American Language Supplement 2 (108 page)

20
Oklahoma City
Times
, May 24, 1940.

21
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, July 1, 1941.

22
On the staff of the Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery, Kirksville, Mo.

23
Louise?

24
Reported from Peoria, Ill., by Mr. Fred Hamann.

1
Oklahoma City
Times
, May 2, 1941.

2
Leona? Lee
is very popular as a second name, as in
Una Lee, Dora Lee
, etc.

3
Angel
spelled backward. From Virginia.

4
From Elwood, Ind.;
Life
, Aug. 26, 1940.

5
Reported from Marlette, Mich., in
Comfort
(Augusta, Maine), July, 1940.

6
Lincolna
Summers, aged five, was the subject of a kidnaping scare in Denver, Colo., in 1946.

7
From Sullivan county, New York.

8
Reported from Florida by Mr. Paul St. Gaudens.

9
The first syllable rhymes with
few
. Other forms:
Louza, Louzon, Louzella
, and
Lousella
.

10
Described by the
Covered Wagon
, University of Oklahoma (reprinted in the
New Yorker
, Nov. 26, 1938) as “blond Alpha Chi Omega dream dancer divine.”

11
Reported by Mr. Tom C. Mead, of Boulder City, Nev. He says that it is a contraction of
Lucinda
, vice an earlier
Sin
.

12
Murdered at Hampton, Tenn., Jan. 6, 1938 (
True Detective Mysteries
. Sept., 1938, p. 13), along with her sisters
Sonia
and
Roma Jean
.

13
The common variants are
Mable, Mayble, Maybelle
and
Mayble
.

14
Other forms:
Madelline, Madeliene, Madelyn, Madline, Madolene, Madalyne
and
Madlyne
.

15
This comes from Maine, and Mrs. Frederick G. Fassett, Jr., of Cambridge, Mass., tells me that it is pronounced
May-dá-me
.

16
I am informed that this spelling was rare before 1900. The name occurs very frequently in combination, usually as the second element,
e.g., Allie Mae, Fannie Mae
, etc. It is often uttered in address. Often it is assimilated,
e.g., Olamae
.

17
Reported from Alabama.

18
From Minnesota.

1
From Minnesota.

2
Reported from Leaksville, N. C., by Mr. Durward King.

3
Probably suggested by
Naomi
.

4
From a list of high-school graduates in the Oklahoma City
Times
, May 9, 1941.

5
For
Maureen?

6
Found on Cape Cod by Mr. Gustavus Franklin Paine.

7
For
Mary
see
Words
, March, 1937, p. 55, and my Treatise on the Gods; New York (revised edition), 1946, pp. 149–50.
Maryea
and
Mayry
are reported from Oklahoma. Many combinations are to be found,
e.g., Marynell, Marylynn
.

8
For
Mathilde
.

9
Oklahoma City
Times
, May 24, 1940.

10
From Missouri. Probably a fancy form of the name of the State.

11
Found in Oakland, Calif.

12
American Speech
, Oct., 1942, p. 173.

13
American Speech
, April, 1933, p. 55.

14
A young lady of Altus, Okla. Her sister is
Verdine
. Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, Sept. 19, 1945.

15
Found in Oklahoma. Variants:
Micki
and
Miki
.

16
Reported from Oakland, Calif.

17
Providence (R.I.)
Journal
, May 29, 1935.

18
From Arkansas. Pronounced
Mossy Lee
.

19
Found in the Providence (R.I.) city directory. The Sideshow, Providence
Journal
, May 29, 1935. See
Merdine
.

20
Reported from New Orleans, 1945.

21
Nazarene?

22
Her engagement was announced by the Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, Feb. 27, 1945.

23
Applied for a divorce in Oklahoma City, Oct. 9, 1945.

1
From Mississippi.

2
Reported from the Middle West by Mr. James M. Bowcock, of Richmond, Va.

3
American Speech
, April, 1930, p. 306.

4
Found in North Carolina by Mrs. Robert L. Morehouse.

5
From the Chicago region.

6
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, May 5, 1946.

