Dutch | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Tom

July 30, 2014 § 5 Comments

ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Thomas“, Greek form of the Aramaic for “twin”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Tam, Thom, Toma, Tomas, Tommie, Tommy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tom, Maggie Bradford’s cousin, who calls her a “chit of a girl”, in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Tom, one of the servants at Randalls, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Tom, one of Susy’s brothers, whose kite-flying she finds distracting, in “Susy’s Dragon”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Cousin Tom, who teases Molly Gair about her love of fine dresses, in “Molly Gair’s New Dress”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Tom Branghton, the loutish son of Madame Duval’s (and Evelina’s) cousins, the crude, ill-mannered Branghton clan, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Tom Cinqbars, subject of one of Rawdon’s sporty stories in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Tom Colt, the “young pup” who hopes to steal Alice away from Jim, in “The Tragedy of the Unexpected”, from Nora Perry’s The Tragedy of the Unexpected and Other Stories (published in 1880, but set in the 1870s).
– Tom (Thomas) Creighton (b. 1843), Jethro’s older brother, who, at just 18 years of age, runs off to join the Union Army, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Tom Drinker, one of Johnny’s acquaintances, an apprentice at one of the shops on the wharf, in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Tom Eaves, a city man full of gossip about Lord Steyne, in Vanity Fair.
– Tom (Thomas) Faggus, the roguishly charming highwayman whose relation to the Ridd family gives them both prestige and trouble, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Tom Fleming, Ally’s uncle, who ought to have paid more attention, in “Ally”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Tom Grieves, the handyman who works for the Gilbreth family in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– “Doctor Tom” (Dr. Thomas Harrison), who specializes in mending children’s hurt limbs, in “The Story of Little Syl”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Tom Joy, Berry’s brother, who fortunately takes after his father, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Tom Lloyd, Marge and Elsie’s cousin, an amateur artist, in “The Egg-Boy” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Tom Marin, a neighbor from Rose Hill who comes to help the Creightons with their barn-raising, in Across Five Aprils.
– Tom Moody, Sir Huddleston Fuddleston’s huntsman, in Vanity Fair.
– Tom Posky, one of the soliders of the regiment in Vanity Fair.
– Tom Raikes, one of Becky’s more forward conquests, in Vanity Fair.
– Tom Raymond, Will Wentworth’s good-natured chum, in “That Little Smith Girl” from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Tom Rivington, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, George Rivington’s brother, in A Little Country Girl (1885).
– Tom Stubble, a young ensign under Capt. William Dobbin’s command in Vanity Fair.
– Tom Tufto, a relative of Sir George Tufto’s in Vanity Fair.

WRITERS:
Try this link for a starter list of writers named “Tom”.

QUOTATIONS:
– “Tom” and “Tommy” are fairly common names used in nursery rhymes such as “Tom, Tom, the piper’s son”
– In “Tom, Dick or Harry“, a song from the 1948 Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter, Bianca and her suitors sing of her eagerness to wed: “I’m a maid who would marry / And would take with no qualm / Any Tom, Dick or Harry, / Any Harry, Dick or Tom. / I’m a maid mad to marry / And will take double-quick / Any Tom, Dick or Harry, / Any Tom, Harry or Dick!”

Robert

July 30, 2014 § 12 Comments

ORIGIN:
Anglo-Saxon, meaning “bright flame”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bob, Bobbie, Bobby, Rab, Raibeart, Rob, Robb, Robbie, Robby, Roberto, Robi, Robin, Rupert, Ruprecht, etc. I guess even Bobert, if you really wish it.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Robert (called “Bob“, b. 1920), the eleventh of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Robert, the pageboy at Jim and Ned’s place, in “The Tragedy of the Unexpected”, from Nora Perry’s The Tragedy of the Unexpected and Other Stories (published in 1880, but set in the 1870s)
– Sir Robert, an uncle to Edward, Fanny, and Robert Ferrars, who was responsible for Mrs. Ferrar’s decision to send Edward to Mr. Pratt’s for a private education, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Lord Robert of Amhurste (called “Robin” by his twin sister, Margaret), a brave and generous young man, in “A Brother to Dragons” (written in 1886, set in 1586), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Sir Robert Bampfylde, the litigious gentleman whose lawsuits led to Tom Faggus’ ruin and subsequent adoption of the highwayman’s life, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Rev. Robert Brocklehurst, the formidable and hypocritical supervisor of Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Middle name of John Robert Creighton (b. 1837), Jethro’s oldest brother remaining at home, “more impatient, quicker to anger” than his beloved brother Bill, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Robert Ferrars, Edward’s favored younger brother, “silly and a great coxcomb”, in Sense and Sensibility.
– Robert Furnival, old Lady Mary’s lawyer, who pesters her to write her will before it is too late, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Robert Leaven, the man Bessie Lee marries, who works as porter at Gateshead and lives in the lodge, in Jane Eyre.
– Robert Martin, a sensible, respectable, intelligent young gentleman-farmer, who hopes to marry Harriet Smith, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Robert Racket (called “Robin“), a handsome and charming lad who steals the hearts of cousins Keren Lemon and Ruth Visor, in “The Farrier Lass o’ Piping Pebworth” (written in 1887, set circa 1600), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales.
– Robert Siddell, one of Uncle Gabe’s two favorite students at his Jewish vocational school, chosen as a blind date for teenaged Lily, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).

