Moll
August 13, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Molly“, a diminutive of “Mary“, “Maria“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maille, Malle, Manon, Molle, Mollie, Molly, Pol, Pola, Poll, Pollie, Polly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– The nickname Captain Mirvan gives to his daughter Maria Mirvan, Evelina’s dearest friend, with whom she enters into London society, in Evelina, or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World (1778), by Fanny Burney.
Matt
August 12, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Mattie” / “Matty” or “Matthew“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Maddi, Maddie, Maddy, Madge, Mart, Martie, Marty, Mat, Matti, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Midge, Pat, Patti, Pattie, Patty, Tilda, Tilde, Tillie, Tilly, etc.
For boys: Mat, Mattie, Matty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Matt (Matthew) Creighton, Ellen’s husband and Jethro’s father, a well-respected farmer of integrity and compassion, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Matt (Mattie) Silver, Zeena’s attractive young cousin who comes to stay with the Fromes, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
Mattie
August 12, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Matty“, “Maddie”, etc.; diminutive of “Matilda“, “Martha“, etc., or of “Matthew“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Maddi, Maddie, Maddy, Madge, Mart, Martie, Marty, Mat, Matt, Matti, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Midge, Pat, Patti, Pattie, Patty, Tilda, Tilde, Tillie, Tilly, etc.
For boys: Mat, Matt, Matty, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mattie Silver (called “Matt” for short), Zeena’s attractive young cousin who comes to stay with the Fromes, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
Maude
August 12, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
An alternative English spelling of “Maud”, a diminutive of “Matilda“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Malta, Mat, Mathilda, Matilda, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maudie, Tilda, Tilde, Tillie, Tilly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Maude Tucker, friend of the Gray girls and Berry Joy, sister of Sue Tucker, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
Marian
August 11, 2014 § 3 Comments
ORIGIN:
An alternate spelling of “Marion” or “Marianne“, French diminutive forms of “Marie”, ultimately derived from “Maria“. Sometimes used as a masculine form of “Maria“, or as a version of “Marianus”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Mairenn, Mairin, Mairwen, Manon, Manya, Mari, Maria, Mariamne, Mariana, Marianna, Marianne, Marie, Marielle, Mariette, Marion, Mariona, Marise, Marjan, Mary, Marya, Maryana, Maryann, Marzena, Maureen, Maurine, Miren, Mirjana, Mirjane, etc.
For boys: Marianus, Marion, Mariano, Marius, Merrian, Merrion, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marian Butter, Anthony Butter’s sturdy and strong-willed wife, who nursed Lady Margaret from childhood, in “A Brother to Dragons” (written in 1886, set in 1586), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales (1888), by Amélie Rives.
– Mistress Marian Every, Lady Elizabeth’s adopted daughter, who grows up with Lady Patience and Lord Ernie, in “Nurse Crumpet Tells the Story” (written in 1887, set circa 1630s-1669), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales.
– Marian Gray, the youngest of the Gray girls, fun-loving and strong-willed, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Marian Selwyn, a well-bred young lady who is a good role-model for the girls around her, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Marian Engel (1933-1985), Canadian novelist.
– Marian Keyes (b. 1965), Irish author.
Myra
August 11, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Invented by English poet Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke (1554-1628) in the 17th century, possibly from the Latin for “myrrh”, or a variation on the name “Mary“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mayra, Maira, Mira, Myrra, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Aunt Myra, the elderly spinster who looks after young orphan Candace, until Cousin Kate Gray and her family invite the girl to stay with them, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Myra, the name of a lost pig advertised in The Observer in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
WRITERS:
– Myra Bradwell (1831-1893), American activist, lawyer, and publisher.
– Myra Kelly (1875-1910), Irish-American educator and children’s book writer.
– Myra MacPherson (b. c.1935), American activist, author, and journalist.
– Myra Morris (1893-1966), American children’s book author, novelist, and poet.
– Myra Sklarew (b. 1934), American biologist, poet, and teacher.
Moses
August 10, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “saved” or “son”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mo, Moe, Moey, Moises, Moishe, Moisey, Mose, Moshe, Moss, Musa, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Moses Pennel, Becky Moore’s country suitor in “Mountain-Laurel and Maiden-Hair”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
Mamie
August 10, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Mary” / “Marie” / “Maria“, “May“, or “Margaret“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mae, Madge, Maggie, Maggy, Maisie, Maisy, Mame, Marge, Margie, Margy, Mariella, Marietta, Marji, May, Mayme, Maymie, Meg, Meggie, Meggy, Mia, Midge, Mim, Mimi, Mimsie, Mimsy, Moll, Mollie, Molly, etc. etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mamie Parsons, Rosamond Carey’s best friend, with whom she sometimes quarrels, in “Little Button-Rose”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
WRITERS:
– Mamie (Mary) Dickens (1838-1896), English editor and writer.
Marie
August 7, 2014 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
French and Czech version of “Maria” / “Mary“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mae, Maja, Mame, Mamie, Manon, Maree, Mari, Maria, Marianne, Mariel, Marielle, Marietta, Marika, Marilee, Marilisse, Marilla, Marilyn, Marinda, Marion, Marise, Marita, Maritta, Mary, May, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marie, the flighty French girl Ethel Amory hopes to take along as companion on her trip to Europe, in “Poppies and Wheat”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
WRITERS:
– Marie Corelli (1855-1924), English novelist.
– Marie Manning (1872-1945), American advice columnist and novelist.
– Marie Thérèse Blanc (1840-1907), French essayist, journalist, and novelist who wrote under the pen name “Thérèse Bentzon”.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 