Red
August 27, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the English word, meaning, well, “red”; usually used as a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
That’s, um, pretty much it.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Red (Ross) Milton, “the red-haired editor of the county newspaper”, who takes Jethro under his wing, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
Ross
August 27, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From a Scottish and English place name, meaning “headland” or “promontory”; or from the Norman French word for “red”; or from a Germanic word meaning “horse”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Roos, Roose, Ros, Rosce, Rose, Rosse, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ross Milton (called “Red“), “the red-haired editor of the county newspaper”, who takes Jethro under his wing, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
WRITERS:
– Ross Clark (b. 1953), Australian poet.
– Ross Copperman (b. 1982), American singer and songwriter.
– Ross Fitzgerald (b. 1944), Australian academic, historian, and novelist.
– Ross Hassig (b. 1945), American anthropologist and author.
– Ross King (b. 1962), Canadian novelist and writer.
– Ross Leckie (b. 1947), Scottish novelist.
– Ross Lockridge, Jr. (1914-1948), American novelist.
– Ross Macdonald (1915-1983), pen name of Canadian-American crime author Kenneth Millar.
– Ross Parmenter (1912-1999), Canadian author, critic, and editor.
– Ross Rocklynne (1913-1988), pen name of American science fiction author Ross Louis Rocklin.
– Ross Russell (1909-2000), American author and producer.
– Ross Thomas (1926-1995), American crime author who also published under the pen name “Oliver Bleeck”.
– Ross Yockey (1943-2008), American author, journalist, producer, and writer.
Colvin
August 27, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Perhaps from the Old Welsh name “Coluin”, meaning unknown; or from an old English and Scottish last name, derived from a French place name; or from the Irish “Mac Conluain”, meaning “son of the great hero”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Colleville, Colewin, Coluin, Colville, Colvine, Colvinus, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of Matthew Colvin Creighton (1850-1852), 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).
Hale
August 27, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From an English last name meaning “nook” or “retreat”, an old Scottish place name meaning “from a faraway valley” or “by the estuary”, or possibly referencing the word meaning “healthy and strong”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Haile, Hails, Hal, Hales, Hallas, Halys, Hayle, Hayles, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of Nathan Hale Creighton (1848-1852), 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).
Nate
August 27, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Nathan” or “Nathaniel”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Nat, Natan, Natanael, Natanaele, Natanail, Nataniel, Nathan, Nathanael, Nathanahel, Nathaniel, Nath, Nathe, Natty, Nethanel, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nate (Nathaniel) Creighton (b. 1848), 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).
Taylor
August 26, 2015 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
Originally an Old English occupational name, meaning (unsurprisingly) “tailor”, from the French “tailleur”, meaning “cutter of cloth”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Tai, Tailler, Tailleur, Tailour, Tay, Tayler, Taylour, Taylur, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of William Taylor 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).
WRITERS:
– Taylor Branch (b. 1947), American author and historian.
– Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985), pen name of Anglo-American novelist Janet Taylor Caldwell, who also published as “J. Miriam Reback”, “Marcus Holland”, and “Max Reiner”.
– Taylor Mali (b. 1965), American humorist, poet, teacher, and voice actor.
– Taylor Mead (1924-2013), American actor, performer, and poet.
Dave
August 23, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “David“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dai, Daividh, Dauid, Daveth, Davey, David, Davide, Davie, Davis, Davit, Davy, Daw, Dawid, Dawud, Dewie, Dewey, Dewydd, Dovid, Taavetti, Taavi, Tavi, Taffy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Dave Burdow, Travis’ father, “a sullen, silent man who shunned people in general and accepted their insults as a matter of course”, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
Travis
August 23, 2015 § 1 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, “Travis” is a variation of the English place name “Travers”, meaning “near a bridge or ford” (from the old French word for “crossing” or “to cross”).
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Trav, Travers.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Travis Burdow, the drunken young tough who caused the accident which killed Mary Creighton, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
Rob
August 23, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Robert“, “Robin“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bob, Bobbie, Bobby, Brecht, Hob, Hopcyn, Hopkin, Pertti, Rab, Rabbie, Robbe, Robbie, Robby, Robi, Robin, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rob Nelson, pretty young Mary Creighton’s beau on that fateful night in 1859, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
Wilse
August 21, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From an English place name meaning “willow island”; or a diminutive of “Wilson”, or a variation of “Wallace”, “Welles”, “Wiles”, “Willis”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Wallace, Wallis, Walls, Welles, Wells, Wels, Wil, Wilce, Wiles, Will, Willie, Willis, Wills, Willy, Wilsey, Wilsee, Wilson, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Wilse Graham, Ellen’s staunchly pro-Confederacy nephew from Kentucky in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 