Kitabı oku: «Surnames as a Science», sayfa 10
Towards the close of the record, and about the end of the fourteenth century, another form, Alicia, begins to make its appearance in the Liber Vitæ, and appears to have become at once a very favourite name. Then, as now, fashion seems to have ruled, and when a new name came in, there seems to have been a run upon it. But by this time Elizabeth had come into use, and as soon as ever that took place, the two names, Eliza and Elizabeth, would begin to get mixed up together as they are now, so that a new female form would, so to speak, be required for Alice. Alicia (or more properly Alisia), is an attempt to supply the euphony which is lacking in Alisa, by supplementing it with a vowel, just as, for the same reason, Amala has been made into Amelia.
About the beginning of the fifteenth century another Christian name for women, Alison, begins to make its appearance in the Liber Vitæ. This name, however, I take to be from an entirely different origin. There is an old Frankish woman's name, Alesinda, Elesind, Alesint, of the eighth century, from which, dropping the final d, it would naturally come, and which is derived by Grimm from Gothic alja, alius (in the probable sense of stranger or foreigner), and sind in the sense of companion or attendant.
JANET: Not from JANE or any female form of JOHN
It may seem rather a paradox to suggest that Janet has nothing to do with Jane, and yet I think that a pretty good case can be made out. We find Geneta as a woman's name in the Liber Vitæ in the thirteenth century, before Jane or Joan or Johanna were in use. And in the two following centuries we have Gennet, Janeta, Janette, and Janet, of common occurrence as Christian names. (One of these cases is a very curious one. It is that of one Willelmus Richerdson and his wife Christina, who having a family of eighteen children, seem to have been so completely at their wits' end for names to give them, that two of the sons are called Johannes, two Willelmus, after their father, two of the daughters Christine, after their mother, and no fewer than three called Janet. Such reduplication of Christian names does not, however, seem to have been unusual at that time.) Now it seems clear that the above name, Geneta, is the same as our Janet, and equally clear that it is not derived from any female form of John. Foerstemann (Altdeutsches Namenbuch) has an old Frankish woman's name, Genida, tenth century, from a Codex of Lorraine. And I find also the woman's name, Genitia, in the Pol. Rem., one of the old Frankish chronicles before referred to. These old Frankish names might well leave a woman's name behind in France, which in after times might get mixed up with Jean, and from which our name may also have been derived. I may observe that we have also Gennet and Jennett as surnames, and the Germans have also Genett. But these, though from the same stem, must be taken to be from another form of it – viz., from Genad, eighth century, a man's name. From the same stem Foerstemann derives the woman's name, Genoveva, sixth century; whence, through the French, our Genevieve. As to the etymology of gen, the Germans are not agreed, Leo suggesting a borrowed Celtic word, with the meaning of love or affection, while Foerstemann seems to prefer Old High German gan, magic or fascination.
EMMA: Its Place in the Teutonic System
The ordinary derivation of Emma from a Teutonic word signifying grandmother, or nurse, becomes impossible in face of the fact that among the Old Franks, from whom, through the Normans, we received it, the man's name Emmo was quite as common as the woman's, Emma. But in point of fact the stem, of which the older form seems to have been im, was one common to the whole Teutonic system, including the Low Germans settled in England. And the Immingas, descendants or followers of Imma, are ranged by Kemble among the early settlers. But among the Anglo-Saxons, with whom the ending of men's names (other than compounds) was generally in a, Imma would obviously not be suitable for names of women; and in point of fact it always appears in England, at that time, as a man's name. And probably, for this reason, the Frankish princess Emma, on becoming the wife of Cnut of England, considered it necessary to assume a Saxon name in addition to her own, and so become known as Ælfgifu Imma. But a few centuries later, when the simple old Saxon names in a had very much died out, Emma coming in as something quite new, and with the stamp of Norman prestige, became at once, as appears from the Liber Vitæ, a name in favour. As to the etymology, which is considered by the Germans to be obscure, I have elsewhere ventured to suggest Old Northern ymia, stridere; whence the name of the giant Ymir, in Northern mythology. The sense is that of a harsh and loud voice, which suggests huge stature. So, from Gaelic fuaim, noise, strepitus, comes fuaimhair, a giant, of which we may possibly have a lingering tradition in the nursery – "Fee, Fa, Fum" representing the giant's dreaded war-cry. And from what follows, "I smell the blood of an Englishman," one might almost think of the nurse as a Saxon, and the ogre as one of the earlier Celtic race, who might in those days be dangerous neighbours.
I give below the stem, with its branches, so far as it forms names of women. It also enters into some compounds, one of which, Americo, bequeathed by the Franks or Lombards to Italy, has the honour of giving the name to America.
