Legendary Princesses

Oh, princesses. They've been a part of pop-culture for a while, and I'm happy that the idea of a less passive-damsel-in-distress type princess is finally catching on. In the spirit of this trend, here are some legendary princesses (and a couple queens) who were known for more than just getting saved and/or married off. :)

• Æthelflæd (ATH-el-flad, Old English) of Mercia--"noble beauty". More modern form is Elfleda (elf-LEE-dah). 
• Anahí (ah-nah-EE, Spanish), Native American--from Guarani, poss. "ceibo flower"
• Aoife (EE-fah, Irish), Irish--"beauty". Her equally-awesome sister, with an arguably less-usable name, was Scáthach (SKAH-hahkh, prob. "shadow").
• Awilda (ah-WIL-dah, [Latinized] Old Norse), Scandinavian--"elf battle". Also called Alfhild, Alwilda or Alvilda. 
• Brunhilda (broon-HIL-dah, Germanic) of Austrasia--"armor-battle"
• Cordeilla (kor-DAY-lah, [literary] Middle English)--prob. from Welsh Creiddylad (krye-THUL-ad, poss. "heart-debt"). Also called Cordelia.
• Cynisca (sin-IS-kah, [Anglicized, ancient] Greek)--"female puppy". Greek form is Kyniska (koo-NEES-kah). 
• Disa (DEE-sah, Swedish)--from Old Norse, "goddess"
• Eréndira (eh-REN-deer-ah, Spanish), Native American--from Tarascan, meaning unknown. Also spelled Erendira (eh-ren-DEER-ah). 
• Gwendolen (GWEN-doh-len, [literary] Middle English)--poss. from Welsh, "white ring"
• Heledd (HEL-eth ['th' like in "that"], Welsh)--poss. "salt" or "estuary"
• Ness (NES, Old Irish)--prob. "not gentle". Also called Neas (NYAS, NAS), Neasa (NYAS-ah, NAS-ah), or Nessa (NES-sah). 
• Razia (rah-ZEE-ah, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu), Delhi--poss. "happy, content". Also transliterated as Raziyya.
• Tamar (TAH-mahr, Georgian; TAY-mar, English) of Georgia--from Hebrew, "palm tree". Also called Tamari (TAH-mah-ree). 
• Wanda (VAHN-dah, Polish; WAHN-dah, English), Polish--prob. from "Wend" [a tribal name, itself poss. from Germanic "friend" or Old Prussian "water"]
• Zenobia (zen-OH-bee-ah, [ancient] Greek), Palmyrene--poss. "Zeus-life" or from Arabic Zaynab (ZAY-nab, poss. "beauty")

Seussical Naming

Is your name in a Dr. Suess book? There's a surprising (mostly highly rhyme-able) variety. :)

• One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish: Ned, Mike, Joe, Ish, Clark
• Hop on Pop: Jim, Red, Ned, Ted, Ed, Pat, Will
• ABC: Annie, David Donald, Icabod, Jerry Jordan, Lola, Oscar, Peter, Rosy Robin, Sammy, Ubb, Vera Violet, Willy, Warren, Waldo, Nixie, Yolanda
• Horton Hears a Who!: Horton, Vlad, Jo-Jo
• Horton Hatches the Egg: Horton, Mayzie
• The Sleep Book: Jo, Mo
• The Cat in the Hat / The Cat in the Hat Comes Back: Sally
• Fox in Socks: Sue, Joe, Bim, Ben, Luke
• Green Eggs and Ham: Sam
• The Tooth Book: Ruthie/Ruth, Donald Driscoll, Sam, Mike, Quincy, Simon, Pam, Jimbo, Hilda, Katy, Billy
• Yertle the Turtle and other stories: Yertle, Mack; Gertrude, Lolla-Lee-Lou, Dake
• And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street: Marco, Jack, Fred, Joe, Nat, Jane
• McElligot's Pool: Marco
• The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins: Bartholomew, Derwin, Alaric, Snipps, Nadd, Wilfred
• Bartholomew and the Oobleck: Bartholomew, Derwin
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Max, Cindy-Lou
• The King's Stilts: Birtram, Droon, Eric
• If I Ran the Zoo: Gerald
• If I Ran the Circus: Morris
• Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose: Thidwick
• On Beyond Zebra!: Conrad Cornelius
• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?: Herbie, Ali
• Happy Birthday to You!: Pete, Polly, Paul, Nate, Nelly, Ned
• The Sneetches and other stories: Sylvester, Dave
• Scrambled Eggs Super!: Peter, Liz
• I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew: Sam, Butch, Genghis Khan
• I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and other stories: Looie
• Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!: Marvin
• I Wish That I Had Duck Feet: Bill
• What Pet Should I Get?: Kay
• Oh Say Can You Say: Hooey, Bipper, Bud, Skipper, Jipper, Jeffery, Jud, Horatio, Horace, Hendrix, Hud, Dinwoodie, Dinty, Dud, Fitzsimmon, Fredrick, Fud, Slinky, Stinky, Stuart, Stud, Lud, Pete, Fritz, Fred, Dinn, Dwight
• Daisy-Head Mayzie: Mayzie, Herman "Butch", Einstein, Gregory
• The Bippolo Seed and other lost stories: Gustav, Tadd, Todd, Henry
• Horton and the Kluggerwug and other lost stories: Horton, Marco, Pat

