1890s | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Will

August 15, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “William“, meaning “will-helmet”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bil, Bill, Billie, Billy, Gwil, Liam, Lyam, Pim, Vila, Vili, Viljo, Ville, Wil, Wilkie, Wilkin, Wilky, Willie, Willis, Willy, Wim, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Will Evans, the most popular boy in town, a founding member of the children’s society for the prevention of cruelty to cats in “The Kit-Kat Club”, and supporter of the clothing shop for dolls in “The Little Dunbars, and Their Charming Christmas Plans”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Will Watcombe, an old sailor whose insight into the local weather patterns ought to have been heeded, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Will Wentworth (sometimes called “Willie“), a friendly, level-headed Boston boy in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

WRITERS:
– Will Durant (1885-1981), American historian, philosopher, and writer.
– Will (William) Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet, playwright, and actor.
– Will Stanton (1918-1996), American humorist and writer.

Larry

August 14, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Laurence” / “Lawrence“.

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

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Larry, Dr. Archie’s servant at his medical office in Moonstone, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Larry, the name of more than one of the boys Lily dates, who perhaps not-so-coincidentally often have names which rhyme with her long-absent father, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Larry Moore, Lily’s serviceman father, a man she never knows, in Sleeping Arrangements.
– Larry Mulligan, a drunken lout who ruins Bella and Donny McGilvray’s playtime, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).

WRITERS:
– Larry Brown (1951-2004), American novelist and writer.
– Larry David (b. 1947), American actor, comedian, and writer.
– Larry Doyle (b. 1958), American novelist, television writer, and producer.
– Larry Gelbart (1928-2009), American writer.
– Larry McMurtry (b. 1936), American essayist, novelist, and screenwriter.

Katherine

August 14, 2014 § 13 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Katharine“, “Catherine” / “Catharine”, etc., from the Greek for “pure”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cadi, Cady, Cait, Caitlin, Caitlyn, Caity, Caren, Carina, Casia, Cat, Catalina, Cate, Catey, Catharine, Catherine, Cathie, Cathleen, Cathrine, Cathryn, Cathy, Catie, Cato, Catrina, Catrine, Catriona, Caty, Catya, Ekaterina, Ina, Jekaterina, Kady, Kaia, Kaisa, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Kaity, Kaja, Kalena, Karen, Karin, Karina, Kasia, Kat, Kata, Katalin, Kate, Katenka, Katerina, Katey, Katharina, Katharine, Kathi, Kathie, Kathleen, Kathrine, Kathryn, Kathy, Kati, Katie, Katinka, Katja, Katka, Katri, Katrina, Katrine, Katy, Katya, Kay, Kaya, Kit, Kitti, Kittie, Kitty, Kylee, Kyleen, Nienke, Nina, Rina, Riona, Tina, Tineke, Trina, Trine, Yekaterina, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Katherine Bennet (called “Katy“), who is ridiculous because she is wise, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Grandma Katherine Bennet, for whom Katy is named, and in whose memory Grandpa Bennet remains in their little old house in their increasingly-unfashionable neighborhood, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.

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: “To Katherines lawfully baptiz’d. / What has not Shakspeare said and sung, / Of our pre-eminence of tongue! / . . . See him the comic muse invoking, / (The merry nymph with laughter choking) / While he exhibits at her shrine / The unhallow’d form of Katherine . . . / So that in Shakspeare’s time ’tis plain, / The Katherines were scolds in grain, / No females louder, fiercer, worse”

WRITERS:
– Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923), English author.
– Katherine Paterson (b. 1932), American author.
– Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980), American activist, journalist, and writer.

Grace

August 14, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Latin “gratia”, meaning, well, “grace”, this was one of the “virtue” names created and embraced by the Puritans.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gracie, Gracelyn, Gray.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Grace, Jenny’s older sister, also Katy Bennet’s cousin, who does not realize little Katy is not ridiculous, after all, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Grace Howe, Major Wade’s greatest comforter before his capture and execution as a rebel, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Grace Irving, a “fallen woman” Sidney nurses in the hospital, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Grace Johnston, Mrs. “Livery” Johnson’s spoiled daughter, who is set up to be a rival for Thea, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Grace Poole, the hired nurse whose presence at Thornfield mystifies and frightens Jane, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.

WRITERS:
– Grace Greenwood (1823-1904), pen name of American activist, journalist, and poet Sara Jane Clark.
– Grace Paley (1922-2007), American activist, poet, teacher, and writer.

Mark

August 14, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Variant of “Marcus“, from a Roman last name derived from Mars, the god of war.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Marc, Marcas, Marco, Marcos, Marcus, Marek, Markie, Marko, Markos, Markus, Marky, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mark Burney, Prescott Burney’s father, an investor in the Good Luck silver mines, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Mark Tourin, Marty’s older brother, who aspires to be just like Howard Cosell, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).

