Alexander
August 22, 2014 § 14 Comments
ORIGIN:
Latin version of the Greek “Alexandros”, meaning “defender of men”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ace, Al, Alasdair, Alastair, Alastar, Ale, Alec, Alejandro, Aleks, Aleksander, Aleksandr, Alessandro, Alex, Alexandre, Alexandros, Alexis, Alick, Alisander, Alistair, Alister, Ally, Eskandar, Iskandar, Lexi, Olek, Oleksander, Oleksandr, Sacha, Sander, Sandor, Sandy, Sandro, Sascha, Saunder, Sawney, Sender, Shura, Sikandar, Skender, Xander, Xandinho, Zander, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of James Alexander Creighton (1849-1852), one of the three young Creighton boys who died of “paralysis” the year Jethro was born, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Alexander Herron, Ruth Jameson’s grandfather, “who made a concession”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
WRITERS:
– Alexander Brown (1843-1906), American historian and writer.
– Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757- 1804), American essayist, economist, and political leader.
– Alexander King (1899-1965), Austrian-American humorist and memoirist.
– Alexander Mollin (b. 1947), pen name of English author Jim Williams, who also publishes as “Richard Hugo”.
– Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet.
– Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), Russian author and poet.
– Alexander Ross (c.1590-1654), Scottish writer.
– Alexander Scott (c.1520-1582/83), Scottish poet.
– Alexander Scott (1920-1989), Scottish poet and scholar.
– Alexander Tayler (1870-1937), British author and historian who published under the pen name of “Alasdair Tayler”, and often published jointly with his sister, Hetty.
– Alexander Wilson (1893-1963), English writer and spy.
Rowland
August 22, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Medieval variation of “Roland“, meaning “famous land”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Laurand, Laurant, Laurend, Laurent, Lorend, Lorent, Lorand, Lorant, Roel, Roeland, Rolan, Roland, Rolando, Rolland, Rollie, Rolly, Roly, Rowle, Rowley, Rowlie, Orland, Orlando, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rowland Doone, a member of the murderous Doone clan, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Sir Rowland Nasmyth, who falls in love with Mistress Marian, in “Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story” (written in 1887, set circa 1630s-1669), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Sir Rowland, his son, who marries Lady Anne Lennox, older sister to Lady Dorothy and Lord Humphrey, in “Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story” (written in 1887, set circa 1630s-1669), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales.
– Rowland Rochester, Edward Rochester’s older brother, whose death gives him the ownership of Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Marjory
August 22, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Margery” / “Marjorie”, a medieval English version of “Margaret“, influenced by the name of the herb “marjoram”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Madge, Mae, Maisie, Maisy, Mame, Mamie, Margaret, Margareta, Margaretha, Margarethe, Margarita, Margaux, Marge, Margery, Margie, Margit, Margy, Margo, Margot, Marguerite, Marji, Marjorie, May, Mayme, Maymie, Meg, Megan, Megeen, Megen, Meggie, Meggy, Meta, Metta, Midge, Mim, Mimi, Mimsie, Mimsy, Mysie, Jorey, Jori, Jorie, Peg, Pegeen, Peggie, Peggy, Peigi, Reeta, Rita, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marjory, a village woman who loses her reason after her man falls from a cliff, in “Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story” (written in 1887, set circa 1630s-1669), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Marjory Pebble, a little girl who lives near 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.
WRITERS:
– Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998), American activist, journalist, and writer.
– Marjory Wardrop (1869-1909), English scholar and translator.
Reuben
August 22, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “behold, a son”. Is it just me, or does it seem very amusing to name your son, “behold, a son”?
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ben, Bennie, Benny, Rouben, Rube, Ruben, Rubens, Rubin, Reuven, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Reuben Huckabuck (sometimes called “Ben“), the Ridd’s wealthy, persnickety uncle in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Reuben Puff, a local tinker, who is suggested to (and summarily rejected by) Keren Lemon as a possible husband, 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.
WRITERS:
– Reuben Gold Thwaites (1853-1913), American historian and journalist.
– Reuben Archer (R.A.) Torrey (1856-1928), American educator, evangelist, and writer.
Robin
August 22, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Medieval diminutive of “Robert“. For girls, usually a reference to the small, red-breasted songbird.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Bobbie, Robbie, Robbin, Robinett, Robinette, Robena, Robenia, Roberta, Robina, Robyn, etc.
For boys: Bob, Bobbie, Bobby, Rab, Rob, Robbie, Robby, Robert, Roberto, Robi, Rupert, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Robin, the little boy whose illness prevents him from following the path laid out for him, but who manages to find the door in the wall nevertheless, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Robin (Lord Robert of Amhurste), 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.
