Augusta
August 21, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Feminine form of “Augustus”, meaning “majestic” or “venerable”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gus, Gussie, Gussy, Gusta.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Augusta Brocklehurst, the second daughter of the formidable and hypocritical supervisor of Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Augusta Hawkins, the vain and self-important younger daughter of a Bristol merchant, who Mr. Elton selects for his wife after being disappointed in his first choice, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
WRITERS:
– Augusta, Lady Gregory (1852-1932), Irish dramatist, folklorist, and theatre manager.
Hetty
August 21, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Hettie”, diminutive of “Henrietta“, “Hester“, “Harriet“, “Mehetabel”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Essie, Essy, Etta, Ettie, Etty, Halle, Hallie, Hattie, Hatty, Hen, Hennie, Henny, Het, Hettie, Yetta, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miss Hetty Bates, a silly, chatty, good-hearted woman who is always delighted to talk about anything, particularly her beloved niece, Jane Fairfax, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Aunt Hetty Walker, who used to frighten young John and Bill with “witch stories” when she’d come to help Ellen with work on the farm, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
WRITERS:
– Hetty Burlingame Beatty (1907-1971), American children’s book author, illustrator, and sculptor.
– Hetty Tayler (1869-1951), pen name of British author and historian Helen Tayler, who also published as “Henrietta Tayler”, and often published jointly with her brother, Alexander.
– Hetty Verolme (b. 1930), Belgian-Australian author and educator.
– Hetty Wright (1697-1750), pen name of English poet Mehetabel Wesley Wright, who was also known as “Kitty Wright”.
Bill
August 18, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
Like “Will“, a diminutive of “William“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bil, Billie, Billy, Gwil, Liam, Lyam, Pim, Vila, Vili, Viljo, Ville, Wil, Wilkie, Wilkin, Wilky, Will, Willie, Willis, Willy, Wim, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Bill, a little boy who lives on the Street with the Pages and the Wilsons and the rest in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Bill, the bartender at Schwitter’s road-house in K.
– Bill Blacksmith, a friend of John Fry’s in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Bill (William) Creighton (b. 1838), Jethro’s favorite older brother, “a big, silent man who was considered ‘peculiar’ in the neighborhood”, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Bill Dadds, a workman on John Ridd’s farm, in Lorna Doone.
– Bill Oliver, wealthy owner of a needle-factory and iron-foundry near Morton, whose daughter, Rosamond, is in love with St. John Rivers, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Bill James (b. 1929), pen name of Welsh novelist James Tucker, who also publishes as “David Craig” and “Judith Jones”.
QUOTATIONS:
– The 1902 song “(Won’t You Come Home) Bill Bailey“, written by Hughie Cannon (1877-1912) remains a standard among Dixieland and classic jazz performers: “Won’t you come home, Bill Bailey, won’t you come home? / I’ve moaned the whole night long / I’ll do the cookin’, honey, I’ll pay the rent / I know I done you wrong.”
– In Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s 1927 musical Show Boat, torch singer Julie (working in a nightclub circa 1903), sings “Bill“, a lament for the less-than-perfect man who stole her heart: “But along came Bill / Who’s not the type at all / You’d meet him on the street / And never notice him / His form and face / His manly grace / Are not the kind that you / Would find in a statue / And I can’t explain / It’s surely not his brain / That makes me thrill / I love him because he’s wonderful / Because he’s just my Bill / . . . He’s just my Bill, an ordinary man / He hasn’t got a thing that I can brag about / . . . I love him, because he’s, I don’t know, / Because he’s just my Bill.”
– From the 1945 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical Carousel, set in 1873 or so, erstwhile barker Billy Bigelow sings a “Soliloquy” about his anticipated son: “Bill, my boy Bill, / I will see that he’s named after me, I will. / My boy Bill! He’ll be tall / And as tough as a tree, will Bill! / Like a tree he’ll grow / With his head held high / And his feet planted firm on the ground. / And you won’t see nobody dare to try / To boss him or toss him around.”
– In the “Wedding Bell Blues” (1969), written by Laura Nyro, the singer laments about a lover who won’t marry her: “Bill, I love you so, I always will / . . . I was on your side, Bill, when you were losing / I’d never scheme or lie, Bill, there’s been no fooling / But kisses and love won’t carry me ’til you marry me, Bill.”
Katie
August 18, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Katy“, etc., a diminutive of “Catherine” / “Katherine“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cadi, Cady, Cait, Cat, Cate, Catey, Cathi, Cathy, Catie, Cato, Caty, Catya, Kady, Kaia, Kaity, Kaja, Kat, Kata, Kate, Katey, Kathi, Kathie, Kathy, Katka, Katri, Katy, Kay, Kaya, Kaye, Kaylee, Kayleen, Kit, Kitti, Kittie, Kitty, Kylee, Kyleen, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Katie, housemaid at Mrs. Page’s boarding-house, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
WRITERS:
– Katie Stewart (1934-2013), English cooking writer and columnist.
Tillie
August 18, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Tilly“, diminutive of “Matilda“, meaning “strength in battle” or “mighty battle-maid”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Malta, Mathilda, Mathilde, Matilda, Matilde, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Tilda, Tilde, Tilly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tillie, Mrs. Rosenfeld’s niece who works in the dining room at Mrs. McKee’s boarding-house, and who is courted by the already-married Mr. Schwitter, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Tillie Kronborg, Thea’s eccentric aunt and biggest fan, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Tillie Olsen (1912-2011), American activist and writer.
Ed
August 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Edward“, “Edgar”, “Edwin“, “Edmund”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Edd, Eddi, Eddie, Eddy, Ned, Nedd, Neddie, Neddy, Ted, Tedd, Teddie, Teddy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ed Turner, the neighbor whose farm Rob Taylor tried to escape to when he and Mary Creighton were pursued by Travis Burdow, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Dr. Ed Wilson, who sacrificed wealth and home life so his brilliant younger brother Max could get an education and a career, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
Kerr
August 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From a Scottish place name, meaning “rough, wet ground”. Lovely.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Carr, Carre, Ker.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Kerr is one of the names K. Le Moyne considers utilizing as his alias in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
King
August 17, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the Old English word “cyning”. Three guesses what it means. Yep. It means “king”. Surprising, no?
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None, really, unless we count synonyms, like “Royal”, or similar place names, like “Kingston”.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– King is one of the names K. Le Moyne considers utilizing as his alias in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
Kenneth
August 17, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Anglicized version of either “Coinneach”, meaning “handsome”, or “Cinaed”, meaning “born of fire”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cainneach, Coinneach, Cinaed, Cionaodh, Ken, Kennet, Kennie, Kennith, Kenny, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Kenneth is one of the names K. Le Moyne considers utilizing as his alias in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
WRITERS:
– Kenneth Anderson (1910-1974), English adventure writer.
– Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), Scottish writer.
– Kenneth Horne (1900-1975), English writer and playwright.
– Kenneth Millar (1915-1983), Canadian-American crime author who published under the pen name “Ross Macdonald”.
– Kenneth Morris (1879-1937), Welsh author and theosophist.
– Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957), American author and journalist.
– Kenneth Tynan (1927-1980), English critic and writer.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 