Not a question about a specific Discworld novel - but...

[RathDarkblade]

...rather about the young witches, or specifically, two of them - to wit, Annagramma Hawkin and Petulia Gristle. Apart from Tiffany, these two are the two young witches who are most "fleshed out", so to speak (or at least, the two who have appeared most often).

My question is simple: being an amateur etymologist, I'm simply curious about their names. Why Annagramma? Why Petulia? The "Gristle" is fairly obvious, given Petulia's relationship with pigs, but why the first names?

Is "Annagramma Hawkin" an anagram for something that belies her bossy

Spoiler

but insecure

personality? Is "Petulia" something to do with her personality? The name is reminiscent of the words "petulant" or "petal", but IIRC, Petulia is not petulant, neither does she have anything to do with flowers.

Speaking of which, why the name

Spoiler

Henry Slugg

for Senor Enrico Basilica in "Maskerade"? Maskerade is one of my favourite "Witches" books, but as far as I know, there aren't any famous singers (opera or otherwise) that have anything to do with slugs. Of course, many (MANY!) famous singers were trained in churches - hence the "Basilica" part. But why

Spoiler

Slugg?

Discuss! I'm fascinated.

 

[Tonyblack]

Terry once said that most of his character's names could be found by looking through a phone directory - certainly the surnames. My guess is that Annagramma and Petulia Gristle were chosen for the sound of the names rather than them having any hidden meaning. Annagramma, sounds like the sort of name that her parents may have heard the word "anagram" and thought it might be a nice name for a girl. This sort of thing does happen. The story goes that, upon the release of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the US, several parents thought that Veruca would be a nice name for a girl. Petulia on the other hand probably is a reference to the 1960s singer Petula Clark. Terry seems to have taken quite a pretty first name and added it to a horrible sounding surname "cartilage, especially when found as tough inedible tissue in meat". Both names sound somewhat witchy. I know Terry has used names for witches based on those of the Pendle Witches.

As to Enrico Basilica - I think it's more to do with sounding like an operatic name. Enrico referring to Enrico Caruso. Enrico is the Italian version of Henry and Basilica, sounds like a large and very grand name. Maybe it's a reference to Charlotte Church. :think: It certainly sounds a lot better than Slugg. Slugg puts me in mind of Frances Ethel Gumm - aka Judy Garland.

It seems to me that there is not always some definite meaning to characters' names in the series - it's more about the sound of the name.

 

[raisindot]

..
Why Petulia? The "Gristle" is fairly obvious, given Petulia's relationship with pigs, but why the first names?

I always thought Petulia was a variation on Petunia, a reference to Petunia Pig, significant other of Porky Pig in the old Warner Brother cartoons. Perfect name for a Pig Witch.

 

[DickSimnel]

Terry loved words and playing with words so I think weird and wonderful names for his characters could pretty much be a given. He may not have had to try too hard on an off-day, though, because there are some unusual surnames in English anyway. My mother's best friend at school was named Dorothy Kneebone, for example. I agree with Tonyblack that Enrico Basilica's real name is just offered as an example of such oddities. And not just surnames, of course. John Wayne was born Marion Morrison and a British wrestler known in the ring as Big Daddy was called Shirley Crabtree - which could easily have been one of Terry's!

Keith

 

[Tonyblack]

I was in school with a boy named Florence.

 

[=Tamar]

Terry often used names that told something about the character. Besides the resonance with Petunia Pig, Petulia is a pretty flower name; Gristle tells us she's tough.

Anagramma Hawkins has a few resonances for me. "Anna" plus "gramma" - "Gramma" reminds me of the ways witches are named Nanny, Granny, Old Mother, etc. It tells me that Anagramma may do well after all, once she gets past some of her early training. An anagram is a puzzle; the pieces are there but they are in the wrong sequence. Anagramma got the pride before she had the training.

I think Hawkins resonates with Sadie Hawkins' Day, from the old Little Abner cartoons set in Dogpatch, USA, which is culturally rather like Slice or the more distant valleys in Lancre are implied to be. On Sadie Hawkins' Day, the young unmarried women chase the young unmarried men (aged 16 or older), and if one is caught, he is obligated to marry the woman who caught him. It's a 1930s? concept, which gives the young women one day of extra power. There is also an older woman called Granny who is the head of the Yokum clan and rules with a word of iron.

ETA according to Wikipedia, Sadie Hawkins Day is usually assumed to be the Saturday after November 9. Some set it on November 13.