Germanic names, inherited from the

Suevi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

(who settled in

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...

: modern Galicia and northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in 409 AD),

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

and other Germanic peoples, were often the most common Galician- Portuguese names during the early and high

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. This article deals with Germanic personal names recorded and used in Galicia, northern

and its adjoining regions: territories of the

kingdom of the Suebi The Kingdom of the Suebi (), also called the Kingdom of Galicia () or Suebi Kingdom of Galicia (), was a Germanic peoples, Germanic Migration Period, post-Roman kingdom that was one of the first to separate from the Roman Empire. Based in the fo ...

during the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

from its 409 settlement to the 12th century.

Germanic names

Germanic names were the most common personal names in Galicia-Portugal during the early and

high Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, surpassing Christian and Roman names in number and popularity. The names, primarily of

East Germanic East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

origin, were used by the

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

and

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

. With the names, the Galicians inherited the Germanic

onomastic Onomastics (or onomatology in older texts) is the study of proper names, including their etymology, history, and use. An ''alethonym'' ('true name') or an ''orthonym'' ('real name') is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onom ...

system; a person used one name (sometimes a nickname or alias), with no surname, occasionally adding a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

. More than 1,000 such names have been preserved in local records. and in local toponyms. Many of the Germanic names were composite, with the second element usually a noun with the same gender of the bearer. Others were

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for Isabel or ''Bob (given name), Bob'' fo ...

s formed from a composite name or deriving from it. Less frequently, a name was a noun or an adjective. These names were transmitted to the Suevi with the usual Germanic rules of inheritance, which were variations (passing one element of the name; Rechiar was the son of Rechila, who was the son of Hermeric) and alliteration (names beginning with the same sound; Maldras was the son of the nobleman Masila). Full names were later transmitted from grandfather to grandson (commemoration), following a trend common until the present in most of

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

Adaptations

In addition to the conversion of many Germanic endings into Romance or Latin endings, the names had phonetic adaptations such as the change of word stress from the first to the penultimate syllable, the conversion of most �into or and the conversion of into before a consonant. was initially preserved, although noted as or ybefore becoming w(or, less commonly, . These early inherited names underwent Western Romance and Galician changes from Latin, such as consonant

lenition In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronically (within a language ...

and palatalization. This contributed to a large number of variants in recorded names; Ostrofredus was recorded in Galicia-Portugal as Ortofredus, Ostofredo, Ostouredus, Ostrofedone, Stobredo and Strofredo.

Names used by the Suevi

The following names, used by the

during the fifth and sixth centuries, were recorded in chronicles, inscriptions and acts of local ecclesiastical councils: '' Hermericus, Heremigarius, Rechila, Rechiarius, Agiulfus, Maldras, Massila, Framta, Frumarius, Rechimundus, Remismundus, Veremundus, Chararicus,

Ariamir Ariamir (died before 566) was the Suevic King of Galicia, with his capital at Braga, Bracara, from 558/9. The bishops of the First Council of Braga recorded Ariamir as the king who summoned them and under whose auspices they deliberated. Because th ...

us, Ildericus, Theudomirus, Miro, Nitigisius, Uittimer, Anila, Remisol, Adoricus, Eboricus, Siseguntia f, Audeca, Malaricus, Pantardus, Neufila, Hildemirus, Commundus, Ermaricus, Sunila, Becila, Gardingus, Argiovitus, Gomedei, Rudemirus, Ermengontia f, Remisiwera f, Thuresmuda f, Suinthiliuba f.'' Many of the names, used by kings such as Miro, Rechila and Theudemirus, were used for local toponyms: Mirón, Requián, Requiás and Receá, Tuimil and Toimil.

Roots

The following is a list of the roots used to form Germanic personal names in Galicia-Portugal and northwestern

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

. Many are related to war, victory, fame, boldness, strength and warlike qualities (''bald-, funs-, hild-, gund-, nand-, rod-, seg-, send-''),

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

ic animals (''ar-, wulf-, ber-, ebur-'') and weapons (''brand-, bruni-, rand-, saru-''); many others refer to knowledge, love and other peaceful qualities (''fred-, leob-, mun-, ragi-, rad-, uin-''). Some refer to the condition of ruler or master (''fro-, ric-, vald-, Froya, Theodinus, Tructinus, Hendinus''). Another group refers to the tribe, nation or country (''conia-, fulc-, teod-, leod-, man-, truct-, gavi-, gogi-, kend-''), and another appears to refer to Huns (''Hun-''), Suevi (''Sav-''), Goths (''Gut-''), Vandals (''Vandal-''), Celts (''Vala-''), Vendians/Slavs (''Venet-''), Galindians/Balths (''Galind-''), Franks (''Frank-''), Saxons (''Sax-''), Angles (''Engl-''), Danes (''Dan-'') and other peoples. Although some elements are identical to others found in Celtic

anthroponymy Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'', 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'', 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and coll ...