WRITERS:
Go here for a list of probably close to a thousand writers named “Robert”, if you’d like to know what sort of illustrious literary company this name keeps.

Frank

July 30, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Francis“, from the Late Latin word “Franciscus” (meaning “Frenchman”), from the Germanic / Old French word for “free”, or referring to the Germanic tribe settled in Europe known as the Franks.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Chica, Chico, Ferenc, Feri, Fran, Franca, Francesco, Francis, Francisco, Franciscus, Franco, Francois, Franka, Frankie, Franky, Franny, Frans, Franz, Franzi, Paca, Paco, Pancho, Paquita, Paquito, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Frank, Ida Standish’s uncle, on whose farm she, the Kennedy family, and Miss Sarah Parsons will work all summer, in order to “pick berries, and get strong”, in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Frank Churchill, Mr. Weston’s son, adopted by his wealthy aunt and uncle; a very friendly and engaging young man who is looked on as a possible match for Emma, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Frank Crawley, one of the Rev. Bute Crawley’s sons, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Frank Gilbreth (b. 1911), the fifth child, and oldest boy, of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr. (b. 1868), the industrial engineer and efficiency expert whose family life is related in Cheaper By the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes.
– Frank A. Hale, manager of the Standard Theatre in Chicago, in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Dr. Frank Harmon, whose generosity once saved Ruth’s soul, and “who concludes to leave the city”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– Frank Lyman, Lucretia Harper’s fiancée, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls.
– Frank Smithson, an “arch-schemer and swindler” who flees to Rio, in “That Little Smith Girl” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Frank L. Taintor, a friend of Hurstwood’s, in Sister Carrie.
– Frank Tuchek, the blond Ukrainian boy Lily has a crush on at school, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).

WRITERS:
– Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. (1911-2001), American author and memoirist.
– Frank Loesser (1910-1969), American composer and lyricist.

Anne

July 28, 2014 § 10 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Ann“, this is a French variant of “Anna“, from “Hannah” (as used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament), a version of the Hebrew name “Channah”, meaning “favor” or “grace”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ana, Anabel, Anabelle, Anabella, Anais, Andie, Andy, Aneta, Ani, Anica, Anika, Anita, Anitra, Anka, Anke, Anna, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Anne, Anneke, Annetta, Annette, Annick, Annicka, Annie, Annika, Anniken, Annis, Anouk, Antje, Anya, Hanna, Hannah, Hanne, Nan, Nancy, Nanette, Nannie, Nina, Ninon, Ona, Onna, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Anne (b. 1905), the eldest of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Anne Cox, one of Mr. Cox’s sisters, who Emma Woodhouse calls “the two most vulgar girls in Highbury”, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Lady Anne Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s late mother and Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s sister, in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Lady Anne de Bourgh, Lady Catherine’s daughter and Mr. Darcy’s sickly cousin, in Pride and Prejudice.
– Lady Anne Lennox, older sister to Lady Dorothy and Lord Humphrey, in “Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story” (written in 1887, set circa 1630s-1669), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Miss Anne Steele (sometimes called “Nancy“), Lucy’s well-intentioned but empty-headed ninny of an older sister, a woman of “vulgar freedom and folly”, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).

WRITERS:
– Anne Dudley (née Seymour), Countess of Warwick (1538-1588), English writer.
– Anne Ker (1766-1821), English novelist.
– Anne Lamott (b. 1954), American activist and writer.
– Anne Logan (b. 1947), pen name of American mystery and romance author Barbara Colley.
– Anne Meredith (1899-1978), one of the pen names of American writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson.
– Anne Rice (b. 1941), American novelist.

Caroline

July 28, 2014 § 9 Comments

ORIGIN:
The French feminine version of the Latin “Carolus”. Like “Charlotte,” a feminine version of “Charles.”

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cady, Caddie, Caddy, Calleigh, Callie, Cari, Carla, Carrie, Carry, Carlyn, Carol, Carola, Carolina, Carolyn, Carrie, Caryl, Charlize, Coraline, Kaja, Kaia, Kallie, Karla, Karolina, Karrie, Karry, Kaya, Keri, Kerri, Kerrie, Kerry, Lili, Line, Lina, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Caroline Belmont, née Evelyn, Mme. Duval’s daughter (by her first husband), Evelina’s mother, and Sir John Belmont’s spurned and forsaken wife, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Caroline Bingley, Mr. Bingley’s proud and spiteful sister with designs on Darcy, in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Caroline Lambert, who encourages her children in the lovely tradition of inviting someone in need to join them for Thanksgiving dinner every year, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Caroline Meeber (usually called “Carrie“, sometimes “Cad”; “Miss Madenda” in her acting career), the titular self-interested dreamer of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900; set 1889-1890s).
– Miss Caroline Otway, a member of the Otway clan, guests at Mr. and Mrs. Weston’s ball, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).