Male Pen Names

Over the centuries, many female writers have adopted male or ambiguous pen names, often to be more accepted by male readers. I'm sure this is nowhere near a comprehensive list, but I do find it fascinating what names they chose for themselves. Some were family names or after other namesakes, but others, who knows? (fun fact: all three Georges listed were writing around the same time)
Some of these are much more well-known today than others, of course, or only used a pseudonym for one or two works (I had no idea Pearl S. Buck used a male name for a few novels. I wonder why?)

• Acton Bell (Anne Brontë)
• Alex Kava (Sharon M. Kava)
• Alex Stuart (Vivian Stuart)
• Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton)
• Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Beatrice Malleson)
• Charles de Launay (Delphine de Girardin)
• Charles Egbert Craddock (Mary Noailles Murfree)
• Christopher Crowfield (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
• Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë)
• Daniel Lesueur (Jeanne Lapauze)
• Daniel Stern (Marie D'Agoult)
• Dell Shannon (Elizabeth Linington)
• Ellis Bell (Emily Brontë)
• Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter)
• Ernst Ahlgren (Victoria Benedictsson)
• Franz von Nemmersdorf (Franziska von Reitzenstein)
• George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
• George Paston (Emily Morse Symonds)
• George Sand (Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin)
• Graham R. Tomson (Rosamund Marriott Watson)
• Henry Handel Richardson (Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson)
• Holme Lee (Harriet Parr)
• Idris Seabright (Margaret St. Clair)
• Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)
• James Tiptree, Jr (Alice Bradley Sheldon)
• Jean Dominique (Marie Closset)
• John Sedges (Pearl S. Buck)
• Laurence Hope (Adela Florence Nicolson)
• Malachi Whitaker (Marjorie Whitaker)
• Martin Ross (Violet Florence Martin)
• Michael Fairless (Margaret Barber)
• Michael West (Corinne Michelle West)
• Rhys Bowen (Janet Quin-Harkin)
• Rohan O'Grady (June O'Grady Skinner)
• Theunis Krogh (Stella Blakemore)
• Victor Català (Catalina Albert)
• Vin Packer (Marijane Meaker)
• William Stuart Long (also Vivian Stuart)

The Other Fairy Tales

Before books and movies and urban legends, there were fairy tales. Many were, of course, adapted to the new mediums, but for some reason, others just never caught on in the modern world.
And so, just because, here are some fairy tale names you've probably never heard of. :)

• Covan
• Esben
• Ferdinand
• Georgic
• Guerrino
• Iain/Ian
• Jean
• Jesper
• Joringel
• Niels

• Aimée
• Catherine
• Elisa
• Eulalie
• Euna
• Filadoro
• Finette
• Ilonka
• Jorinde
• Kate
• Luisa
• Maleen
• Molly
• Myrsina
• Nella
• Prunella
• Zezolla

Names, Initially

It occurred to me the other day just how many great writers go by initials. I wonder why? Do they just have a more acute understanding on how words can affect biases? In the past, of course, many women were advised to publish under initials (or a male pseudonym) to attract readership, but I was surprised how few female writers I found that still might be recognized today.
Anyway, I'm sure I've missed some literary greats, so I look forward to your comments. ;)