(''And-, Dag-, -mar, -riks''), others appear to be adaptations of Latin words and names incorporated in the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

region: ''Florens, Fortis, Crescens''. Forms marked with an asterisk are unrecorded and hypothetical. PGmc is an abbreviation for

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

Feminine roots

Elements common as the second syllable of feminine names include: Suffixes used to derive

hypocoristic A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as '' Izzy'' for Isabel or '' Bob'' for Robert, or it ...

feminine names include: * ''-alo'': Facalo, Trastalo * ''-ilo'' (later ''-io''): Acilo, Andilo, Anilo, Ansilo, Ardilo, Argilo, Berilo, Bitilo, Cisilo, Dadilo, Egilo, Ailo, Emilo, Esmerlo, Espallo, Fagilo, Faquilo, Frankilo, Froilo, Frunilo, Genilo, Genlo, Geodilo, Gracilo, Granilo, Guandilo, Gudilo, Gundilo, Gutilo, Itilo, Liuvilo, Nisilo, Nuillo, Nunnilo, Quintilo, Ranilo, Riquilo, Rudilo, Sindilo, Sisilu, Spanilo, Spintilo, Sunilo, Tafila, Teodilo, Tequilo, Trudilo, Vigilo, Visterlo * ''-ina'': Bagina, Baquina, Berina, Fandina, Frogina, Gavina, Gendina, Getina, Gogina, Guntina, Gutina, Lallina, Nunnina, Sendina, Sesina, Tanina, Tidina, Tetina, Trastina, Trudina, Vergina, Zanina * ''-ita'' (later ''-ida''): Acita, Cagita, Farita, Gomita, Nunnita, Sabita, Sonita * ''-ella'': Farella, Gondella, Mirella, Nunella

Masculine roots

Elements common as the second syllable of masculine names include: Suffixes used to derive hypocoristic masculine names are: * ''-eca, -ica'' (later ''-ega''): Abrecan, Adica, Audeca, Begica, Egica, Elleca, Gagica, Segika * ''-ila'' (later ''-ia''): Adila, Andila, Anila, Ansila, Attila, Audila, Azilane, Badila, Baldila, Becilla, Bergila, Berila, Blandila, Brandila, Butila, Cixila, Crizila, Cutella, Dadila, Danila, Ducila, Egila, Agila, Emila, Ermila, Fafila, Fafia, Fagila, Fandila, Favila, Fradila, Framila, Frankila, Froila, Gandila, Gaudilani, Gavila, Gladila, Gramila, Guadla, Guandila, Gudila, Gulfila, Gumila, Gundila, Ikila, Itila, Iudila, Iustila, Iuvila, Keila, Kinquila, Ledla, Lubila, Magila, Manilla, Mantila, Martila, Massila, Mellilla, Merila, Mudila, Mugila, Mumila, Mundila, Naustila, Nuilla, Neufila, Nunnila, Ofila, Oila, Opila, Ossila, Quintila, Ramila, Riquila, Romila, Rudila, Sabila, Scarcila, Sigila, Sindila, Sunila, Tancila, Tegila, Teodila, Titila, Tuntila, Unilla, Vertila, Vidila, Vigila, Vincila, Visterla, Vitila, Vizila, Zisila * ''-inus'' (later ''-ino''): Addalinus, Aldinus, Bagino, Baltino, Baquino, Batinus, Berinus, Bertinus, Blandinus, Boninus, Brandinus, Cartinus, Crescino, Dadinus, Dalinus, Eldinus, Evorinus, Fandinus, Farino, Favino, Fofino, Fonsinus, Fruginus, Frauino, Gandinus, Gaudinas, Gavinus, Gentino, Gendinus, Golinus, Guginus, Gulfinus, Gultinus, Guntinus, Gutinus, Haginus, Hamdino, Iubinus, Karinus, Lallinus, Lelino, Lubinus, Mandinus, Maninus, Matlinus, Muginus, Mundinus, Nandinus, Naninus, Nunninus, Odinus, Audinus, Pantinus, Pappinus, Pennino, Pipinus, Quizino, Randinus, Recinus, Sandinus, Scerinus, Sedino, Sendinus, Sisinus, Spintino, Suffini, Tancinus, Tanino, Tatina, Tetina, Tegino, Teodinus, Tracinus, Tradinus, Tructinus, Trudinus, Uittina, Uittinus, Vandino, Goandinus, Vitinus, Zanino * ''-linus, -llinus'': Abbelino, Adolinus, Francolino, Gundelinus, Iovellinus * ''-itus'' (later ''-ido''): Cagitus, Carito, Crescitu, Donnitus, Froritum, Ganiti, Gegitus, Gogitus, Gumito, Guncitus, Iuvitus, Magitus, Magnitus, Manitus, Marcitus, Maxitus, Nannitus, Nonnitu, Papitus, Pegito, Pinnitus, Ragito, Sabitus, Sunitus, Sonnito, Tanitus, Atanitus, Tegitus, Trasido, Uegitus, Zanitus, Zazitus, Zenzitus * ''-ellus'' (later ''-elo''): Betellus, Felellus, Francellus, Froiellus, Frumellus, Gigelus, Gumellus, Guntellus, Gutellus, Hermellus, Lubellus, Mannello, Mantellus, Mirellus, Mundellus, Nonellus, Papellus, Recelli, Sendello, Sisellus, Trastelus, Truitellus, Uistrello, Visellu, Zanellus Superlative and comparative suffixes were also used in forming personal names: ''-iza'': Boniza, Wittiza ''-istaz'': Ariastre, Belestrio, Fromesta, Remestro, Segestro Other suffixes imply origin or relationship: * ''-ingaz'': Amingus, Bellengus, Gardingus * ''-iskaz'': Vandaliscus "Vandal" (male), Huniscus "Hun" (male) * ''-iskō'': Hunisco "Hun" (female)

