NAMESIGNIFIER, an attribute attached to the elements NICKNAME, PSEUDONYM, and SELFCONSTRUCTED (sub-tags of PERSONNAME in the Biography section of entries), is used to distinguish the way such names derive their significance, with values of cryptic, local, and romance, according to whether the name signifies a hidden meaning (for instance, a variant or anagram of the writer’s own name), a geographical location or association, or reference to the romance tradition.
Cryptic is used to designate names that are deliberately obscure. Cryptic names mostly have lexical meaning such as A Housewife, A Lover of her Sex, or A Placid Reader. It follows that personal names are not usually cryptic, with the exception of those borrowed from a fictional character (like Portia, or like Henrietta Battier’s calling herself Patt. Pindar, Pat. T.Pindar and similar, with a complex allusion). The Author of . . . is not a nickname and has occasionally been listed as a pseudonym.
Local is used when the person is known by a geographic connotation, for example "Julian of Norwich, Ann of Swansea." Romance is used in cases where a name is associated with writing romances, or with romantic writing, for example Stella, Fidelia, Rosa Matilda.