• Abbott Joseph--A.J. Liebling
• Alan Alexander--A.A. Milne
• Alfred Edward--A.E. Housman
• Antonia Susan--A.S. Byatt
• Archibald Joseph--A.J. Cronin
• Archie Randolph--A.R. Ammons
• Carolyn Janice--C.J. Cherryh
• Catherine Lucille--C.L. Moore
• Cecil Scott--C.S. Forester
• Cleo Virginia--V.C. Andrews
• Clive Staples--C.S. Lewis
• David Herbert--D.H. Lawrence
• Edgar Lawrence--E.L. Doctorow
• Edith--E. Nesbit
• Edmée Elizabeth Monica--E.M. Delafield [Dashwood]
• Edward Estlin--E.E. Cummings
• Edward Morgan--E.M. Forster
• Elwyn Brooks--E. B. White
• Eric Rücker--E.R. Eddison
• Francis--F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Gilbert Keith--G.K. Chesterton
• Harold Lenoir--H.L. Davis
• Henry Louis--H.L. Mencken
• Herbert Ernest--H.E. Bates
• Herbert George--H. G. Wells
• Hilda Doolittle--H.D.
• Howard Phillips--H.P. Lovecraft
• Isidor Feinstein--I.F. Stone
• James Graham--J.G. Ballard
• James Matthew--J.M. Barrie
• James Patrick--J.P. Donleavy
• Jean-Marie Gustave--J.M.G. Le Clézio
• Jerome David--J.D. Salinger
• Joan--J. California Cooper
• Joanne Kathleen--J.K. Rowling
• John Boynton--J.B. Priestley
• John Davys--J.D. Beresford
• John Maxwell--J.M. Coetzee
• John Millington--J.M. Synge
• John Ronald Reuel--J.R.R. Tolkien
• Letitia Elizabeth Landon--L.E.L.
• Lyman--L. Frank Baum
• Mary Frances Kennedy--M.F.K. Fisher
• Navarre--N. Scott Momaday
• Pamela Lyndon--P.L. Travers
• Patrick Jake--P.J. O'Rourke
• Pelham Grenville--P. G. Wodehouse
• Philip Dey--P.D. Eastman
• Phyllis Dorothy--P.D. James
• Rafael Aloysius--R.A. Lafferty
• Robert Lawrence--R.L. Stine
• Ronald Stuart--R.S. Thomas
• Shira Judith--S.J. Rozan
• Susan Eloise--S.E. Hinton
• Terence Hanbury--T. H. White
• Theodore Francis--T.F. Powys
• Thomas Stearns--T.S. Eliot
• Vidiadhar Surajprasad--V.S. Naipaul
• William Edward Burghardt--W.E.B. Du Bois
• William Edward Butterworth--W.E.B. Griffin
• William Butler--W.B. Yeats
• William Henry--W.H. Davies
• Winfried Georg--W.G. Sebald
• Wystan Hugh--W.H. Auden

Fictional Places

The earliest name-nerd-ish experience I can recall is being charmed by a little Lorien. I'm sure she said "No, not Lauren, Lorien. It's from The Lord of the Rings." quite a bit, but half a lifetime later, I still remember her name.
I've seen Avalon & Avonlea bounced around quite a bit--probably prompted by the popularity of Ava & similar names, just like Lorien was made more usable by the popularity of Lauren/Laura--and it's got me thinking. I know I generally dislike place-names as given names, but for some reason, mythological & literary place-names seem so much more usable. Does that make me a snob? :p

• Aaru (AH-roo)--Egyptian mythology. Alternate transliterations include Yaaru & Aalu.
• Arda (AHR-dah)--Lord of the Rings 
• Brocéliande (broh-say-lee-AHND)--Arthurian mythology
• Elysia (eh-LEE-see-ah, eh-LOO-see-ah)--Greek mythology [Elysian/Elysium Fields]
• Lyonesse (lee-oh-NES)--Arthurian mythology
• Magrathea (mag-rah-THEE-ah)--Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Nysa (NEE-sah, NOO-sah)--Greek mythology
• Paravel (pehr-ah-VEL)--Chronicles of Narnia [Cair Paravel, technically]
• Terabithia (tehr-ah-BITH-ee-ah)--Bridge to Terebithia
• Tirith (TEER-ith)--Lord of the Rings [Minas Tirith, to be exact]
• Valinor (VAH-lin-ohr)--Lord of the Rings 

Nickname-Names

It's amazing how many ways a new name can come about. While diminutives becoming names in their own right is something we're all familiar with (Kate, Jack, Mia, Liam), I was surprised to find out how many names were originally descriptive nicknames. As you can imagine, most were originally surnames, but a few were first given in honor of a single famous individual.
I'm leaving out nicknames derived from places/nationalities (done that already), those derived from animals (way too many), and those derived from hair/eye/skin color (again, too many, and they've mostly been covered already, too).
It's also worth noting that English often has a tendency towards sarcastic nicknames--"Tiny" for a big fellow, "Happy" for a rather dour person, "Einstein" for a slow thinker, etc. 

