Clara
August 6, 2014 § 7 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate version of “Clare”, from the Latin name “Clarus”, meaning “clear” or “bright”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Chiara, Claire, Clare, Claretta, Claribel, Clarice, Clarinda, Clarissa, Clarette, Kiara, Kiera, Klare, Klara, Klarissa, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Clara, the “honest and quiet; but heavy, mindless, and unimpressible” German woman Mr. Rochester took as a mistress following Céline Varens’ betrayal, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Clara, Rosamond Carey’s mother, who sends her to stay with three maiden cousins, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Clara Carey, wife of Dr. Carey, David Langston’s dearest friend, in The Harvester (1911) by Gene Stratton Porter.
– Clara, Ella Carver’s cousin, for whose baby she buys pretty little things made by Almira Miller, in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls.
– Clara Harrington, a girl who unknowingly assisted in the trick on Tilly Drake, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Clara Jeffreys (née Partridge), one of Augusta Elton’s friends from Bath that she cites as an example of how married women always give up their pursuit of music, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
Aurelius
August 5, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Latin, meaning “golden” or “gilded”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Aurel, Aurelio, Orel, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Aurelius Victor XV, previously the 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).
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.
Felix
August 5, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
From Latin, meaning “fortunate” or “successful”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Felice, Feliks, Phelix, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Felix Rabbit, country curate and father of fourteen daughters (including Mrs. Hardyman), eleven of whom are married off during their stay in India, which event is a topic of conversation between Joseph Sedley and his friends, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
WRITERS:
– Felix Francis (b. 1953), English crime novelist.
– Felix Salten (1869-1945), Austrian author and critic.
Horace
August 5, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
English / French version of the Latin “Horatio” / “Horatius”, derived from the word for “hour”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Horacio, Horatio, Horatius, Orazio, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sir Horace Fogey, one of Becky’s high society friends in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Sir Horace Fogle, a former partner in Fogle, Fake, and Cracksman, who manages to escape his firm’s failure smelling like a rose, though it ruins Mr. Scape, in Vanity Fair.
WRITERS:
– Horace (65 BC-8 BC), English name for the Roman lyric poet, satirist, and critic.
– Horace Gregory (1898-1982), American poet and literary critic.
– Horace Smith (1779-1849), English poet and parodist.
– Horace Walpole (1717-1797), English writer and politician.
Rosalind
August 4, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
A Norman variation on a Germanic name meaning something like “tender horse”; later influenced by Latin meaning “beautiful rose”. Sometimes used a variation of “Rose“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ros, Rosa, Rosaleen, Rosalie, Rosalinda, Rosalina, Rosaline, Rosalyn, Rosalynn, Rosalynne, Rose, Roselin, Roselind, Roselyn, Rosie, Roslyn, Rosy, Roz, Rozlyn, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rosalind (Rose) Crawley is the elder of the two little Crawley girls Becky Sharp is hired to be governess for in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Hester
August 4, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Latin form of “Esther“, possibly derived from a Persian word for “star”, or from the goddess Ishtar.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Essie, Essy, Ester, Esther, Hettie, Hetty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Hester, a housemaid of Sir Pitt Crawley’s who supports Miss Horrocks in her aspirations to become “My Lady”, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Auralia
August 2, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Aurelia“; feminine form of “Aurelius“, from the Latin for “golden”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Aura, Auralee, Auralie, Aurelia, Aurelie, Ora, Oralee, Oralia, Oralie, Orelia, Orelie, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Auralia Margaretta (a.k.a. Peggy) O’Dowd (née Malony), the Mrs. Major O’Dowd who serves as a sort of de facto queen and hostess of George Osborne’s and William Dobbin’s regiment in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
Letitia
August 2, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the Latin “Laetitia”, meaning “joy” or “happiness”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Laetitia, Latisha, Latitia, Latisha, Latizia, Leta, Letisha, Letitia, Letizia, Lettice, Lettie, Letty, Lecia, Licia, Ticia, Tish, Tisha, Tishie, Tishy, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Miss Letitia Hawky is a student Miss Pinkerton recommends to Mrs. Bute Crawley, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
WRITERS:
– Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838), English poet and novelist.
Violet
August 1, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
English, after the small woodland flower, from the Latin “viola”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lette, Lettie, Letty, Vi, Vilet, Vilette, Viola, Violetta, Violette, Vy, Vylet, Vylette, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Violet Crawley is the younger of the two little Crawley girls Becky Sharp is hired to be governess for in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 