1850s | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Robert

July 30, 2014 § 12 Comments

ORIGIN:
Anglo-Saxon, meaning “bright flame”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bob, Bobbie, Bobby, Rab, Raibeart, Rob, Robb, Robbie, Robby, Roberto, Robi, Robin, Rupert, Ruprecht, etc. I guess even Bobert, if you really wish it.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Robert (called “Bob“, b. 1920), the eleventh 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.
– Robert, the pageboy at Jim and Ned’s place, in “The Tragedy of the Unexpected”, from Nora Perry’s The Tragedy of the Unexpected and Other Stories (published in 1880, but set in the 1870s)
– Sir Robert, an uncle to Edward, Fanny, and Robert Ferrars, who was responsible for Mrs. Ferrar’s decision to send Edward to Mr. Pratt’s for a private education, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Lord Robert of Amhurste (called “Robin” by his twin sister, Margaret), a brave and generous young man, in “A Brother to Dragons” (written in 1886, set in 1586), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Sir Robert Bampfylde, the litigious gentleman whose lawsuits led to Tom Faggus’ ruin and subsequent adoption of the highwayman’s life, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Rev. Robert Brocklehurst, the formidable and hypocritical supervisor of Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Middle name of John Robert Creighton (b. 1837), Jethro’s oldest brother remaining at home, “more impatient, quicker to anger” than his beloved brother Bill, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Robert Ferrars, Edward’s favored younger brother, “silly and a great coxcomb”, in Sense and Sensibility.
– Robert Furnival, old Lady Mary’s lawyer, who pesters her to write her will before it is too late, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Robert Leaven, the man Bessie Lee marries, who works as porter at Gateshead and lives in the lodge, in Jane Eyre.
– Robert Martin, a sensible, respectable, intelligent young gentleman-farmer, who hopes to marry Harriet Smith, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Robert Racket (called “Robin“), a handsome and charming lad who steals the hearts of cousins Keren Lemon and Ruth Visor, in “The Farrier Lass o’ Piping Pebworth” (written in 1887, set circa 1600), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales.
– Robert Siddell, one of Uncle Gabe’s two favorite students at his Jewish vocational school, chosen as a blind date for teenaged Lily, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).

WRITERS:
Go here for a list of probably close to a thousand writers named “Robert”, if you’d like to know what sort of illustrious literary company this name keeps.

Annie

July 29, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
Like “Ann” and “Anne“, a variant form of “Anna“. Could also be a nickname for Anastasia, Andrea, Angela, Angelina, Anita, Annabel, Anthea, Antonia, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ann, Anne, Ann, Nan, Nancy, Nanny, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Annie Grainger, a friend of Kitty’s and Laura’s, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Annie P. Miller is the title character’s actual given name in Daisy Miller by Henry James (1879).
– Annie Ridd (sometimes called “Nanny” or “Nancy“), John’s favorite sister, a sweet little homemaker, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Annie Tenney, the skilled nurse hired to help care for Sylvie Lamonte in “The Story of Little Syl”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).

WRITERS:
– Annie Dillard (b. 1945), American writer and poet.
– Annie Groves (1946-2011), pen name of English romance author Penelope Halsall, who also published under the pen names “Caroline Courtney”, “Lydia Hitchcock”, “Melinda Wright”, and “Penny Jordan”.
– Annie Fellows Johnston (1863-1931), American children’s book author.
– Annie Shepherd Swan (1859-1943), Scottish journalist, novelist, and writer.

QUOTATIONS:
– The old Scottish song “Annie Laurie“, based on a poem by William Douglas, c. 1685 (rewritten in 1834): “And for bonnie Annie Laurie / I’d lay me down and die”.
– Though “Annie’s Song” (1973) by John Denver doesn’t explicitly mention Annie in the lyrics, it’s still beautiful, and the title might make any Annie feel as though it is especially meant for her.

