Semen / ʂemen/ or Xemen / ʃemen/ is a medieval

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

of the Vasconic area. It is based on the

root ''seme < senbe'' 'son' as found in the ancient Aquitanian name ''Sembetten'', attested form "sehi" as 'child', hypothetical ancient root *seni (cf. Koldo Mitxelena and modern form "senide" = 'brother or sister', 'relative'). The explanation by the

Biblical name Names play a variety of roles in the Bible. They sometimes relate to the nominee's role in a Books of the Bible, biblical narrative, as in the case of Nabal, a foolish man whose name means "fool". Names in the Bible can represent human hopes, d ...

Šim’ōn ( Simon) is less convincing. Some think the name may be a corruption of the later part of the Latin name ''Maximinus'', as there are late Classic records that various individuals with this name were becoming active as officials and residents in upper Hispania near the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

and Tarraconensis during the last century of the Western Roman Empire, and perhaps into the period of transition from imperial province to independent Kingdom during Visigothic rule. A "Seguin" was attested in Frankish chronicles when referring to the Count of Bordeaux and Duke of Vasconia (778, 814 and 816). The name is also recorded as Sihiminus, perhaps a rendering of ''Ximinus''. He may have been a local Basque whose family later fled south over the Pyrenees and helped Enneco Arista take over in Pamplona. Arab sources in

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

report in 778 a "''Jimeno, the strong''", calling him "''Mothmin al-Akra''". He was a Basque or Hispanic magnate in the upper Ebro territories within the later independent principality of Navarre. This person was possibly related to others near Pamplona in local opposition to both the invading Franks under

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and the new ruler of the Islamic Iberian realm,

Abd al-Rahman I Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (; 7 March 731 – 30 September 788), commonly known as Abd al-Rahman I, was the founder and first emir of the Emirate of Córdoba, ruling from 756 to 788. He established the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus, ...

. Other than these early medieval examples, the name is known on both sides of the

in the following forms: *''Semyon'' or ''Semeno'' fem. ''Semena'' *''Semero'' fem. Semera *''Scemeno'' (in Villabáscones) *''Xemen'' or ''Xemeno'' fem. ''Xemena'' *''Ximeno'' or ''

Jimeno Jimeno (also Gimeno, Ximeno, Chemene, Exemeno) is a given name derived from ''Ximen'',OMAECHEVARRIA, Ignacio, "Nombres propios y apellidos en el País Vasco y sus contornos". ''Homenaje a D. Julio de Urquijo'', volume II, pages 153-175. a variant of ...

'' fem. ''Ximena'' or ''

Jimena Jimena or is the Spanish female version of the given name Jimeno. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. A variant is Ximena. People with the nam ...

'' (French ''Chimène'') By adjunction of the patronymic suffixes ''-ez'' or ''-es'', it produces the Iberian

patronym 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, ...

s: * Portuguese: Ximenes * Spanish: Ximénez, Giménez, Jiménez

Cyrillic transliteration

Semen is also a transliteration of the Ukrainian given name and an alternate transliteration of the Russian given name (more often transliterated as ''Semyon''); both words (along with an etymologically cognate Ukrainian name — Symon and an etymologically cognate Russian name — Simon) derive from a biblical name Simeon/Symeon. Notable persons with that name include: * Semen Altman (born 1946), Ukrainian football coach * Semyon Bogdanov (1894–1960), Soviet Marshal of the Army * Semyon Frank (1877–1950), Russian philosopher * Semen Hulak-Artemovsky (1813–1873), Ukrainian opera composer, singer, actor, and dramatist working in Imperial Russia * Semyon Kirsanov (1906–1972), Ukrainian poet in Russia * Semyon Korsakov (1787–1853 OS), inventor who was involved with an early version of information technology * Semen Paliy (c. 1645–1710), Ukrainian Cossack polkovnyk (colonel) * Semen Pavlichenko (born 1991), Russian luger * Semen Semenchenko (born 1974), Ukrainian politician and military commander * Semyon Timoshenko (1895–1970), Soviet military commander * Semyon Zhavoronkov (1899–1967), Soviet Marshal of the Air Force * Semen Zhivago (1807–1863), Russian painter

Sources

Basque Onomastics of the Eighth to Sixteenth Centuries
{{given name Medieval Basque given names Masculine given names