Names from Children's Mysteries: The Tattooed Potato

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues

 by Ellen Raskin

This was one of my very favorite books growing up, one I reread often. Ellen Raskin has a way of writing mysteries that really appeals to a kid and I delighted in her clues and plots. Here are a few of the character names and some further information on the names themselves. Not many of them are actually feasible but they are a lot of fun!

Dickory Dock, the art student protagonist who finds herself wrapped up in solving mysteries when she takes a job as painter’s assistant to the artist Garson, himself the biggest mystery of all. She often gets people reciting the nursery rhyme at her and while tiresome, it beats having her brother’s name, Donald Dock, by a long shot.

The most obvious connotation for Dickory is of course the English nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock:

 
Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.

The clock struck one, the mouse ran down.

Hickory dickory dock.

According to this page the words hickory, dickory, and dock are derived from an ancient Celtic language meaning eight, nine, and ten. This page has much more in depth information on the rhyme’s history and it’s connection to ancient cultures in Britain. There’s an Agatha Christie novel sharing it’s name with the rhyme starring Hercule Poirot.

At first glance it seems absurd to take naming inspiration from Mother Goose (especially if your last name is Dock!) but this is a rhyme with old roots. Dickory could work as an alternative for people who love Diggory. It could even be a new option for the surname as first name trend -- most information I find related to Dickory points to it being an English and Welsh surname. While the character in the book is a girl I personally think it would work much better for a boy. Not many baby name websites yield any results at all for Dickory but babynology lists it as a boys’ name (it also lists it as a German name but I haven’t been able to find a single secondary source confirming this).

hickory nuts

If Dickory doesn’t feel modern enough the alternative Hickory could work for either sex. Hickory, making up the genus Carya, is a species of deciduous North American nut trees. The word hickory comes from the Algonquin pawcohiccora. The genus name Carya relates to the hamadryad (tree-dwelling nymphs) associated with walnut, hazelnut and chestnut trees. It is sometime spelled Karya. 

Hickory yields more results on naming websites though not with much information. It’s not a popular choice by any means but might have appeal for those looking for unique options or want a new choice in nature names.                                           

Garson, the inscrutable and eccentric painter that art student Dickory becomes assistant too. Her duties begin as cleaning brushes and answering doors but Dickory soon finds herself embroiled in mysterious affairs and wondering who Garson really is. According to a reference book he is the son of Gar; he also adopts the alias of ‘Inspector Noserag’, a Sherlockian character part he falls into when solving mysteries for the local PD, and dubs Dickory Dock ‘Sergeant Kod’.

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy

Garson is another name derived from surnames. Indeed the character in the book goes only by Garson with no other given name. The surname Garson can be traced back to the Battle of Hastings when the Duke of Normandy granted the family land in Yorkshire. As with many old Anglo-Saxon family names spelling was not always consistent and another variation found is Garcon. It is derived from the French garçon, which translates to servant or boy.

    

Garson shows up on several name websites’ search results, usually listed as a German name meaning spear-fortified town or English name meaning ‘son of Gar’ (Gar meaning 'spear'). BabyCenter lists it as being a form of Garrison. Alternatives and similar names are Garcon, Gursan, Gerson, Carsen, Gareth, Garron, Garrson, Garsone . It is unranked in the U.S., usually with less than 5 babies a year receiving the name.              

Isaac Bickerstaffe, a deformed deaf-mute in Garson’s care is a big fellow that at first frightens Dickory but whom she eventually befriends. Garson chose his charge’s pseudonym after an Irish playwright of the same name, specifically because of a line in his poem, “Jolly Miller”:

“I care for nobody, no, not I, if nobody cares for me” 

Sir Isaac Newton

Isaac Bickerstaff was also a pseudonym used by Jonathan Swift as part of an All Fool’s Day hoax. Isaac is the Greek connotation of the Hebrew name Yitzhak and is roughly translated to “laughter” (yitshāq = ‘he who laughs’). Variants and diminutives are Isaak, Isac, Isak, Itzak, Izak, Ysaac, Itzik, Isaco, Ike, Ikey, Ise, Isa, Isi, Issa, Sahak, Izzy, Sekel and Zak. It was the 30th most popular boys’ name in the U.S. last year. One of the foremost scientists of all time was Sir Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician and inventor of the reflecting telescope. Check out the Isaac Wikipedia page to see even more famous namesakes -- for some reason this seems to be a choice that fosters a lot of scientists and football players! 


Other Characters:
Donald Dock, Dickory's elder brother.
George Washington III, classmate of Dickory Dock. 
Julius and Cookie Panzpresser, a wealthy couple that patronizes Garson.
Detective Joseph P. Quinn, chief of detectives in Greenwich.
Dinkel and Winkle, detectives working for Quinn.  
Shrimps Marinara and Malley Mallomar, unsavory characters that live upstairs from Garson. 
Eldon F. Zyzyskczuk, involved in one of the cases. 
Christina Rossetti, a famous poet who is not an actual character but figures into the plot.


Final Thoughts:
It's so much fun to read Ellen Raskin for her names but I wouldn't ever use Garson or Dickory. I dislike the nickname Dick and Garson makes me think of a French waiter. I do however love Isaac, especially for the Sir Isaac Newton connotation.

 

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues book cover, published by Puffin Books, image taken from LibraryThing 
Hickory Dickory Dock gif, CookiemagiK on http://www.deviantart.com/ 
Hickory nuts photograph, http://www.hiltonpond.org/ 
Painting of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, taken from http://www.visit1066country.com/explore-1066-country/battle/william-duke-of-normandy 
Sir Isaac Newton, Godfrey Kneller's 1689 portrait of Isaac Newton