Name origins

[Seymour Glass]

Beaudelaire: named after 19th century French poet Charles Beaudelaire.

Violet: Named after Violet Sharpe, a suspect of the Lindbergh kidnapping.

Klaus: Named after Claus von Bulow.

Sunny: Named after Claus von Bulow's wife, Sunny von Bulow.

Bertrand: Named after French poet Aloysius Bertrand.

Beatrice: Named after Beatrice, the lost love of Dante in The Divine Comedy.

Edgar and Albert Poe: Named after poet Edgar Allen Poe. Possibly also named after poet Edgar Albert Guest.

Quagmire: A difficult situation or a swamp.

Duncan and Isadora: Named after dancer Isadora Duncan.

Quigley: Named after author Lillian F. Quigley.

Esme Squalor: Named after the short story For Esme - With Love And Squalor by JD Salinger.

Jerome: Named after JD Salinger.

Vice Principal Nero: Named after Emperor Nero. There is also a fictional detective named Nero Wolfe. Unlike Vice Principal Nero, Nero Wolfe actually is a genius.

Frank and Ernest: a pun on the fact that neither character is honest and forthright. Possibly also after the comic strip Frank and Ernest.

Dr. Georgina Orwell: Named after George Orwell.

Hugo: Named after Victor Hugo, author of Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Monty: Possibly a reference to Monty Python.

Josephine: Possibly after Franz Kafka's short story "Josephine, or the Mouse Folk."

Dewey: The Dewey Decimal System

Ishmael: Character from Moby Dick.

Friday: Character from Robinson Crusoe

Caliban: Character from Shakespere's play The Tempest.

Miranda: Character from Shakespere's play The Tempest.

Widdershins: Scottish Gaelic word which means "in a direction opposite to the usual"

Ike Anwhistle: pun on "I can whistle"

Eleanora: After Edgar Allan Poe's short story "Eleanora".

Briny Beach: allusion to Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter"

Heimlich: after Henry Heimlich, who introduced the Heimlich Manuever

Prufrock: after T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

Denouement: series of events that follow the climax of a drama or narrative, and thus serves as the conclusion of the story

Olaf: Named after the Danish prince.

[Dante]

Just out of curiosity, would part of this by any chance have been copy-pasted from Wikipedia? I apologise if I'm wrong, but the wording seems rather familiar.

Arlene Violet was an attorney in the von Bulow case, by the way, and the philosopher Bertrand Russel is also sometimes cited as the origin of Bertrand's name - not that Handler's ever actually commented on any of these names, I believe, so it's all speculation.

[Hermes]

Very useful list. I have just a few thoughts to add.

Apr 30, 2010 13:15:17 GMT -5 Seymour Glass said:

Violet: Named after Violet Sharpe, a suspect of the Lindbergh kidnapping.

I believe the prosecutor in the von Bulow case was also called Violet. (Edit: snap!)

Quigley: Named after author Lillian F. Quigley.

Possibly also after historian Carroll Quigley, who had an intgerst in secret socieies.

There is also a fictional detective named Nero Wolfe. Unlike Vice Principal Nero, Nero Wolfe actually is a genius.

Nice thought. But does our Nero resemble Wolfe in any other way? The emperor Nero also thought he was a genius (as shown by his last wrds, 'What an artist is perishing in me!')

Monty: Possibly a reference to Monty Python.

Oh gosh, however did I miss that?

Eleanora: After Edgar Allan Poe's short story "Eleanora".

Oo, didn't know that. (It's also just struck me that Mr Poe's first name, Arthur, must refer to another story by EAP, 'The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym'.)

Briny Beach: allusion to Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter"

Yes, though as Vanja argued a while ago, it seems also to refer to the Newfoundland folk song 'As Susan walked the briny beach'.

Apr 30, 2010 13:53:28 GMT -5 Dante said:

and the philosopher Bertrand Russel is also sometimes cited as the origin of Bertrand's name - not that Handler's ever actually commented on any of these names, I believe, so it's all speculation.

Yes, but I think Aloysius Bertrand is plausible, since he was a friend of Baudelaire's.

[Invisible]

I never noticed the "I can whistle" thing XD That's hilarious!

