Norm
July 12, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Norman“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Normand, Normand, Normant, Normie
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Uncle Norm, youngest brother of Rosie, Len, and Gabe Shaine, whose choice of wife distances him from his family, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Norm Foster (b. 1949), Canadian playwright.
– Norm Ledgin (b. 1928), American author and journalist.
Len
July 7, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Leonard”, from the Germanic for “brave lion”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lenart, Lennart, Lennie, Lenny, Leo, Leon, Leonard, Leonardo, Leonhard, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Len Shaine, Gabe and Rosie’s brother, and Lily’s enigmatic uncle, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Len Deighton (b. 1929), English artist, historian, novelist, and writer.
– Len Fox (1905-2004), Australian activist, author, journalist, and painter.
– Len Peterson (1917-2008), Canadian novelist, playwright, and screenwriter.
– Len Roberts (1947-2007), American poet.
Rosie
June 10, 2015 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Rosey ” / “Rosy“; diminutive of “Rose“, “Rosa“, names beginning with “Ros-“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Rohese, Rohesia, Ros, Rosa, Rosabel, Rosaleen, Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosaline, Rosamond, Rosamonde, Rosamund, Rosanne, Rose, Roselin, Roselind, Rosella, Roselle, Rosemond, Rosemund, Rosetta, Rosette, Rosey, Rosina, Rosine, Rosita, Roslyn, Rosy, Royse, Roz, Roza, Rozelle, Rozie, Rozy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rosie Pearl, Lily’s adored mother in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Rosie Boycott (b. 1951), English activist and journalist.
– Rosie Harris (b. 1925), pen name of Welsh romance author Marion Rose Harris.
– Rosie Malek-Yonan (b. 1965), Assyrian activist, actress, author, and director.
– Rosie O’Donnell (b. 1962), American actress, author, comedian, and media personality.
– Rosie Rushton (b. 1946), English novelist and non-fiction writer.
– Rosie Scott (b. 1948), Australian-New Zealander novelist.
– Rosie Thomas (b. 1947), pen name of Welsh journalist and romance author Janey King.
– Rosie Goldschmidt (R.G.) Waldeck (1898-1982), German-American author also known as “Rosa Waldeck”.
Nan
June 9, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Ann” / “Anne“, or shortened version of “Nancy“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ann, Anne, Annie, Anny, Nainsi, Nancie, Nancy, Nana, Nance, Nandag, Nanette, Nanice, Nanine, Nannie, Nanny, Nanse, Nansi, Nansie, Nansy, Nenci, Nensi, Neske, Nest, Nesta, Nina, Ninette, Ninon, Nona, Nonna, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nan Duval, Diana’s younger sister, who lost an eye in a dart accident, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
QUOTATIONS:
– From The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602), Act IV scene 4, by William Shakespeare: “My Nan shall be the Queen of all the fairies, / Finely attired in a robe of white.”
WRITERS:
– Nan Agle (1905-2006), American children’s book writer.
– Nan Chauncy (1900-1970), Anglo-Australian children’s book writer.
– Nan Cohen (b. 1968), American poet.
– Nan Fairbrother (1913-1971), English lecturer and writer.
– Nan McDonald (1921-1974), Australian editor and poet.
– Nan C. Robertson (1926-2009), American author, educator, and journalist.
– Nan (Anna) Shepherd (1893-1981), Scottish novelist and poet.
– Nan Bentzen Skille (b. 1945), Norwegian biographer and editor.
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.
Sven
May 10, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From the Old Norse “Sveinn”, meaning “boy”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Soini, Svein, Sveinn, Svend, Svens
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sven Hanson, Carrie’s solemn and austere brother-in-law in Chicago, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
WRITERS:
– Sven Agessen (b. 1140-50-death unknown), Danish historian and writer.
– Sven Delblanc (1931-1992), Swedish academic, author, professor, and translator.
– Sven G. Eliassen (b. 1944), Norwegian historian.
– Sven Elvestad (1884-1934), Norwegian author and journalist, who published mystery stories under the pen name “Stein Riverton”.
– Sven Hassel (or Hazel; 1917-2012), pen name of Danish novelist Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen.
– Sven Hedin (1865-1962), Swedish explorer, geographer, illustrator, photographer, topographer, and travel writer.
– Sven Lidman (1882-1960), Swedish dramatist, novelist, poet, and preacher.
– Sven Lidman (1921-2011), Swedish lexicographer and writer.
– Sven Lindqvist (b. 1932), Swedish author and historian.
– Sven Methling, Jr. (1918-2005), Danish director and screenwriter.
– Sven Moren (1871-1938), Norwegian activist, author, children’s book writer, farmer, playwright, poet, and politician.
– Sven Rosén (1708-1750), Swedish theologian and writer.
– Sven Stolpe (1905-1996), Swedish critic, journalist, scholar, translator, and writer.
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)
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.
Colin
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Anglicized version of the Celtic “Cailean” or “Coilean”, or a diminutive of “Nicholas“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cailan, Cailean, Cailin, Calan, Calum, Coilean, Col, Colan, Cole, Coley, Collin, Collins, Colombe, Colombo, Colombano, Colson, Columbanus, Colyn, Kolman, Koloman, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Colin, one of Princess Alison Jocelyn’s three brothers, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Colin Campbell (1859-1928), Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter.
– Colin Dann (b. 1943), English author.
– Colin Dexter (b. 1930), English author.
– Colin Douglas (b. 1945), pen name of Scottish novelist Colin Thomas Currie.
– Colin Fletcher (1922-2007), Welsh outdoorsman and writer.
– Colin Forbes (1923-2006), pen name of English author Raymond Sawkins, who also wrote under the pen names “Harold English”, “Jay Bernard”, and “Richard Raine”.
– Colin Greenland (b. 1954), English author.
– Colin Harvey (1960-2011), English author and editor.
– Colin Henry Hazlewood (1823-1875), English playwright.
– Colin Higgins (1941-1988), Australian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.
– Colin Kapp (1928-2007), English author.
– Colin MacInnes (1914-1976), English journalist and novelist.
– Colin Mackay (1951-2003), Scottish novelist and poet.
– Colin McDougal (1917-1984), Canadian author.
– Colin McEvedy (1930-2005), English author, historian, and scholar.
– Colin Morton (b. 1948), Canadian poet.
– Colin Thiele (1920-2006), Australian author and educator.
– Colin Turbayne (1916-2006), Australian philosopher and writer.
– Colin Ward (1924-2010), English activist and writer.
– Colin Watson (1920-1983), English author.
– Colin White (1951-2008), English historian.
– Colin Wilson (1931-2013), English philosopher and writer.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 