Stem im or em
Names of men.– O.G. Immo, Himmo, Emmo (among others, three bishops in the seventh and ninth centuries). A.S. Imma, found in Imman beorh, "Imma's barrow, or grave." Imma, Hemma, Hemmi, about the tenth century in the Liber Vitæ. Eama, Anglo-Saxon moneyer.
Names of women.– O.G. Imma, Emma (among others Emma, daughter of Charlemagne).
Present surnames.– Eng. Him (?), Yem (?). Germ. Imm, Ihm. French, Eme, Emy.
With the ending in en, p. 27
Names of men.– O.G. Imino, Emino, eighth century. A.S. Immine, a Mercian general, seventh century. Emino, Liber Vitæ.
Names of women.– O.G. Immina, Emmina, eighth century. Early Eng. Ymana, Ymaine, Liber Vitæ.
Present surnames.– Eng. Emeney. Fr. Emmon.
Ending in lin, p. 31
Names of women.– O.G. Emelina, eleventh century. Emalina, twelfth century, Liber Vitæ.
Present Christian name.– Eng. Emmeline.
ETHEL, ADELA, ADELINE, ADELAIDE
Ethel and Adela are different forms of the same word, adal, athal, ethel, signifying noble. But while Adela is a correctly formed feminine, Ethel can hardly be said to be so. Both as a man's name and as a woman's it had usually a vowel-ending, and though this was not invariably the case, yet a name appearing without it would be rather assumed to be a man's name. Adeline is a diminutive like Eveline and Caroline; it represents the old name Adalina, eighth century, and Adalina, about the twelfth century, in the Liber Vitæ, and comes probably through the French, the ending in e preserving the feminine by lengthening the syllable. Adelaide is from adal, as above, and H.G. haid, corresponding with Saxon hood, as in manhood. Hence the name seems to contain the abstract sense of nobility. The name must have come to us through the Normans; indeed, a woman's name could hardly be so formed among the Anglo-Saxons, for, curiously enough, this ending was a feminine one among the High Germans, and a masculine one among the Saxons. Hence perhaps it is that we have as surnames such names as Manhood and Mahood, the latter perhaps signifying boyhood, A.S. mæg, boy.
EDITH
Edith is the only representative in women's names of A.S. ead, happiness, prosperity, from which we have so many men's names, as Edward, Edwin, Edmund, Edgar. It represents an A.S. Editha, a contraction of Eadgitha, and the question, which is not without a little difficulty, is, What is the origin of githa? Is it a phonetic variation of gifa (A.S. gifu, gift), so common in Anglo-Saxon names of women, as in God-gifa (Godiva), Sungefa (Suneva), &c., or is it a separate word? I am disposed to come to the conclusion, upon the whole, that it is a separate word, and though the traces of it as such are not strong, yet there are some traces. There is a woman's name Githa in the Liber Vitæ, and this seems to be the same as an Old Norse woman's name Gyda in the Landnamabôk. There was also a Gytha, daughter of Swend, king of Denmark. Then there are two Old German names of women with the endings respectively gid and (H.G.) kid. And the origin of all I should take to be found in O.N. gydia, goddess, the exalted conception of womanhood.
EVELYN, EVELINA, EVELINE
There does not seem to be sufficient ground for Miss Yonge's suggestion that Eveline, a name which we have from the Normans, was borrowed by them from the Celts. On the contrary, they seem to have derived it from their Frankish ancestors, among whom we find it in the eleventh century in the form Avelina. This appears to be the original form, for we find it as Avelina in the Liber Vitæ about the twelfth century. And again in the thirteenth century we find that one of the Earls of Albemarle married a lady named Aveline. It is probably a diminutive from the stem av, which Foerstemann refers to Goth. avo, in the probable sense of ancestor. The names Evelyn and Eveline should be kept sharply distinct, the former being a man's name, and the latter a woman's, being the French form of Evelina, as is Louise of Louisa.
From the same stem, av, is formed also the female name Avice, now become very rare. It appears as Auiza and Avicia in the Liber Vitæ, and its original form I take to be found in Avagisa, eighth century, in the Altdeutsches Namenbuch, from gis, hostage. From a similar origin, but from the masculine form Avagis, may probably be Avis, included by Mr. Lower among Latinized surnames.
Another name from the same stem which seems to have been formerly rather common, but which now seems quite obsolete, is Avina.
HAVEYS, HAWOISE
This is another woman's name which has become almost extinct, and, seeing how uncomfortable a name it is to pronounce, I do not wonder that it should be so. It appears in the Liber Vitæ as Hawysa, and in the Pol. Irminon as Hauis, but its proper form is to be traced up to the older name Hathewiza in the Liber Vitæ, from hath, war, and wisa, leader. A surname corresponding, though of course from the masculine form of the name, may probably be the well-known one of Haweis.
