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.
Therese
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Teresa” / “Theresa”, possibly from Greek, meaning “summer” or “harvest”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Teca, Tena, Teresa, Terese, Teresia, Teresinha, Tereza, Tera, Tere, Teresita, Teri, Terra, Terri, Terrie, Terry, Tess, Tessa, Tessan, Tessie, Tessy, Thera, Theresa, Theresia, Tracee, Tracey, Traci, Tracie, Tracy, Treasa, Treece, Trees, Treese, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Thérèse, Thea’s French lady’s maid, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Thérèse Bentzon (1840-1907), pen name of French essayist, journalist, and novelist Marie Thérèse Blanc.
– Therese Huber (1764-1829), German author.
– Thérèse-Adèle Husson (1803-1831), French writer.
– Therese von Lützow (1804-1852), German author.
– Therese Albertine Luise Robinson (1797-1870), German-American author, linguist, and translator.
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.
Katarina
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Variation of “Catherine” / “Catharine” / “Katherine” / “Katharine“, etc.
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, Katharine, 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:
– Katarina Fürst Ottenburg, Fred’s mother, and heiress to a brewing empire herself, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
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.
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.
Irene
November 15, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Usually pronounced “ie-REEN”, “ie-REE-nee”, or “ee-RE-ne”; from the Greek “Eirene”, meaning “peace”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Arina, Arine, Arisha, Eireen, Eirene, Ena, Ira, Irena, Irenka, Iria, Irina, Irine, Irja, Iryna, Rene, Renee, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Irene Andersen, who rents a room in the home she shares with her mother, Mrs. Lorch, to Thea Kronborg, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Irene Ibsen Bille (1901-1985), Norwegian novelist and playwright.
– Irene Hunt (1907-2001), American children’s book writer.
– Irène Némirovsky (1903-1942), Russian novelist.
Lars
November 15, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Scandinavian version of “Laurence” / “Lawrence“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Enzo, Larkin, Larrie, Larry, Lasse, Lassi, Laurance, Lauren, Laurence, Laurent, Laurie, Lauritz, Lawrance, Lawrence, Lawrie, Loren, Lorencio, Lorens, Lorenzo, Lorin, Lorrin, Rance, Rens, Renzo, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Lars Larsen, a friend of Mr. Kronborg’s in Chicago, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Lars Ahlin (1915-1997), Swedish author and philosopher.
– Lars Forssell (1928-2007), Swedish writer.
– Lars Jansson (1926-2000), Finnish author and cartoonist.
Gus
November 6, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Augustus”, “Angus”, “Gustave”, etc. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Constantine”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Guus, Kusti, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gus Kronborg, Thea’s oldest brother, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Gus Kahn (1886-1941), American lyricist.
– Gus Tyler (1911-2011), American activist, author, and columnist.
Axel
November 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Danish version of “Absalom”, from the Hebrew, meaning “my father is peace”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Acke, Aksel, Akseli, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Axel Kronborg, one of Thea’s rambunctious younger brothers in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Axel Jensen (1932-2003), Norwegian author.
– Axel Munthe (1857-1949), Swedish author, physician, and psychiatrist.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 