Re: OT: Anthroponymics

On 10/26/05, mike poxon <mike@...> wrote:
> Dear Joao (or anyone else)
> Completely nothing to do with conlanging, but something that has always
> bugged me!
> Why do so many Brazilian men have christian names that end in -son? (Edson,
> Adelson, Nelson, Emerson...) It just
> seems such an un-Portuguese thing to do! Is there some historical reason for
> it?
> Thanks,
> Mike
Mike, it bugs me as well. There isn't any historical reason that I am
aware of. I guess (emphasis on the "guess" here) it comes from a
combination of a few factors:

a) Brazilians are prone to adopt foreign SURNAMES as GIVEN NAMES for
their children. The government of my state has a Mozart Neves and a
Mozart Ramos as members; one of our presidents in the 1920's was
called Washington Luís Pereira de Souza; one of the media moguls in
the 20th century was Francisco de Assis Chateaubriand Bandeira de
Mello (three given names, the first two after the saint, the last one
after the French poet); my maternal grandfather wanted me to be
christened as Goethe, which my parents wisely refused to do.

b) Brazilians are also prone to make the names of their children
"diferent". Either in spelling - doubling consonants (which has no
effect in Portuguese pronunciation) or adding the mute <h> before or
after a vowel etc. - or in form, making up new names for them.

My guess is that some foreign surnames such as Anderson (I've known
two or three of them), Peterson (I've known two of them) and Nelson
(lots of them) got into Brazil as given names, and from there on the
-son bit was seen as a sufix for forming given names. Therefore the
new inventions like Adelson, Adilson, Wandelson etc.

Is this surname-into-given-name thing common in other countries as
well? I can't recall ever hearing about an American called Washington,
but in Brazil it doesn't raise any eyebrows anymore. It seems that
when an American wants to pay homage to George Washington, he names
his son George, and not Washington. Is this so?

>
> PS - the recent mention of the American with the tremendously long name
> immediately reminded me of Monty Python's
> "Neglected German Composer" (I'm doing this from memory, so have probably
> left some bits out!),
> Johann Gambolputty der von
> Ausfernschpledenschlittcrasscrenbonfriediggedingledanglebursteinvonknackerth
> rashercolensicgranderknotty-
> spelltinklekurstlichhimbleeisenbahnwagengutenabendbitteeinnurnburgerbratwurs
> tlegerschpurtenmitzweimacheluberhundsfutgumberaber-
> schonendankekalbsfleischvonmittelraucher von Hautkopf of Ulm (I think he had
> a sister, Sarah Gambolputty....) In the sketch, the composer
> had died by the time the interviewer had said his name about four or five
> times.
>
> Visit the improved website at:
> www.starman.co.uk
Amazing that you have memorized that! Or is there some pattern that
I'm missing here? Does this name have some satirical meaning?

João Ricardo de Mendonça

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