Do your name have any meaning?

[Sou]

Well, since topic about names are really popular now. Do your name have
any meaning?

In Thailand, there's a rule that the name must have a meaning. My name
is Pokpong. Its meaning is 'Protect'. I think my name is quite rare here
because it's modern Thai, not somewhat archaic. It's quite a pride when
you look up at the public phonebook and see there're fewer than 10
persons (out of 63 000 000) in the country who have the same name as I
have.

How are your names?

[Saaropean]

In Germany (as in most of Europe, I guess), names come from ancient cultures and languages, there are various forms in the modern languages, and not many people know the original meaning of their name.
There are many web sites that don't only list possible first names for parents to choose from, but that also give the original meanings of those names.

To give you an example, my name (Rolf) is the short form of Rudolf which comes from the Teutonic words "glory" and "wolf". My middle name (Peter) comes from Latin Petrus, which originates from the Greek word petros meaning "stone". My parents chose those names because of some friends, not because of their meaning.
I have the last name (Schmidt, the second most common in Germany after Müller), because it was my father's last name and his father's last name, and his father's father's and so on. It means "blacksmith". Many German last names describe professions, but there are many other kinds of last names. That's another topic, however.

[Junesun]

My first name is Judith, which comes from Hebrew. It means "Woman of Judea" and it is mentioned as a name even in the Old Testament. I don't think my parents chose the name for its meaning lol.
My last name is Meyer, a very common name in Germany (variations: Mayer, Maier, Meier). It describes a medieval profession: a manager/supervisor of several farms that belonged to a patron.

[Fenek]

Polish given names generally do not have any meaning in Polish. Given names that sound the same as some ordinary word are usually felt to be strange and funny. Some given names come from Slavonic, some come from other languages (Latin, German, French, Hebrew... ). All of them meant something when they were created for the first time, but they don't mean anything in Polish nowadays. The original meaning of the name is rarely the reason for giving this name to child.

Family names sometimes mean something, but it's not a reason for the owner to be satisfied - such names are often felt to be less "serious".

My given name is Paweł - it derived from Latin "Paulus" meaning "small".
My family name is Penszko. It does not mean anything. Formerly, it was written Pęszko, but it was adapted to the Russian pronunciation when eastern Poland was occupied by the Russian empire. Pęszko is a short form of some Slavonic names (Pękosław, Pęcisław...), but few people know it, because these names has not been in use in Poland for many centuries.

[NulNuk]

Judith ( Yudit ) is actually a diformation of Yeudit , Yeudit = woman from
Yeuda ( Judea ) ,Yudit is just a name ,it has no meaning this way ,same
happened with the name Yeuda , it became Yuda as a name ,but allso
lost the meaning .

btw ,Meyer has allso a Hebrew version , it was Meyir (enlight ) in Hebrew ,
but the Jewish who lived in Germany diformed the name so it will look
more German ,so today is Meyer or Meier ,the last one spesially in the
Netherlands because Meyir and Meier can be read the same ( I think
allso in German it can be read the same way , ie not as i+e but as one
letter ie , yi ) .last names as meyer ,meier ,meierson and meyerson are
allmost as commun as last names with Rosen in the bigining for jews from
Ashkenas ( Germany ,the Netherlands ,Denmark,Poland ,Chechia ,Swiss,
Austria ,Hungaria, Belgia and Luxemburg ,dont ask why all this countries
or part of the contry in some ' together have a spessial name in Hebrew and Yidish ,I cant find some thing that will be a good reason for unite
them all as they were one , allso Frence and Spain have Hebrew names
as they were regions ,and not just countries , Frence tzarfat ,Spain Sfarad ,ones it was for all Hiberia and in north Africa they are Sfaradyim or Tzarfatyim ,but unlike in Europa ,only the jews are Tzarfatyim or Sfaradyim in Africa .the names come from the bible btw ) .

[Francy]

My full name, Francesca, means "free of spirit and state" It was the name the Latin gave to the people living in France at that time (the celts) when they weren't still under the Latin dominion... I like it very much!!!!

