New Post
Search
Help[Facts] Names with several origins?
I've been looking up names for a character of mine, and I'm wondering how many names there are out there with many different possible origins.
For example, the name "Kane" can be Celtic, Gaelic, Japanese, Irish, French, and Welsh!
Are there other names like this out there?
For example, the name "Kane" can be Celtic, Gaelic, Japanese, Irish, French, and Welsh!
Are there other names like this out there?
1
Replies
For me, a "name with more than one origin" is a name that is used in different places, written identically i.e. with the exact same spelling, but with a different etymology so that you have in a certain sense two different names, despite the identical spelling.
Given that there are only so many sensible and reasonably-sounding letter combinations, I found such names to be surprisingly rare, and I have problems to come up with good examples for this post.
One such example:
- Kim, used as a male name in Scandinavian countries, as a short form of Joakim
- Kim, used as a female name e.g. in the US, as a short form of Kimberley
Another one:
- Finn, used as a male name e.g. in Ireland, coming from Fionn
- Finn, also used as a male name, but in Scandinavian countries, and coming from a name meaning "from the country of Finland"
I think that Kane is NOT a good example for such a name. If you found it to be of "Celtic, Gaelic, and Welsh" origin, that's basically all the same thing and refering to the name Kane as given in this database (just click on the name).
Kane is almost certainly not a French name - only very few French words and names start with the letter "K". So that looks like wrong information. Please be aware that there are tons of wrong information about given names on the Internet.
And if Kane is indeed a genuine Japanese name, it is probably quite rare.
Given that there are only so many sensible and reasonably-sounding letter combinations, I found such names to be surprisingly rare, and I have problems to come up with good examples for this post.
One such example:
- Kim, used as a male name in Scandinavian countries, as a short form of Joakim
- Kim, used as a female name e.g. in the US, as a short form of Kimberley
Another one:
- Finn, used as a male name e.g. in Ireland, coming from Fionn
- Finn, also used as a male name, but in Scandinavian countries, and coming from a name meaning "from the country of Finland"
I think that Kane is NOT a good example for such a name. If you found it to be of "Celtic, Gaelic, and Welsh" origin, that's basically all the same thing and refering to the name Kane as given in this database (just click on the name).
Kane is almost certainly not a French name - only very few French words and names start with the letter "K". So that looks like wrong information. Please be aware that there are tons of wrong information about given names on the Internet.
And if Kane is indeed a genuine Japanese name, it is probably quite rare.
This message was edited 1/1/2015, 10:47 PM
1
Sound-alike words and names are homonyms/homophones. Requiring that they be spelt the same is too rigid in a euphonic naming society, where name spelling is not enforced. It brings us back to the Blaise/Blaze contention. While the former is clearly spelt in the classical French manner with an implied history, and the latter is taken to be its alternate spelling, a less linguistic parent could deliberately choose the latter based solely on the English word.
KIM is also a Vietnamese name. In such cases, it is up to the parents to determine which source was the basis for their choice. Onomasts can only give traditional interpretations in the absence of parental declaration.
1
You are right, using pronounciations instead of spellings is another approach, which may have advantages.
But pronounciations are so much more "slippery" than spellings, they vary from language to language and sometimes even from region to region within the same language.
And there are other problems:
Of course it would be nice to have a number of pronounciations for each name of BtN's database, ideally in IPA because that's a standard, and then search functions that list names with the same pronounciation, regardless of spelling. But just think of the amount of work needed to research and enter all that data...
But pronounciations are so much more "slippery" than spellings, they vary from language to language and sometimes even from region to region within the same language.
And there are other problems:
Of course it would be nice to have a number of pronounciations for each name of BtN's database, ideally in IPA because that's a standard, and then search functions that list names with the same pronounciation, regardless of spelling. But just think of the amount of work needed to research and enter all that data...
This message was edited 1/2/2015, 9:30 AM
1
The problem with using spellings is that they do not avoid the problem except for western names. Names of Indian origin often have multiple spellings without them being considered different: the pronunciations are also somewhat varied.
Actually things are really complicated in India. Different parts use different scripts (most of either Brahmi or Arabic origin, but that is beside the point), so it is not clear how to use the spelling definition of name identity straightforwardly. To complicate matters, they are usually pronounced differently, and though the spellings in most of the north Indian Brahmi origin scripts are related, the spellings in some scripts like Tamil are different. Yet, there is a very definite concept of the name being the same name or not defined partly by the etymology and partly whether they follow the regular correspondence rules between the sounds in the different languages: etymology wins when etymology is clear and well-known.
I like going by the predominant pronunciation because they can be compared across languages, whereas spelling often can't.
Actually things are really complicated in India. Different parts use different scripts (most of either Brahmi or Arabic origin, but that is beside the point), so it is not clear how to use the spelling definition of name identity straightforwardly. To complicate matters, they are usually pronounced differently, and though the spellings in most of the north Indian Brahmi origin scripts are related, the spellings in some scripts like Tamil are different. Yet, there is a very definite concept of the name being the same name or not defined partly by the etymology and partly whether they follow the regular correspondence rules between the sounds in the different languages: etymology wins when etymology is clear and well-known.
I like going by the predominant pronunciation because they can be compared across languages, whereas spelling often can't.
1
Kai is one name I'm aware of that seems to have an unending list of origins.
1