[Emma “Emmz” Squalor]

I was aware of many of these, but there were several I had no idea about. Such as Uncle Monty's name being taken from Monty Python and Josephine's from Franz Kafka's story.

Thank you for shedding some light on these mysteries, freebird.

[Tiago James Squalor]

I wonder what's the story with the name 'Carmelita Spats' lol ^^ Thanks for posting this, it's very interesting.

[Seymour Glass]

Apr 30, 2010 13:53:28 GMT -5 Dante said:

Just out of curiosity, would part of this by any chance have been copy-pasted from Wikipedia? I apologise if I'm wrong, but the wording seems rather familiar.

Arlene Violet was an attorney in the von Bulow case, by the way, and the philosopher Bertrand Russel is also sometimes cited as the origin of Bertrand's name - not that Handler's ever actually commented on any of these names, I believe, so it's all speculation.

I did look on Wikipedia for the name origins.

I didn't know about Violet in the von Bulow case.

[Dante]

May 1, 2010 9:43:53 GMT -5 Tiago James Squalor said:

I wonder what's the story with the name 'Carmelita Spats' lol ^^ Thanks for posting this, it's very interesting.

Handler was probably just trying to think up the most obnoxious spoiled rich brat name he could. Although, for those who don't know, spats are these snazzy footwear items.

[Christmas Chief]

I've always thought of "Spats" as the word "spat", the way someone would spat words at someone else. That the name "Carmelita" is so innocent-sounding is the irony. (That is, Spats isn't "innocent" at all.)

[Tiago James Squalor]

May 1, 2010 10:58:10 GMT -5 Dante said:

May 1, 2010 9:43:53 GMT -5 Tiago James Squalor said:

I wonder what's the story with the name 'Carmelita Spats' lol ^^ Thanks for posting this, it's very interesting.

Handler was probably just trying to think up the most obnoxious spoiled rich brat name he could. Although, for those who don't know, spats are these snazzy footwear items.

Oh, I always wanted to know how those were called, now I know, so thanks! I'll remember that for the next time I draw Carmelita. ^^

I've always thought of "Spats" as the word "spat", the way someone would spat words at someone else. That the name "Carmelita" is so innocent-sounding is the irony. (That is, Spats isn't "innocent" at all.)

Yeah, I always thought the same thing!

[thedoctororwell]

I think Bertrand is named after the french poet Aloysius Bertrand. Baudelaire thought of him as a "spiritual father" so it would make sense for him to be the orphans' genitor.
"Carmelita" is intended to be an ironic name. It's derived from the Carmelites, an order of christian Sisters who are famous for their vows of silence, which are extremely drastic even compared to those of other christian orders. And Carmelita just WON'T SHUT UP.

[Dante]

That's fascinating, thedoctororwell. I can see "Carmelita" therefore being exactly the sort of name a rich and somewhat pretentious couple would give to their darling daughter, and ironically completely undoing its meaning by spoiling her rotten.

[Christmas Chief]

May 2, 2010 8:27:27 GMT -5 thedoctororwell said:

"Carmelita" is intended to be an ironic name. It's derived from the Carmelites, an order of christian Sisters who are famous for their vows of silence, which are extremely drastic even compared to those of other christian orders. And Carmelita just WON'T SHUT UP.

Very interesting! I wonder, then, if Carmelita's parents had some other plan for their daughter, before she was born. Or maybe that's why they sent her to Prufrock Prep.

[Seymour Glass]

Prospero: From William Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Ike and Josephine: possible a reference to Tropical Storm Ike and Hurricane Josephine

Damocles Dock: Possibly an allusion to the Greek figure Damocles

Kafka Cafe: reference to Franz Kafka.

Hurricane Herman: possibly a reference to Herman Melville.

Lachrymose: means "given to or causing tears"

Ahab Memorial Hospital: possibly a reference to Captain Ahab from Moby Dick

Bass and Remora: Both types of fish.

Verne Invention Museum: reference to Jules Verne

[Dante]

May 7, 2010 10:27:49 GMT -5 Seymour Glass said:

Bass and Remora: Both types of fish.

So too Miss Tench, and the overarching "school of fish" pun.