WRITERS:
– Caroline Courtney (1946-2011), pen name of English romance author Penelope Halsall, who also published under the pen names “Annie Groves”, “Lydia Hitchcock”, “Melinda Wright”, and “Penny Jordan”.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “Dainty June and Her Farmboys” from the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy, by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents: “I have a moo cow / a new cow / a true cow / named Caroline / she’s an extra-special friend of mine / I like everything about her fine”

Louisa

July 28, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
Along with “Louise”, the feminine variation of “Lewis” / “Louis”, the French version of “Ludovicus”, which is the Latin version of the German “Ludwig”, meaning “famous warrior” or “warrior prince”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lou, Lula, Lulu, Luise, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Louisa Box, a girl local to Queen’s Crawley, with a reputation for fighting with her sister, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Louisa Crawley, one of the Rev. Bute Crawley’s daughters in Vanity Fair.
– Louisa Cutts, the girl Edward Dale marries, in Vanity Fair.
– Louisa Eshton, the youngest of the Eshton girls, members of Mr. Rochester’s social set, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Louisa Hurst, Mr. Bingley’s snobbish married sister in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Louisa Bailey Joy, Berry and Tom Joy’s mother, who has much money but little taste or gentility, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Lady Louisa Larpent, Lord Orville’s snobbish, shallow sister, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.

WRITERS:
– Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), American novelist and short story writer.
– Louisa Anne Meredith (1812-1895), Anglo-Australian illustrator and writer, also known as Louisa Anne Twamley.

Charlotte

July 28, 2014 § 10 Comments

ORIGIN:
French feminine version of “Charles“, from the German name “Karl”, meaning “man”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Carla, Carlota, Carlotta, Carola, Carole, Carolina, Caroline, Charla, Charlene, Charline, Charlize, Charlotta, Karla, Karola, Karolina, Let, Lettie, Letty, Lotta, Lotte, Lottie, Lotty, Séarlait, Tot, Tottie, Totty, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth Bennet’s plain, sensible best friend in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Charlotte Palmer, Mrs. Jennings’ rather gossipy and silly, but good-natured and kind-hearted daughter, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility(set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).

WRITERS:
– Charlotte M. Brame (1836-1884), English author who wrote under the pen name “Bertha M. Clay”.
– Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855), English novelist and poet.
– Charlotte Lamb (1937-2000), pen name of English romance author Sheila Holland, who also published as “Laura Hardy”, “Sheila Coates”, “Sheila Lancaster”, and “Victoria Wolf”.
– Charlotte Turner Smith (1749-1806), English novelist and poet.
– Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823-1901), English novelist.

Maria

July 28, 2014 § 11 Comments

ORIGIN:
Pronounced either “ma REE’ a” or “ma RYE’ a”, this is the Latin form of Mary.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maia, Maike, Maja, Malia, Mara, Mairen, Mari, Mariah, Marie, Mariele, Mariella, Marietta, Marijeke, Marika, Mariska, Marita, Mary, Maureen, Maya, Mia, Mimi, Mirele, Moira, Reena, Reeta, Ria, Riele, Riella, Rina, Rita, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Maria, maid-of-all-work for Maggie Bradford’s family in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Maria Johnson, the farmer’s wife in The Song of the Cardinal, by Gene Stratton Porter (1903).
– Maria Lucas, the younger sister of Lizzie Bennet’s best friend Charlotte in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Maria Mirvan (called “Molly” or “Moll” by her father), Evelina’s dearest friend, with whom she enters into London society, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Maria Frances Osborne, the younger of George Osborne’s sisters in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Maria Porter (called “Ria“), a shopgirl Anna Winslow helps in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls.
– Miss Maria Temple, head teacher and superintendent of Lowood Institute, whose kindness to Jane encourages and consoles her, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Maria Todd, Miss Osborne’s goddaughter and sister to Osborne Todd, Georgy Osborne’s friend, in Vanity Fair.

QUOTATIONS:
– “They Call The Wind Maria” is a song from the 1951 musical Paint Your Wagon by Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe: “Away out here they got a name / For rain and wind and fire / The rain is Tess, the fire Joe / And they call the wind Maria”. (Obviously, you have to go with the “ma RYE’ a” pronunciation for this song, or it doesn’t really rhyme. Also, I have serious doubts about anyone actually calling fire “Joe”.)
– “Maria” is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim: “The most beautiful sound I ever heard. / Maria! . . . Say it loud and there’s music playing, / Say it soft and it’s almost like praying.”
– “(How Do You Solve a Problem Like) Maria” is a song from the 1959 musical The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II: “How do you solve a problem like Maria? / How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? / How do you find a word that means Maria? / A flibbertigibbet! A will-o’-the-wisp! A clown! / Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her / Many a thing she ought to understand / But how do you make her stay / And listen to all you say / How do you keep a wave upon the sand? / How do you solve a problem like Maria? / How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?”

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