The Names Project

The Names ProjectMr. Feeley

My name is from WHAT language?!?!You may be wondering why your given name or surname has its origins in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or Arabic?

Here is why!

Hebrew

עברית

The Iron Age Kingdom of Israel (blue) and Kingdom of Judah (yellow), with their neighbors (tan) (8th century BCE).

Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the 10th to 7th centuries BCE.

The Old Testament emerged from the Jewish traditions of Ancient Israel.

Greek

λληνικήGreek has been spoken in the Balkan Peninsula since around the late

3rd millennium BCE.

Greek Civilization Archaic Period 800 BCE to 500 BCEClassical Period 500-323 BCEHellenistic Period 323 BC to 146 CE

GREEK EMPIRE: Greek cities & colonies c. 550 BC. (Archaic Period)

GREEK EMPIRE: Alexander the Great’s empire at the time of its maximum expansion (Hellinistic Period)

Latin

latīnaRoman Era 500 BC - early 400’s CE

Latin was the dominant language of the Roman Empire.

Roman Empire at its most extensive. 117 AD

Emperor Constantine of Rome• Roman Emperor 306 to 337

AD• Christianity became the

dominant Roman religion after 2 ½ centuries of persecution

• Much of the New Testament emerged during this era.

• Stories and names from the Christian Old and New Testaments received a big push into Europe’s future.

Western Roman Empire Falls in the 400’s CE.

Barbarian Invaders500’s CE:

● Ostrogoths● Huns● Visigoths ***● Vandals

Arabic • Classical Arabic 500’s

CE• Greatly impacted

Spanish between 700’s CE and 1492 (4,000 words, 8% of dictionary)

• Second greatest impact after Latin

• Islamic Empire

• Spread of Islam and Arabic (622-750)

Al-Andalus & Christian Kingdoms circa 1000 CE

The province of al-Andalus just after the Islamic conquest,

720 CE

http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/walter.sargent/public.www/web%20103/outline%202%20umf%20103_06.htm

http://awesomemiddleageshastings.weebly.com/-inquisition--reconquista---scott-r.html

Romance languages derived from Latin (including SPANISH!)

Map of Spanish America at the end of the 1700’s

My name means WHAT?!?! WHY?!

You may be wondering why one of your names means, “exalted one” or “warrior” or “skinny guy” or “fortress” or “cave.”

Here is why!

Customs for first namesAspiring personal traits. For example, the name Clement means "merciful." (e.g Faith,

Prudence)Occupations. (e.g. George means "earth-worker", i.e., "farmer"). Circumstances of birth. (e.g. Thomas means"twin" or the Latin name Quintus, which

was traditionally given to the fifth male child.Objects. (e.g. Peter means "rock" and Edgar means "rich spear.”)Physical characteristics. (e.g. Calvin means "bald.”)Variations on another name, especially to change the sex of the name (e.g. Pauline,

Georgia) or to translate from another language (fe.g. the names Francis or Francisco that come from the name Franciscus meaning "Frenchman").

Surnames. (e.g. Winston, Harrison, and Ross). Such names can honour other branches of a family, where the surname would not otherwise be passed down (e.g., the mother's maiden surname).

Places. (e.g. Brittany, Lorraine.)Characters/Words from Myths, Legends, the Bible, Names of saints. (e.g. Jesse,

Noah, Genesis, Santiago, Jesus, Maria).

Surname customs -ENGLISH

Occupational surnames e.g. Baker, Brewer, Butcher, Hunter, Knight

Personal characteristics e.g., Brown, Black, Whitehead, Young, Long, White

Geographical features e.g., Bridge, Camp, Hill, Bush, Lake, Lee, Wood, Fields

Toponymic surnames:Place names e.g., Hamilton, London,

Flint, Estate names For those descended

from land-owners, the name of their holdings, castle, manor or estate, e.g. Ernle, Windsor, Staunton

Patronymics, matronymics or ancestral, often from a person's given name. e.g., from male name: Richardson, Stephenson, Jackson,Wilson, Thompson, Johnson, Nicholson, Robinson, or female names Molson (from Moll for Mary), Madison (from Maud), Emmott (from Emma), Marriott (from Mary) or from a clan name (for those of Scottish origin, e.g., MacDonald, Forbes, Henderson, Armstrong, Grant, Cameron, with "Mac"Scottish Gaelic for son.

Surname customs SPANISH

Patronymic system was used in the Middle Ages. (e.g. Álvaro, the son of Rodrigo would be named Álvaro Rodríguez. His son, Juan, would not be named Juan Rodríguez, but Juan Álvarez. Over time, many of these patronymics became family names and are some of the most common names in the Spanish-speaking world.

Personal appearance or habit, e.g. Delgado ("thin") and Moreno (polysemous word, it can mean "brown skined", "dark skined", "tanned skined", "brunette hair" or "black hair")

Occupations, e.g. Molinero ("miller"), Zapatero ("Shoe-maker") and Guerrero ("warrior")

Geoographic location or ethnicity, e.g. Alemán ("German")

In Spain and in many Spanish-speaking countries, people traditionally have two family names: the first family name is the paternal one, inherited from the father's paternal family name, while the second family name is the maternal one, inherited from the mother's paternal family name.

e.g. Javier Serratos-Gonzalez

BibliographyAl-Andalus. (2014, March 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved

14:39, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Andalus&oldid=598147563

Archaic Greece. (2014, February 21). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 13:45, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Archaic_Greece&oldid=596453157

Barbarian. (2014, February 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 14:31, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barbarian&oldid=597286753

BibliographyConstantine the Great. (2014, March 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 14:16, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constantine_the_Great&oldid=598065124

Family name. (2014, March 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved

21:13, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Family_name&oldid=598979420

Given name. (2014, February 22). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 21:13, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Given_name&oldid=596679057

BibliographyHebrew language. (2014, March 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 13:55, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hebrew_language&oldid=598809710

History of ancient Israel and Judah. (2014, March 2). In Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:50, March 10, 2014, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_ancient_Israel_and_Judah&oldid=597862288

Latin. (2014, March 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:08,

March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Latin&oldid=598925944

BibliographyRoman Empire. (2014, March 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 13:59, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Empire&oldid=598894793

Spanish colonization of the Americas. (2014, March 7). In Wikipedia, The

Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:40, March 10, 2014, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas&oldid=598483103

Spread of Islam. (2014, March 3). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved 14:27, March 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spread_of_Islam&oldid=597924295