and monk.
– Bartholomew Dowling (1823-1863), Irish author, editor, and poet, who sometimes published under the pen names “Masque” or “Southern”.
– Bartholomew MacCarthy (1843-1904), Irish author, chronologist, curate, and scholar.
– Bartholomew Mastrius (also known as “Bartholomaeus” or “Bartolomeo Mastri”; 1602-1673), Italian monk, philosopher, theologian, and writer.

QUOTATIONS:
– The poem “Bartholomew“, written by Norman Rowland Gale in the 1910s, starts: “Bartholomew is very sweet, / From sandy hair to rosy feet. / Bartholomew is six months old, / And dearer far than pearls or gold.”

Luke

August 2, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
English version of the Greek name “Loukas”, meaning “a person from Lucania” (an area in Italy). Often used as a shortened version of “Lucas”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lluc, Luc, Luca, Lucas, Lucky, Luka, Lukas, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Brother Luke, the kind and patient monk who looks after Robin and helps him to grow strong again, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Rev. Luke Waters, a Wesleyan minister befriended by Lady Southdown in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Saunders

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ORIGIN:
Variant of “Sander”, a Scottish-derived “last name as first name”, meaning “belonging to Alexander“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sander, Sandor, Sandro, Sandy, Xander, Zander, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Saunders McNitre, a “Scotch divine” befriended by Lady Southdown in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Clement

August 2, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
English version of the Latin “Clemens” or “Clementius”, meaning “merciful” or “gentle”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Clem, Clemens, Clemente, Klement, Klemens, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Clement William Sheepshanks, Earl of Southdown, brother to Lady Emily and Lady Jane Sheepshanks in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Sir Clement Willoughby, the insistent rouge (perhaps the original “NiceGuyTM”) who forces his attentions on Miss Anville, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.

AUTHORS:
– Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863), American theologian and poet.

Pauline

August 2, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
French variation of “Paulina“; a feminine form of “Paul“, meaning “small” or “humble”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lien, Lina, Paolina, Paula, Pauleen, Paulene, Paulette, Paulien, Paulina, Pavlina, Pol, Polina, Poll, Polly, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Pauline, the little Belgian cook Joseph Sedley hires to serve him and his sister when they follow the army to war, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Pauline Smith (1882-1959), South African writer.

Malloy

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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, “Malloy” was an Irish name meaning either “noble” or “big and soft”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maloy, Molloy, Mulloy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Malloy Malony was a brother of Mrs. Major O’Dowd in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Blanche

August 2, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
From French, meaning “white” or “fair”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bianca, Blanca, Blanch.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– The Hon. Blanche Ingram, a beautiful, elegant, and accomplished young woman, who is presumed to be Mr. Rochester’s chosen bride, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Lady Blanche Thistlewood, Lord Bareacre’s snobbish daughter, who George Osborne pays court to while in Belgium, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Blanche Oelrichs (1890-1950), American actress, playwright, and poet, who wrote under the pen name “Michael Strange”.

Isidor

August 2, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Variant of “Isidore”, from the Greek name “Isidoros”, meaning “gift of Isis”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Isa, Isadore, Isidro, Issy, Izzie, Izzy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Isidor is Joseph Sedley’s Belgian manservant while he accompanied the regiment to war in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Fanny

August 2, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Frances” or “Francisca” (feminine versions of “Francis“, meaning “Frenchman”), or of “Stefania”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Chica, Cissie, Cissy, Fan, Fannie, Fran, Franca, Franci, Francie, Francka, Franka, Frankie, Franky, Frannie, Franny, Franzi, Paca, Paquita, Sissie, Sissy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Fanny, a cousin of Col. Brandon’s, who Mrs. Jennings guesses may have recently married, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility(set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Fanny Bludyer, a friend of the social-climbing Maria Bullock (née Osborne) Fanny Bludyer, a friend of the social-climbing Maria Bullock (née Osborne) in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Fanny de Butterbrod, a Countess of Pumpernickel who nearly captures Joseph Sedley’s all-too-susceptible heart in Vanity Fair.
– Fanny Crawley, one of the Rev. Bute Crawley’s daughters in Vanity Fair.
– Fanny Dashwood (née Ferrars), John Dashwood’s wife and Edward Ferrar’s sister, a cold, greedy, snobbish woman with no consideration for others, in Sense and Sensibility.
– Fanny (called “Fan“) Fletcher, a friend of Jessie Delano who needs dancing lessons, in “An Ivy Spray and Ladies’ Slippers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Fanny Hamlin, Susy’s best friend in “Susy’s Dragon”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Fanny Magenis, one of the army wives who make up the social circle for Amelia Sedley after her marriage to George Osborne, in Vanity Fair.
– Fanny 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.
– Fanny (Frances) Wentworth, Will’s conceited, snobbish cousin in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

WRITERS:
– Fanny (Frances) Burney (1752-1840), English diarist, novelist, and playwright.
– Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), American composer, lyricist, mission worker, and poet.
– Fanny de Beauharnais (1737-1813), French salon-holder, socialite, and woman-of-letters.
– Fanny Fern (1811-1872), pen name of American children’s book writer, columnist, humorist, and novelist, Sara Willis.
– Fanny Howe (b. 1940), American novelist, poet, and short story writer.
– Fanny Kemble (1809-1893), English actress and writer.
– Fanny Lewald (1811-1889), German activist and author.

Ophelia

August 2, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
From Greek, meaning “help”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Fili, Filia, Fillie, Filly, Ofelia, Ofelie, Ophalia, Ophélie, Phelia, Phelie, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ophelia (Ophalia) Scully, the woman who Mrs. Major O’Dowd’s cousin, Dan Malony, married in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

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