Zenobia
August 12, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From Greek, meaning “life of Zeus”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sena, Seena, Senia, Sina, Xena, Xeena, Xenia, Xina, Xenobia, Zena, Zenia, Zenicia, Zenija, Zenovia, Zina, Zinovia, Zinoviya, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Zenobia Frome (called “Zeena“), Ethan’s sickly, caustic wife in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
Zeena
August 12, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Zena”, possibly a feminine version of “Zeno”, or a variant of “Xenia” / “Zenia”, or a diminutive of names like “Rosina” or “Zenobia“, “Zenaida”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sena, Seena, Senia, Sina, Xena, Xeena, Xenia, Xina, Zena, Zenia, Zenicia, Zenija, Zina, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Zeena (Zenobia) Frome, Ethan’s sickly, caustic wife in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
Ethan
August 12, 2014 § 5 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “firm” or “enduring”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Eathon, Eitan, Eten, Eth, Ethe, Ethen, Eytan, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ethan Frome, the luckless, careworn farmer of the title in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
– Ethan Frome, Sr., who frittered away what little wealth the family had, leaving his wife and son to a hardscrabble existence, in Ethan Frome.
Belle
August 12, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Like “Bella“, a diminutive of “Belinda”, “Beulah”, etc., or names ending in “-ella” (such as “Isabella”, “Annabella”, “Arabella“, etc.), or names ending in “-belle” (such as “Maybelle”, “Dorabelle”, etc.) Possibly from French, meaning “beautiful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Arabel, Arabella, Arabelle, Amabel, Amabella, Amabelle, Anabel, Anabella, Anabelle, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Bell, Belle, Belina, Belinda, Belinha, Beulah, Elizabeth, Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, Izabel, Izabella, Izabelle, Sabella, Sabelle, Zabel, Zabella, Zabelle, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Belle Archie (née White), Dr. Archie’s unpleasant wife, “one of those people who are stingy without motive or reason”, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Belle Jeffreys, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
Jackson
August 12, 2014 § 6 Comments
ORIGIN:
From an English last name, meaning “son of Jack“. Bet you didn’t know that.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jack, Jackie, Jacks, Jacky, Jak, Jakin, Jaks, Jax, Jaxon, Jaxson.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jackson Tainter, whose wife is a friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
WRITERS:
– Jackson Lowry (b. 1947), pen name of American fantasy, science fiction, and Western author Robert E. Vardeman, who has also published under the pen names “Cliff Garnett”, “Daniel Moran”, “F.J. Hale”, “Edward S. Hudson”, “Karl Lassiter”, “Paul Kenyon”, and “Victor Appleton”.
– Jackson O’Reilly (1948-2007), pen name of American fantasy author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., who wrote under the pen names “Chang Lung”, “Reagan O’Neal”, and “Robert Jordan”.
Gorham
August 12, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
One of those “last names as first names” that were once a quite popular way for a mother’s maiden name to be passed on to her sons, “Gorham” was an Old English place name, meaning “muddy farmland”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None that I’m aware of . . .
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gorham Allerton, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
Maude
August 12, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
An alternative English spelling of “Maud”, a diminutive of “Matilda“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Malta, Mat, Mathilda, Matilda, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maudie, Tilda, Tilde, Tillie, Tilly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Maude Tucker, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, sister of Sue Tucker, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
Freddy
August 12, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Frederick“, meaning “peaceful ruler”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Alfred”, “Manfred”, “Wilfred”, etc., or, for girls, for names like “Frederica” or “Winifred”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Freda, Freddi, Freddie, Frieda, Fritzi.
For boys: Fred, Fredde, Freddie, Fredo, Fritz.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Freddy Allen, whose wife is a friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, and frequently serves as chaperone for their parties, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
Arnold
August 12, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “eagle power” or “strong as an eagle”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Arend, Arn, Arnaldo, Arndt, Arne, Arnie, Arnaud, Arnoud, Arny, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Arnold Foster, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, brother of Dick Foster, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
WRITERS:
– Arnold Bennett (1867-1931), English critic, essayist, novelist, and playwright.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 