What is Mr. Darcys 1st name?

Aware as Jane Austen was of previous comedies of manners, she would have known of the importance of names in the eighteenth-century comedies, such as Mrs Malaprop in Sheridan’s The Rivals and Lady Sneerwell in The School for Scandal. One can interpret subtle meanings of the names she chose for her characters.

Last Names

  • Darcy – an English surname that derives from the Norman French d’Arcy, meaning someone from Arcy in France. It is also the name of several ancient baronages that were all extinct by the time the novel was written (Jane Austen is very careful that she never references any real people or titles). It is also interesting that a separately derived Irish version of this name comes from the Gaelic meaning ‘dark’ – as in tall, dark and handsome.
  • de Bourgh – Another Norman-esque name, summoning ideas of long-established nobility. ‘Bourgh’ is similar to the last name de Burgo, from the Norman Invasion, and one of the first last names ever recorded. It is related to the last name Burgh from the Anglo-Saxon burg from which ‘borough’ derives, an administrative unit of a town or city. This could be a reference to Lady Catherine’s enjoyment in organising people’s affairs and the active part she takes in taking on a magistrate’s role in “scolding [the local villagers] into harmony and plenty”.
  • Bingley – the name of a town near Bradford in West Yorkshire that prospered during the Industrial Revolution. The name indicates that the Bingley wealth originates from trade in the north of England.
  • Lucas – a name associated with the Christian Crusaders, thus a knightly name.
  • Gardiner – a name originating from an occupation; Mr Gardiner has to work for a living.

First Names

  • It is interesting that in the families who place high importance on their origin and their inheritance, the daughters have names that are feminine versions of masculine names and most likely a feminine version of the patronymic name:
    • Charles, Caroline and Louisa – Caroline, is the French feminine form of Charles. This could indicate that Mr Bingley, Sr.’s first name may have been Charles and he has named his son and eldest daughter after himself. The dominance of the name could show how much of an impact the father has had on the family, and the means he made his wealth. Louisa is the feminine form of Louis, a name held by 18 kings of France. The names Caroline and Louisa thus put in mind French names, which could indicate their pretensions to fashion. A stereotype of the French was also that they were considered to be superficial (see the stereotypical French traits, or faults, of Adele in Jane Eyre).
    • George Wickham and Georgiana Darcy – George Wickham was Old Mr Darcy’s god-son and teamed with the fact that Old Mr Darcy’s daughter is also called Georgiana, implies that Old Mr Darcy’s first name was George. The importance of the influence and the inheritance of Mr Darcy, Sr. is evident in the novel and also, possibly, their names. The name Georgiana was also famously held by Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757–1806), although it is doubtful that Georgiana Darcy’s character is at all based upon her. However, the Devonshire family were famously Whig aristocrats. The Devonshire family seat is Chatsworth in Derbyshire, which is considered a possible model for Pemberley.
    • In contrast, all the Bennet daughters possess purely feminine names. The names are almost generic names, and common at the time: although the name Lydia is an unusual one today, it was not a rare one in the past. The fact that none of them is named after their father shows how little of a role Mr Bennet has in his family.
      • Jane and Elizabeth – common names at the time. Given that there is little physical description given of them it allows the reader to recognise themselves or someone they know in the characters.
      • Mary – a very common, almost boring name. Mary has not been distinguished with her name in the family and is little distinguished in anything else. We know little of her appearance and do not even know her age.
      • Lydia – the most uncommon name in the Bennet family. It is of Ancient Greek origin, denoting ‘a woman of Lydia.’ The name was also of a woman who sold purple cloth in the New Testament (a preoccupation with clothes?). There is an indication in Lydia’s description of her physicality as a “stout, well-grown girl of fifteen” (Ch. 9) and even though she is “youngest, [she is] the tallest” (Ch. 2) that she is physically well-developed for her age. Stoutness, meaning robust and healthy, also implies fertility. Overall, her description implies a voluptuous, possibly Junoesque figure. The Greek name may conjure up this image of a classical Greek body. Thus, out of all the Bennet daughters, her physicality indicates the one in most danger in terms of female sexuality (and it is proved right).
  • Fitzwilliam – The prefix ‘Fitz-‘ is used commonly in aristocratic names, meaning ‘son of’; especially used for illegitimate offspring of royalty. It is also the name of the Earls Fitzwilliam, a peerage in Great Britain and Northern Ireland (although Jane Austen is careful to not to name Darcy’s uncle and Colonel Fitzwilliam’s father, Earl ____, so she does not link them explicitly to living people). The 4th Earl Fitzwilliam (1748-1833) was a Whig politician of the time, whose last name was Wentworth-Fitzwilliam (the fact that he has two of the names of main characters in Austen novels cannot be a coincidence). The name Fitzwilliam is clearly linked with the aristocracy in the novel.

Place Names

  • Longbourn – bourn, or bourne, comes from the Anglo-Saxon for stream and is commonly used in placenames in the South of England. From this is the impression that the name is ‘long’ established in that area.
  • Lucas Lodge – Sir William Lucas’ self-importance can be inferred from the ostentatious name of his house. He has egotistically named it after himself. Lodge was also the house that stood at the portals to an estate, usually for the residence of the gatekeeper. This contrast, in a nice alliteration, reveals how foolish Sir William’s high-opinion of himself really is.
  • Rosings – pres. part. of rise, giving the idea of height, as in Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s high-rank, and high-opinion of herself. That frequent idiom of Mr Collins, that Lady Catherine of Rosings ‘condescends’ to pay them attention, means to come down from a height. The pun on the flower can also be a comic reference to Mr Collins’ ‘rose-tinted’ view of the perfection of the estate.

What was Mr Darcys full name?

Fitzwilliam Darcy, fictional character, the suitor of Elizabeth Bennet in the novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen.

Why is Darcy's first name Fitzwilliam?

It was the maiden name of Mr. Darcy's mother. Mr Darcy's mother was Lady Anne Fitzwilliam - it was not uncommon for children to be given their mother's maiden name as a given name although in Darcy's case, a forename rather than a middle name.

What is the age gap between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy?

Elizabeth is 20-21, making her seven years Darcy's junior, and Georgiana twelve years.

What's Mr Bingley's first name?

Charles BINGLEY, 22, £100,000; it is implied that he lived in London. First impressions. His behaviour at the Meryton assembly reveals his personality.