Some other Obsolete or Obsolescent Names
The name Helwis occurs in the Liber Vitæ about the thirteenth century, and a more perfect form, Helewiza, about two centuries earlier. It seems rather probable, however, that its proper form would be Hildwisa, from hild, war, and wisa, leader. It occurs as Helois in the Pol. Irm., and is the same as the French Heloise (=Helwise). This name I take to be quite obsolete with us.
A name given by Miss Yonge as still in use is Amice or Amicia. It may probably be the same as the woman's name Amisa, Ameza, or Emeza of the eighth century in the Altd. Nam., which Foerstemann takes to be from A.S. emeta, quies. In that case it would probably be the same name in another form as Emmota, formerly not uncommon as a woman's name.
Another name which I rather suppose to be obsolete is Agace, Agaze, or Igusa, found in the Liber Vitæ up to the fourteenth century, and probably the same as an O.G. Eggiza, eleventh century, from a stem ag, supposed to mean point or edge.
LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS CONSULTED
FOERSTEMANN. – Altdeutsches Namenbuch. – Vol. I. Personennamen. – Vol. II. Ortsnamen. London, Williams Norgate.
POTT. – Personennamen. Leipzig, 1853.
STARK. – Beitrage zur kunde Germanischer Personennamen. Vienna, 1857. – Die Kosenamen der Germanen. Vienna, 1868.
WEINHOLD. – Die Deutschen Frauen in dem Mittelalter. Vienna, 1851.
GLUCK. – Die bei C. Julius Cæsar vorkommenden Keltischen Namen. Vienna, 1857.
WASSENBERG. – Verhandeling over de Eigennaamen der Friesen. Franeker, 1774.
Islands Landnamabôk. Copenhagen.
Scriptores Rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum, Sæc. 6-9. Hanover, 1878.
Polyptique de l'Abbé Irminon, ou denombrement des manses, des serfs, et des revenus de l'Abbaye de Saint Germain-des-Prés sous le regne de Charlemagne. Paris, 1844.
Polyptique de l'Abbaye de Saint Remi de Reims, ou denombrement des manses, des serfs, et des revenus de cette abbaye vers le milieu du neuvième siècle. Paris, 1853.
∵The above two Old Frankish records contain a list of the names of all the serfs and dependants of the respective abbeys, with the names also of their wives and children.
KEMBLE. – Codex diplomaticus Ævi Saxonici. London, 1845-48.
THORPE. – Diplomatorium Anglicum Ævi Saxonici. London, 1865.
TAYLOR. – Names and Places. London, 1864.
STEPHENS. – The Old Runic Monuments of Scandinavia and England. London.
MISS YONGE. – History of Christian Names. London, 1863.
LOWER. – Patronymica Britannica. London, 1860.
BOWDITCH. – Suffolk Surnames. Boston, U.S.A.
Liber Vitæ Ecclesiæ Dunelmensis. Published by the Surtees Society, London, 1841.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
Page 17
We have also Tray as a man's name, and from the same origin as that which I have supposed for the dog's name, though the one is from the German and the other from the Celtic. The stem in men's names is referred to Goth, tragjan, to run, and may probably include also Trail (=Tragel) and Train (=Tragen), with the respective endings in el and en. Also, from the interchange of d and t, we may include Dray and Drain.
Page 20
Among names of the first century is that of Ingomar, uncle of Arminius, which is represented in America by the dreadful name Inkhammer, though whether of English or of German origin seems uncertain.
Page 29
From Shilling, as a man's name, is derived Shillingsworth, as a name of local origin (A.S. weorth, property), a name like Wordsworth, Dodsworth, &c.
Page 120
Some doubt may be thrown upon the derivation I have suggested for Pentecost by the name Osbern Pentecost, which comes before us in Anglo-Saxon times. The name seems here to be a surname, and if so would be derived most naturally from the festival.
Page 159
From this stem, as found in an A.S. Flogg, may be formed the Anglo-Saxon name Flohere (Thorpe, p. 636), from hari, warrior, whence may be our surnames Floyer, Flower, and Flowry.
Page171
Among other names apparently from women are Ella, Eva, and Louisa, in Suffolk Surnames. Of these, the first is a regular Saxon man's name, and the second is, I doubt not, the same, corresponding with Eafa found in Eafingas, and with Eafha, the name of a Mercian alderman. Louisa I should suppose to be the name Louis with a Romanic, perhaps Spanish, but not female, ending.
