French | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Alice

August 7, 2014 § 8 Comments

ORIGIN:
From Greek, meaning “truth, or from German via French, meaning “noble”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ada, Adelheid, Adelaide, Adelais, Aileas, Aleece, Aleida, Ali, Alicia, Alida, Alise, Alisha, Alisia, Alison, Alissa, Alix, Aliz, Alli, Allie, Ally, Alyce, Alys, Alyssa, Elicia, Elke, Heidi, Lecia, Lise, Lisa, Lissa, Lyssa, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Alice, a young guest of Mrs. Warburton’s, rather inclined to be bookish, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Alice Bennet, one of Katy’s older sisters, who comes down with the measles, forcing Katy to go and stay with their grandfather, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Alice Fairfax, housekeeper at Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Alice Fleming (called “Ally”), a little orphan girl who can’t seem to find her place in the world, in “Ally”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Alice Frewen, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, youngest of the group of girls next to Cannie and Marian, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Alice King, a girl who could do more good in the world if she were more thoughtful, in “A Little Boarding-School Samaritan”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Alice Lorton, the sensible oldest sister of the Lorton family, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Alice Raymond, the wonderful girl Jim Marlowe hopes to marry, 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).
– Alice Turner, Connie’s older sister, who refuses to sleep in a “haunted” room, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Alice Wood, the girl chosen by Miss Oliver to help Jane with her school, in Jane Eyre.

WRITERS:
See here for a starter list of writers named “Alice”.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “The Children’s Hour” (1859), by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “From my study I see in the lamplight, / Descending the broad hall stair, / Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, / And Edith with golden hair.”

Sarah

August 6, 2014 § 8 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Sara”, from Hebrew, meaning “lady” or “princess”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cera, Cerah, Sadie, Sal, Sallie, Sally, Sairey, Sairy, Sara, Sarai, Saraih, Sarette, Sarey, Sari, Sariah, Sarina, Sarit, Sarita, Sary, Sera, Serah, Serita, Seryl, Sorale, Soralie, Sorella, Suri, Syril, Tzeitel, Zara, Zarah, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sarah, a housemaid at the Reed’s house, Gateshead Hall, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Sarah Parsons, a neighbor of the Kennedy’s who is befriended by Ida Standish in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Sarah Reed (née Gibson), Jane’s selfish, hard-hearted aunt-by-marriage, in Jane Eyre.
– Sarah Ridd, the lovely and good-hearted farmer’s widow who is mother to John, Annie, and Eliza, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).

WRITERS:
– Sarah Stickney Ellis (1799-1872), English author.
– Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), American writer and editor.
– Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909), American author.
– Sarah Chauncey Woolsey (1835-1905), American children’s book writer who published under the pen name “Susan Coolidge”.

Nathan

August 6, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Hebrew, meaning “gift”. Sometimes used as a shortened form of “Nathaniel” or even “Jonathan“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Nat, Natan, Natanael, Natanaele, Natanail, Nataniel, Nate, Nathanael, Nathanahel, Nathaniel, Nath, Nathe, Natty, Nethanel, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nathan Baxter, the carpenter Almira Miller hopes to marry, in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Nathan Hale Creighton (called “Nate“; 1848-1852), one of the three young Creighton boys who died of “paralysis” the year Jethro was born, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).

Marion

August 6, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
For the masculine version, derived from a French last name. For the feminine version, an alternate spelling of “Marian” or “Marianne“, French diminutive forms of “Marie“. All versions ultimately derived from “Maria“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Mairenn, Mairin, Mairwen, Manon, Manya, Mari, Maria, Mariamne, Marian, Mariana, Marianna, Marianne, Marie, Marielle, Mariette, Mariona, Marise, Marjan, Mary, Marya, Maryana, Maryann, Marzena, Maureen, Maurine, Miren, Mirjana, Mirjane, etc.
For boys: Marian, Marianus, Mariano, Marius, Merrian, Merrion, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marion Warren, member of the Mayflower Club in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930-1999), American novelist.
– Marion Cunningham (1922-2012), American food writer.
– Marion Rose Harris (b. 1925), Welsh romance author who publishes under the pen name “Rosie Harris”.
– Marion Richardson (1892-1946), English educator and author.