[Patricia]

last names as meyer ,meier ,meierson and meyerson are
allmost as commun as last names with Rosen in the bigining for jews from
Ashkenas ( Germany ,the Netherlands ,Denmark,Poland ,Chechia ,Swiss,
Austria ,Hungaria, Belgia and Luxemburg.

Actually my surname is Rosemberg. Originally it was Rozenberg, as far as I know, but nowadays there are several spellings for it here in Argentina: Rozenberg, Rosemberg, Rozemberg, Rosenberg, etc, etc.
What I find interesting about my surname is that every person thinks that its origin is different: some think it's German, some that its Scandinavian, some that its Polish....that might be because it's such a common surname.

[Mara]

This is an interesting topic!

My name is Marek which is Mark in English, Marco in Italian etc. This name originated from the name of the old Roman god of war, Mars. In Latin, the name's form was Marcus. Its meaning is apparently "to be warlike". Well, I don't know about that; I'm a pretty peaceful fella', unless someone REALLY pisses me off. Oh, and not to forget, my zodiacal sign is Aries which is associated with the planet Mars (the planet is the leading planet for the people born in this sign, according to European astrologists).

As others mentioned here already, parents in Europe usually don't name a child to impress the name's character on the child, but they rather decide on the current "trendiness" of the name. So, I am Marek not because of the apostle from the Bible, but because this name was quite popular in Czechoslovakia when I was born. Still, it's nice to know that there is a beautiful basilica with "my" name in Venice.

I also found a website where you can get a report on your name (English-based). It's quite amazing, almost scary, how close to my real character the description of my personality was, based on my first name only. The website is http://www.kabalarians.com/gkh/your.htm

Another good site is http://www.eponym.org/ - they have links to non-European name descriptions as well. From those external links, I particularly suggest this one: http://www.behindthename.com/

Actually, I think that we could expand this topic and discuss how much/little the first/given names influence the personality of the child.

[NulNuk]

all jewish names that start with Rosen/Rozen are from Ashkenas ,they are
from a region ,not a contry ,and exept for Denmark ,no Skandinavian
country is in there ,but the origen of the Skandinavian jews is in Ashkenas
so they have the same names allmost , Rosenberg is defenetly German
and is one of the most comun in the Rosen/Rozen names ,my mather`s
last name Rosenduft(or d ) ,is one of the most un-comun , the origen is
Austrian (or it get there very early ) ,and the only Rosenduft I found not
from ower family is Dutch (and is not even jew ) .

me myself ,I got one English name, one Greek name ,and an Maltesian
last name ( in Argentina I have both my parents last names ,so I got allso
an Austrian one ) .
my first name means : elf counsel (old English ).
my second : victory of the people (greek ).
my last name : lands? ( Italian ) .
and the second one : rose perfume (German ).

[Pittsboy]

Daniel, just to help you about your middle name... My name is Thiago, which comes from Jakob and which translates James in English. James means "the one who supplants, who wins".
My family names are "Nascimento" (which is supposed to come from Holland as "von Nassau"), "Marotta", which means "sick person" and Bruno, which means "dark skinned"...
btw, to those who have never seen my pic there you go the link
www.geocities.com/thimail/statue.jpg

Bye

Thiago

[Patricia]

Daniel, just to help you about your middle name... My name is Thiago, which comes from Jakob and which translates James in English. James means "the one who supplants, who wins".
My family names are "Nascimento" (which is supposed to come from Holland as "von Nassau"), "Marotta", which means "sick person" and Bruno, which means "dark skinned"...
btw, to those who have never seen my pic there you go the link
www.geocities.com/thimail/statue.jpg

Bye

Thiago

Hi Thiago! I tried to watch your pic, but the link wouldn't work. All I got was adds and a sign reading that the page could not be displayed....

[Car]

Hi Thiago! I tried to watch your pic, but the link wouldn't work. All I got was adds and a sign reading that the page could not be displayed....

This is a Geocities problem in general. It's hard to access sites, especially pictures.

[NulNuk]

Daniel, just to help you about your middle name... My name is Thiago, which comes from Jakob and which translates James in English. James means "the one who supplants, who wins".