George

July 28, 2014 § 12 Comments

ORIGIN:
English version of the Greek “Georgios”, meaning “farmer”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gino, Giorgio, Giorgino, Geordie, Georg, Georges, Georgios, Georgi, Georgie, Georgy, Jordi, Jordy, Jorge, Jorgen, Jorgie, Jorgy, Jori, Jory, Jurgen, Yorgos, Yuri, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– George Boulter, “Lord Levant’s son”, married to one of the Mango daughters and one of the “nobs” Mr. Osborne prides himself on being connected to through his daughter’s marriage, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– George Evans, one of the traveling salesmen who appear briefly in the pages of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Lord George Gaunt, Lord Steyne’s second son, on whom the family curse of insanity unhappily devolves, in Vanity Fair.
– Master George Gaunt, Lord Gaunt’s young son, in Vanity Fair.
– George Gustavus, Lord Steyne, who is responsible for Becky’s highest heights and lowest lows, in Vanity Fair.
– George Herrick, Virginia’s father, the overseer at Caryston Hall, in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.
– George (G.W.) Hurstwood, the illustrious manager of Fitzgerald and Moy’s saloon, whose fall from grace counters Carrie’s rising star, Sister Carrie.
– George Hurstwood, Jr., his self-centered son, in Sister Carrie.
– George Knightley, the youngest of John and Isabella’s three boys, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Mr. George Knightley, “a sensible man”, “a very old and intimate friend of the family”, and “the elder brother of Isabella’s husband”, who takes it upon himself to be the sole voice of criticism in Emma‘s life.
– George Lawrence, whose son is wounded at Shiloh / Pittsburgh Landing, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Sir George Lynn, a friend of Mr. Rochester, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– George Mac Turk, Lord Bajazet’s eldest son, who claims “that if he had his will when he came to the title, he would do what the sultans do, and clear the estate by chopping off all his younger brothers’ heads at once”, in Vanity Fair.
– George Osborne, the dashing cad Amelia falls for in Vanity Fair.
– George Osborne (called “Georgy“), the son of George and Amelia and the means of somewhat reconciling his mother with his father’s family, in Vanity Fair.
– George Otway, a member of the Otway clan, guests at Mr. and Mrs. Weston’s ball, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– George Page, Sidney’s father, whose death leaves Anna, Sid, and Aunt Harriet without a reliable income, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– George Rivington, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, brother of Tom Rivington, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Sir George Tufto, Lieutenant-General in the army in Vanity Fair.
– George Wickham, the likable rascal in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– George Winslow, Anna Winslow’s brother, whose letters from abroad Anna reads for the amusement of the working-class girls at the Union, in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– George B. Seitz (1888-1944), American actor, director, playwright, and screenwriter.
– George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish author, critic, and playwright.
– George Eliot (1819-1880), pen name of English novelist and journalist Mary Ann Evans.
– George Orwell (1903-1950), English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic.
– George Sand (1804-1876), pen name of French novelist and memoirist Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin.
– George Caryl Sims (1902-1966), American author and screenwriter who wrote under the pen name “Paul Cain”.

