Riverview/Onomatology

The onomatology of the families in Riverview.

The Bagley family

• Bagley: a name for someone who lived in a field populated by badgers
• Ma Bagley: slang for mother
• Rhoda Bagley: means "rose" in Greek
• Sherman Bagley: derived from an Old English surname meaning "shear man"
• Sam Bagley: short for Samuel, which means "name of God" or "God has heard" in Hebrew

The Breckenridge family

• Breckenridge: derived from Old Norse elements meaning "bracken ridge"
• Hal Breckenridge: short for Henry, which means "home ruler" in German

The Broke family

• Broke: to have no money
• Flat Broke: to be "flat broke" is to have absolutely no money
• Flo Broke: Short for Florence, meaning "prosperous, flourishing" in Latin
• Ruby Broke: from the name of the precious gemstone, ultimately derived from "ruber" meaning "red" in Latin
• Skip Broke: short for Skipper, meaning a master of a small ship
• Buck Broke: an English nickname meaning "buck, male deer"
• Trigger Broke: from the English word trigger, a finger-operated lever to operate a gun
• Susie Broke: short for Susan or Susanna, meaning "lily" in Hebrew
• Mary Lu Broke: Mary means "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness" or "wished for child" in Hebrew; Lu is short for Louisa, which is derived from Ludwig meaning "famous warrior" in German. "Mary Lu" is also the title of a famous Hebrew song from the 70s, written and sang by Tzvika Pick. The song is about a girl who aspired to become a famous popstar and ended up being broke and lonely.

The Cantina family

• Cantina: could be a variant of Quintana, meaning "dweller on a piece of land whose rent is one-fifth it's produce" in Spanish
• Lorraine Cantina: a region of France that meant "kingdom of Lothar"

The Carpenter-Rhodes family

• Carpenter: an occupational surname for a carpenter
• Rhodes: means "rose" in Greek. A variant of "Rhoda."
• Hope Carpenter: from the English word hope
• Buzz Rhodes: an English word, most likely refers to the sound that a bee makes
• Meadow Carpenter-Rhodes: from the English word meadow

The Caspian family

• Caspian: first used by C.S. Lewis for his character Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia; derived from the body of water called The Caspian Sea but meaning unknown
• Billy Caspian: short for William, which means "will, desire" and "helmet, protection" in German

The Crosby family

• Crosby: meaning unknown; the name of several American towns
• Odin Crosby: derived from an Old Norse name meaning "inspiration, rage, frenzy"
• Heather Crosby: from the English word heather, a variety of small shrubs

The Cottoneye family

• Cottoneye: a possible reference to the song "Cottoneye Joe", and possibly signifying someone with an eye patch
• Hunter Cottoneye: an occupational English surname for a hunter

The Dean family

• Dean: an occupational surname for a dean; also means "valley"
• George Dean: means "farmer, earthworker" in Greek
• Lonnie Dean: short for Alfonso, meaning "noble and ready" in German

The Grandpas Household

• Dean: an occupational surname for a dean; also means "valley"
• McGlum: derived from the English word glum, meaning unhappy
• Taft: meaning unknown, could be a variant of Toft, a surname for one who hails from a place with that name
• Bennie Dean: short for Benjamin, which means "son of the south" or "son of the right hand" in Hebrew
• Henry McGlum: means "home ruler" in German
• Melvin Taft: variant of Melville, a Scottish surname that came from a French place name meaning "bad settlement"

The Grisby family

• Grisby: could be a variant of Grigsby, which could mean "of Grig's town/settlement"
• Walter Grisby: means "ruler of the army" in German
• Yvette Grisby: derived from the name Ivo, meaning "yew" in German
• Laurel Grisby: from the name of the laurel tree

The Ivanov family

• Kaminski: name for someone who came from the town of Kamien; "kamiñ" means "stone" in Slavic
• Ivanov: means "son of Ivan" in Russian and Bulgarian
• Rayna Kaminski: derived from the name Radko, meaning "care"
• Yuri Ivanov: variant of Yuriy, which is the Russian and Ukrainian form of George, which means "farmer, earthworker" in Greek
• Nadine Ivanov: French form of Nadya, which is short for Nadezhda, meaning "hope" in Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian
• Tatiana Ivanov: derived from Tatius, an Ancient Roman family name of unknown origin
• Dimitri Ivanov: derived from Demetrius, which is ultimately derived from the name of the Ancient Greek goddess Demeter, meaning "earth mother" in Greek

The Jones family

• Jones: derived from the name John, meaning "God is gracious" in Hebrew. It is a common Welsh surname
• Remington: means "from the village of the raven" in Old English
• Aiden Jones: derived from Aodh, meaning "fire" in Irish
• Hannah Jones: means "favour" or "grace" in Hebrew
• Lydia Remington: means "from Lydia" in Greek
• Jasper Remington: means "treasurer" in Persian
• Eileen Remington: ultimately derived from the ancient Germanic name Avila, possibly means "desired"
• Cody Remington: means "son of Otto" in Gaelic
• Kirsten Remington: derived from the name Christian, meaning "a Christian" in Latin. It is a Scandinavian variant of the name "Christine."

