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ArchivesGinta, Bregje and Behati
I came across several names of fashion models that weren't in the database. Does anyone know their meanings?
Ginta - There is a Latvian model named Ginta Lapina
Bregje - Dutch model Bregje Heinen. I know names that end in -je are typically nicknames in Dutch. Does anyone know what it could be a nickname for?
Behati - There is a white Namibian model named Behati Prinsloo. I don't know much about Namibia, but her surname suggests a possible Dutch ancestry.
Also, how are Bregje and Behati pronounced?
Ginta - There is a Latvian model named Ginta Lapina
Bregje - Dutch model Bregje Heinen. I know names that end in -je are typically nicknames in Dutch. Does anyone know what it could be a nickname for?
Behati - There is a white Namibian model named Behati Prinsloo. I don't know much about Namibia, but her surname suggests a possible Dutch ancestry.
Also, how are Bregje and Behati pronounced?
This message was edited 5/21/2012, 5:37 AM
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Replies
Prinsloo is indeed of Dutch origin. It is composed of the Dutch words prins "prince" and archaic Dutch loo, which signifies a clearing (i.e. open spot) in a forest. The surname is extremely rare in The Netherlands nowadays, with 5 bearers in 2007 and 0 bearers in 1947. This seems to indicate that the 5 bearers must be immigrants from (South) Africa. As such, this is definitely a typical but old Afrikaner surname.
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Thanks
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Huibrecht gives Breggie in Afrikaans and should logically give Bregje in Dutch. Either way, it's a female form of Hubert. You're right: that -je is a diminutive ending. Bertie, perhaps? As for pronunciation, my Dutch is mangled but it's close to a short e as in bed, followed by that wonderful throat-clearing sound that is always said to be "like the -ch in Scottish loch", and a ye, same short e as before, and the j has an English y sound.
Can't help at all with Ms Prinsloo, but a lot of white Namibians have Afrikaans surnames, of which Prinsloo is one. I'd guess bi-HAH-ti, but it is a guess and the name looks invented.
Can't help at all with Ms Prinsloo, but a lot of white Namibians have Afrikaans surnames, of which Prinsloo is one. I'd guess bi-HAH-ti, but it is a guess and the name looks invented.
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Behati
Thanks for your input about Bregje.
I should really have checked this before I posted, but I found this interview with Behati Prinsloo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXaXVJDP9YE
She pronounces her name bay-AH-tee and says it means "blessed" in German. Perhaps she means it's a variant of Beate or Beatrice or somesuch. I was wondering if it was a traditional Afrikaans or Dutch form of Beate, but it seems not to be.
Thanks for your input about Bregje.
I should really have checked this before I posted, but I found this interview with Behati Prinsloo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXaXVJDP9YE
She pronounces her name bay-AH-tee and says it means "blessed" in German. Perhaps she means it's a variant of Beate or Beatrice or somesuch. I was wondering if it was a traditional Afrikaans or Dutch form of Beate, but it seems not to be.
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Nope. Definitely kre8iv, and probably a one-off. When I saw it, I wondered about the Indian ln often written as Beharrie, though there are variants; but clearly not.
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The "Nederlandse Voornamen Databank", to be found here:
http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/voornamen/vnb/
gives Bregje as as form of Brecht, and that in turn as a short form of various names containing the name element "brecht" which is also in the database here, cognate of the English word "bright".
For Behati I could not find reliable info, only some hints that it may derive from (or be a variant of) the Swahili word bahati, probably meaning "luck":
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bahati
Anyway, if you search for the given model, you quickly see that her name is written in both forms, Behati and Bahati. Maybe that wants to tell us something, or maybe not - maybe people just are not sure about the spelling...
http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/voornamen/vnb/
gives Bregje as as form of Brecht, and that in turn as a short form of various names containing the name element "brecht" which is also in the database here, cognate of the English word "bright".
For Behati I could not find reliable info, only some hints that it may derive from (or be a variant of) the Swahili word bahati, probably meaning "luck":
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bahati
Anyway, if you search for the given model, you quickly see that her name is written in both forms, Behati and Bahati. Maybe that wants to tell us something, or maybe not - maybe people just are not sure about the spelling...
This message was edited 5/21/2012, 12:13 PM
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Thanks for the info
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According to Woordenboek van Voornamen by J. van der Schaar, Bregje is a form of Brecht, a woman's name from a Germanic word meaning "radiant, shining, brilliant". In other words, it's a form of the same Germanic word which became "bright" in English.
Other Dutch forms of Brecht besides Bregje are Brechje, Brechtje, Bregina, Bregtina, and Bregtje.
Other Dutch forms of Brecht besides Bregje are Brechje, Brechtje, Bregina, Bregtina, and Bregtje.
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Thank you
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