Si
September 13, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Silas“, “Simon“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sie, Siem, Sim, Sy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Si (Simon) Carfax, Gwenny’s father, a Cornish miner lured into Essex to work Reuben Huckabuck’s secret mine, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
Simon
September 13, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Greek version of the Hebrew “Shim’on”, meaning “he has heard”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jimeno, Shimel, Shimon, Si, Sim, Siem, Siemen, Simen, Simeon, Simo, Sy, Symeon, Symon, Szymon, Ximeno, Ximun, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Simon Carfax (sometimes called “Si“), Gwenny’s father, a Cornish miner lured into Essex to work Reuben Huckabuck’s secret mine, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
WRITERS:
– Simon Evans (1895-1940), Welsh broadcaster and writer.
Esther
August 29, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Possibly Persian, meaning “star”, or derived from “Ishtar”, the name of the Babylonian and Assyrian mother goddess of love, fertility, and war.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Aster, Eistir, Esfir, Essi, Essie, Esta, Estee, Ester, Estera, Esteri, Eszter, Eszti, Hester, Ishtar, Istar, Yesfir, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Esther Bowdoin, whose shabby home life belies her blue-blooded ancestry and artistic heritage, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Esther (or Edna or Etka) Kroll Shaine — “Esther in Hebrew, Edna in English, and Etka in Russian” — Lily’s increasingly-senile grandmother in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
You can find a good, solid starter list of writers named “Esther” in this post.
Eph
August 29, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Ephraim“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Efraim, Efrain, Efrayim, Efrem, Ephraim, Evron, Jevrem, Yefrem, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Eph (Ephraim) Merridew, Sibyl’s brother, a headstrong young man allied with the Rebel troops, in “Sibyl’s Slipper”, a story of the American Revolutionary War, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Ephraim
August 29, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
From the Hebrew name “Efrayim”, meaning “very fruitful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Efraim, Efrain, Efrayim, Efrem, Eph, Evron, Jevrem, Yefrem, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ephraim, one of the Boston children roused to their chores at the start of Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Ephraim Lapham, the aging silversmith Johnny is apprenticed to in Johnny Tremain.
– Dr. Ephraim Merridew, Sibyl’s father, prevented from joining the Rebel cause by business in Barbados, in “Sibyl’s Slipper”, a story of the American Revolutionary War, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Ephraim Merridew (called “Eph“), Sibyl’s brother, a headstrong young man allied with the Rebel troops, in “Sibyl’s Slipper”, a story of the American Revolutionary War, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
Leah
August 25, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “weary”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lea, Lee, Leia, Leigh, Leja, Lia, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Leah, a maid-servant at Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
Naomi
August 25, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “pleasant”
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Na’omi, Noemi, Noemia, Noémie, Noemin, Nohemi, Nomi, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Naomi Brocklehurst, the lady who built the new part of Lowood Institute, and whose son overlooks and directs the school, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
WRITERS:
– Naomi Alderman (b. 1974), English author.
– Naomi Jacob (1884-1964), English actress, author, and broadcaster.
– Naomi Klein (b. 1970), Canadian activist and author.
– Naomi Lewis (1911-2009), English anthologist, author, critic, essayist, and poet.
– Naomi Mitchison (1897-1999), Scottish novelist and poet.
– Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), Palestinian-American novelist, poet, and songwriter.
– Naomi Ragen (b. 1949), American-Israeli activist, author, and playwright.
– Naomi Wolf (b. 1962), American activist and author.
Amos
August 22, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Hebrew, meaning “burden” or “bearer of a burden”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Um . . . Amy? Actually, no, probably shouldn’t do that.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Amos Peters, a local farmer, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
David
August 22, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “beloved”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dai, Daividh, Dauid, Dave, Daveth, Davey, Davide, Davie, Davis, Davit, Davy, Daw, Dawid, Dawud, Dewie, Dewey, Dewydd, Dovid, Taavetti, Taavi, Tavi, Taffy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Brother David, the stonemason, one of the monks at St. Mark’s in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– David Langston, the titular clean-living “harvester of the forest”, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– David Wyburn, Esther’s cousin, who works as a clerk at Weyman & Co.’s importing-house, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– David Craig (b. 1929), pen name of Welsh novelist James Tucker, who also publishes as “Bill James” and “Judith Jones”.
– David Herbert (D.H.) Lawrence (1885-1930), English critic, essayist, novelist, painter, playwright, and poet.
– David Malouf (b. 1934), Australian novelist, playwright, and short story writer.
– David McCullough (b. 1933), American author, historian, and lecturer.
– David Mitchell (b. 1969), English novelist.
– David Sedaris (b. 1956), American author and humorist.
– David Foster Wallace (1962-2008), American essayist, novelist, professor, and short story writer.
– David Walliams (b. 1971), English activist, actor, children’s book writer, and comedian.
Joel
August 22, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “Jehovah is God”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Jo, Joe, Joey, Ioel, Yoel.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Joel, the bartender at the Red Deer, in “The Farrier Lass o’ Piping Pebworth” (written in 1887, set circa 1600), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
WRITERS:
– Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908), American author, folklorist, and journalist.
– Joel Rosenberg (1954-2011), Canadian-American activist and author.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 