American Language Supplement 2
Page 75
26 A daughter of Frederick H. and Beatrice Haas. Her father died at Deer Park, L. I., Jan. 18, 1945.
27 Reported from Jacksonville, Fla.
28 Reported from Baltimore by Mr. Francis R. St. John.
29 From Bernardine?
30 Reported from Western New York in Dialect Notes, Vol. III, Part VI, 1910, p. 437. A pet-name form of Bertha. I have also encountered Birtha, Burtha, Beartha, Byrtha and Berthella.
1 Providence (R.I.) Journal, May 29, 1935.
2 Found in Chicago.
3 A common spelling of Betty, along with Bettye, Betti, Betta and Bettha. All of them appear in many double names, e.g., Bette Lou, Betty Fae, Bettye Joe and Bettijune.
4 Apparently a recherché form of Bessie, a shade higher in tone than Bessye.
5 Also Byllye.
6 The fancy forms of the primitive Birdie are innumerable, e.g., Birdell, Birdelle, Birdella, Birdellis, Birdine, Byrdice, Byrdyce, Byrdell, Byrdella, Byrdalice, Byrdalyce, Birda, Birdena, and Birtie.
7 Reported from the Cumberland Mountains, American Speech, April, 1930, p. 306.
8 A very common girl’s name, often used in combination, e.g., Bobby Jean. Variants are Bobba, Bobbye, Bobbie and Boby.
9 From Georgia. Father: Calvin; mother: Roberta. Called Bo.
10 Often used in combination, e.g., Bonnie Mae.
11 Also Brazelle, Braziel and Brazielle.
12 Oklahoma City Times, May 24, 1940.
13 Both Buena and Vista are also used singly.
14 Oklahoma City Times, May 24, 1940. The popularity of Carl as a boy’s name, noted in AL4, p. 506, n. 1, has produced a large crop of feminine variants, e.g., Carlyne, Carla and Carlina. The cognate Carroll has produced Carol, Caral, Carell, Carul, Caryl, Carriell, Carrall, Carolie, etc. See Karleen.
15 From Oklahoma. Other common spellings are Cathern and Kathern.
16 On a headstone at Westminster, Vt. The two sisters of the deceased were Amenta and Belenta.
17 Reported from Crown Point, Ind.
18 Simple Charles is in some use as a girl’s name in the South, but apparently nowhere else. Among the feminine derivatives in my collection are Charlsie, Charlcie, Charlyne, Charlena, Charlene, Charlis, Charlyne, Charleye, Charelle, Charleere, Charlaine, Charline, Charlatta, Charlyse, Charlye, Charlie and Chas.
19 The mother of Cherubim E. Lee died at Mt. Vernon, N. Y., Jan. 19, 1945.
20 Headline in the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, March 17, 1941: “Mrs. Chlorine Craighead Honors Son at Party.” Also reported from Alabama.
21 In this and all similar forms the second element is carefully capitalized. This puts a heavy burden on the reporters, copy-readers, compositors and proof-readers of the Oklahoma papers, but they have got used to it.
22 From Leaksville, N. C.
23 An Edmond, Okla., bride, 1945.
1 Here, as in many other cases, the spelling follows the local pronunciation.
2 Providence (R.I.) Journal, May 29, 1935.
3 In a list of students at Oklahoma College for Women, Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Sept. 19, 1945.
4 Other popular spellings of Corinne are Coreen, Coreine, Corienne, Corrine, Corene, Corinn and Correne, not to mention Korene. It has also produced Corilla and Corise.
5 Reported from Florida.
6 Also Coweta.
7 A not uncommon girl’s name in Virginia.
8 Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Nov. 17, 1946. Names derived from Daniel are common, e.g., Danelle, Dannine, Danna, Danial, Danele, Dannie and Dana.
9 From Geraldine; also Darel-Jean, Darrell-Gene, etc.
10 A common girl’s name from Florida to Oregon. Variants: D’Arline, D’Arlene and Darlean.
11 From Nebraska.
12 Also Dayse.
13 Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Dec. 2, 1945.
14 Also DeAnn and DeeAnne.
15 Oklahoma City Oklahoman, March 27, 1941.
16 Other forms of Dolores: De Lauris, Delares, Deloris, Dolorous, Dolaris, Dolorosa and Dolorez.
17 Reported from Nowata, Okla., by the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, May 31, 1940.
18 Oklahoma City Times, May 2, 1941: a graduate of one of the local high-schools.
19 Married at Oklahoma City, Sept. 14, 1940.
20 A junior high-school miss in Oklahoma City.
21 Found in an Alabama orphans’ home by Mrs. Ethel Austin, of Granby, Conn.
22 Oklahoma City Times, May 24, 1940. Dixie is common both singly and in combination.
23 From the students’ directory of Fresno (Calif.) State College, 1940–41. Many other variants of Dorothy are to be found, e.g., Dorotha, Dorthea, Dortha, Dorathy, Dorethe, Dorothe, Dortho, Dorathe, Dorothye and Dorthy.
