R | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

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).

Ralph

August 4, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
From Old Norse by way of Anglo-Saxon, meaning “wolf counsel”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Radulf, Rafe, Ralf, Ralphie, Ralphy, Raoul, Raul, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Ralph Plantagenet Mango, a little boy whose bout with the measles received far less attention from the local doctor than little Georgy Osborne’s case, a testament to the popularity of their respective mothers, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

AUTHORS:
– Ralph Ellison (1914-1994), American writer and critic.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement.

Rhoda

August 2, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
From Greek, meaning “rose”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Roda, Rodina, Rhode, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rhoda Davis, the cook in the Lloyd household, in “The Egg-Boy” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Rhoda Swartz, the West Indies heiress who was a school chum of Amelia Sedley’s in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Rhoda Broughton (1840-1920), Welsh novelist and short story writer.
– Rhoda Power (1890-1957), English broadcaster and children’s book writer.
– Rhoda Truax (1901-2000), American author.

Rose

August 1, 2014 § 9 Comments

ORIGIN:
Germanic, meaning, well, “rose”. Sometimes used as a diminutive for names beginning with “Ros-“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ros, Rosa, Rosabel, Rosaleen, Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosaline, Rosamond, Rosamonde, Rosamund, Rosanne, Roselin, Roselind, Rosella, Roselle, Rosemond, Rosemund, Rosetta, Rosette, Rosie, Rosina, Rosine, Rosita, Roslyn, Rosy, Roz, Roza, Rozelle, Rozie, Rozy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rose Crawley (short for “Rosalind“) 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).

Rawdon

August 1, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Old English place name, meaning “rough hill”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Rawdy, I suppose?

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Capt. (later Col.) Rawdon Crawley, the dashing, profligate soldier who is Sir Pitt’s younger son and Becky’s suitor in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Rawdon Crawley, the son of Capt. Crawley and Becky, unofficially adopted by Pitt Crawley and Lady Jane, in Vanity Fair.

Rosa

August 1, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Latinized version of “Rose“, meaning, well, “rose”. Sometimes used as a diminutive for names beginning with “Ros-“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ros, Rosabel, Rosaleen, Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosaline, Rosamond, Rosamonde, Rosamund, Rosanne, Rose, Roselin, Roselind, Rosella, Roselle, Rosemond, Rosemund, Rosetta, Rosette, Rosie, Rosina, Rosine, Rosita, Roslyn, Rosy, Roz, Roza, Rozelle, Rozie, Rozy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rosa Bullock, one of Fred and Maria Bullock’s children, cousin to Georgy Osborne, who her mother hopes may one day be a means of recapturing her children’s inheritance, in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Rosa Dawson, Lady Crawley, is Sir Pitt Crawley’s second wife and mother of the girls clever little Becky Sharp is hired to be governess for in Vanity Fair.
– Rosa Jemima Todd, the younger sister of Osborne Todd, and the Todd family’s hope of uniting with the Osbornes on the chance that young Georgy might grow up to fall in love with her, in Vanity Fair.

WRITERS:
– Rosa Waldeck (1898-1982), pen name of German-American author Rosie Goldschmidt (R.G.) Waldeck.

Reginald

August 1, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Variant of “Reynold”; from the Germanic for “powerful ruler”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Raghnall, Ranald, Reg, Reggie, Reggy, Reinhold, Reynold, Reynaldo, Renaud, Reynaud, Reynault, Rheinallt, Rinaldo, Ronald, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Reginald Cuff, the school bully Dobbin saves young George Osborne from in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

WRITERS:
– Reginald Hill (1936-2012), English crime writer.

Rebecca

August 1, 2014 § 4 Comments

ORIGIN:
From the Hebrew name “Rivkah”, meaning “yoke” or “snare”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Becca, Becka, Beckah, Beckie, Becky, Reba, Rebecka, Rebekah, Rifka, Riva, Rivka, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rebecca Bowdoin, Esther’s mother, who once modeled for a German artist’s painting of Walter Scott’s Rebecca, in “Esther Bodn”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
– Rebecca Moore (called “Becky“), the plain, hard-working farm girl with the heart of a poet in “Mountain-Laurel and Maiden-Hair”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Rebecca Sharp (better known as “Becky“), the clever and self-centered anti-heroine of Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

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.

Randolph

July 29, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Variant form of “Randall” or “Randolf”, an old Anglo-Saxon word for “shield-wolf”. Either that, or a place name for “fair valley.” You takes your pick, I guess.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Rand, Randal, Randall, Randolf, Randy, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Randolph Miller, the title character’s scamp of a younger brother in Daisy Miller by Henry James (1879).

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