• Algernon (AL-jer-non, English)--from French, "mustached". Originally given in honor of Sir William de Percy, a friend of King William the Conquerer. 
• Augustus (aw-GUS-tus, Latin)--"great, venerable". Originally given in honor of Octavian, the first Roman emperor. Modern forms include August & Austin.
• Barrett (BAIR-ret, English)--"dispute"; nickname for an argumentative person.
• Blythe (BLITHE, English)--"cheery"
• Braden (BRAY-den, English, or BRAH-dan, Irish)--from Irish, "son of the salmon". Probably originally a nickname for a clever person--in the legend of Finn McCool [Fionn mac Cumhaill], Finn gains great wisdom after eating a magic salmon.
• Buck (BUCK, English)--"male [esp. of deer]"
• Cade (KAYD, English)--"round"
• Cameron (KAM-er-on, English, Scottish)--from Gaelic, "crooked nose"
• Cassidy (KAS-sid-ee, English)--from Gaelic Caiside, "curly-haired"
• Chase (CHAYSE, English)--nickname for a hunter
• Courtney (KORT-nee, English)--from French, "short nose"
• Crispin (KRIS-pin, Latin)--"curly-haired"
• Curtis (KUR-tis, English)--from French, "polite, refined"
• Devin (DEV-in, English)--from French, "divine, holy" [can also be a variant of Devon, a locational surname]
• Felix (FEE-liks, FEH-liks, Latin)--"lucky"
• Gale (GAYL, English)--"cheery, jovial"
• Gemma (JEM-mah, Italian)--"jewel"
• Giselle (jih-ZEL or zhih-ZEL, English, French)--from Germanic, "pledge, hostage". Likely arose from the medieval practice of sending noble children to be fostered in foreign courts, ensuring good relations between their peoples.
• Grant (GRANT, English, Scottish)--from French, "tall, grand"
• Hoyt (HOYT, English)--"stick", nickname for a very thin person.
• Kaloyan (kahl-oy-ahn, Bulgarian)--from Greek kalos Ioannes, "handsome John". Originally given in honor of Emperor John II of Bulgaria. 
• Kennedy (KEN-ed-ee, English)--from Irish Cinnéde, "misshapen head"
• Leroy (LEE-roy, English)--from French, "the king"
• Lloyd (LOYD, English, Welsh)--from Welsh, "grey"
• Lucasta (loo-CAHS-tah, English)--from Latin lux casta ("pure light"). Writer Richard Lovelace's nickname for his love, Lucy, for whom he penned many poems.
• Mallory (MAL-lor-ee, English)--from French, "unlucky"
• Paul (PAWL, English)--from Latin Paulus "small" or "humble"
• Seeley (SEEL-ee, English)--"happy, fortunate"
• Talmadge (TAL-madj, English)--from French, "knapsack"; a nickname for someone who often wore a knapsack, like a peddler or soldier.
• Terrell (TEHR-rel, ter-REL, English)--from French, "puller"; a nickname for a stubborn person.
• Trey (TRAY, English)--"third"
• Truman (TROO-man, English)--"trustworthy man"
• Tyson (TYE-son, English)--from French tison, "firebrand"; a nickname for an argumentative person. [can also be a patronymic, "Dennis' son"]
• Vaughn (VAWN, English, Welsh)--from Welsh, "little"
• Wiley (WYE-lee, English)--"tricky" [can also be a locational surname]

Literary Siblings

There seems to be a lot of concern over whether siblings' names "fit" together. If your first daughter is Mary, is it okay to go with Moonbeam or Misty for a second? What about Madison or Maliah? Or are you stuck with Mathilda or Mabel? Whether you're in the "same style" camp, the "whatever goes" camp, or somewhere in between, I thought a survey of literary sib-sets--stylish, stodgy, or just plain strange--might be fun.

