Sunday, November 13, 2011

People with People-Names

No, I haven't lost it (completely). One post has again inspired another, so I've felt the need to compile name derived from nationalities, tribes, and the like. And I found more than I expected! They make up a fairly small percent of the total "naming pool", but this type of name is in constant use--while Frank & Judith have gone out of style, Roman and Cheyenne have been rising to take their place, while others, like Sabina & Wendel, remain relatively rare.

Boys:
  • Adrian (AY-dree-an, AH-dree-ahn)--From Latin, "of Hadria" [northern Italy]
  • Atticus (AT-ti-kus)--from Greek, "of Attica" [modern-day Athens]
  • Dakota (dah-KOH-tah)--from Lakota Sioux, "friends, allies" [modern-day South Dakota, Minnesota]
  • Dane (DAYN)--from Greek Danoi, meaning unknown [modern-day Denmark]
  • Dardan (DAHR-dahn)--from Illyrian Dardanii, poss. "from the pear trees" [modern-day Kosovo & Macedonia]
  • Dorian (DOHR-ee-an)--from Greek, poss. "woodlander" or "spearman" [modern-day southern Greece]
  • Finn (FIN)--from Old Norse Finnr, meaning uncertain [modern-day Finland]
  • Francis (FRAN-sis)--from Latin, "Frenchman". French/France are derived from Frank.
  • Frank (FRANK)--from Germanic, "javelin", or poss. "fierce". [orig. modern-day Netherlands & N. Germany; spread throughout Europe]
  • Lachlan (LAHKH-lan)--from Scottish, "from the lakes" [Norway]
  • Norman (NOHR-man)--from Germanic, "northman, Viking"
  • Roman (ROH-man, ROM-an, rom-AHN)--from Latin, "of Rome". 
  • Saxon (SAK-son)--from Germanic, "knife" [orig. modern-day N. Germany, also spread into Britain]
  • Scott (SKOT)--from Latin Scoti, "Gaelic speaker"
  • Wendel (WEN-del)--from Germanic Vandal, poss. "wanderer" [originally modern-day Eastern Europe]

Girls:
  • Cheyenne (shy-EN)--from Dakota Sioux, "strange speakers" [modern-day Wisconsin, Colorado]
  • Daciana (dah-CHYAH-nah)--from Latin, "of Dacia" [modern-day Romania]
  • Dardana (dahr-DAH-nah)--feminine of Dardan
  • Doris (DOHR-is)--feminine of Dorian
  • Genevieve (JEN-eh-veev, zhahn-vee-ev)--from Gaulish Genovefa, "tribal woman"
  • Judith (JOO-dith, YOO-dith)--from Hebrew, "of Judea" [modern-day S. Israel & West Bank]
  • Lydia (LID-ee-ah)--from Greek, "from Lydia" [modern-day Turkey]
  • Paris (PAIR-is, PAHR-is)--from Celtic Parisii, prob. "craftsmen" [modern-day France]
  • Roxelana (roks-el-AH-nah)--From Turkish, "Russian"
  • Sabina (sah-BEE-nah)--from Latin, "of Sabine" [modern-day central Italy]
  • Saskia (SAS-kee-ah)--feminine of Saxon. Older form is Saxa.
  • Wanda (WAHN-dah)--feminine of Wendel

Unisex:
  • Dana (DAY-nah)--from English, "Danish person". Danish/Denmark are derived from Dane.
  • Kerry (KEHR-ree)--from Irish Gaelic, "Ciar's people" [modern day SW Ireland]

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