Mary

July 28, 2014 § 18 Comments

ORIGIN:
The common Anglicized version of the Hebrew name “Miriam”, which may mean “rebellious” or “obstinate”. Or it may not. No one really knows. By now, “Mary” has more meaning due to connotation than to whatever the denotation may be.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maaike, Maia, Mair, Mairenn, Mairi, Mairin, Mairwen, Maja, Malia, Maille, Mame, Mamie, Manon, Mara, Mari, Maria, Mariah, Mariamne, Marian, Marianne, Marie, Mariele, Mariella, Marielle, Marietta, Marika, Mariona, Marise, Mariska, Marissa, Marita, Maritza, Marjo, Marjut, Marya, Maryam, Marzena, Maura, Maureen, Masha, Mele, Mere, Meri, Mia, Mieke, Miep, Mies, Mimi, Mirele, Miriam, Mitzi, Moira, Moireen, Moll, Molle, Molly, Myriam, Ona, Poll, Pollie, Polly, Ria, etc. So many variations. So, so many.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mary, Carrie’s older sister, expected to marry soon, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Mary (b. 1906), the second 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.
– Mary, wife of John, the manservant at Thornfield (and later, Ferndean), in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Mary, the name of a succession of inept maidservants employed by the Hurstwoods, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Lady Mary, the old woman whose laid-back approach to business nearly ruins her goddaughter, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Mary, the Hungarian housemaid at Thea’s boarding house in Chicago, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Mary, the housemaid at Grandpa Bennet’s, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Mary Arkwright, the friend whose birthday party Dolly Lorton writes about in her diary, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Aunt Mary Balcarres, whose house lies opposite the College Library, in “The Library Window” (1896), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen.
– Mary Bennet, the serious and often-overlooked third Bennet daughter in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Mary Box, a girl local to Queen’s Crawley, with a reputation for fighting with her sister, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Lady Mary Caerlyon, the unhappy wife of Lord Steyne in Vanity Fair.
– Mary Clapp (nicknamed “Polly“), daughter of the Sedley’s landlord, who bestows on Dobbin the nickname “Major Sugarplums” owing to his habit of bringing gifts for all at every visit to the house, in Vanity Fair.
– Mary Ellen Creighton (b. 1844-46), Jethro’s older sister, “pretty as Jenny, only blond and more delicate”, who was killed in a carriage accident caused by a drunken Travis Burdow in 1859, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Mary Erroll, the beautiful and elegant neighbor who captures Jack Roden’s attention, and Virginia Herrick’s enmity, in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.
– Mary Fleming, Ally’s cousin, whose actions don’t always reflect her intentions, in “Ally”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Mary Garrett, one of Jane’s students at the charity school in Morton, in Jane Eyre.
– Mary Grant, Kitty’s sister in “Esther Bodn”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Mary Ingram, Blanche’s younger sister, one of the elegant people who make up Mr. Rochester’s social set, in Jane Eyre.
– Mary Jordan, an impoverished woman who turns to Philip Canning for aid, in “The Portrait” (1885), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen.
– Mary King, the young heiress who attracts Wickham’s attentions away from Elizabeth, in Pride and Prejudice.
– Mary Leslie, a little girl who needs to have a better example set for her by the older girls, in “A Little Boarding-School Samaritan”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Lady Mary Mango (daughter of the Earl of Castlemouldy), to whom Amelia is favorably compared in Vanity Fair.
– Mary Marcy, a shrewd, spirited girl whose Quaker mother isn’t enough to keep her from wanting to fight back against injustice, in “An April Fool”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Mary McGuire, one of Sidney’s patients at the hospital, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Mary, Lady Middleton, Mrs. Jennings’ daughter and Sir John’s wife, an elegant, though dull, woman who has little to offer besides devotion to her children and to the politesse of hostessing, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Mary Peters, wife of local farmer Amos Peters, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– Mary Porter (called “Molly“), a shopgirl Anna Winslow helps in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls.
– Mary Rivers (later Wharton), one of St. John’s sisters, who befriend Jane after she leaves Thornfield, in Jane Eyre.
– Miss Mary Scott, the pleasant old lady who hopes to see a rare flower bloom in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls.
– Mary Sedley is Amelia Sedley’s mother (although later her husband refers to her as “Bessy“) in Vanity Fair.
– Mary Turner, Ed’s wife and Sam’s mother, in Across Five Aprils.
– Mary Vivian, Lady Mary’s goddaughter, who is nearly left destitute through simple procrastination, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen.

WRITERS:
– Mary Cowden Clark (1809-1898), English author and scholar.
– Mary Higgins Clark (b. 1927), American novelist.
– Mary Boykin Chesnut (1823-1886), American diarist and socialite.
– Mary Stewart Doubleday Cutting (1851-1924), American activist and author.
– Mary McCarthy (1912-1989), American activist, author, and critic.
– Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958), American mystery novelist.
– Mary Shelley (1797-1851), English writer.
– Mary Somerville (1780-1872), Scottish science writer and polymath.
– Mary Stewart (1916-2014), English author.
– Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), English activist, philosopher, and writer.

QUOTATIONS:
– Classic nursery rhymes such as “Mary, Mary, quite contrary” and “Mary had a little lamb“. Probably the most popular girl’s name for nursery rhymes, really. When it comes to rhyming, Mary is very ordinary.
– “Bring Flowers of the Rarest” is a hymn to the Virgin Mary, written by Mary E. Walsh in 1871: “Oh! Thus shall we prove thee / How truly we love thee, / How dark without Mary / Life’s journey would be. / O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today, / Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May!”

The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Robert

Annie

George

Mary

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