Nina
August 4, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Usually, a diminutive of names ending in “-nina”, such as “Antonina” or “Giannina”, or a variation of “Ann” / “Anne“. Possibly referring to the Spanish word, meaning “little girl”; or from the Native American (Quechua) word, meaning “fire”; or the Russian feminine version of “Nino”; or to the name of a Babylonian and Assyrian fertility goddess.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ani, Ann, Anne, Anni, Annie, Anny, Antonina, Giannina, Nainsi, Nan, Nana, Nance, Nanci, Nancie, Nancy, Nandag, Nanette, Nanice, Nanine, Nannie, Nanny, Nanse, Nansi, Nansie, Nansy, Neena, Neenah, Nena, Nenci, Nensi, Neske, Nest, Nesta, Nina, Ninette, Ninon, Nona, Nonna, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Nina Leffer, the sophisticated girl who becomes Lily’s first new friend after moving to a new neighborhood and a new school, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Sandra
August 4, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Alexandra” / “Alessandra”, the feminine version of “Alexander“; popularized by George Meredith in his novel Emilia in England (1864; republished in 1887 as Sandra Belloni).
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Alastriona, Ale, Alejandra, Aleksandra, Aleksandrina, Alessa, Alessandra, Alexandra, Alexia, Alexis, Ali, Alix, Alley, Alli, Allie, Ally, Andra, Lesya, Ola, Oleksandra, Ondra, Sandi, Sandie, Sandy, Sandrina, Sandrine, Sasha, Saundra, Shandra, Shondra, Shura, Sondra, Szandra, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Sandra, a schoolmate of Lily’s, who is afraid of Lily’s pet cocker spaniel, Bonny, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Igor
August 4, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Russian variation of “Ingvar”, from the Old Norse “hero” name “Yngvarr”, meaning “warrior of the god Yngvi-Freyr“; sometimes used as a variation of “George“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ingvar, Ingvarr, Yngvar, Yngvarr, Yngvi, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Igor, the (possibly false) name of more than one of Uncle Len’s mysterious friends, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Igor Akimushkin (1929-1993), Russian writer and zoologist.
– Igor M. Diakonoff (1915-1999), Russian historian, linguist, scholar, and translator.
– Igor Goldkind (b. 1960), American lecturer, poet, science fiction author, and writer.
– Igor Guberman (b. 1936), Russian-Israeli poet and writer.
– Igor Marojević (b. 1968), Serbian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and translator.
– Igor Severyanin (1887-1941), Russian poet.
– Igor Škamperle (b. 1962), Slovenian essayist, novelist, sociologist, and translator.
– Igor Štiks (b. 1977), Croatian author, editor, reporter, and scholar.
– Igor Talankin (1927-2010), Russian director and screenwriter.
– Igor Torkar (1913-2004), pen name of Slovenian poet, playwright, and writer Boris Fakin.
– Igor Yefimov (b. 1937), Russian-American philosopher, publisher, and writer who also publishes as “Andrei Moscovit”.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 