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ArchivesDon't laugh, but I've always wanted to know...
Other than the Little House books, has anyone ever run across the name Almanzo before? Does anyone know what it means or it's origin? I've always wondered since reading them. I know that there is the story in the books that it comes from El Mansur, which I suppose is possible, except he says (again, in the books, so not necessarily 100% ture) that it was a family tradition name. Well there are no other Almanzos in the Wilder family tree (though I haven't done a lot of research into other branches of it).
Also, Almanzo Wilder's older sister married a man named Harrison Lomanzo Howard. I always though THAT was in interesting coincidence. Almanzo -- Lomanzo. Very similar, but again, a name I've never seen or heard elsewhere.
Anyone have any idea on that?
Oh, and btw, in case anyone is interested, according to tapes of Laura Ingalls Wilder's voice, the TV show pronounced the name wrong -- it's al-MAN-zo, not ol-MON-zo.
Also, Almanzo Wilder's older sister married a man named Harrison Lomanzo Howard. I always though THAT was in interesting coincidence. Almanzo -- Lomanzo. Very similar, but again, a name I've never seen or heard elsewhere.
Anyone have any idea on that?
Oh, and btw, in case anyone is interested, according to tapes of Laura Ingalls Wilder's voice, the TV show pronounced the name wrong -- it's al-MAN-zo, not ol-MON-zo.
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Replies
Almanzo is really from "el mansur". Almanzor is a hispanification (is this a word?) of the Arabic name El-Mansur, which means 'the victorious'. Many Arabic people in history with the name El-Mansur are referred to as Almanzor (one of them a Moroccon ruler). This is all due to the heavy influence and mixture of Moorish people and Spanish people. The Spanish language still has much evidence in itself of this, such as the Spanish word for castle which is alcazar (beside castello ).
Lomanzo is a Swiss/Italian surname and also a place in Switzerland. Perhaps an italinization of the German surname Lomann, which happens often near borders. For example, in the Czech Republic they also have variations on German surnames, like the Czech surname Fiser (from Fischer) and Miler (from Müller).
Lomanzo is a Swiss/Italian surname and also a place in Switzerland. Perhaps an italinization of the German surname Lomann, which happens often near borders. For example, in the Czech Republic they also have variations on German surnames, like the Czech surname Fiser (from Fischer) and Miler (from Müller).
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