Haggard
December 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
A medieval English or Scottish last name, with three possible origins: from Gaelic, meaning “son of the priest”; or from the Middle English/Old French “hagard”, meaning “wild” or “untamed”; or from Danish, after the Viking place-name “Agard”, meaning “farm by the stream”. Also possibly referencing the English word “haggard”, meaning “very thin or tired, especially from great hunger, worry, or pain.”
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hagard, Hagart, Hager, Haggart, Haggarth, Hagger, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– King Haggard, the discontented, miserly monarch who can only find joy in the sight of unicorns, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Gus
November 6, 2014 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Augustus”, “Angus”, “Gustave”, etc. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Constantine”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Guus, Kusti, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Gus Kronborg, Thea’s oldest brother, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Gus Kahn (1886-1941), American lyricist.
– Gus Tyler (1911-2011), American activist, author, and columnist.
Nance
October 8, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Shortened version of “Nancy“, or a medieval Cornish place name, meaning “valley”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Nainsi, Nan, Nancie, Nana, Nancy, Nanice, Nannie, Nanny, Nanse, Nansi, Nansie, Nansy, Nenci, Nensi, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nance, one of the hounds belonging to Sir Peter’s family in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
Roy
October 8, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
English version of the Gaelic name “Ruadh”, meaning “red”, or from the French “roi”, meaning “king”. Sometimes used as a diminutive of “Leroy”, “Royal“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Leroy, Royal, Ruadh, Ruadhan, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Roy, one of the hounds belonging to Sir Peter’s family in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
WRITERS:
– Roy Campbell (1901-1957), South African poet and satirist.
– Roy Heath (1926-2008), Guyanese author.
– Roy Huggins (1914-2002), pen name of American novelist and television writer and producer John Thomas James.
– Roy Lewis (1913-1996), English writer and small press printer.
– Roy Orbison (1936-1988), American singer and songwriter.
Alan
September 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Celtic or Breton, possibly meaning “handsome” or “harmony”, or “little rock”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ailin, Al, Alain, Alayne, Alen, Allan, Allen, Alleyn, Allyn, Alun, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Alan-at-Gate, the gruff gatekeeper at Sir Peter’s castle, in The Door in the Wall (written in 1949 and set sometime between 1327-1377), by Marguerite de Angeli.
– Lord Alan Brandir, Lorna’s dashing young Scottish cousin, who attempts to rescue her, in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
– Alan Krescott, who is, with his twin brother John, included in the “irregular” kids at Lily’s school, due to their having been born prematurely and continuing to be undersized, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Alan Bradley (b. 1938), Canadian writer.
– Alan Burns (1929-2014), English author.
– Alan Dean Forster (b. 1946), American writer.
– Alan Hunter (1922-2005), English author.
– Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986), American librettist and lyricist.
– Alan Marshall (1902-1984), Australian story teller and writer.
– Alan Paton (1903-1988), South African activist and author.
– Alan Sillitoe (1928-2010), English writer.
– Alan Wade (1916-2013), pen name of American author Jack Vance, who also published under the pen names Ellery Queen, Jay Kavanse, John van See, and Peter Held.
Lorna
September 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Invented by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore for his 1869 novel, Lorna Doone. The character was a descendant of the Earl of Lorne, a Scottish nobleman.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Um . . . Lori, maybe? Stuff like that?
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lorna Doone (Dugal), the titular fair maiden who captures simple John Ridd’s heart in Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore (written in 1869, set in the 1670s-1680s).
Archie
August 30, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Archibald”, from Germanic, meaning “genuinely bold”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Arch, Archbold, Archembald, Archer, Archibald, Archibold, Archy, Ercanbald.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Archie Lambert, one of the children who delight in offering hospitality to those in need on the holiday, in “The Thanksgiving Guest”, from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
Marge
August 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Margaret” or “Margery” / “Marjorie” / “Marjory“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Maarit, Madge, Mae, Maisie, Maisy, Maggi, Maggie, Maggy, Mamie, Maret, Margaux, Margie, Margit, Margo, Margot, Margy, Marji, May, Meg, Megeen, Megan, Megen, Meggie, Meggy, Midge, Peg, Pegeen, Peggie, Peggy, Peigi, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marge Lloyd, Elsie’s kind and tender sister, in “The Egg-Boy” from Nora Perry’s A Flock of Girls and Boys (1895).
WRITERS:
– Marge Piercy (b. 1936), American activist, novelist, and poet.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 