– Robin (Robert) Racket, 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 (1888).
– Robin Snell (called “Bob“), the little schoolboy whose fight with young John Ridd is momentarily disrupted by news of the elder Ridd’s death, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
WRITERS:
– Robin Ddu o Fon (c.1744-1785), Welsh poet also known as “Robert Hughes”.
Hetty
August 21, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Hettie”, diminutive of “Henrietta“, “Hester“, “Harriet“, “Mehetabel”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Essie, Essy, Etta, Ettie, Etty, Halle, Hallie, Hattie, Hatty, Hen, Hennie, Henny, Het, Hettie, Yetta, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miss Hetty Bates, a silly, chatty, good-hearted woman who is always delighted to talk about anything, particularly her beloved niece, Jane Fairfax, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Aunt Hetty Walker, who used to frighten young John and Bill with “witch stories” when she’d come to help Ellen with work on the farm, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
WRITERS:
– Hetty Burlingame Beatty (1907-1971), American children’s book author, illustrator, and sculptor.
– Hetty Tayler (1869-1951), pen name of British author and historian Helen Tayler, who also published as “Henrietta Tayler”, and often published jointly with her brother, Alexander.
– Hetty Verolme (b. 1930), Belgian-Australian author and educator.
– Hetty Wright (1697-1750), pen name of English poet Mehetabel Wesley Wright, who was also known as “Kitty Wright”.
Bill
August 18, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Like “Will“, a diminutive of “William“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bil, Billie, Billy, Gwil, Liam, Lyam, Pim, Vila, Vili, Viljo, Ville, Wil, Wilkie, Wilkin, Wilky, Will, Willie, Willis, Willy, Wim, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bill, a little boy who lives on the Street with the Pages and the Wilsons and the rest in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Bill, the bartender at Schwitter’s road-house in K.
– Bill Blacksmith, a friend of John Fry’s in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Bill (William) Creighton (b. 1838), Jethro’s favorite older brother, “a big, silent man who was considered ‘peculiar’ in the neighborhood”, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Bill Dadds, a workman on John Ridd’s farm, in Lorna Doone.
– Bill Oliver, wealthy owner of a needle-factory and iron-foundry near Morton, whose daughter, Rosamond, is in love with St. John Rivers, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Bill James (b. 1929), pen name of Welsh novelist James Tucker, who also publishes as “David Craig” and “Judith Jones”.
QUOTATIONS:
– The 1902 song “(Won’t You Come Home) Bill Bailey“, written by Hughie Cannon (1877-1912) remains a standard among Dixieland and classic jazz performers: “Won’t you come home, Bill Bailey, won’t you come home? / I’ve moaned the whole night long / I’ll do the cookin’, honey, I’ll pay the rent / I know I done you wrong.”
– In Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s 1927 musical Show Boat, torch singer Julie (working in a nightclub circa 1903), sings “Bill“, a lament for the less-than-perfect man who stole her heart: “But along came Bill / Who’s not the type at all / You’d meet him on the street / And never notice him / His form and face / His manly grace / Are not the kind that you / Would find in a statue / And I can’t explain / It’s surely not his brain / That makes me thrill / I love him because he’s wonderful / Because he’s just my Bill / . . . He’s just my Bill, an ordinary man / He hasn’t got a thing that I can brag about / . . . I love him, because he’s, I don’t know, / Because he’s just my Bill.”
– From the 1945 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical Carousel, set in 1873 or so, erstwhile barker Billy Bigelow sings a “Soliloquy” about his anticipated son: “Bill, my boy Bill, / I will see that he’s named after me, I will. / My boy Bill! He’ll be tall / And as tough as a tree, will Bill! / Like a tree he’ll grow / With his head held high / And his feet planted firm on the ground. / And you won’t see nobody dare to try / To boss him or toss him around.”
– In the “Wedding Bell Blues” (1969), written by Laura Nyro, the singer laments about a lover who won’t marry her: “Bill, I love you so, I always will / . . . I was on your side, Bill, when you were losing / I’d never scheme or lie, Bill, there’s been no fooling / But kisses and love won’t carry me ’til you marry me, Bill.”
Ed
August 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Edward“, “Edgar”, “Edwin“, “Edmund”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Edd, Eddi, Eddie, Eddy, Ned, Nedd, Neddie, Neddy, Ted, Tedd, Teddie, Teddy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ed Turner, the neighbor whose farm Rob Taylor tried to escape to when he and Mary Creighton were pursued by Travis Burdow, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Dr. Ed Wilson, who sacrificed wealth and home life so his brilliant younger brother Max could get an education and a career, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 