Lotty
August 6, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Lottie” or “Lotte”; diminutive of “Charlotte“, “Liselotte”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Let, Lette, Lettie, Letty, Lotta, Lotte, Lottie, Tot, Tottie, Totty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lotty Kennedy, a poverty-stricken little girl Ida Standish befriends in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Lotty Riker, a mean-spirited parcel-girl in “Becky”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Eva
August 6, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Ava”, the Latin form of “Eve”, from Hebrew, meaning “breath” or “life”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Evangeline”, “Evelyn”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ava, Chava, Chavah, Eabha, Efa, Eve, Eveline, Evelyn, Evie, Evita, Evvie, Evvy, Hava, Havva, Hawa, Yeva, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Eva, a young guest of Mrs. Warburton’s, rather inclined to be helpful, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Eva Nelson, a kind, thoughtful girl, who wants to do good in the world but doesn’t know how, in “A Little Boarding-School Samaritan”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Eva Randal, an older girl who Anna Winslow emulates by reading to the working-class girls at the Union in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls.
WRITERS:
– Eva Ibbotson (1925-2010), English novelist.
Ria
August 6, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Maria“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maia, Maja, Mia, Miep, Mies, Mitzi, Mya, Reena, Reeta, Rina, Rita, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nickname of Maria Porter, a shopgirl Anna Winslow helps in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
Max
August 5, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Maximilian” or “Maxwell”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mac, Mack, Maxie, Maxey, Miksa, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Max, one of Becky’s young bohemian neighbors in Pumpernickel, where Amelia, Dobbin, Jos, and Georgy visit for a while on their Grand Tour, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Dr. Max Wilson, Dr. Ed’s younger brother, a brilliant playboy surgeon who beguiles Sidney Page, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
AUTHORS:
– Sir Max Beerbohm (1872-1956), English humorist and writer.
Ida
August 5, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “work” or “labor”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Idah, Ide, Idella, Idelle, Idina, Iida, etc..
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ida, daughter of the Prime Minister of Pumpernickel, where Amelia, Dobbin, Jos, and Georgy visit for a while on their Grand Tour, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Ida Standish, member of the Mayflower Club in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
WRITERS:
– Ida Pollock (1908-2013), English author who published under her own name, as well as several pseudonyms.
– Ida Tarbell (1857-1944), American author, journalist, and teacher.
– Ida B. Wells (1862-1931), American activist, editor, and journalist.
Jos
August 5, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Joseph“, meaning “He will add”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jef, Jo, Joe, Joep, Joey, Jojo, Joop, Joos, José, Josef, Josip, Jozef, Osip, Pepe, Pepito, Seph, Sepp, Sjef, Zef, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jos (Joseph) Sedley, Amelia’s silly, conceited older brother in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Felix
August 5, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Latin, meaning “fortunate” or “successful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Felice, Feliks, Phelix, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Felix Rabbit, country curate and father of fourteen daughters (including Mrs. Hardyman), eleven of whom are married off during their stay in India, which event is a topic of conversation between Joseph Sedley and his friends, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
WRITERS:
– Felix Francis (b. 1953), English crime novelist.
– Felix Salten (1869-1945), Austrian author and critic.
Georgina
August 5, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Like “Georgiana“, one of the many feminine variants of “George“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Geena, Gena, Georgeanne, Georgette, Georgia, Georgiana, Georgie, Georgine, Gigi, Gina, Giorgia, Giorgina, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Georgina Frederica, Lady Fitz-Willis, one of the “best” society dames to befriend Becky through Lord Steyne’s patronage, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Marianne
August 4, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
French diminutive of “Marie“, from “Maria“. Also a combination of “Marie” / “Mary” and “Anne” / “Ann“, or an alternate spelling of “Marian“.
VARIANTS and NICKNAMES:
Manon, Marian, Mariana, Marie, Marieanne, Marielle, Mariette, Marion, Marise, Mary, Maryann, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marianne Clarke, scandalously spotted entering the “petits appartements of Lord Steyne” in company with an unnamed Duke in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Marianne Dashwood, the emotionally-wrought, passionately romantic second Dashwood sister, “generous, amiable, interesting: she was every thing but prudent”, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
WRITERS:
– Marianne Moore (1887-1972), American poet and writer.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 