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ArchivesSome work for a name detective
I am interested in the names of Sherlock Holmes and his brother Mycroft, who appear in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. I have read the entry on Sherlock, but I wonder why Doyle chose this name. Was it common in Victorian England (or rather awkward)? Are these surnames used as first names? Do you know of any other people named like this before Sherlock Holmes? Where could Doyle have got the names from?
To cut it short: any further information? I'd appreciate any answer. Thanks.
Barbara
To cut it short: any further information? I'd appreciate any answer. Thanks.
Barbara
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Replies
In *The Annotated Sherlock Holmes*, edited by William S. Baring-Gould (Wings Books, 1992), it’s mentioned that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle originally planned to call his famous detective by the name of: “Sherringford Holmes”, but then changed the name to “Sherlock Holmes.”
Also in the same reference work it's mentioned that the name of “Holmes” was probably taken from the name of one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s heroes: Oliver Wendell Holmes. The name of “Sherlock” may have come from the name of landowners in the part of Ireland where the Doyle family had once held its estates (County Wicklow).
-- Nanaea
Also in the same reference work it's mentioned that the name of “Holmes” was probably taken from the name of one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s heroes: Oliver Wendell Holmes. The name of “Sherlock” may have come from the name of landowners in the part of Ireland where the Doyle family had once held its estates (County Wicklow).
-- Nanaea
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Thank you, Nanaea!
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That's an interesting question, Barbara. I'll have to check my annotated Sherlock Holmes while I'm at work later today, to see if any explanation for Doyle's choice of name might be given in there. I also have a friend who's a member of the Sherlockian society "The Baker Street Irregulars", and I'll ask him, as well.
I can tell you that the name "Sherlock" is a genuine surname, having started out as a nickname in England for a person with fair hair or a lock of fair hair. The name is derived from the Middle English word "schirloc", which in turn is derived from the Old English "scir" (meaning "bright" or "fair") and "loc" (meaning "lock of hair").
-- Nanaea
I can tell you that the name "Sherlock" is a genuine surname, having started out as a nickname in England for a person with fair hair or a lock of fair hair. The name is derived from the Middle English word "schirloc", which in turn is derived from the Old English "scir" (meaning "bright" or "fair") and "loc" (meaning "lock of hair").
-- Nanaea
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