Comments (Meaning / History Only)
No, it is not. Your Russian source only makes that claim because Archil happens to be visually similar to Archelaus. This similarity is merely coincidental. All Georgian sources state that Archil is of Iranian origin.
What's more: the earliest known bearer is the 5th-century king Archil of Iberia. He was of Iranian descent, for he belonged to the Chosroid dynasty. In that era, all members of the Chosroid dynasty had names that were of Iranian origin. Why would king Archil be the one exception to the rule? By the way, his parents were named Mirdat (also known as Mitridate in Georgia) and Anusha. His mother's name is likely closely related to the modern Persian name انوشیروان (Anoushiravan or Anushiravan), of which the first element consists of Middle Persian 'anōš' meaning "immortal".
With that said, let us now explore what exactly the Georgian sources have to say about the name არჩილ (Archil).
• http://kids.ge/baby-name?id=299 (in Georgian; states that the name is of Iranian origin and means "of Aryan ancestry")
• http://www.geogen.ge/ge/msearch/4304/ (in Georgian; scroll down to the entry for Archil, which states that the name is of Iranian origin and means "exact, precise, correct" as well as "outspoken" and "truthful" and "light, bright" and also "virtuous, gifted, blessed")
You can see that there are a lot of possible meanings. None of them appear to indicate that Archil is a compound name, while it almost certainly is one. Just compare the very similar name დარჩილ (Darchil), which is the Georgian form of the Middle Persian name Dartsihr. Darchil is one of the names under which the 6th-century king Dachi of Iberia was known. He was a great-grandson of the aforementioned king Archil of Iberia, so it is possible that the similarity between the two names is deliberate rather than purely coincidental. For more information, please see the entries for დაჩი (Dachi) and დარჩია (Darchia) in the Submitted Names Database.
Personally, however, I am inclined to think that Archil is more likely to be related to the Middle Persian name Ardashir (also found written as Ardasher and Artashir), which is already in the main database. It could be based on a variant or short form of the name, which might have been something like Ardsher or Ardshir. Also note that the traditional Georgian form of Ardashir is არდაშელ (Ardashel), which is rather similar in appearance to Archil.
By now, you have probably noticed that Persian -er or -ir can become -el or -il in Georgian. This is a Georgian phenomenon, which Thea Chkeidze briefly mentions in "Iranian Elements in the Georgian Language" when she explains how the Persian word 'sardâr' became 'sardal-i' in Georgian. Another given name that underwent such a transformation is შერგილ (Shergil), which came from شیرگیر (Shergir; also Shirgir).
All right, let's go back to the two Georgian name sources for Archil. One of them connected the meaning of the name to the Aryan people, which should be technically possible. Their name is believed to come from Proto-Indo-Iranian *arya or *aryo, though Proto-Indo-European *haerós has also been proposed as the root for the endonym. For more information about this, please see:
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan#Etymology (in English)
Of the meanings provided for Archil by the second Georgian source, the Middle Persian words 'ardā' meaning "righteous, truthful" and 'ardāyīh' meaning "righteousness, rectitude" seem to be the closest match. However, they only refer to the first element of the name. For the second element, perhaps compare Middle Persian 'čēr' meaning "victorious, triumphant, brave".
Lastly... many years ago, I came across a source that claimed that Archil means "throne of God". I was unable to retrieve this source, but that doesn't really matter in the end. You see, for that particular etymology to work, Archil would have to be entirely of Arabic origin. That is quite unlikely, given the Iranian ancestry of the first known bearers of the name. But to be precise for the curious among us: if it had been true, then the name would have consisted of Arabic عرش ('arsh) meaning "throne" and Arabic إله ('ilah) meaning "god, deity, divinity".
All in all: the meaning of the name Archil remains uncertain (at least for now), which is largely because the available name sources have neglected to be precise and explicit about the root words of this compound name (especially the second root). Hopefully someday we will come across a source that plausibly explains in no uncertain terms just exactly what Archil consists of and what it thus means.
Sources used:
- Archil of Iberia (5th century AD): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archil_of_Iberia (in English; also see the Russian version)
- Dachi of Iberia (6th century AD): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachi_of_Iberia (in English)
- انوشیروان (Anoushiravan or Anushiravan): https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86 (in English)
- Middle Persian 'anōš' meaning "immortal": see page 10 of "A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary" written by D. N. MacKenzie
- Ardsir --- Artashir: http://armenian.name/index.php?a=term&d=1&t=351 (in English; states that the name means "angry lion" in modern Persian, but that the first element should actually come from Parthian 'arta' meaning "sacred")
- Ardsher meaning "righteous ruler", connected to Artaxerxes and the same as Ardasher (on the same page): see page 39 of "The Complete Book of Muslim and Parsi Names" written by Maneka Gandhi and Ozair Husain: https://books.google.de/books?id=SSdCL2ZfflIC&pg=PA39 (in English)
- "Iranian Elements in the Georgian Language" written by Thea Chkeidze: https://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Culture/iranian_elements_georgian.htm (in English)
- Middle Persian 'ardā' and 'ardāyīh': see page 11 of "A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary" written by D. N. MacKenzie
- Middle Persian 'čēr' meaning "victorious, triumphant, brave": see page 22 of "A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary" written by D. N. MacKenzie
- Arabic عرش ('arsh) meaning "throne": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B4 (in English)
- Arabic إله ('ilah) meaning "god, deity, divinity": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%87 (in English)
2
What's more: the earliest known bearer is the 5th-century king Archil of Iberia. He was of Iranian descent, for he belonged to the Chosroid dynasty. In that era, all members of the Chosroid dynasty had names that were of Iranian origin. Why would king Archil be the one exception to the rule? By the way, his parents were named Mirdat (also known as Mitridate in Georgia) and Anusha. His mother's name is likely closely related to the modern Persian name انوشیروان (Anoushiravan or Anushiravan), of which the first element consists of Middle Persian 'anōš' meaning "immortal".
