Names in Austen

In the Facebook group Jane Austen Fan Club, one of the members brought up the subject of first names — or more specifically, how Jane’s heroines would have addressed their husbands after marriage. After all, we have only three examples of the ladies addressing/referring to their future husbands by their given names prior to marriage:

            Elinor and Edward in Sense and Sensibility

            Fanny and Edmund in Mansfield Park

            Catherine and Henry in Northanger Abbey

Granted, young Miss Morland did not refer to Henry Tilney by his given name near as often as the other two, and they none of them used their intended’s first name in mixed company. That would have been improper!

The question — questions, really — posed were:

            So after marriage, did Lizzy call Mr. Darcy Fitzwilliam?

            Did Marianne call Colonel Brandon Christopher?

            Did Emma call Mr. Knightley George?

            Did Anne call Captain Wentworth Frederick?

First, I should point out that it was not yet common practice for first names to be used, even in private, once a couple was married. If a man (not Bingley, of course!) called his wife Miss Jane or Miss Bennet before marriage, he would be more likely to address her as Mrs. Moore, a symbolic reminder that she now belonged to him as much as the rest of his property. This was also done to mark a lady as off limits to other men. A gentleman might also refer to his wife as Madam, or with endearments such as “my dear” or “my darling” or “my love” — if he was an affectionate man.

However, I am sure there were occasions wherein first names, or Christian names as they were referred to in Regency times, were used. It is certainly a practice for writers of historical romance to have the heroine address her husband by his first name after marriage, and sometimes even before. Jane Austen did have a number of her heroes referred to by first name, both by family and acquaintances alike.

So, what would Elizabeth have called Mr. Darcy after they were married? Fitzwilliam? William? Will? Would he have called her Elizabeth, or would he have taken up her family and friends’ practice of calling her Lizzy? Would Marianne, Emma, or Anne have called their husbands by their first names? Honestly, I do think it open to interpretation, but in so doing we must consider the personalities of both parties. In my second book, Darcy is called William by Georgiana, Anne, and his aunt and uncle; Darcy by Lady Catherine, Colonel Fitzwilliam's older brother, and friends; Will by closest friends. Elizabeth, once they are on closer terms, calls him Will, though in moments of emotion she calls him Fitzwilliam. He, in turn, calls her Elizabeth, though once or twice calls her Lizzy.

Marianne Dashwood, for all her reformation, was still very much a romantic at heart. I do think she would have taken to addressing Colonel Brandon by his first name—would have been delighted to have the privilege of doing so, in fact, and I think that the colonel would have felt much joy at hearing her use his given name.

In Emma, it is clearly stated by the title character that she would never call Mr. Knightley anything but that, as she had tried out his first name as a child to get a rise out of him and it hadn’t worked. And since she could not annoy him or tease him by using his first name, she chose not to use it at all. I do, however, think that Emma might have made Knightley her regular address, but might well have resorted to shouting “George!” if he were very distracted (or ignoring her). “Mr. Knightley” might be how she said his name if she were vexed.

Anne Elliot, for all we know, called Captain Wentworth Frederick during their earlier acquaintance and brief engagement. And when they were re-introduced eight years later, having heard his first name used so much by Admiral and Mrs. Croft, once the two were married I definitely think she would have used it as well. I don’t think she would have shortened it to Fred or Freddy, though perhaps some of his acquaintances might if he allowed it.

As for myself… Many JAFF/Austenesque books give Colonel Brandon the first name Christopher, as it was the name given to him in the 1995 feature film of S&S. However, this was a choice made by the script writer, Emma Thompson, and does not come from Austen’s novel, in which Brandon was never addressed by his Christian name. Numerous other characters were never given first names while, in turn, many other names were used multiple times. For those that were given first names, I have chosen to keep them — why make a change to what already is? As for those who did not receive a first name, I have chosen my own for them, which at present I intend to use across all my works. I’ll list them below for you:

Colonel Brandon — Alan (chosen in homage to Alan Rickman; yes, it is Georgian and Regency appropriate)

Mrs. Jennings — Joanna (may change this in later works)

Mrs. Dashwood — Margaret (it was common for first daughters to be given the same Christian name as their mother, but I decided Margaret was named after her instead)

Mrs. Bennet — Jane (Fanny is more common in JAFF, after its use in the 1995 miniseries, but I chose to be different)

Mr. Bennet — Thomas (commonly used in JAFF, but I like it; may change it in other works)

Colonel Fitzwilliam — Theodore (contrary to common belief due to its prolific use in JAFF, his first name is not Richard; Jane Austen is said to have very much disliked the name, and I chose not to use it for this reason as well as the fact that I wanted to use a different one). Called Theo by his brother and closest friends, Theodore by his parents, Teddy by his mother when she's vexed, and Fitzwilliam by Lady Catherine.

General Tilney — Ansel (I don’t imagine I’ll use his first name often, but this just seemed a name to fit the crotchety Army officer)

I’m sure there are many other characters who did not receive first names, and I shall certainly address them as needed, but these are the most commonly seen characters in Austen’s work that occurred to me.