Riverview/Onomatology

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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

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"
  • 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: possibly a variant of Lopez, meaning "son of Lope" in Spanish
  • Angel Lobos: the name of the heavenly creature, derived from the Greek word for messenger
  • Marisol Lobos: combination of Maria and Sol; Maria is derived from Mary, which means "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness" or "wished for child" in Hebrew, and Sol means "the sun" in Spanish and Porteguese
  • Carlotta Lobos: Italian form of Charlotte, which is derived from Charles meaning "man" in German
  • Anita Lobos: a nickname for Ana, which is derived from Hannah, meaning "favor" or "grace" in Hebrew

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 could mean "each of the two" or "torture" 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: meaning unknown, possibly Russian
  • Vadim Simovitch: means "rule" in Russian
  • Fatima Simovitch: variant of Fatimah, meaning "to abstain" in Arabic
  • Betty Simovitch: short for Elizabeth, meaning "my God is an oath" in Hebrew

The Spenster Family

  • Spenster: possibly referring to the English word "spinster", meaning an old, unmarried woman
  • Nellie Spenster: short for Eleanor, meaning "the other Aenor" in Old French
  • 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