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ArchivesThe male name Josimar.
Hello everyone,
I have a friend named Josimar, and I wonder what the name means. He told me that his mother found the name in the credits of a Spanish or Portuguese film, so I suppose the name is of Spanish or even of (Brazilian) Portuguese origin. To me, it at first seems a blend of a Hebrew name and a Germanic name - the first element could come from a name like Joshua and the second element from any Germanic name ending in -mar (= meri "famous"). For the second element, I also think of "water" (because of the name Lamar).
But, perhaps Josimar could also be a more Western spelling of a Japanese name starting with Yoshi- (perhaps Yoshimaru or Yoshimura?). That would make sense, because Brazil for instance has a lot of Japanese immigrants.
I would be grateful for any conclusive information that you can provide. :)
Sincerely,
Lucille
I have a friend named Josimar, and I wonder what the name means. He told me that his mother found the name in the credits of a Spanish or Portuguese film, so I suppose the name is of Spanish or even of (Brazilian) Portuguese origin. To me, it at first seems a blend of a Hebrew name and a Germanic name - the first element could come from a name like Joshua and the second element from any Germanic name ending in -mar (= meri "famous"). For the second element, I also think of "water" (because of the name Lamar).
But, perhaps Josimar could also be a more Western spelling of a Japanese name starting with Yoshi- (perhaps Yoshimaru or Yoshimura?). That would make sense, because Brazil for instance has a lot of Japanese immigrants.
I would be grateful for any conclusive information that you can provide. :)
Sincerely,
Lucille
This message was edited 8/1/2007, 10:37 AM
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Replies
Josimar is actually the name of a famous footballer from Brasíl. The name is a combination of José and Maria, and originally came when parents combined their names together. Combining the parents names is fairly common in Brasíl, and there are lots of men whose names end in -mar (meaning their mothers were named Maria).
It's no longer exclusively used only as a combination of the parents' names, however, and there are a fair number of Josimars named after the footballer.
This information comes from a Brasilian friend.
It's no longer exclusively used only as a combination of the parents' names, however, and there are a fair number of Josimars named after the footballer.
This information comes from a Brasilian friend.
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Thank you very much for your reply! :) That, combined with the background information you provided, certainly clears a lot of things up. :)
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Josimar predates the footballer
Josimar is a nickname of José María, a very usual msculine compound name in Spanish; it is not the most usual nickname for this name but it is not unknown at all (a variant more usual of Josimar is Josmar). That is also true for the use in Portuguese.
A lot of masculine compound names in Spanish and Portuguese (and in other languages from Catholic cultures) have Maria as second element, so the ending -mar is not completely unusual, even the ending -ma is prefered (Juan María > Juanma, e.g.).
That has conflued with the trend (very popular in some American countries, as Brazil and Venezuela, for instance) of make up names with parents' names parts, as you said for the footballer Josimar, who has popularised the form also as independent name.
But the name was used even as independent name before the footballer Josimar was born (1961): the wellknown gastronomic journalist Josimar Melo was born in 1954.
Josimar is a nickname of José María, a very usual msculine compound name in Spanish; it is not the most usual nickname for this name but it is not unknown at all (a variant more usual of Josimar is Josmar). That is also true for the use in Portuguese.
A lot of masculine compound names in Spanish and Portuguese (and in other languages from Catholic cultures) have Maria as second element, so the ending -mar is not completely unusual, even the ending -ma is prefered (Juan María > Juanma, e.g.).
That has conflued with the trend (very popular in some American countries, as Brazil and Venezuela, for instance) of make up names with parents' names parts, as you said for the footballer Josimar, who has popularised the form also as independent name.
But the name was used even as independent name before the footballer Josimar was born (1961): the wellknown gastronomic journalist Josimar Melo was born in 1954.
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Thank you for the (background) information! I had also already found this one site about Brazilian name customs, but I didn't find the information on it clear enough:
http://www.soccerpulse.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t32023.html
Do you happen to know a good, reliable website about Brazilian names? It can even be in Portuguese, because I can understand some of it (I prefer English, however). It would be much appreciated. :)
http://www.soccerpulse.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t32023.html
Do you happen to know a good, reliable website about Brazilian names? It can even be in Portuguese, because I can understand some of it (I prefer English, however). It would be much appreciated. :)
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I don't know reliable websites about Brazilian names, sorry. And the Portuguese books about names (from Portugal and from Brazil)that I have are not very good.
Most of onomastical information in the Web is really not reliable at all. :(
Most of onomastical information in the Web is really not reliable at all. :(
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