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ArchivesRe: King Anna and his name
in reply to a message by clevelandkentevans
It’s worth noting that English place names record a large number of Anglo-Saxon male names ending in A, many following the same VCCV pattern or a CVCCV version. Some examples from a quick search:
Offa
Horsa
Daecca
Reada
Haesta
Banna
Dida
Totta
Waca
Tota
Billa
Cippa
Seen in this context, although we may not have a clear etymology for it, Anna looks completely unremarkable as a male name.
https://nanowrimo.org/participants/christine-seaforth-finch
http://christineseaforthfinch.blogspot.com/
Offa
Horsa
Daecca
Reada
Haesta
Banna
Dida
Totta
Waca
Tota
Billa
Cippa
Seen in this context, although we may not have a clear etymology for it, Anna looks completely unremarkable as a male name.
http://christineseaforthfinch.blogspot.com/
This message was edited 5/1/2021, 12:30 AM
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Replies
(With the exemption of Horsa, who is an imaginary person) these apparent names ending in a are merely short forms (or pet forms, or hypocoristic forms). Modern examples would be Alfie, Eddy, Willy, and so on.
It is sometimes possible to establish the full name, if sufficient documentary evidence is available. Thus, to take just one example from the list, there was is a Bishop of Leicester who is called Totta in some manuscripts but Torhthelm in others, so it is clear (at least in his case) that Totta means Torhthelm. Hence Stubbs concluded “There can be no doubt that Totta is a familiar abbreviation of Torhthelm”. Anglo-Saxon personal names always consist of two whole words placed together: Torhthelm is torht (torch) + helm (as in helmet).
As for Anna, it is likely to be an abbreviation of Earnwulf. This is suggested by the fact that the list of moneyers for the reign of King Eadræd has both Anna and Arnulf, possibly the same man (the names of moneyers on Anglo-Saxon coins are extremely variable).
It is sometimes possible to establish the full name, if sufficient documentary evidence is available. Thus, to take just one example from the list, there was is a Bishop of Leicester who is called Totta in some manuscripts but Torhthelm in others, so it is clear (at least in his case) that Totta means Torhthelm. Hence Stubbs concluded “There can be no doubt that Totta is a familiar abbreviation of Torhthelm”. Anglo-Saxon personal names always consist of two whole words placed together: Torhthelm is torht (torch) + helm (as in helmet).
As for Anna, it is likely to be an abbreviation of Earnwulf. This is suggested by the fact that the list of moneyers for the reign of King Eadræd has both Anna and Arnulf, possibly the same man (the names of moneyers on Anglo-Saxon coins are extremely variable).
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