Gus
November 6, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Augustus”, “Angus”, “Gustave”, etc. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Constantine”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Guus, Kusti, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gus Kronborg, Thea’s oldest brother, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Gus Kahn (1886-1941), American lyricist.
– Gus Tyler (1911-2011), American activist, author, and columnist.
Gunner
November 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Gunnar”, from Old Norse, meaning “warrior”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gunnar, Gunnarr, Gunne, Gunter, Gunther, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gunner Kronborg, one of Thea’s rambunctious younger brothers in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Gunner Berg (1764-1827), Norwegian politician, priest, and writer.
Axel
November 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Danish version of “Absalom”, from the Hebrew, meaning “my father is peace”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Acke, Aksel, Akseli, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Axel Kronborg, one of Thea’s rambunctious younger brothers in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Axel Jensen (1932-2003), Norwegian author.
– Axel Munthe (1857-1949), Swedish author, physician, and psychiatrist.
Thor
November 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Norse, meaning “thunder”, from the god of strength, war, and thunder.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Tor. And . . . that’s all, really.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Thor Kronborg, Thea’s youngest brother and special charge until she leaves Moonstone for Chicago in order to study music, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), Norwegian adventurer and writer.
Juan
November 6, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Spanish form of “John“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ganix, Jan, Joan, Juanito, Xuan, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Juan Tellamantez (called “Spanish Johnny“), a talented guitar player, one of the Mexican workmen who befriend Thea in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Juan Andrés y Morell (1740-1817), Spanish Jesuit author, critic, humanist, and priest..
– Juan José Arreola (1918-2001), Mexican humorist and writer.
– Juan Benet (1927-1993), Spanish writer.
– Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958), Spanish poet.
– Juan Antonio Llorente (1756-1823), Spanish historian and writer.
– Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena (1282-1348), Spanish writer.
– Juan Francisco Manzano (1797-1854), Cuban author.
– Juan Montalvo (1832-1889), Ecuadorian author and essayist.
– Juan Carlos Onetti (1909-1994), Uruguayan novelist and short story writer.
– Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita (ca. 1283-ca. 1350), Spanish poet.
– Juan Perez Rulfo (1918-1986), Mexican novelist and short story writer.
– Juan Luis Vives (1493-1540), Spanish humanist, scholar, and writer.
– Juan Rodolfo Wilcock (1919-1978), Argentinian critic, poet, translator, and writer.
Thea
November 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Althea”, “Dorothea” / “Dorothy“, “Theodora”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dora, Dorit, Dosia, Dottie, Dotty, Tea, Teja, Tiia, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Thea Kronborg, the passionate and gifted protagonist of The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Thea Astley (1925-2004), Australian novelist and short story writer.
– Thea Beckman (1923-2004), Dutch children’s book author.
– Thea Leitner (b. 1921), Austrian author and journalist.
– Thea von Harbou (1888-1954), German actress, director, novelist, and screenwriter.
Howard
November 6, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
An English last name, derived either from the Germanic “Hughard”, meaning “brave heart” or “strong mind”, or from Old Norse, meaning “high guardian” or “watchman”, or from Middle English, meaning “herder of ewes”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Howie. That’s pretty much it.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Dr. Howard Archie, Thea’s old friend and confidante in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Howard Fast (1914-2003), American novelist and television writer who also wrote under the pen names “E.V. Cunningham” and “Walter Ericson”.
– Howard Glyndon (1839-1923), pen name of American columnist, journalist, and poet Laura Redden Searing.
– Howard Harris (1912-1986), American film and television writer.
– Howard Horn (1911-1983), pen name of Cornish biographer, historian, lecturer, novelist, poet, and professor Robert Payne, who also used the pen names “John Anthony Devon”, “Richard Cargoe”, “Robert Young”, and “Valentin Tikhonov”.
– Howard Hille Johnson (1846-1913), American activist, educator, and writer.
– Howard Lindsay (1889-1968), American actor, director, librettist, playwright, and producer.
– Howard Phillips (H.P.) Lovecraft (1890-1937), American author.
– Howard Pyle (1853-1911), American author and illustrator.
– Howard Zinn (1922-2010), American activist, author, historian, and playwright.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 