The Joy family

• Joy: from the English word joy
• Norman Joy: means "northman" in German. Can also refer to someone from Normandy, France
• Jenny Joy: short for Jennifer, which is derived from Gwenhwyfar meaning "fair, white" and "smooth" in Welsh
• Elaine Joy: derived from Helen, meaning "light" in Greek

The Lessen family

• Lessen: could be a variant of Lawson, meaning "son of Laurence"
• Jon Lessen: short for Jonathan, meaning "God has given" in Hebrew

The Lin family

• Lin: means "forest" in Mandarin
• Roxie Lin: short for Roxana, meaning "bright" or "dawn" in Persian
• Shirley Lin: means "bright clearing" in Old English

The Lobos family

• Lobos: means "wolves" in both Spanish and Portuguese.
• Angel Lobos: the name of the heavenly creature, derived from the Greek word for messenger.
• Marisol Lobos: a combination of Maria and Sol. Maria is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of Mary, which means "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness" or "wished for child" in Hebrew. Sol means "the sun" in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin.
• Carlotta Lobos: Italian and Spanish form of Charlotte, which is derived from Charles - it means "man" in German.
• Anita Lobos: a nickname for Ana in Portuguese, which is derived from Hannah, meaning "favor" or "grace" in Hebrew. It is a Potuguese and Spanish name derived from Ana, which is Spanish for "Anna" or "Anne."

The Lothario family

• Lothario: means "a successful womanizer"
• Don Lothario: short for Donald, meaning "ruler of the world" in Gaelic

The McDermott family

• McDermott: variant of MacDermott, meaning "son of Difharmait" in Irish
• Luke McDermott: means "from Luciana" in Greek
• Ginny McDermott: short for Virginia, which is of unknown meaning but is associated with the Latin word for "maid, virgin"
• Maximus McDermott: a Roman family name which means "greatest"
• Travis McDermott: an English surname for someone who collected tolls from a bridge, derived from the Old French "traverse" meaning to cross

The Newbie family

• Newbie: a pun on the word "new"
• Robert Newbie: means "bright fame" in German
• Mags Newbie: short for Margaret, meaning "pearl" in Greek
• Bob Newbie: short for Robert, meaning "bright fame" in German

The Shallow family

• Shallow: from the English word shallow, meaning "of little depth"
• Kurt Shallow: a variant of Conrad, meaning "brave" and "counsel" in German
• Tom Shallow: short for Thomas, meaning "twin" in Greek
• June Shallow: from the name of the month, derived from the name of the Roman goddess, Juno
• Dallas Shallow: a Scottish place name meaning "meadow dwelling"
• MaryKay Shallow: a combination of Mary - which could mean "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness" or "wished for child" in Hebrew, and Kay - short for Katherine, which means "pure" in Greek

The Shelley family

• Shelley: means "clearing on an bank" in Old English
• Constance Shelley: derived from Constant, meaning "constant, steadfast"

The Simovitch family

• Simovitch: a combination of "Sim" and the Slavic surname ending "ovitch", could mean "son of Sima" or simply "son of a sim"
• Vadim Simovitch: probably comes from the ancient Slavic word "Volod" - ruler
• Fatima Simovitch: variant of Fatimah, meaning "to abstain" in Arabic
• Betty Simovitch: short for Elizabeth, meaning "God gave me an oath" in Hebrew

The Spenster family

• Spenster: possibly referring to the English word "spinster", which is a word for an old, unmarried woman.
• Nellie Spenster: short for Eleanor, which is believed to be a form of Helen, which means "light." Also thought to be a form of Alia Aenor - which is Latin for "the other Aenor."
• Lucille Spenster: derived from Lucius, meaning "light" in Latin.

The Perkins family

• Perkins: means "son of little Peter" in Welsh
• Lucky Perkins: from the English word, meaning "having or bringing good fortune"

The Wilson family

• Wilson: means "son of Will"
• Jebidiah Wilson: variant of Jedidiah, meaning "beloved of God" in Hebrew