Wulf
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Germanic variation of “Wolf”, a shortened version of names like “Wolfgang”, “Wolfgar”, “Wolfram”, etc., or simply referencing the animal.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ulf, Wolf, Wolfe, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duke Wulf, Princess Alison Jocelyn’s evil uncle, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Alban
December 19, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the Latin place name, meaning “from Alba”, derived from the Latin word “albus”, meaning “white”. Also the name of a prominent English saint.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Albano, Albanus, Albany, Alben, Albin, Albinus, Aubin, Aubyn, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duke Alban, whose land needs to be saved from a rampaging ogre, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Alban Butler (1710-1773), English author and priest.
– Alban Stoltz (1808-1883), German author and theologian.
– Alban Thomas (c. 1660?-c.1740), Welsh cleric, poet, and translator.
Haggard
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
A medieval English or Scottish last name, with three possible origins: from Gaelic, meaning “son of the priest”; or from the Middle English/Old French “hagard”, meaning “wild” or “untamed”; or from Danish, after the Viking place-name “Agard”, meaning “farm by the stream”. Also possibly referencing the English word “haggard”, meaning “very thin or tired, especially from great hunger, worry, or pain.”
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hagard, Hagart, Hager, Haggart, Haggarth, Hagger, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– King Haggard, the discontented, miserly monarch who can only find joy in the sight of unicorns, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
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.
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.
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.
Katharine
November 24, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Katherine”, “Catherine” / “Catharine”, etc., from the Greek for “pure”. Also an alternate spelling for the German “Katharina”.
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, 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:
– Katharine Priest, 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:
– Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929), American author, editor, educator, lyricist, poet, and songwriter.
– Katharine Coman (1857-1915), American activist, economist, educator, and writer.
– Katharine Gordon (b. 1916), Scottish novelist.
– Katharine Tynan Hinkson (1861-1931), Irish novelist and poet.
– Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883-1969), Australian activist and author.
– Katharine Pyle (1863-1938), American artist, children’s book writer, and poet.
– Katharine Sergeant Angell White (1892-1977), American author and editor.
Hiram
November 24, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Hebrew, meaning “exalted brother”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hi, High, Hirem, Huram, Hurem, Hy, Hyram, Hyrem.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Hiram Bowers, Madison Bowers’ father, a Boston choirmaster, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Hiram M. Chittenden (1858-1917), American historian.
– Hiram Alfred (H.A.) Cody (1872-1948), Canadian clergyman and novelist.
– Hiram Fuller (1814-1880), American educator and journalist.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 