Toponyms

Many of these names are also toponyms (towns, parishes, villages, hamlets and fields), usually in the form of a Latin or Germanic

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

of the owner's name and sometimes preceded by the type of property (a Galician word of Latin, Germanic or pre-Latin origin) such as ''vila'' (villa, palace, estate), ''vilar'' (hamlet), ''castro'' (castle), ''casa'' (house), ''porta'' (pass, ford), ''agro'' (field), ''sa'' (Germanic ''sala''; hall, house), ''busto'' (dairy), ''cabana'' (cabin), ''lama'' (pastures), ''fonte'' (well, spring), ''pena'' (fort), ''pumar'' (orchard) and ''val'' (valley). About five percent of Galicia's 315 municipalities have this kind of name: *

Allariz Allariz is a town and municipality () in the province of Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It occupies the center of the western half of the province, connecting with the towns (''concellos'') of Taboadela, Paderne, Sand ...

to Aliarici, genitive of Aliaricus * Baltar to Baltarii, genitive of Baltharius * Beariz to Viarici, genitive of Viaricus * Calvos de Randín to Randini, genitive of Randinus * Forcarei to Fulcaredi, genitive of Fulkaredus * Friol to Fredoaldi, genitive of Fredoaldus *

Gomesende Gomesende is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and s ...

to Gumesindi, genitive of Gumesindus * Gondomar to Gundemari, genitive of Gundemarus *

Guntín Guntín () is a municipality in the province of Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of G ...

to Guntini, genitive of Guntinus * Guitiriz to Uitterici, genitive of Uittericus *

Lalín Lalín is a municipality in the north of the province of Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and ...

to Lallini, genitive of Lallinus * Mondariz to Munderici, genitive of Mundericus * Rairiz de Veiga to Ragerici, genitive of Ragericus * Ramirás to Ranamiranis, Germanized genitive of Ranemirus * Sandiás to Sindilanis, Germanized genitive of Sindila * Vilasantar to Villa Sentarii, genitive of SentariusCf. Sachs (1932) p. 86. Several thousand such toponyms are known in Galicia, northern Portugal, western Asturias and other territories which were part of the Suebi kingdom.

Notes

Literature

Proto-Germanic reconstruction

* Orel, Vladimir (2003). ''Handbook of Germanic Etymology''. Leiden: Brill, 2003. . * Köbler, Gerhard. (2007). ''Germanisches Wörterbuch''. On-lin

* Kroonen, Guus. (2013). ''Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic''. Leiden: Brill, 2013. .

Germanic personal names

* Förstemanm, Ernst (1900)
Altdeutsches Namenbuch''
. P. Hanstein: Bonn, 1900. * Forssner, Thorvald (1916)
''Continental-Germanic personal names in England in Old and Middle English times''
Uppsala, 1916. * Redin, Mats (1919)
''Studies on uncompounded personal names in old English''
Uppsala, 1919. * Schönfeld, M. (1911)
''Wörterbuch der Altgermanischen Personen und Völkernamen''
Heidelberg, 1911. * William George Searle, Searle, W. G. (1897)
''Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum''
Cambridge: 1897.

Galician Medieval onomastics

* Rivas Quintas, Elixio (1991) ''Onomástica persoal do noroeste hispano''. Alvarellos: Lugo, 1991. . * Boullón Agrelo, Ana I. (1999). ''Antroponimia medieval galega (ss. VIII-XII)''. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1999. . * "Extramundi". In: Moralejo, Juan J. ''Callaica Nomina: Estudios de Onomástica Gallega''. Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, D.L. 2007. pp. 19–23.

Germanic toponymy in Galicia and Portugal

* Sachs, Georg (1932) ''Die germanischen Ortsnamen in Spanien und Portugal''. Jena: Leipzig, 1932. * Piel, J. (1933-1940) ''Os nomes germânicos na toponímia portuguesa''. I
Boletim Português de Filologia
vol. II-VII: Lisboa.
Joseph Piel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galicia Germanic given names *