Scientific Approach to Etymology of Surnames (original) (raw)
Surname changes in Hungary: researches and their onomastic conclusions
2008
The paper investigates the differences between the surname stock that arose naturally in the community and the surname stock that was created artificially later via a legal procedure of surname changes. They are quite different in a number of respects: When were these surnames born? Who gives the name and to whom? Why is that name born? On what bases is the surname chosen? From what material (set of linguistic elements) and in what way is the surname formed? The most typical new surname types (semantics and morphology) are also presented here by examples and comments.
Surnames of Inhabitans of Lidzbark District (1500-1772)
The aim of the paper was to collect and to present the fullest possible an-throponymical material from the Lidzbark district in the period of 1500-1772, and to reveal the process of surname development in this area, focusing on accompany-ing linguistic circumstances. In total, a few thousand surnames were excerpted from over 150 manuscripts and 17 printed sources. The surnames were semanti-cally and structurally analysed. On the basis of this analysis, it was found that in the 16th-18th centuries, a stabilised naming system existed in the region . The an-throponyms presented in the study are officially used personal names. Structures without surnames were already uncommon, though there were some sparse specific descriptions found, such as Nobilis Domina Ursula Matthia a Pakusch ab Adekamp hone∫ta coniunx 1618, Nobilis D. Sigismundus a Nadram Capitaney Heilsbergen 1667 Rogóż, Michael v. Preuck alias von der Laute Marscalkus 1556-1565. Occa-sionally, the role of an identifier was played by the name of the occupation (e.g. Socio Adamo 1587, Molitor Casparus 1587, Georgius scultetus 1587, Leonardus Scriba 1587) or the specification of a place of residence combined with a given name. But the combination of a given name and a surname was a customarily es-tablished means of identification. According to the method of formation and the structure, surnames have been classified as simple (morphologically underived) and derived (by word-formation or inflection processes). The majority of anthroponyms are simple forms, created by transfer of their etymological base into the category of surnames, without any significant changes to their structure, e.g. Sommerfeld from the locality name Sommerfeld, Rachel from the given name Rachel, Rogala from the name of the coat of arms Rogala. Morphological derivation proved less effective in the collected material than transposition. Names regarded as derived were usually formed by adding a formant, which typically had a structural or patronymic function. The most productive suffixes include Polish: -ski, its derivatives (-owski, -ewski, -iński, -yński, -ecki, -acki, -icki), -icz and their compound variants (-ewicz, -owicz), Ger-man: -er, -mann. In the area of the Lidzbark district, surnames were quite rarely created by conversion, alternation of suffixes or reduction of an element of the stem. Surnames were divided according to their etymological basis into three main groups: - from anthroponyms, e.g. Benedict, Kilian, Materna; Grod, Radek, Rosz, Rudel-hoff, Reinholdt; - from toponyms, e.g. Jabłonowski < Jabłonowo, Szymanowski < Szymanowo, Galicki < Gality, Halicki < Halicz, Częstochowian < Częstochowa, Dąbrowian < Dąbrowa; - from names of occupations, e.g. Bosman, Cześnik, Kołodziej, Botnik, Furman, Gertner, Kesler, Möller, Schmidt, Schneider, Weber, Zimmermann. Additionally, there was a group of homonymic names, which was made up of names of originally heterogenic scopes of meaning, which did not fit explicitly into any of the other groups, and such that could be created in various ways, e.g. by suffixal derivation or by transfer. The genesis of about a dozen of surnames could not be satisfactorily explained and they were considered to be vague formations. Applying the criterion of origin, the surnames were divided into Polish, Ger-man, Prussian, Latin and hybrid ones. Genetically German surnames form the pre-vailing group. However, it should be emphasized that they were used by persons inhabiting the then area of Poland who considered themselves, and who were con-sidered, as autochthons. This thesis does not use the term foreign surnames, since German or Prussian formed a significant element of the Warmian ethnic blend of cultures. Domination of German anthroponyms was also influenced by the fact that this was an official language, in which clerks recorded a significant number of names – according to their pronunciation and German spelling rules. The sur-names under analysis were subject to various adaptation processes: Polonization, Germanization and Latinization. While distinguishing and discussing individual groups of names, this aspect of word formation is emphasized. Additionally, notes concerning linguistic substitution also contain dictionary entries. A significant role in giving a name its final shape, besides natural linguistic adaptation, was also played by associations as well as by phonetic assimilations and simplifications. The material included in this dissertation can be used in genealogical and lin-guistic research: onomastic, historical, linguistic and dialectological. The names collected also provide indirect information about the history of settlement and cul-ture of this region. Of course, the thesis does not exhaust the entire issue and fur-ther studies on this interesting subject of Warmian anthroponymy are necessary.
Surnames ostache of Foreign Origin in a Language20200107 733 1ulm1ah
In historical Hungary the use of inheritable family names developed in a natural way among the Hungarian, German, Slovakian and Croatian population, while decrees prescribed the use of permanent family names for the still surnameless Gipsy, Jewish and Greek Orthodox (mainly Serbian) minorities later. Many names of foreign origin were changed spontaneously in language contact situations, according to the name stock of the dominant community throughout the centuries, while in the 19 th and 20 th centuries mainly by the means of official surname changes. As names could have become ethnic symbols, this process was influenced also by social, ideological and political factors.
Surnames of Ethnonymic Origin in the Hungarian Language
2013
Surnames originating from ethnonyms form a characteristic part of the Hungarian surname stock, in comparison to other European nations. They make up at most 0.5% of the surname stock, yet their proportion is 7-8%. Among the 10 most frequent surnames, 3 are of this type: Tóth (= Slav, Slovak), Horvát (= Croat), Német (= German). In this paper an analysis is presented of this surname category: the background and motivations for their creation, their history, and the characteristics of their geographical distribution.
Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries XXXII pt IV, 1972
An examination of the fluidity of surnames in Cornwall in the 16th century, with especial reference to examples in the adjacent parishes of Gwennap and Stithians in west Cornwall.
Names of People: Surnames in Pre-Modern Europe
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HEBREW LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS, vol. 2, pp. 791-795, 2013
The paper discusses the Jewish surnames based on Hebrew that were created mainly in Ashkenazic communities of Eastern and Central Europe before mid-19th century. The large group was created in the Russian Empire. A few examples are also provided of Hebrew names used by Sephardic Jews.
The Role of Historical Studies in Hungarian Family Name Research
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the different branches of the historical studies can be used in the research of historical family names. One of the most important but strongly disputed questions of Hungarian historical personal name studies is from which century we can talk about family names in Hungary. This uncertainty has various reasons; for instance, it is very difficult to prove that it was hereditary (which is one of the basic criteria for naming an element a family name). In carrying out this work, genealogy and the history of estates can be helpful. The paper presents the three types of distinguishing elements which are regarded as the origin from which family names had developed (patr onym, placename and byname) with so me examples from 14th-century documents. I also intend to demonstrate how we can certify their hereditary char acter with the means of historical researches. Furthermore, I am to present some cases wher e a special Hungarian di stinguishing element de genere [‘from the kindred of’] appears in the name structure. Finally, my paper touches upon the question how one can explain with the help of historical research of the Hu ngarian society in the Angevi n Age that this element did not have a role in the development of family names.