I dont know what Thiago means ,but Jakob (Yakob in Hebrew ) means
"the one who will follow " (or just "will follow" ) ,and Yakob in English is
Jakob , James is Haim in Hebrew , Haim means "life " .
(in Spanish Haim= Jaime ,Yakob =Jakobo or even just Yakob like in Hebrew).

[Pittsboy]

Well, Thiago is usually translated as James in English... then James is believed to come from Jakob...

[Fenek]

Yeah, "James" is another form of the name "Jacob". I don't know how that "m" appeared in the name, but that thing happened in many languages:

English: James
Spanish: Jaime
Portugal: Jayme
Italian: Giacomo

(the Italian form is the closest to the original form, so maybe the "m" was introduced in Italian and then the other languages took the "m" containing form from Italian? Giacobo => Giacomo => Jaime => James ?)

Portugal "Thiago" and Spanish "Diego" correspond to "Jacob" as well, but their pronunciation is closer to "Jacob" than to "James"

[Weldal]

My true name is Cassio, which came from Latin: Cassius. In ancient Rome there was a senator with this name and he was the leader of the opposition against Julius Caesar. By the way, the name of my brother is Julio Cesar and we have always been close friends...
Once I read that Cassius comes from "cassis", which meant helmet in ancient Latin, but I'm not sure about this...
Anyway, I'm proud of my Latin origin and the fact that my name also came from Latin...
My father's surname is Barbosa and I don't have any idea about its origin, but suddenly I realized that I should search this...My mother's surname is much easier to guess, since "De Angelis" means "of the angels", of course...

[NulNuk]

I really dont know what Thiago means , but James is defenetly Haim
in Hebrew ,and not Yakob !

Hebrew = Haim
English = James
Spanish = Jaime

and Jakob:
Hebrew = Yakob (or Ya-akob )
Spanish = Jakobo (allso sometimes just Yakob )
English = Jakob (like the famus coffie )
Italian = Giacomo (allso Giacobo )

and the reason there is an "m" in James ,is because it cames from Haim
and not from Jacob those are two diferents names !!!
Haim =Jaim =Jaime =James
Yakob=Jakob =Jakobo=Giacobo=Giacomo
very simple and easy to see just look and compare ,instead of trying to
make a teory based on Italian version ,just look at the Hebrew version
wich is the original one .(allso thats the way we translate them in Israel ).

[Fenek]

As regards the etymology of "James" and "Jaime":

http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/eng6.html#james
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/spa2.html#jaime-1

[NulNuk]

Mike Campbell is not more expert in Etymology than me ,you or any
one else here ,it is just a hoby for hem ,same as for us ,not an expert
etymology resourse . ( http://pacificcoast.net/~muck/ ).

and about James and Jakob ,he is defenetly totaly wrong ,in the dictionary
of Hebrew names (the internal affairs ministry here has an official one
for emigrants who want to translate their names ), James = Haim
and Jakob = Yakob ,as it is the most logical way to think ,as it is very
easy to see it when you compere the names in Hebrew !!!

Haim ( chaim )=Jaim (in latin fonetics )=Jaime (in Spanish ,and I beleave
in all other Latin lenguages is close to it )=James in English .

Yakob = Jakob (Hebrew letter "yud" is usually translated as "J" in European
lenguages )=Jakobo (Spanish) =Giacobo (Italian) ,and I allso saw it as
Giacomo in Italian (but I dont discart the posibility of Giacomo been
allso a totaly diferent name ,maybe actually an Italian name ,as this
name is way too far from the Hebrew original name ,I understand how
"J" became " Gi" ,but not how "B" became "M" ).

[Fenek]

in the dictionary
of Hebrew names (the internal affairs ministry here has an official one
for emigrants who want to translate their names ), James = Haim
and Jakob = Yakob ,as it is the most logical way to think

The Polish name "Jacek" and the English name "Jack" provide with a quite similar case. Polish immigrants, whose name is "Jacek", change their name to "Jack" when they settle down in the US, because it is the closest American name as far as its spelling is concerned. In fact, "Jacek" comes from "Hiacynt" ("Hyacynthus") and "Jack" comes from "John", so these names are not related. Their similarity is purely coincidental. So is the similarity between "Jaime" and "Haim".