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Vannius was the Latin version of the name of a 1st century AD king of the Quadi, a Germanic tribe. Does anyone know what it means?
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In his Altdeutsches Namenbuch, Ernst Förstemann (1822-1906) lists the name Vannius under the name element VAND (on page 1257). The meaning of that element is not wholly certain, but he thinks that it is etymologically related to the name of two tribes, namely the Wends (who were Slavic) and the Vandals (who were Germanic).
With that said, Förstemann is not entirely certain whether Vannius belongs to the name element VAND, as he suggests that it could belong to the name element VAN instead. According to him, that element is related to Gothic vêns meaning "resources, wealth", Old High German wân meaning "hope, expectation" as well as Old High German wan meaning "deficient, imperfect" and Old High German wâni meaning "want, need, scarcity".
So, all in all, it is difficult to pinpoint a precise meaning for Vannius. Perhaps we may never be able to, as we don't know the original Germanic form of the name (we only have the latinized form) and the name elements VAN and VAND are so similar that Vannius could belong to either one.
With that said, Förstemann is not entirely certain whether Vannius belongs to the name element VAND, as he suggests that it could belong to the name element VAN instead. According to him, that element is related to Gothic vêns meaning "resources, wealth", Old High German wân meaning "hope, expectation" as well as Old High German wan meaning "deficient, imperfect" and Old High German wâni meaning "want, need, scarcity".
So, all in all, it is difficult to pinpoint a precise meaning for Vannius. Perhaps we may never be able to, as we don't know the original Germanic form of the name (we only have the latinized form) and the name elements VAN and VAND are so similar that Vannius could belong to either one.
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