QUOTATIONS:
– “Oh, Marion“, from Paul Simon’s 1980 album, One Trick Pony: “Oh Marion / I think I’m in trouble here / I should’ve believed you / When I heard you saying it / The only time / That love is an easy game / Is when two other people / Are playing it.”

Francis

August 5, 2014 § 6 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Late Latin word “Franciscus” (meaning “Frenchman”), from the Germanic / Old French word for “free”.

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

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Francis, William Dobbin’s manservant in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Francis Bowyer, the kindly vicar whose wife befriends Mary Vivian after her godmother’s death, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.

WRITERS:
– Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English writer and statesman.
– Francis Macdonald (F.M.) Cornford (1874-1943), English poet and scholar.
– Francis Scott Key (F. Scott) Fitzgerald (1896-1940), American author.
– Francis Francis (1822-1866), English writer.
– Francis King (1923-2011), English novelist, poet, and writer.
– Francis Marrash (1836-1873), Syrian writer and poet.
– Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), American author and amateur poet.
– Francis Sempill (c.1616-1682), Scottish poet and satirist.
– Francis Wyndham (b. 1923), English author, editor, and journalist.

Victor

August 5, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Latin, meaning “conqueror”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Vic, Viktor, Vittorio, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Victor Aurelius XVII, sovereign 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).

WRITERS:
– Victor Appleton (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”, “Jackson Lowry”, “Karl Lassiter”, and “Paul Kenyon”.
– Victor Hugo (1802-1885), French dramatist, novelist, and poet.

Roger

August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Variant spelling of “Rodger”, from the Germanic, meaning “famous spear”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hrodger, Rod, Rodge, Rodger, Rodgers, Rogerio, Rogers, Ruggerio, Ruggero, Rutger, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Roger, a local boy Robin went to school with, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Sir Roger Bassett, who sells Tom Faggus some land at great cost, and is lucky to escape from the legal entanglements with anything left at all, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Sir Roger Bludyer, whose wife befriends Amelia after Dobbin’s and Joseph’s return to England, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Florence

August 5, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Latin “Florentia” or “Florentius”, meaning “blooming” or “prosperous”. Sometimes used as a variant of “Flora” or “Florent”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Fiorenza, Fleur, Flo, Flor, Flora, Florentia, Florina, Floris, Florrie, Florry, Floss, Flossie, Flossy, etc.
For boys: Fiorenzo, Florent, Florentius, Floris, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Florence Aplin (called “Flo“), a snobbish, bragging girl from a snobbish, bragging family, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Florence Ellery (called “Floss“), a rather snobbish and conceited young lady in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Florence Fleming, Ally’s cousin, who can be a bit spiteful, in “Ally”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Florence Scape, who, with her sister and mother, “fade away to Boulogne” after her father’s failure in the firm of Fogle, Fake, and Cracksman, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Florence Morse Kingsley (1859-1937), American novelist.
– Florence Nash (1888-1950), American actress and poet.
– Florence Scovel Shinn (1871-1940), American artist and metaphysical writer.

Finette

August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
French diminutive of “Josephine”, feminine form of “Joseph“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Etta, Ette, Ettie, Etty, Fifi, Fifine, Netta, Nette, Nettie, Netty, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Finette de Saint-Amaranthe, Becky’s mercenary French maid (paid for by Lord Steyne) in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Philomèle

August 5, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
French version of the English name “Philomel”, meaning “nightingale”, from the Greek “Philomela”, meaning “lover of song”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Philomel, Philomela.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Philomèle is one of the characters Becky plays in the famous presentation of charades which attracts the attention of a certain royal personage, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

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