L | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Lorna

September 13, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Invented by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore for his 1869 novel, Lorna Doone. The character was a descendant of the Earl of Lorne, a Scottish nobleman.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Um . . . Lori, maybe? Stuff like that?

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lorna Doone (Dugal), the titular fair maiden who captures simple John Ridd’s heart in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).

Lula

August 28, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of names like “Louise” / “Louisa“, names that begin with “Lu-“, such as “Lucy” or “Lucretia“, or that contain “-ula”, such as “Wallula” or “Ursula”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Loola, Lou, Louella, Lulu, Oola, Ula, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lula, the nickname Molly Elliston gives to her friend Wallula, in “Major Molly’s Christmas Promise” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

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.

Lizzy

August 25, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Alternately spelled “Lizzie“, diminutive of “Elizabeth“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Elise, Elissa, Eliza, Ella, Elle, Ellie, Elsa, Else, Elsie, Elsje, Elyse, Ilsa, Ilse, Isa, Let, Lettie, Letty, Liana, Libby, Liddy, Lies, Liesl, Liese, Lillie, Lilly, Lily, Lis, Lisa, Lise, Lisette, Liz, Liza, Lizette, Lizy, Lizzie, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lizzy (Elizabeth) Bennet, the clever, “fine-eyed” second Bennet daughter, and heroine of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (written in 1797, published in 1813).
– Lizzy (Eliza) Reed, one of Jane’s spoiled, mean-spirited cousins, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Lizzy Ryder, Nelly’s equally spiteful, petty sister, too inclined to assist in playing mean tricks, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

Lorinda

August 25, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Variation of “Laura“, meaning “laurel”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lallie, Lally, Lara, Laraine, Laura, Laure, Laureen, Laurel, Lauren, Laurene, Lauressa, Lauretta, Laurette, Laurey, Laurie, Laurinda, Laurine, Laurissa, Laurita, Laury, Lavra, Llora, Lollie, Lolly, Lora, Loreen, Loren, Lorene, Loretta, Lorette, Lori, Lorie, Lorita, Lorraine, Lorri, Lorrie, Lory, Lowri, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lorinda, the cook at Windemere, the Erroll’s estate in Virginia of Virginia, written by Amélie Rives in 1888.

Larry

August 14, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Laurence” / “Lawrence“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Enzo, Larkin, Larrie, Lars, Lasse, Lassi, Laurance, Lauren, Laurence, Laurent, Laurie, Lauritz, Lawrance, Lawrence, Lawrie, Loren, Lorencio, Lorens, Lorenzo, Lorin, Lorrin, Rance, Rens, Renzo, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Larry, Dr. Archie’s servant at his medical office in Moonstone, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Larry, the name of more than one of the boys Lily dates, who perhaps not-so-coincidentally often have names which rhyme with her long-absent father, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Larry Moore, Lily’s serviceman father, a man she never knows, in Sleeping Arrangements.
– Larry Mulligan, a drunken lout who ruins Bella and Donny McGilvray’s playtime, in “That Ridiculous Child”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).

WRITERS:
– Larry Brown (1951-2004), American novelist and writer.
– Larry David (b. 1947), American actor, comedian, and writer.
– Larry Doyle (b. 1958), American novelist, television writer, and producer.
– Larry Gelbart (1928-2009), American writer.
– Larry McMurtry (b. 1936), American essayist, novelist, and screenwriter.

Lucy

August 13, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
English version of “Lucia”, the feminine form of “Lucius”, from the Latin for “light”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Lucasta”, “Lucille”, “Lucinda”, “Lucretia“, “Louisa” / “Louise”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Luca, Lucasta, Luce, Lucetta, Lucette, Luci, Lucie, Lucia, Lucienne, Lucila, Lucile, Lucilla, Lucille, Lucinda, Lucinde, Lucine, Lucretia, Lulu, Luzia, Louisa, Louise, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miss Lucy Boler, whose life is saved when her cat, Cora, alerts her to a fire, as told in “The Kit-Kat Club”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Lucy Miles, one of Dolly’s friends, in “Dolly Varden”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories.
– Mrs. Lucy Mirvan, Lady Howard’s daughter, who carries Evelina into London society as friend and companion to her own daughter, Maria, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
– Lucy Steele, a clever, manipulative, and self-serving young woman, whose beauty and shrewdness can’t quite cover for her “want of real elegance and artfulness” for those who are paying attention, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).

WRITERS:
– Lucy M. Boston (1892-1990), English novelist.
– Lucy Clifford (1846-1929), British novelist and journalist (known as “Mrs. W.K. Clifford”).
– Lucy Grealy (1963-2002), American poet and memoirist.
– Lucy Herbert (1669-1743/44), English devotional writer.
– Lucy Beatrice Malleson (1899-1973), English author who wrote under the pen names “Anne Meredith” and “Anthony Gilbert”.
– Lucy Maud (L.M.) Montgomery (1874-1942), Canadian author.
– Lucy Fitch Perkins (1865-1937), American children’s book writer and illustrator.
– Lucy Walker (1907-1987), pen name used by Australian writer Dorothy McClemans (also as “Dorothy Lucy Sanders” and “Shelley Dean”).

Lemuel

August 7, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “devoted to the Lord”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lem, Lemmie, Lemmy.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lemuel Homer, the gentlemanly scholar who escorts his wife and Misses Ethel Amory and Jane Bassett around Europe, in “Poppies and Wheat”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

Lucretia

August 7, 2014 § 2 Comments

ORIGIN:
From a Latin last name, “Lucretius”, probably meaning “gain” or “profit”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lucrece, Lucrezia, Lu, Lulu.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lucretia Harper, Mrs. Warburton’s older sister, who sets a good example all her life, in “Pansies” from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Lucretia Peabody Hale (1820-1900), American author.
– Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880), American Quaker activist and writer.

Lotty

August 6, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Lottie” or “Lotte”; diminutive of “Charlotte“, “Liselotte”, etc.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Let, Lette, Lettie, Letty, Lotta, Lotte, Lottie, Tot, Tottie, Totty, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lotty Kennedy, a poverty-stricken little girl Ida Standish befriends in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Lotty Riker, a mean-spirited parcel-girl in “Becky”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).

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