24 Sometimes Doris is spelled Dorris or Dorriss.
25 A variant of Drusilla, from Florida. Others found there are Druecellar and Drewsiller.
26 Reported from South Carolina by Mr. Paul St. Gaudens, April 17, 1943.
1 Reported from Franklin, Ind., by Mr. John Jamieson, of New York.
2 The medieval Latin name of Edinburgh, so used by Burns. But here it probably comes from Edward or Edwin. Other attempts at feminization: Eddene, Eddits, Edice, Edwarda, Edenia, Edolia, Edonna, and Edrin.
3 Probably a fancy form of Ella.
4 From Elsie?
5 A dancer figuring in a San Francisco dispatch to Variety, dated Sept. 17, 1940.
6 Found in Colusa county, Calif.
7 Emma seldom appears with two m’s. Sometimes it is Emi, Eme, Emo or even Emer. Common compounds are Ema Jane and Emalou. More nobby are Emelda, Emaelera and Emelle. Emily produces Emalee.
8 Found in Baltimore by Miss Marjorie Gardner.
9 Found in Peoria, Ill., by Mr. Fred Hamann.
10 From western Nebraska.
11 This and Ernestein indicate the prevailing pronunciation of Ernestine.
12 Applied for a divorce in Oklahoma City, Aug. 30, 1945.
13 Oklahoma City Times, May 24, 1940.
14 Probably an attempt at Ethel. Ethyl, Ethylyn, Ethalene and Eythel also occur.
15 Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, March 24, 1940.
16 Reported from Colusa county, Calif.
17 Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Oct. 30, 1945. Also Evelynne, Eveline and Evylan.
18 Yvonne?
19 Marriage Licenses, Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Jan. 11, 1944.
20 The same, Oct. 7, 1945.
21 A lady murdered in Arkansas: Master Detective, Nov., 1945, p. 34.
22 Phoebe?
23 Reported from Texas in Townsfolk, Chicago, Dec., 1940.
24 From rural Indiana.
25 Found in the Ozarks.
1 Found in California by Mrs. G. A. Meek, of Oakland.
2 From New Mexico. Her sister is Joyrene.
3 With a hard G.
4 Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Aug. 15, 1945.
5 Reported from Fort Worth, Texas.
6 Other variant spellings of Gladys (originally the Welsh Gwladys) are Gladyes, Gladdis, Gladous and Gladyce.
7 Accent on the second syllable.
8 The death of Mrs. G’Ola Nagle, a school-teacher, was reported in the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, May 12, 1944.
9 Reported from Lawton, Okla., 1940.
10 Southwest Courier, Oklahoma City, May 18, 1940.
11 An attempt at June?
12 An applicant for a divorce at Oklahoma City, Sept. 28, 1940.
13 From Los Angeles.
14 A member of the faculty, Georgia Teachers College at Collegeboro, 1946.
15 Participant in a beauty contest in Mississippi, 1945.
16 Reported from New Orleans, 1945.
17 Reported from Iowa, American Speech, Oct., 1933, p. 73.
18 Strange Carolina Names, by Burke Davis, Baltimore Evening Sun, editorial page, Feb. 26, 1947.
19 Found in Baltimore in 1908.
20 Accented on the last syllable.
21 Apparently from Imogene. I have also encountered Imajane.
22 Inez? Other forms a
re Inos and Inice.
23 One of several forms of Jacqueline. Others are Jacklynn, Jacquelyn and Jacquelynne.
1 Reported from Bartlesville, Okla., by the Southwest Courier, June 1, 1940.
2 Oklahoma City Oklahoman, Dec. 4, 1943.
3 An Oklahoma City schoolma’am, listed by the Oklahoma City Times, May 24, 1940.
4 Reported by Mr. Kenneth Rockwell from Arlington, Texas.
5 In 1944 Miss Jimmie Bugg Middleton was treasurer of the National Association of College Women.
6 A favorite name, seldom written Joe. It appears either alone or in head-or-tail combinations, e.g., Billy Jo and Jo Verleen.
7 Oklahoma City Times, May 2, 1941.
8 Possibly from Jonah but more likely from John. Derivatives of John are numerous, e.g., Johnaline, Johnaphene, Johnena, Johnella and Johnetta. Sometimes the masculine form is used without change, though usually with a feminine indicator following, e.g., John Marie.
9 Found in California by Mrs. G. A. Meek, of Oakland.
10 American Speech, Oct., 1942, p. 173.
11 Found in California by Mrs. G. A. Meek.
12 Variants: Karla, Karlene, Karldene, and Karlette. See Carlee.
13 Found in Arkansas by Mrs. James F. Rennicks.
14 An apparent attempt to gild Carrie.
15 An Ardmore, Okla., bride, 1945.
16 Reported from Iowa by Miss Harriet Perley. Larada’s sisters are Valora and Fama.
17 Brought out to civilization from the mountains of Tennessee by a traveling bishop. Pronounced Larcée-ny.
18 Christian Names in the Cumberlands, by James A. Still, American Speech, April, 1930, p. 306.
19 An Oklahoma City schoolma’am.
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.