Inez
May 24, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Anglicization of “Inés”, the Italian or Spanish version of “Agnes“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Annice, Annis, Aune, Iines, Ines, Nainsi, Nance, Nancie, Nancy, Nensi, Nes, Neske, Nessie, Nessy, Nest, Nesta, Neysa, Oanez, Ynes, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Inez Carew, the actress Carrie replaces for her first big break, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
WRITERS:
– Inez Baskin (1916-2007), American activist and journalist.
– Inez Hogan (1895-1973), American children’s book author and illustrator.
– Inez Holden (1903-1974), English journalist, socialite, and writer.
– Inez Haynes Irwin (1873-1970), American activist, author, and journalist who sometimes published as “Inez Haynes Gillmore”.
Benjamin
May 24, 2015 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the Hebrew name “Binyamin”, meaning “son of the south” or “son of the right hand”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ben, Beniamin, Beniamino, Benj, Benja, Benji, Benjie, Benjy, Bennie, Benny, Benyamen, Beryamen, Binyamin, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Benjamin Hardin Creighton (b. 1832), oldest of the Creighton children, “left for Californy 1849”), in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Middle name of Matthew Benjamin Creighton, Ellen’s husband and Jethro’s father, a well-respected farmer of integrity and compassion, in Across Five Aprils.
– Benjamin Norton, the president of the trolley company Hurstwood attempts to work for, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
WRITERS:
– Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), English novelist and politician.
– Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American activist, author, diplomat, inventor, politician, publisher, scientist, and statesman.
Orrin
May 24, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Oran” / “Orin”, from Irish, meaning “little pale green one”, or of “Oren”, from Hebrew, meaning “pine tree”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Odran, Odrhan, Oran, Oren, Orin, Orren, Orrie, Orry, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Orrin Cushing, a friend of Lola’s who tries to strike up a flirtation with Carrie, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
Lola
May 24, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Dolores”, meaning “sorrowful”. May also be used (in a roundabout sort of way) as a diminutive of “Dorothy” or “Mary“, through the “Doll” / “Moll” / “Poll” / “Loll” rhyming tradition.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Loleta, Lolette, Lolicia, Lolita, Loll, Lollie, Lolly
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lola Osborne, Carrie’s friend and fellow actress, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
WRITERS:
– Lola Anglada (1893-1984), Spanish illustrator and writer.
– Lola Ridge (1873-1941), Irish-American anarchist, editor, and poet.
– Lola Rodríguez de Tió (1843-1924), Puerto Rican activist and poet.
– Lola Lemire Tostevin (b. 1937), French Canadian poet, novelist, and translator.
Percy
May 24, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From an English last name, derived from a French place name, “Perci”, a small Norman village; or a shortened version of “Percival“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Parsifal, Parzifal, Perce, Perceval, Percevale, Percie, Percival, Percyvelle.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Percy Weil, a New York theatrical agent, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
Marcus
May 24, 2015 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
From a Roman last name derived from Mars, the god of war.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Marc, Marcas, Marco, Marcos, Marek, Mark, Markie, Marko, Markos, Markus, Marky, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marcus Jenks, a New York theatrical agent, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
August
May 24, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Augustus”, meaning “great” or “venerable”, or possibly referring to the month of August.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Aku, Avgust, Augie, Auggie, Augustas, Auguste, Augusto, Augustus, Aukusti, Gus, Gussie, Gussy, Kusti, Og, Oggi, Oggie, Oggy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mr. August Viele, owner of the New York property which houses the bar Hurstwood regretfully invests in, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
Norman
May 12, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
An old Germanic name meaning “Northman”, referring to the Vikings who settled Normandy.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Norm, Normand, Normant, Normie
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Dr. Norman McNeill Hale, a well-known figure in Chicago, who buys one of the boxes for the play Drouet’s Elks lodge puts on as a fundraiser, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
WRITERS:
– Norman Bridwell (1928-2014), American children’s book writer and cartoonist.
– Norman Corwin (1910-2011), American essayist, producer, professor, screenwriter, and writer.
– Norman Cousins (1915-1990), American activist, author, editor, journalist, and professor.
– Norman Davies (b. 1939), Anglo-Polish historian and writer.
– Norman Douglas (1868-1952), Scottish-Austrian author and travel writer.
– Norman Finkelstein (b. 1953), American activist, author, professor, and scholar.
– Norman Finkelstein (b. 1954), American critic and poet.
– Norman Rowland Gale (1862-1942), English poet, reviewer, and story-teller.
– Norman Hunter (1899-1995), English children’s book writer.
– Norman Lear (b. 1922), American activist, producer, and screenwriter.
– Norman Lewis (1908-2003), English author and journalist.
– Norman Lewis (1912-2006), American author, etymologist, grammarian, and lexicographer.
– Norman Lindsay (1879-1969), Australian artist, author, cartoonist, and writer.
– Norman Maclean (1902-1990), American author and scholar.
– Norman Mailer (1923-2007), American activist, actor, essayist, filmmaker, journalist, novelist, and playwright.
– Norman Whitfield (1940-2008), American producer and songwriter.
Minnie
May 10, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Wilhelmina” (the feminine form of “Wilhelm”, which is the Germanic version of “William“), or a Scottish variation of “Mary“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mame, Mamie, Manon, Mari, Mary, Mayme, Mien, Mimi, Mina, Minette, Minna, Minni, Minnith, Mira, Miri, Miriam, Mitzi, Vilma, Wilhelmina, Willa, Willie, Willy, Wilma, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Minnie Hanson, Carrie’s married older sister in Chicago, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
Some Formerly-Popular Baby Names for Girls
January 20, 2015 § Leave a comment
Here is an article about some names that were once top of the list in popularity for baby girls, but have since gone nearly extinct. What do you think? Is it time to resurrect some of these old-fashioned names? (Note: If you’re looking for good names for characters, remember that the young adults of any particular decade would be likely to have a popular baby name of ~20 years earlier. So, say, an Ethel born in the 1890s would be a “new woman” of the WWI years, or even a “flapper” of the 1920s!)
Bertha (popular in the 1880s)
Betty (popular throughout the 1930s)
Doris (popular in the 1930s)
Dorothy (popular in the 1920s)
Edna (popular from the 1880s through to the 1920s)
Ethel (popular in the 1890s through the early 1900s)
Florence (popular from the 1880s-1930s)
Gladys (popular around the 1890s-1910s)
Ida (popular in the 1880s)
Mildred (popular in the 1910s-1920s)
Minnie (popular in the late 1800s)
Tammy (popular in the 1960s)
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 