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My son has a cat named Merken. He asked me to find out its meaning. I have no information about the name.
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http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_232.html
check there for the real meaning
check there for the real meaning
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That's a merkin, not surname Merken. Surnames are a whole different ballgame which is why there is etymology and nomenclature etymology. Take surname Holiday - everyone knows what a holiday is don't they? But the surname came form 'holy day', nothing to do with the modern meaning of 'vacation'. And Mr. Holland. An amateur would assume his family came from Holland. But he would be English, from places in Esses, Lincolnshire, Lancashire where the name means 'land at a Hough', hough being a hill-spur.
The faux pudenda is nice trivia and certainly gives one some scope for teasing but it's not the etymology of the surname. And certainly not a sporran....though I thought the Scots joke was funny ;o)
Devon
The faux pudenda is nice trivia and certainly gives one some scope for teasing but it's not the etymology of the surname. And certainly not a sporran....though I thought the Scots joke was funny ;o)
Devon
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Merken
I seem to remember something like this turns up in the Domesday Book records for Cornwall. It would probably be mer 'sea' + ken 'hound'. In Welsh a sea-hound (Morgi) is a shark...
I seem to remember something like this turns up in the Domesday Book records for Cornwall. It would probably be mer 'sea' + ken 'hound'. In Welsh a sea-hound (Morgi) is a shark...
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No idea, so let's play!
You get mermaids and mermen, so how about a small (-ken as a diminutive ending) sea-cat - either descended from a ship's cat which would have earned its voyage by catching rats on board, or just one that's really, really fond of fish?
Depending on your son's age, that should do nicely ...
You get mermaids and mermen, so how about a small (-ken as a diminutive ending) sea-cat - either descended from a ship's cat which would have earned its voyage by catching rats on board, or just one that's really, really fond of fish?
Depending on your son's age, that should do nicely ...
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