View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Facts] Re: Romansh names
As far as I know, Pirmin is not (only) a Romansh name but rather a very old and quite rare German name as well: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirmin
Some time last year, I did some research on Romansh names myself and I foundGeronas, Gironnas, Jaronas listed as Romansh forms of Hieronymus / JeromeDuri, Durs and Durisch were listed as Romansh (short) forms of Dorian / Doriano
vote up1vote down

Replies

It seems that the Pirmins listed in the German Wikipedia are all from Switzerland (except one who live at the Swiss frontier). And unfortunately they don't give its etymology...The Durs-Dorian equivalence seems folk etymology. The Duden Vornamenlexikon says that it is of uncertain origin, maybe from Old High German ''thurs/turs'', demon/giant, or from ''Sankt Urs''>''Sank Turs''>''Durs''. So it probably is a regional southern Germanic name and not an actual exclusive Romansch name (it's just diffuse among Romansch people).
vote up0vote down