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ArchivesPlease help discover meaning behind "Myrtez"
Hello,
It was suggested I post this here.
Both my grandmother and mother are named Myrtez but no one knows where it came from or what it means.
Very hard to find info on this and hoping someone can help.
thank you
It was suggested I post this here.
Both my grandmother and mother are named Myrtez but no one knows where it came from or what it means.
Very hard to find info on this and hoping someone can help.
thank you
1
Replies
If you repeat a question from earlier on (see http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/4095588), it would be helpful to say so, and explain shortly why you ask again.
One of the posters who answered you then asked where you, your mother and your grandmother come from. As far as I can see you did not yet tell, although this really could help the search.
One of the posters who answered you then asked where you, your mother and your grandmother come from. As far as I can see you did not yet tell, although this really could help the search.
1
I'm sorry I don't see that initial "answer" you're referring to. The only one I saw was a suggestion to post it here....
i.e. on the Opinion board New_Chloe wrote:
New_Chloe (Authenticated as New_Chloe)
What does Myrtez mean? by SFMAN
Try the facts board for this. good luck :)
i.e. on the Opinion board New_Chloe wrote:
New_Chloe (Authenticated as New_Chloe)
What does Myrtez mean? by SFMAN
Try the facts board for this. good luck :)
This message was edited 7/28/2011, 9:31 AM
1
That's strange.
If you follow this link:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/4095588
you should see an earlier post of yours (on this very board, the "Facts" board already), together with 3 links to 3 answers at the bottom, below a heading "Messages in this thread".
Do you see it differently in your browser if you follow the link?
If you follow this link:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/4095588
you should see an earlier post of yours (on this very board, the "Facts" board already), together with 3 links to 3 answers at the bottom, below a heading "Messages in this thread".
Do you see it differently in your browser if you follow the link?
1
ah! I see it yes I posted a few weeks back and couldn't find it so re-posted (I don't frequent this site).
I beg your pardon about the double post and now I see it was archived so can't respond to those nice respondants. Sorry all!
Emailed my sister to find out their main question (where is grandma from).
when I get a response I hope you all don't mind replying back what you know about it.
Once again sorry about this.
Jeff
I beg your pardon about the double post and now I see it was archived so can't respond to those nice respondants. Sorry all!
Emailed my sister to find out their main question (where is grandma from).
when I get a response I hope you all don't mind replying back what you know about it.
Once again sorry about this.
Jeff
1
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.
1