With that said, let us now explore what exactly the Georgian sources have to say about the name არჩილ (Archil).
• http://kids.ge/baby-name?id=299 (in Georgian; states that the name is of Iranian origin and means "of Aryan ancestry")
• http://www.geogen.ge/ge/msearch/4304/ (in Georgian; scroll down to the entry for Archil, which states that the name is of Iranian origin and means "exact, precise, correct" as well as "outspoken" and "truthful" and "light, bright" and also "virtuous, gifted, blessed")
You can see that there are a lot of possible meanings. None of them appear to indicate that Archil is a compound name, while it almost certainly is one. Just compare the very similar name დარჩილ (Darchil), which is the Georgian form of the Middle Persian name Dartsihr. Darchil is one of the names under which the 6th-century king Dachi of Iberia was known. He was a great-grandson of the aforementioned king Archil of Iberia, so it is possible that the similarity between the two names is deliberate rather than purely coincidental. For more information, please see the entries for დაჩი (Dachi) and დარჩია (Darchia) in the Submitted Names Database.
Personally, however, I am inclined to think that Archil is more likely to be related to the Middle Persian name Ardashir (also found written as Ardasher and Artashir), which is already in the main database. It could be based on a variant or short form of the name, which might have been something like Ardsher or Ardshir. Also note that the traditional Georgian form of Ardashir is არდაშელ (Ardashel), which is rather similar in appearance to Archil.
By now, you have probably noticed that Persian -er or -ir can become -el or -il in Georgian. This is a Georgian phenomenon, which Thea Chkeidze briefly mentions in "Iranian Elements in the Georgian Language" when she explains how the Persian word 'sardâr' became 'sardal-i' in Georgian. Another given name that underwent such a transformation is შერგილ (Shergil), which came from شیرگیر (Shergir; also Shirgir).
All right, let's go back to the two Georgian name sources for Archil. One of them connected the meaning of the name to the Aryan people, which should be technically possible. Their name is believed to come from Proto-Indo-Iranian *arya or *aryo, though Proto-Indo-European *haerós has also been proposed as the root for the endonym. For more information about this, please see:
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan#Etymology (in English)
Of the meanings provided for Archil by the second Georgian source, the Middle Persian words 'ardā' meaning "righteous, truthful" and 'ardāyīh' meaning "righteousness, rectitude" seem to be the closest match. However, they only refer to the first element of the name. For the second element, perhaps compare Middle Persian 'čēr' meaning "victorious, triumphant, brave".
Lastly... many years ago, I came across a source that claimed that Archil means "throne of God". I was unable to retrieve this source, but that doesn't really matter in the end. You see, for that particular etymology to work, Archil would have to be entirely of Arabic origin. That is quite unlikely, given the Iranian ancestry of the first known bearers of the name. But to be precise for the curious among us: if it had been true, then the name would have consisted of Arabic عرش ('arsh) meaning "throne" and Arabic إله ('ilah) meaning "god, deity, divinity".
All in all: the meaning of the name Archil remains uncertain (at least for now), which is largely because the available name sources have neglected to be precise and explicit about the root words of this compound name (especially the second root). Hopefully someday we will come across a source that plausibly explains in no uncertain terms just exactly what Archil consists of and what it thus means.
Sources used:
- Archil of Iberia (5th century AD): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archil_of_Iberia (in English; also see the Russian version)
- Dachi of Iberia (6th century AD): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachi_of_Iberia (in English)
- انوشیروان (Anoushiravan or Anushiravan): https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86 (in English)
- Middle Persian 'anōš' meaning "immortal": see page 10 of "A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary" written by D. N. MacKenzie
- Ardsir --- Artashir: http://armenian.name/index.php?a=term&d=1&t=351 (in English; states that the name means "angry lion" in modern Persian, but that the first element should actually come from Parthian 'arta' meaning "sacred")
- Ardsher meaning "righteous ruler", connected to Artaxerxes and the same as Ardasher (on the same page): see page 39 of "The Complete Book of Muslim and Parsi Names" written by Maneka Gandhi and Ozair Husain: https://books.google.de/books?id=SSdCL2ZfflIC&pg=PA39 (in English)
- "Iranian Elements in the Georgian Language" written by Thea Chkeidze: https://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Culture/iranian_elements_georgian.htm (in English)
- Middle Persian 'ardā' and 'ardāyīh': see page 11 of "A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary" written by D. N. MacKenzie
- Middle Persian 'čēr' meaning "victorious, triumphant, brave": see page 22 of "A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary" written by D. N. MacKenzie
- Arabic عرش ('arsh) meaning "throne": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B4 (in English)
- Arabic إله ('ilah) meaning "god, deity, divinity": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%87 (in English)
2
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