Polish | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

Anna

August 6, 2014 § 9 Comments

ORIGIN:
From “Hannah” (as used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament), a version of the Hebrew name “Channah”, meaning “favor” or “grace”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ana, Anabel, Anais, Andie, Andy, Aneke, Aneta, Ani, Ania, Anica, Anika, Anissa, Anita, Anitra, Anka, Anke, Ann, Annabel, Annabella, Annabelle, Anne, Anneke, Annetta, Annette, Annick, Annicka, Annie, Annika, Anniken, Annis, Anny, Anouk, Antje, Anushka, Anya, Channah, Hana, Hanna, Hannah, Hanne, Nainsi, Nan, Nancie, Nancy, Nanette, Nannie, Nanny, Nina, Ninon, Ona, Onna, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Anna Kronborg, Thea’s jealous and priggish older sister, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
– Anna Page, Sidney’s mother, who takes in boarders to help pay the bills after her sister, Harriet, leaves to start a dressmaking business, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Anna Raymond, the girl Dolly Lorton is gossiping about when her friend Sally Ware calls her on it, in “The Youngest Miss Lorton”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Anna Richards, Mary Marcy’s friend and seat-mate, in “An April Fool”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Anna Snezak, co-owner (with her husband, Morris) of AnaMor Towers apartments, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
– Anna Weston, the baby girl possibly named for her mother, who signs her name “A. Weston” (née Taylor), in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Anna Winslow, president of the Mayflower Club in “May Flowers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.

WRITERS:
– Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966), pen name of Russian poet Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.
– Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825), English critic, editor, essayist, poet, and children’s book writer.
– Anna Maria Bennett (c. 1750-1808), English novelist (sometimes credited as “Agnes Maria Hall”)
– Anna Maria Bunn (1808-1889), Australian author.
– Anna Maria Falconbridge (1769-c. 1816), English writer.
– Anna Katherine Green (1846-1935), American poet and novelist.
– Anna Maria Hall (1800-1881), Irish novelist (sometimes credited as “Mrs. S.C. Hall”)
– Anna Maria Hussey (1805-1853), English scientist, writer, and illustrator.
– Anna Kavan (1901-1968), English novelist, short story writer, and painter.
– Anna Maria Lenngren (1754-1817), Swedish poet, translator, and writer.
– Anna Maria Ortese (1914-1998), Italian poet and short story writer.
– Anna Maria Porter (1780-1832), English poet and novelist.
– Anna Quindlen (b. 1953), American author, columnist, and journalist.
– Anna Maria Rückerschöld (1725-1805), Swedish author.
– Anna Seghers (1900-1983), pen name of German writer Anna Reiling.
– Anna Sewell (1820-1878), English novelist.
– Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678), German-Dutch engraver, painter, poet, and scholar.
– Anna Marie Wilhelmina (A.M.W.) Stirling (1865-1965), English author who published under the pen name “Percival Pickering”.
– Anna Maria Wells (c. 1794-1868), American poet and children’s book writer.
– Anna Wheeler (c. 1780-1848), Irish activist and writer.

Walter

August 5, 2014 § 5 Comments

ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning “powerful warrior” or “ruler of the army”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Gautier, Gualtiero, Valter, Waldhar, Wally, Walt, Walther, Wat, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Walter Scape, who is “withdrawn from Eton and put into a merchant’s house” after his father’s failure in the firm of Fogle, Fake, and Cracksman, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Walter of Swinbroke (died c. 1360), English chronicler, also known as Geoffrey the Baker.
– Walter Besant (1836-1901), English historian and novelist who sometimes published in collaboration with James Rice.
– Walter Ericson (1914-2003), pen name of American novelist and television writer Howard Fast, who also wrote under the pen name “E.V. Cunningham”.
– Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864), English writer and poet.
– Walter Pater (1839-1894), English writer and critic.
– Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet.

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).

Edward

August 2, 2014 § 7 Comments

ORIGIN:
Anglo-Saxon, meaning “keeper of prosperity” or “rich / blessed guard”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Duarte, Eadweard, Ed, Edd, Eddi, Eddie, Edouard, Eduard, Eduardo, Edvard, Eddward, Eddy, Eideard, Eward, Ned, Nedd, Neddie, Neddy, Ted, Tedd, Teddie, Teddy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Edward Dale, a young stockbroker who is sweet on Amelia Sedley in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Edward Ferrars, Fanny Dashwood’s brother, a shy, unambitious man who, though he may lack the passion Marianne looks for in a man, possesses the warm heart, affectionate temper, and good sense that Elinor finds attractive, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Edward Fairfax Rochester, the moody and passionate master of Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.

