Sarkander.
Would someone be so kind as to provide some information about this Czech/Polish name? It was apparently the surname of a saint, namely John Sarkander - but it seems like it is a patronymic to me, ultimately derived from a first name. Could that first name even have been of Greek origin (if so, then I see Greek andros "man" in it)?Sarkander also somewhat reminds me of the Armenian surname Sarkisian, but whether they are etymologically related to each other, is uncertain to me.Thank you for any information that you can provide. :)

"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on... when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend... some hurts that go too deep... that have taken hold." ~ Frodo Baggins
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Johannes (Jan) Sarkander was also known as Johannes Fleischmann. Following a fashion of the time, he (or maybe his parents or ancestors, I couldn't find any information on this bit) translated his last name to Sarkander, composed of the Greek elements sarx (gen. sarkos) and aner (gen. andros). Fleischmann is a Bavarian word for Fleischer (butcher).
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Thank you for your information, Andy - guess I was at least right about Sarkander actually being Greek (despite it turning out to be a translation from a German surname). :x Pity it doesn't derive from a first name, though, since that would have been really neat. :)

This message was edited 9/27/2010, 4:46 PM

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