Re: Anglicization of names (was Re: Language naming terminology)

Nik Taylor wrote:

> Anyways, is this a common phenomenon in other cultures, or is this
> largely restricted to Anglo-Saxon cultures?
Oh, no, it is quite general.  The name of Thugut, famous in Austrian
history, was originally "Thunichtgut" (= "do-no-good") from Italian
"Tunicotto"; the negative syllable was later dropped.

Similarly (but on the other side of the war), Fr. "Bonaparte" <
It. "Buonaparte" < Greek "Kalomeris" (translation); the family was
originally from Saloniki.

> Also, is the normal method
> of Anglicization simply changing the sound?  I know of some cases where
> people's first names became surnames.  A friend of mine in high school
> had the last name of Marx - his ancestor's first name was Max, and when
> he was asked his name, that's what he replied - /maks/ (with a back
> vowel), thinking they wanted his first name, as opposed to surname, and
> the immigration official thought he said "Marx".  I suspect this is
> probably very rare, tho?
Probably not.  A friend of mine, Jon Shemitz, has a last name that
is a mutated version of the town his ancestor came from, Chelmnitz,
Poland.  His actual surname, if he had one, was probably too complex.

I have also heard of a Polish family with a name (forgotten) meaning
"rabbit", who arrived in America as "O'Hare"!  Translation is
very common:

        Many a Pennsylvania *Carpenter*, bearing a name that
        is English, from the French, from the Latin, and there
        a Celtic loanword in origin, is neither English, French,
        Latin, or Celt, but an original German *Zimmermann*.
                -- H. L. Mencken

--
John Cowan      http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
        You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
        You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
                Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)