Greek Cypriots
Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 ...
may bear common
Greek surnames, but there are some which are markedly
Cypriot
Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus.
* Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes:
**Armenian Cypriots
**Greek Cypriots
**Maronite Cypriots
**Turkish C ...
; there are some names which indicate place of birth or origin, or occupation, for example: ''Παφίτης'' (Paphitis), "from
Paphos
Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos.
The current city of Pap ...
"; ''Καϊμακλιώτης'' (Kaimakliotis), "from
Kaimakli
Kaimakli ( el, Καϊμακλί ; tr, Kaymaklı or ) is a large northeastern suburb of Nicosia, Cyprus. Since 1968, it belongs to the Municipality of Nicosia. Its population in 2011 was 11,564.
Etymology
Kaimakli derives from the Turkish ''ka ...
"; ''Σκαρπάρης'' (Skarparis), "shoemaker"; ''Κωμοδρόμος'' (Komodromos), "
smith
Smith may refer to:
People
* Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals
* Smith (given name)
* Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland
** List of people wi ...
". As most Cypriots used patronymics until
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
when surnames became officially used in public registers, a similar process of creation of surnames took place to that of other Greek-speaking populations outside Greece, e.g. the
Pontians. A good example would be ''Ευσταθιάδης'' (Efstathiades).
In keeping with older traditions of Greeks, Cypriots often have as their patronym, literally, the name of the father. At the same time, the first-born son may take as a first name his paternal grandfather's name (sometimes a second-born son taking as his name the maternal grandfather's name), leading to repetition. For example, a grandfather being called ''Γεώργιος Αργυρού'' (George Argyrou), his son being named ''Σάββας Γεωργίου'' (Savvas Georgiou), and the grandson called ''Γεώργιος Γεωργίου'' (George Georgiou) or ''Γεώργιος Σαββίδης'' (George Savvidis).
Cypriot surnames may include digraphs that mark aspirated stops, e.g. ''Ττοφή'' .
Cypriot first names include: ''Γιωρκής'' (Yiorkis), ''Στυλλής'' (Styllis), ''Αλισαβού'' (Alisavou), ''Πκιερής'' (Pkieris). Also, there are names which are found elsewhere, but are unusual, except in Cyprus where they are more highly concentrated. Examples include: ''Βαρνάβας'' (Barnabus), ''Βερεγγάρια'' (Berengaria), ''Δωμέτιος'' (Dometios), ''Μάμας'' (Mamas), ''Μάριος'' (Marios), ''Νεόφυτος'' (Neophytos).
See also
*
List of Cypriots
External links
Greek Naming Conventions
{{Names_in_world cultures
Names by culture