Baby-Naming Trends of the Past
January 8, 2015 § Leave a comment
What’s that they say?
“Everything old is new again.”
“There is nothing new under the sun.”
“History repeats itself.”
“What goes around, comes around.”
It all seems so appropriate for the subject of naming trends. We even have an early 19th century preference for “K” names to thank for making “Katherine” (and it’s nickname, “Katie” / “Katy“) more common than “Catherine“!
Click through to the article for more baby-naming trends that aren’t as modern as we might think!
Dudley
January 6, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
An Old English last name, meaning “from Dudda’s meadow”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None that I can think of.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lord Dudley, the evil Duke Wulf’s fat son, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Dudley Carew (1903-1981), English critic, journalist, poet, and writer.
– Dudley Costello (1803-1865), Anglo-Irish journalist, novelist, and soldier.
– Dudley Doust (1930-2008), American author and journalist.
– Dudley Fitts (1903-1968), American critic, educator, poet, and translator.
– Dudley Leavitt (1772-1851), American editor and publisher.
– Dudley Nichols (1895-1960), American screenwriter.
– Dudley Randall (1914-2000), American poet and publisher.
– Dudley Pope (1925-1997), English author.
Oliver
December 3, 2014 § 6 Comments
ORIGIN:
Variation of the French “Olivier”; either from German, meaning “elven army”, or from Latin, meaning “olive tree”, or from the Nordic “Olaf”, meaning “ancestor’s descendant”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Oli, Olivier, Oliviero, Ollie, Noll, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Oliver Landry, Thea’s accompanist, and friend to both Thea and Fred, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Oliver Crawford (1917-2008), American author and screenwriter.
– Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, and poet.
– Oliver Herford (1863-1935), American artist, humorist, illustrator, and writer.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894), American author, lecturer, physician, poet, and professor.
– Oliver Lodge (1851-1940), English physicist and writer.
– Oliver W.F. Lodge (1878-1955), English author and poet.
– Oliver Onions (1873-1961), English writer.
– Oliver Sacks (b. 1933), Anglo-American author and neurologist.
Therese
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Teresa” / “Theresa”, possibly from Greek, meaning “summer” or “harvest”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Teca, Tena, Teresa, Terese, Teresia, Teresinha, Tereza, Tera, Tere, Teresita, Teri, Terra, Terri, Terrie, Terry, Tess, Tessa, Tessan, Tessie, Tessy, Thera, Theresa, Theresia, Tracee, Tracey, Traci, Tracie, Tracy, Treasa, Treece, Trees, Treese, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Thérèse, Thea’s French lady’s maid, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Thérèse Bentzon (1840-1907), pen name of French essayist, journalist, and novelist Marie Thérèse Blanc.
– Therese Huber (1764-1829), German author.
– Thérèse-Adèle Husson (1803-1831), French writer.
– Therese von Lützow (1804-1852), German author.
– Therese Albertine Luise Robinson (1797-1870), German-American author, linguist, and translator.
Tai
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Possibly Chinese, meaning “great” or “extreme”, or Romanian, meaning “yours”, or Maori, meaning “the tide”, or a shortened version of the Yoruba “Taiwo”, meaning “first of twins” or “taste of the world”, etc. There are many possibilities here.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
I don’t rightly know.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tai, one of Dr. Archie’s Japanese servants in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Tai (Augustus Taiwo) Solarin (1922-1994), Nigerian activist, author, and educator.
Pinky
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Pinkie”; an English nickname meaning “healthy”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Pinkie. It’s already a nickname. It would be weird to nickname a nickname, wouldn’t it?
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Pinky Alden, the governor of Colorado, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
Otto
December 3, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of the Germanic “Audo” or “Odo”, meaning “wealth”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Audo, Eudes, Oddo, Ode, Odi, Odilon, Odo, Otello, Otho, Othello, Ottone, Ottorino, Rino, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Otto Ottenburg, Fred’s brewing magnate father, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Otto Julius Bierbaum (1865-1910), German writer.
– Otto Binder (1911-1974), American author and comic book writer.
– Otto Ludwig (1813-1865), German critic, dramatist, and novelist.
– Otto Manninen (1872-1950), Finnish poet, translator, and writer.
– Otto Rank (1884-1939), Austrian educator, psychoanalyst, and writer.
– Otto Scott (1918-2006), American author, biographer, and journalist.
– Otto Steiger (1909-2005), Swiss broadcaster and writer.
Katarina
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Catherine” / “Catharine” / “Katherine” / “Katharine“, etc.
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, Katherine, 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:
– Katarina Fürst Ottenburg, Fred’s mother, and heiress to a brewing empire herself, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
Selma
December 3, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Unknown origin; possibly a shortened form of “Anselma”, a feminine form of the Germanic “Anselm”, meaning “divine helmet” or “protection of the gods”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Anselma, Ellie, Elly, Elma, Salma, Sellie, Selly, Selmah, Selme, Zellie, Zelly, Zelma, Zelmah, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Selma, the Nathanmeyer’s maid, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), Swedish author and Nobel Prize winner.
Miles
November 24, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Either from the Germanic “Milo”, possibly meaning “gracious” or “merciful”, or referencing the Latin word for “soldier”, or a variation of “Michael“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Milo, Myles.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miles Murdston, a professional singer who hires Thea as a rehearsal accompanist in Chicago, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Miles Clark (1960-1993), Irish journalist, sailor, and writer.
– Miles Franklin (1879-1954), pen name of Australian activist and writer Stella Miles Franklin.
– Miles J. Stanford (1914-1999), American minister and writer.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 