WRITERS:
– Edward Anhalt (1914-2000), American film-maker, producer, and screenwriter.
– Edward Bradley (1827-1889), English clergyman and novelist.
– Edward FitzGerald (1809-1883), English poet and writer.
– Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), English historian.
– Edward S. Hudson (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”, “Jackson Lowry”, “Karl Lassiter”, “Paul Kenyon”, and “Victor Appleton”.
– Edward Zane Carroll (E.Z.C.) Judson, Sr. (1821-1886), American journalist, publicist, publisher, and writer who also wrote under the pen name Ned Buntline.
– Edward Lear (1812-1888), English artist, author, and poet.
– Edward (Ned) Ward (1667-1731), English publican and satirist.

Eliza

August 2, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Elizabeth“, meaning “oath of God”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ella, Ellie, Elissa, Elsa, Elsie, Elyse, Libby, Liddy, Lisa, Lise, Lisette, Liz, Liza, Lizette, Lizy, Lizzie, Lizzy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Eliza Brandon, Col. Brandon’s cousin, who is forced to marry his brother, and who leaves him the care of her young daughter, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Eliza Reed (sometimes called “Lizzy“), one of Jane’s spoiled, mean-spirited cousins, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Eliza Ridd (called “Lizzie“), John’s small, strange, and spiteful book-loving youngest sister, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Eliza Spears, a local woman who was miraculously cured by Zeena’s new doctor, Dr. Buck, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).
– Eliza Styles is the false name Rawdon Crawley uses to receive letters from Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Eliza Williams, Col. Brandon’s ward, who follows too closely the example of her unfortunate mother in at least one regard, in Sense and Sensibility.

WRITERS:
– Eliza Acton (1799-1859), English author and cook.
– Eliza Cook (1818-1889), English author, poet, and writer.
– Eliza Haywood (c. 1693-1756), English actress and writer.
– Eliza Tabor Stephenson (1835-1914), English novelist.

Laura

July 31, 2014 § 6 Comments

ORIGIN:
From Latin, meaning “laurel”. Feminine variant of “Laurence” / “Lawrence“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lallie, Lally, Lara, Laraine, 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, Lorinda, Lorita, Lorraine, Lorri, Lorrie, Lory, Lowri, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Laura, the fake name used by Berry Joy and Georgie Gray to play their Lonely Hearts prank, in A Little Country Girl (1885), by Susan Coolidge.
– Laura, the “fairy princess” Ted Shaffer plans to marry, in “In a Rag-Bag”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Laura Brooks (sometimes called “Brooksie”), who refuses to give up her friendship with Esther, in spite of the judgment and disdain her friends and family may heap upon her head, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Laura Delano, an invalid who sells her artwork to try and support herself and her sister, Jessie, in “An Ivy Spray and Ladies’ Slippers”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Laura Fleming, Ally’s cousin, who perhaps expects too much, in “Ally”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.
– Laura Martin, a little orphan girl who worships Amelia Sedley during her time at Miss Pinkerton’s academy in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Laura Selwyn, one of Marian’s cousins, who knows all about the trick, in “An April Fool”, from A Flock of Girls and Boys.

WRITERS:
Check out this post for a starter list of writers named “Laura”.

QUOTATIONS:
– From “To My Brothers” by Norman Rowland Gale: “O brothers, who must ache and stoop / O’er wordy tasks in London-town, / How scantly Laura trips for you — / A poem in a gown!”

Barbara

July 31, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
From Greek, meaning “strange” or “foreign”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Babs, Barb, Barbary, Barbera, Barbie, Barbra, Barby, Bobbie, Bobby, Varvara, Varvora, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Barbara, a servant at Lowood Academy, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Barbara, a “severe and devout Princess of the House of Bolkum, widow of the monarch of Pumpernickel, where Dobbin, Amelia, Jos, and Georgy stop for a while on their Grand Tour, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Lady Barbara Fitzurse is an heiress who serves as a topic for gossip between Miss Crawley, Rawdon Crawley, and Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair.
– Barbara Pinkerton, the formidable sister in charge of Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for young ladies in Vanity Fair.

WRITERS:
Want to learn more about writers named “Barbara”? Check out this post for starters.

