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Nannerl is a feminine name which was the nickname of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's sister Maria Anna Mozart. She was born in Austria and I would assume German was the language which ruled their nicknames, ect. and would also assume that Nannerl is related to Anna / Anne / Nan / Nancy.
If anyone has any information to back that up or any other ideas of how Nannerl could come to be her nickname I'd love to hear them, as well as any other uses of the name you have heard of.
Thanks very much!
Laurie :)
Favorite Names: Amy Pearl, Julia Mary, Lydia Noelle & Ciaran Dougls, Aidan Stone, Simon Henry
If anyone has any information to back that up or any other ideas of how Nannerl could come to be her nickname I'd love to hear them, as well as any other uses of the name you have heard of.
Thanks very much!
Laurie :)
Favorite Names: Amy Pearl, Julia Mary, Lydia Noelle & Ciaran Dougls, Aidan Stone, Simon Henry
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Replies
Yes, Nannerl would be a nickname for Anna. Nicknames ending in 'l' are (or were) common in German; as well as Nannerl (which I've seen before, but it may have been the same person!) you get Gretel / Gretl for Margaret, Liesel / Liesl for Elisabeth, and my own step-great-grandmother was Rosa nn Rosel. There aren't many examples in the BtN database but those that are there demonstrate the pattern.
I hope that helps :-)
I hope that helps :-)
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Just adding a little (edited)
That -erl ending is distinctively Austrian or Bavarian. You won't usually find it in Berlin or Hamburg! (Large parts of Austria speak a Bavarian dialect. Bavaria is a region in the Southeast of Germany.)
(I wonder whether the -el/ -l diminutive isn't a Southern German thing too, but I'm not sure. Maybe Satu or Rene know more.)
Nanni is a general German pet form of Anna/Anne and Marianne (though just as rare as Nannerl).
My name book tells me, French has Nannette as a pet form of Anne. Maybe that's how Nanni entered German - but I'm speculating!
(edited for clarity)
That -erl ending is distinctively Austrian or Bavarian. You won't usually find it in Berlin or Hamburg! (Large parts of Austria speak a Bavarian dialect. Bavaria is a region in the Southeast of Germany.)
(I wonder whether the -el/ -l diminutive isn't a Southern German thing too, but I'm not sure. Maybe Satu or Rene know more.)
Nanni is a general German pet form of Anna/Anne and Marianne (though just as rare as Nannerl).
My name book tells me, French has Nannette as a pet form of Anne. Maybe that's how Nanni entered German - but I'm speculating!
(edited for clarity)
This message was edited 1/13/2007, 3:41 PM
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austrians don´t speak a "bavarian" dialect!! there are many different dialects in austria as well as in germany, and it´s right that bavarian and austrian dialects belong to the same linguistic group, but f.e. the dialect spoken in Vorarlberg, the region next to switzerland in the west of austria, doesn´t belong to the same group BUT... guess what? right: swiss dialects. don´t spread pseudofacts
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-erl, -l, el
Yes, those diminutive endings on -el and -l are south German as well.
South German diminutive endings include
-l
-el
-erl
-le
-li
North German diminutive endings include
-ke
-ken
-tje
-je
-ing
Yes, those diminutive endings on -el and -l are south German as well.
South German diminutive endings include
-l
-el
-erl
-le
-li
North German diminutive endings include
-ke
-ken
-tje
-je
-ing
1
Hehe . . .
I wish Chrisell had as interesting an etymology as that - it would be so cute if Chrisel could be used as a Germanic diminutive of Christine!
But unfortunately it's far more pedestrian in origin - I created by combining my full name (Christine Ellen) into one name.
:-)
I wish Chrisell had as interesting an etymology as that - it would be so cute if Chrisel could be used as a Germanic diminutive of Christine!
But unfortunately it's far more pedestrian in origin - I created by combining my full name (Christine Ellen) into one name.
:-)
This message was edited 1/14/2007, 12:08 AM
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