7
The name of a girl born on a train. Perhaps it was suggested by
all right
.

8
Found in Michigan.

9
Oklahoma City
Times
, May 2, 1941.

10
Found in California by Mrs. G. A. Meek.

11
Found in California.

12
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, Dec. 2, 1945.

13
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, July 29, 1945.

14
Found in Alabama.

15
Reported from Thomasville, Ga., by Miss Kathryn Tucker.

16
Reported from Alabama by Miss Kathryn Tucker.

17
A student at Mississippi State College for Women in 1920.

18
Apparently from
Ray
. In wide use in combination,
e.g., Edna Rae, Lois Rae
, etc. Sometimes
Rhey
.

19
From Oklahoma.
Ray
plus
gene
, and so pronounced.

20
Reported from Florida by Mr. Paul St. Gaudens.

21
Also
Racheal
and
Rachelle
.

22
Married in Oklahoma City, Dec. 22, 1946.

23
Reported from North Carolina.

24
A contribution from Texas.

25
Many other home-made derivatives of
Rose
are in use,
e.g., Rosia, Rosiena
and
Rosile
.

26
From a list of public school-teachers, Oklahoma City
Times
, May 24, 1940, p. 22.

27
Also
Saidhe
and
Saydhe
.

1
Reported from Leaksville, N. C., by Mr. Durward King.

2
Providence (R.I.)
Journal
, May 29, 1935.

3
Baltimore
Evening Sun
, June 30, 1945.

4
Participant in a beauty contest in Mississippi, 1945.

5
Reported from Houston, Texas, joined to
LeTulle
as a middle-name.

6
Enrolled at the State Teachers College, Jacksonville, Ala., 1938–39.

7
Reported from South Carolina by Dr. Raven I. McDavid, Jr.

8
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, Aug. 15, 1945.

9
A teacher in Gainesville, Fla., 1940.

10
Pledged by Em Hil sorority at Chickasha, Okla., Sept. 18, 1945.

11
One of the long series based on
Texas, e.g., Texarilla, Texola
.

12
Also
Tomme
and
Tommye
. There are many other forms,
e.g., Tomaline
, and
Tommie
is popular in combinations,
e.g., Tommie Ann
.

13
Reported from Kansas by Miss Rachel Ann Nixon. A compound of
Tonk
, the nickname of the bearer’s grandfather, and the popular
Jo
.

14
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, May 27, 1945.

15
From western Nebraska.

16
Reported from Kentucky in the
Princeton Alumni News
, Nov., 1940.

17
From California.

18
From Minnesota.

19
Found by Mr. Winslow Ames in Illinois.

20
Reported from Baltimore by Mr. Francis R. St. John.

21
Reported from western Maryland.

22
One of three sisters in Bethany, Okla. The others are named
Vela
and
Zoya
.

23
From Alabama.

24
From Iowa.
American Speech
, Oct., 1933, p. 73.

25
Yukon (Okla.)
Sun
, Aug. 8, 1940.

26
Propeller
(Galesburg, Ill.), Sept. 1, 1943.

1
Sterling (Kansas)
Bulletin
, Dec. 5, 1946.

2
Found in California by Mrs. G. A. Meek.

3
Married in Chicago, Aug. 18, 1945.

4
American Speech
, Oct., 1942, p. 173.

5
From Sullivan county, New York.

6
Enrolled at the State Teachers College, Jacksonville, Ala., 1938–39.

7
American Speech
, Oct., 1942, p. 173.

8
A high-school teacher at El Reno, Okla.

9
Obviously an attempt at
Juanita
. Others are
Waneta, Wanita, Wanneta, Wanetta, Wanerta
and
Waunita
. The last appeared in a list of notables of Elwood, Ind., in
Life
, Aug. 26, 1940, p. 2. See
Joanita
.

10
Reported from Iowa in Front Row, by Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart, Des Moines
Tribune
, May 8, 1940.