QUOTATIONS:
– “Barbara Allen” is a traditional folk song with origins in England and Scotland in the 17th century, though it has undergone hundreds of variations since it was first recorded by Samuel Pepys in 1666: “In Scarlet town where I was born / there was a fair maid dwellin’ / and every youth cried Well-a-day / For her name was Barb’ra Allen”.

Amelia

July 31, 2014 § 11 Comments

ORIGIN:
Variant of “Amalia”, from a Germanic name meaning “work”. May also be considered a variant of “Emily” / “Emilia”, the feminine version of “Emil”, from “Aemilius”, a Latinate family name meaning “rival”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Amalia, Amelie, Amie, Amy, Emmie, Emmy, Malia, Melia, Melie, Millie, Milly, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Princess Amelia of Humbourg-Schlippenschloppen, who marries the Hereditary Prince 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).
– Amelia Sedley (called “Emmy“), the naive and gentle heroine of Vanity Fair.

QUOTATIONS:
– “Amelia“, a poem written in 1878 by Coventry Patmore, begins: “Whene’er mine eyes do my Amelia greet / It is with such emotion / As, when in childhood, turning a dim street, / I first beheld the ocean.”

Robert

July 30, 2014 § 12 Comments

ORIGIN:
Anglo-Saxon, meaning “bright flame”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Bob, Bobbie, Bobby, Rab, Raibeart, Rob, Robb, Robbie, Robby, Roberto, Robi, Robin, Rupert, Ruprecht, etc. I guess even Bobert, if you really wish it.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Robert (called “Bob“, b. 1920), the eleventh of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Robert, the pageboy at Jim and Ned’s place, in “The Tragedy of the Unexpected”, from Nora Perry’s The Tragedy of the Unexpected and Other Stories (published in 1880, but set in the 1870s)
– Sir Robert, an uncle to Edward, Fanny, and Robert Ferrars, who was responsible for Mrs. Ferrar’s decision to send Edward to Mr. Pratt’s for a private education, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).
– Lord Robert of Amhurste (called “Robin” by his twin sister, Margaret), a brave and generous young man, 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.
– Sir Robert Bampfylde, the litigious gentleman whose lawsuits led to Tom Faggus’ ruin and subsequent adoption of the highwayman’s life, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Rev. Robert Brocklehurst, the formidable and hypocritical supervisor of Lowood Institute, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Middle name of John Robert Creighton (b. 1837), Jethro’s oldest brother remaining at home, “more impatient, quicker to anger” than his beloved brother Bill, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Robert Ferrars, Edward’s favored younger brother, “silly and a great coxcomb”, in Sense and Sensibility.
– Robert Furnival, old Lady Mary’s lawyer, who pesters her to write her will before it is too late, in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Robert Leaven, the man Bessie Lee marries, who works as porter at Gateshead and lives in the lodge, in Jane Eyre.
– Robert Martin, a sensible, respectable, intelligent young gentleman-farmer, who hopes to marry Harriet Smith, in Jane Austen’s Emma (1815).
– Robert Racket (called “Robin“), a handsome and charming lad who steals the hearts of cousins Keren Lemon and Ruth Visor, in “The Farrier Lass o’ Piping Pebworth” (written in 1887, set circa 1600), from A Brother to Dragons, and Other Old Time Tales.
– Robert Siddell, one of Uncle Gabe’s two favorite students at his Jewish vocational school, chosen as a blind date for teenaged Lily, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).

WRITERS:
Go here for a list of probably close to a thousand writers named “Robert”, if you’d like to know what sort of illustrious literary company this name keeps.

Daniel

July 30, 2014 § 5 Comments

ORIGIN:
From Hebrew, meaning “God is my judge”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dan, Danilo, Dannie, Danny, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Daniel (b. 1917; sometimes called “Dan“), the ninth of the dozen Gilbreth children whose upbringing is related in Cheaper By the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
– Daniel Byrne, a local man who offers to help get Mattie packed up and on her way out of town, in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (written in 1911, but set in the 1890s or first few years of the 1900s).

WRITERS:
– Daniel Defoe (1660-1730), English author and satirist.
– Daniel Keyes (1927-2014), American author.
– Daniel Moran (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”, “Edward S. Hudson”, “F.J. Hale”, “Jackson Lowry”, “Karl Lassiter”, “Paul Kenyon”, and “Victor Appleton”.
– Daniel Stern (1928-2007), American novelist.

QUOTATIONS:
– In The Merchant of Venice (1596), by William Shakespeare, the character of Shylock implies that he hopes for a wise resolution in the difficult case at hand: “A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel! / O wise young judge, how I do honour thee!”

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