WRITERS:
– Mark O’Brien (1949-1999), American activist, journalist, and poet.
– Mark Rutherford (1831-1913), pen name of English civil servant, translator, and writer William Hale White.
– Mark Twain (1835-1910), pen name of American humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
– Mark Van Doren (1894-1972), American poet, writer, and critic.

Charley

August 14, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Charlie“, a diminutive or feminine form of “Charles“, meaning “man”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Carla, Carlotta, Carola, Carolina, Caroline, Charlize, Charlotta, Karla, Karola, Karolina, Let, Lettie, Letty, Lotta, Lotte, Lottie, Lotty, Tot, Tottie, Totty, etc.
For boys: Carl, Carlos, Carroll, Charlie, Charles, Chas, Chaz, Chick, Chip, Chuck, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Charley, Red Milton’s amiable, impudent assistant at the newspaper, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Charley Aplin, a snobbish, bragging boy from a snobbish, bragging family, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Charley Freer, a member of Jim Lorton’s boating club, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Charley Kronborg, Thea’s second-oldest brother in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).

WRITERS:
– Charley Chase (1893-1940), American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter.
– Charley Rogers (1887-1956), English actor, director, and screenwriter.
– Charley Rosen (b. 1941), American author and coach.
– Charley Trujillo (b. 1949), Mexican-American editor, filmmaker, novelist, and publisher.

Pierre

August 13, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
French version of “Peter“, from Greek, meaning “stone”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Boutros, Peadar, Pedro, Pejo, Petri, Petruccio, Petruchio, Petrus, Piero, Pierrot, Piers, Piet, Pieter, Pietro, Piotr, Peer, Per, Pere, Pero, Pyotr, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Pierre Baudouin, the art critic and lecturer whose attention makes all the difference in Esther’s life, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Monsieur Pierre Du Bois, Madame Duval’s friend from France, who falls in love with the wrong woman, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.

WRITERS:
– Pierre Barbet (1925-1995), one of several pen names used by French author Claude Avice.
– Pierre Loti (1850-1923), pen name of French novelist and naval officer Julien Viaud.

Lucy

August 13, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
English version of “Lucia”, the feminine form of “Lucius”, from the Latin for “light”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Lucasta”, “Lucille”, “Lucinda”, “Lucretia“, “Louisa” / “Louise”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Luca, Lucasta, Luce, Lucetta, Lucette, Luci, Lucie, Lucia, Lucienne, Lucila, Lucile, Lucilla, Lucille, Lucinda, Lucinde, Lucine, Lucretia, Lulu, Luzia, Louisa, Louise, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miss Lucy Boler, whose life is saved when her cat, Cora, alerts her to a fire, as told in “The Kit-Kat Club”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Lucy Miles, one of Dolly’s friends, in “Dolly Varden”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Mrs. Lucy Mirvan, Lady Howard’s daughter, who carries Evelina into London society as friend and companion to her own daughter, Maria, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Lucy Steele, a clever, manipulative, and self-serving young woman, whose beauty and shrewdness can’t quite cover for her “want of real elegance and artfulness” for those who are paying attention, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).

WRITERS:
– Lucy M. Boston (1892-1990), English novelist.
– Lucy Clifford (1846-1929), British novelist and journalist (known as “Mrs. W.K. Clifford”).
– Lucy Grealy (1963-2002), American poet and memoirist.
– Lucy Herbert (1669-1743/44), English devotional writer.
– Lucy Beatrice Malleson (1899-1973), English author who wrote under the pen names “Anne Meredith” and “Anthony Gilbert”.
– Lucy Maud (L.M.) Montgomery (1874-1942), Canadian author.
– Lucy Fitch Perkins (1865-1937), American children’s book writer and illustrator.
– Lucy Walker (1907-1987), pen name used by Australian writer Dorothy McClemans (also as “Dorothy Lucy Sanders” and “Shelley Dean”).

Philura

August 12, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Probably from Latin, meaning “linden tree” or “writing tablet”. Or possibly a variation of “Philippa”, “Phillida”, “Philomena”, “Phyllis”, etc., or of “Pilar”. But probably the Latin one.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Philaura, Phileria, Philleria, Phillire, Philora, Philoria, Philyra, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Philura Maple, the aunt who gave Zeena the cherished, ill-fated, red pickle dish for a wedding present, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).

Endurance

August 12, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
One of the “virtue” names created by the Puritans, meaning, you know, “endurance”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
I don’t think there are any variations, unless you count all of the other “virtue” names (“Faith”, “Hope”, “Charity”, “Patience”, etc.). As for nicknames . . . whatever. You do what you want.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Endurance Frome, Ethan’s mother, whose death left him lonesome enough to turn to his cousin Zenobia for comfort, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).

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