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Help[Facts] Re: Please help discover meaning behind "Myrtez"
in reply to a message by SFMAN
My sister said "Grandmas parent's were born in Stockholm Sweden. It was pronounced like "Mertis".
Hope this helps finally revela the background of this 80+ year mystery!
thanks again
Hope this helps finally revela the background of this 80+ year mystery!
thanks again
1
Replies
Myrtis was the name of an ancient Greek woman poet.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ncN7uneLKrcC&pg=PA892&lpg=PA892&dq=myrtis+poet&source=bl&ots=K4tWaCSfiC&sig=AA9aN0fbtwE8NE0XLU5V8mVNoTY&hl=en&ei=zo03ToXLFIWDgAeE--CzAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=myrtis%20poet&f=false
Myrtis was known in the 19th century partly because of a poem written about her by the British poet Walter Savage Landor:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/myrtis/
I haven't found whether or not her name was related to the ancient Greek word for "myrtle", which was myrtos. In spite of the similarity between the two, you'd have to get confirmation from a scholar of ancient Greek names to know if the two words were truly related.
There are quite a few names that have been "brought back" from ancient Greek sources at different periods in history. Whether or not Myrtis is etymologically related to Myrtle, Myrtis's use as a given name in the USA was probably inspired by its similarity to Myrtle and the fact that it sounded like a blend between Myrtle and Alice. Another ancient Greek name which became much more popular in the USA than Myrtis was Doris, which blends the sounds of Dora or Dorothy with the ending of Alice.
The fact that your grandmother's parents were immigrants from Sweden may have little to do with their choice of the name. Many immigrants have consciously tried to give their children "American" names to help them fit in.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ncN7uneLKrcC&pg=PA892&lpg=PA892&dq=myrtis+poet&source=bl&ots=K4tWaCSfiC&sig=AA9aN0fbtwE8NE0XLU5V8mVNoTY&hl=en&ei=zo03ToXLFIWDgAeE--CzAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=myrtis%20poet&f=false
Myrtis was known in the 19th century partly because of a poem written about her by the British poet Walter Savage Landor:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/myrtis/
I haven't found whether or not her name was related to the ancient Greek word for "myrtle", which was myrtos. In spite of the similarity between the two, you'd have to get confirmation from a scholar of ancient Greek names to know if the two words were truly related.
There are quite a few names that have been "brought back" from ancient Greek sources at different periods in history. Whether or not Myrtis is etymologically related to Myrtle, Myrtis's use as a given name in the USA was probably inspired by its similarity to Myrtle and the fact that it sounded like a blend between Myrtle and Alice. Another ancient Greek name which became much more popular in the USA than Myrtis was Doris, which blends the sounds of Dora or Dorothy with the ending of Alice.
The fact that your grandmother's parents were immigrants from Sweden may have little to do with their choice of the name. Many immigrants have consciously tried to give their children "American" names to help them fit in.
1
I'm from Sweden so I can tell you that Mertis does not look or sound like a Swedish name. It's not one I've ever seen. The only thing I can think of (if it really is Swedish) is that it could be some kind of nickname, possibly for Märta (pronunciation is close to m-air-ta).
1
Well ... I tried to find something with this new hint of "Sweden", but even with this keyword added mostly all pages that turn up in Google have some connections to Albania and Albanians...
It's funny that even a search for Mertis turns up a city in Albania:
http://www.behindcity.com/explore/albania/fier/mertis/
But also in Albanian the name seems to be quite rare, with no info about meaning in sight.
This page here:
http://names.whitepages.com/first/myrtez
allows to check the number of people in the US with Myrtez or very similar given names. Among the variants given Myrtice is the most popular today by far, which resonates with the guess of a poster in your first thread, with Myrtice as a variant of Myrtle.
However, I somehow doubt that a rary English name variant of Myrtle turns up as a rare name in Albania, which means that we are probably not yet closing in on your mystery.
It's funny that even a search for Mertis turns up a city in Albania:
http://www.behindcity.com/explore/albania/fier/mertis/
But also in Albanian the name seems to be quite rare, with no info about meaning in sight.
This page here:
http://names.whitepages.com/first/myrtez
allows to check the number of people in the US with Myrtez or very similar given names. Among the variants given Myrtice is the most popular today by far, which resonates with the guess of a poster in your first thread, with Myrtice as a variant of Myrtle.
However, I somehow doubt that a rary English name variant of Myrtle turns up as a rare name in Albania, which means that we are probably not yet closing in on your mystery.
1
I'm starting to think more in line with one repondants (thanks for that link!) thinking it's really just a variant of Mertis (that's how grandma would call my mom) so that would point to "Myrtle":
Myrtle meaning and name origin
Myrtle \m(y)-rt-le, myr-tle\ as a girl's name is pronounced MER-terl. It is of Latin origin. Botanical and nature name based on the evergreen shrub that was sacred to Venus as a symbol of love. First used in the 1850s.
Myrtle has 9 variant forms: Mertice, Mertis, Mertle, Mirtie, Myrta, Myrtia, Myrtice, Myrtie and Myrtis.
Myrtle meaning and name origin
Myrtle \m(y)-rt-le, myr-tle\ as a girl's name is pronounced MER-terl. It is of Latin origin. Botanical and nature name based on the evergreen shrub that was sacred to Venus as a symbol of love. First used in the 1850s.
Myrtle has 9 variant forms: Mertice, Mertis, Mertle, Mirtie, Myrta, Myrtia, Myrtice, Myrtie and Myrtis.
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