• Josephine ('Jo'), Margaret ('Meg'), Elizabeth ('Beth'), & Amy--Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
• Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine ('Kitty'), & Lydia--Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
• Elinor, Marianne, & Margaret--Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
• Wendy, John, & Michael--Peter and Wendy [aka "Peter Pan"], J. M. Barrie
• Juniper ('Junie') & Oliver--Junie B. Jones, Denise Brunkus
• Peter, Valentine [♀], & Andrew ('Ender')--Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
• Beatrice ('Beezus'), Ramona, & Roberta; Howard ('Howie') & Willa Jean--Ramona series, Beverly Cleary
• Artemis [♂], Beckett, & Myles--Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer
• Gregor, Elizabeth ('Lizzy'), & Margaret ('Boots')--The Underland Chronicles, Suzanne Collins
• Katy, Clover, Elsie, Dorry [♂], & Joanna ('Johnnie')--What Katy Did series, Susan Coolidge
• Simon, Jane, & Barnabas ('Barney')--The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper
• Martha, Belinda, Peter, & Timothy ('Tiny Tim') [+ an unnamed brother & sister]--A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
• Mycroft & Sherlock--the Sherlock Holmes novels, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Louise, Marie [changed to Clara for the ballet], & Fritz--The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, E. T. A. Hoffman
• Sophie, Lettie, & Martha--Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
• Margaret ('Meg'), Alexander ('Sandy'), Dennys, & Charles Wallace--The Time Quartet, Madeleine L'Engle
• Jeremy ('Jem') & Jean ('Scout')--To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
• Peter, Susan, Edmund, & Lucy--The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis
• Tommy & Annika--Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren
• Jonas, Lily, & Gabriel--The Giver, Lois Lowry 
• Wade, Ella, & Eugenie--Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
• James ('Jem'), Walter, Anne ('Nan'), Diana, Shirley [♂], & Bertha Marilla ('Rilla'); Gerald ('Jerry'), Faith, Una, & Thomas Carlyle ('Carl')--Anne of Green Gables series, Lucy Maud Montgomery
• William, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ronald, & Ginevra ('Ginny')--Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling
• Goneril, Regan, & Cordelia--King Lear, William Shakespeare
• Viola & Sebastian--The Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
• Violet, Klaus, & Sunny--A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket
• Jane, Michael, John, Barbara, & Annabel--Mary Poppins series, P. L. Travers
• Henry, Jessica ('Jessie'), Violet, & Benjamin ('Benny')--The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner 
• Avery & Fern--Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
• Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz [sometimes translated to Francis]--Swiss Family Robinson, Johann David Wyss

Writers Have the Most Fun

As much as I prefer established or historical names for my own kids, I do have to feel bad for parents brave enough to invent names for their children. It takes a bit of guts and confidence, especially if the name doesn't fit into any current trends or patterns, and they're likely to take a lot of crap for it.
When a writer does it, though, it somehow adds credibility to a name. A created name is okay, as long as someone else created it?

Boys:

• Cedric (SED-rik)--Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott
• Figaro (FIH-gar-oh)--"The Barber of Seville", Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
• Orville (OHR-vil)--"Evelina", Fanny Burney
• Percival (PUR-si-val)--"Perceval, the Story of the Grail", Chrétien de Troyes

Girls:

• Amanda (ah-MAN-dah)--"Love's Last Shift", Colley Cibber
• Arline (ahr-LEEN)--"The Bohemian Girl", Michael William Balfe
• Ayla (AY-lah)--Clan of the Cave Bear, Jean M. Auel
• Cora (COHR-ah)--The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper
• Haidee (HAY-dee)--"Don Juan"; Byron, Lord Tennyson
• Imogen (IM-o-jen)--"Cymbeline", Shakespeare. A two-fer! Shakespeare originally wrote Innogen (Gaelic, "maiden"), but it was misprinted.
• Janice (JAN-is)--Janice Meredith, Paul Leicester Ford
• Jessica (JESS-ih-kah)--"The Merchant of Venice", Shakespeare
• Loredana (loh-reh-DAH-nah)--Mattea, George Sand
• Lorna (LOHR-nah)--Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmoor
• Lucinda (loo-SIN-dah)--Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
• Melinda (mel-IN-dah)--"The Recruiting Officer", George Farquhar
• Miranda (meer-AN-dah)--"The Tempest", Shakespeare
• Myra (MYE-rah)--"Myra"; Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke
• Nerissa (nehr-ISS-ah)--"The Merchant of Venice", Shakespeare
• Norma (NOHR-mah)--"Norma", Felice Romani
• Nydia (NID-ee-ah)--The Last Days of Pompeii, Edward Bulwer-Lytton
• Olivia (oh-LIV-ee-ah)--"The Twelfth Night", Shakespeare
• Ophelia (oh-FEE-lee-ah)--"Arcadia", Jacopo Sannazaro
• Pamela (PAM-el-ah)--"Arcadia", Sir Philip Sidney
• Perdita (pur-DEE-tah)--"The Winter's Tale", Shakespeare
• Stella (STEL-lah)--Astrophel and Stella, Sir Philip Sidney
• Vanessa (van-ES-sah)--"Cadenus and Vanessa", Jonathan Swift
• Wendy (WEN-dee)--"Peter Pan", J. M. Barrie