11
Reported from Lawton, Okla.

12
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, Sept. 14, 1945.

13
The name of the winner of six beauty contests in Louisiana.

14
Reported from Watonga, Okla.

15
Ouida? American Speech
, April, 1933, p. 35. I have also encountered
Weta
.

16
This combination is a favorite throughout the Fancy Names Belt. It is accompanied by many derivatives of
William, e.g., Willia, Willetta, Williamina, Willieva, Willith, Willena, Wilda, Willedra, Willola
and
Willow
. On June 6, 1945 the New Orleans
Picayune
announced the discovery of a two-year-old girl at Ellabelle, Ga., bearing the name of
Williweze
.

17
Found in Alexander, La.

18
From Indiana.

19
A bride in Oklahoma City, 1946.

20
A member of the faculty at the Georgia Teachers College, Collegeboro, 1946.

21
Reported from the Sacramento Valley, Calif.

22
Married in 1939 at Lexington, Okla.

23
Reported from Elkader, Iowa, by Mr. J. J. Hyde.

24
From the Blue Ridge of Virginia,
American Speech
, April, 1933, p. 35.

25
An Oklahoma City schoolma’am.

26
Found in Colusa county, Calif.

27
From the Sacramento Valley, Calif.

28
Found in Pekin, Ill., by Mr. Fred Hamann.

29
From the Oakland, Calif. region.

1
A girl who suffered a broken neck in an automobile accident at Dallas, Texas, April 13, 1940.

2
From Arlington, Texas.

3
An Oklahoma City schoolma’am.

4
Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
, Feb. 1, 1941.

5
Camden, in his Remains Concerning Britain, says that it was frowned upon by “some godly men” of his time,
c
. 1600, as too pretentious and hence “irreligious.”

1
Publications of the Modern Language Association
, Sept., 1928, p. 645.

2
The name of a young lady of Denver, Colo. Whether it represents
John
or
Jan
I do not know.

3
There are other examples in Feminine Names,
American Speech
, Nov., 1925, p. 130.

4
The incomparable
Shir Lee
falls under three headings. It is a surname, it is a doublet of the
Betty Jo
class, and it involves an orthographical novelty.

1
All borne by actual girls, mainly in Oklahoma. An affidavit to that effect, witnessed by my pastor, is deposited in a time capsule buried on my estate at Hohenzollern, Md. Names in
Merd-
are numerous,
e.g., Merdena, Merdelle
and
Merdis
.

1
p. 522, n. 5.

2
Wild Names I Have Met, by Alfred H. Holt; n.p., n.d., p. 17.

3
Owen Cattell, 42, Magazine Official, New York
Times
, March 28, 1940.

4
I am indebted here to the courtesy of Miss Larson herself. Miss D. Lorraine Yerkes reports finding the following other variants in the Chicago area:
Burneace, Burnus, Bernece, Burnis
and
Burnuce
.

5
At all events, the Oklahoma City
Oklahoman
so reported on Oct. 20, 1941.

6
This is a male name, countenanced by Holy Church. I am informed by the Rev.
Ivo
O’Sullivan, O.F.M., of Hupeh, China, that it is a Latinized form of
Ives
, the name of a holy lawyer-priest of Brittany who died in 1303.
Yvette
and
Yvonne
are feminine forms. In Ireland, where
Ivo
is not uncommon, it may also be related to the name of St.
Ibar
of Begerin island, in Wexford harbor, who flourished in St. Patrick’s day and died in 500. There was also a St.
Ivo
, Bishop of Chartres, who died in 1116.

1
A Memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith by His Daughter, Lady Holland; London, 1855, II.

2
This was a Russian loan: she was born in St. Petersburg while her father was American minister there. Her first husband was one Brown, and Ewell always introduced her as “my wife, Mrs. Brown.” See Lee’s Lieutenants, by Douglas S. Freeman; New York, 1943, Vol. II, p. 606.