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ArchivesBegga and Allowin
St. Begga was a Frankish noblewoman who lived in the 7th century. She apparently also had a brother named Allowin. Anyone have any idea what those names mean? TIA.
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I agree with thegiffon on Allowin.
I think a connection of Begga with BEK is unlikely, because bek has a /k/ sound in low German (and is cognate to High German Bach). I'm tempted to postulate a connection to the modern English word beggar and the Dutch words Beghard and Beguine (two mendicant orders); but their etymology is unclear and they are only attested from the 12th century on. And than there is St. Lambert le Bègue (Lambert the stammerer).
Another more conventional way of thinking is a connection to the name element BERG, BURG with loss of the /r/ sound (no unattesteted, as the connection of Fed ~ Fried shows).
All in all, there is no really satisfactory explanation for the name Begga and we should leave it as "unexplained" for now.
--elbowin
I think a connection of Begga with BEK is unlikely, because bek has a /k/ sound in low German (and is cognate to High German Bach). I'm tempted to postulate a connection to the modern English word beggar and the Dutch words Beghard and Beguine (two mendicant orders); but their etymology is unclear and they are only attested from the 12th century on. And than there is St. Lambert le Bègue (Lambert the stammerer).
Another more conventional way of thinking is a connection to the name element BERG, BURG with loss of the /r/ sound (no unattesteted, as the connection of Fed ~ Fried shows).
All in all, there is no really satisfactory explanation for the name Begga and we should leave it as "unexplained" for now.
--elbowin
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Allowin is probably "All" in the extended sense of "entire/complete/perfect" + "wine" meaning "friend/lover". There are other protothemes which may be shortened to "All/Al", but they would generally not appear in the "Allo-/Ala-" form. St Begga is harder to ascertain. It may be a Gallic approximation of an abbreviated Frankish name beginning with *Beki-, Dutch and Saxon Beek, German Bach, English Beck, "stream" (compare the Norse Bekkhildr). Forstemann refers it to the other beck, a pickaxe, however the Medieval Latin forms are besca, bessa, bescia, modern French bêche (pronounced besh), and it seems implausible that a Frankish name would be rendered "Begga" instead. Possibly not her real name at all, her brother Allowin being commonly known as St Bavo.
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