Sophia

August 5, 2014 § 8 Comments

ORIGIN:
Greek, meaning “wisdom”.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Fifi, Sofi, Sofia, Sofie, Sofiya, Sonia, Sonja, Sonya, Sophie, Sophy, Vivi, Zophi, Zophia, Zophie, Zosia, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duchess Sophia, who writes dreary domestic comedies for performance in 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).
– Sophia Blackburn, a friend of Mrs. Bowyer’s in “Old Lady Mary” (1884), from Stories of the Seen and Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant.
– Miss Sophia Grey, the heiress Willoughby marries after being disinherited by his aunt, Miss Smith, in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (set between 1792-1797, published in 1811).

Saunders

August 2, 2014 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Variant of “Sander”, a Scottish-derived “last name as first name”, meaning “belonging to Alexander“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sander, Sandor, Sandro, Sandy, Xander, Zander, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Rev. Saunders McNitre, a “Scotch divine” befriended by Lady Southdown in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Silas

August 1, 2014 § 3 Comments

ORIGIN:
Shortened version of the Latin “Silvanus”, the Roman god of forests.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Si, Siles, Silus, Sy, Sylas, Syles, Sylus, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Silas, one of the Boston children roused to their chores at the start of Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
– Rev. Silas Hornblower, with whom Mr. Pitt Crawley shares a “famous correspondence on the Ashantee Mission” in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

Sam

August 1, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Shortened form of “Samuel“, “Samson”, or “Samantha”. Or “Samwise”, if you’re a Tolkien fan.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Sami, Sammi, Sammie, Sammy.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sam, a footman at Thornfield, in Jane Eyre, 1847, by Charlotte Bronte.
– Uncle Sam, who arrives in France to escort his niece, Ethel Amory, and her companion, Jane Bassett, home again in “Poppies and Wheat”, from A Garland for Girls, by Louisa May Alcott, 1887.
– Sam Bowen, Ruth and Sammy Bowen’s brave father in “Water Lilies” from A Garland for Girls.
– Sam Fry, John Fry’s cousin, who is first to bring news of Charles II’s death to the village, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Sam Gardiner, proprietor of one of the two general stores in town, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
– Sam Green, who sells Tom a wonderful new kite, in “Susy’s Dragon”, from The Youngest Miss Lorton, and Other Stories by Nora Perry (1889).
– Sam Hicks, a local yeoman in Lorna Doone.
– Sam Miles is a local poacher in the region of Queen’s Crawley in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).
– Sam Turner (called “Sammy“), Ed Turner’s 18-year-old son, who gives Jethro a dog (to help keep him company and to protect his family), and who ends up part of Sherman’s army, in Across Five Aprils.

WRITERS:
– Sam Campbell (1895-1962), American lecturer, photographer, and writer.
– Sam Shepard (b. 1943), American actor, essayist, memoirist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and Pulitzer Prize-winner.

Sophy

August 1, 2014 § 1 Comment

ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Sophie“, a diminutive of “Sophia“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Fifi, Sofi, Sofia, Sofie, Sofiya, Sonia, Sonja, Sonya, Sophia, Sophie, Vivi, Zophi, Zophia, Zophie, Zosia, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sophy Cutler, a girl Joseph Sedley claims to have attracted while in India (possibly, though, entirely imaginary, like Jan Brady’s George Glass), in Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray (published in 1847-48, but set in the 1810s-20s).

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