Re: OT: Anthroponymics

On Wed, 19 Oct 2005 22:55, Carsten Becker wrote:
> On Mon, 17 Oct 2005, 20:01 CEST, Tom H. Chappell wrote
>
> > Gatewood is a famous example of a person who had no
> > personal name.
>
> When did he live? Reminds me a bit of the Doctor in the
> Startrek: Voyager series.
>
> > it is not Harry S. Truman, it is just Harry S Truman,
> > because the S does not stand for anything.
>
> There's an episode of The Simpsons where Homer finds out
> that the "J" in his name stands for nothing.
>
> > Less frequently, all of a person's "personal names" might
> > be merely "initials", as for instance the soldier J B
> > Jones.
>
> That'd not be possible here I think.
>
> > Royalty (of which America doesn't have any) can get along
> > without any family name
>
> The last name of the prince of this county (Waldeck) is just
> _von Waldeck_.
>
> > There was a person named Baxter Wilson Grant; upon hearing
> > of him, one person said "How many people is that?"
>
> Forrest Gump, anyone? Americans seem to be more liberal with
> first names than other Western countries.
>
> > Americans usually go by the first name; but not always.
> > Stephen Grover Cleveland went by Grover.
>
> My mother's name is Brita Becker (yes, with one <t> only)
> and it's habit to answer the telephone with one's last name.
> Once, a colleague from the US thought "Becker" would be my
> mother's *first* name because in anglophone countries, it's
> habit to address people by their first name. Not so in the
> German speaking area. In Switzerland and Austria, AFAIK,
> it's even habit to address people by their degree. My
> father, when he worked in Basel for two years, was for
> example frequently addressed as "Herr Ingenieur" (Mr
> Engineer) instead of "Herr Becker" he told me.
> As Jörg said, when you've got several first names, you can
> choose by which one you want to go. For example, Friedrich
> Schiller was actually Johann Christoph Friedrich von
> Schiller.
>
> One curious thing is that a cousin of my fathers' was born
> Rainer Böttcher but calls himself Rainer W(alter) Böttcher
> in honour of his father Walter Böttcher whom he never got to
> know.
>
> Another curious fact is that especially in Catholic regions,
> men usually have Maria as a second first name: E.g. the full
> name of my godmother's husband is Michael Maria Lamsfuhs,
> their son is called Lucas Maria Lamsfuhs.
>
> Since nobody has mentioned that yet: I've read that in
> Iceland, it's still habit that children have a first name
> and have as a second name their father's or mother's name
> plus -son/-dóttir. People do not have an actual family name
> thus. The members of my family would be called
>
>   Ingolf Friedrichsson [Ilsesson]
>   Brita Johannsdóttir [Gertrudsdóttir]
>   Carsten Ingolfsson [Britasson]
>   Philipp Christoph Ingolfsson [Britasson]
>   Simone Ingolfsdóttir [Britasdóttir]
>
> accordingly. I'd prefer Ingolfsson. BTW, how were Irish and
> Scottish women called if "O'" and "Mac" mean "son of"?
>
> OBConlang: Are there special naming patterns in your
> conlangs? My Ayeri people go by happily with [family name]
> [first name(s)].
In my matriarchal societies - Lakhabrech, Rakhebuityan, Ineya Khara-Ansha -
it's custom to call the children so-and-so son/daughter of mother's-name, so
you would have Pirau li' arui u Tinai'epene - Pirau son of Tinai'epene.  In
the case of a male being regarded as having greater moral stature than his
wife, the child might be referred to as son/daughter of father's-name, eg,
Uan yhe tyeris Praleyo - Uan Praleyo's Daughter, rather than Uan yhe tyeris
Vheratsho - Uan Vheratsho's Daughter.

In the event of the male in a relationship giving his child a name, it gets
tacked onto the end of the mother's name for the child, as is seen in
Pirau-Etyaute; in this case it actually made sense - Pirau is the name of a
hardwood tree that has very tasty fruit not unlike citrus; Etyaute is the
word for "firm/upright/strong" and by extension "moral" - though the women
have another interpretation ... :-)

Ancestor's names - particularly well-respected ones - tend to become family
names, and after a while and a whole lot of vicissitudes, they become
tribal/clan names as well.

Wesley Parish
>
> Yours,
>
> First name(s):  Carsten
> Family name:    Becker
>
> --
> "Miranayam cepauarà naranoaris."
> (Calvin nay Hobbes)
>
> Current projects:
> www.beckerscarsten.de/?conlang=ayeri
> www.beckerscarsten.de/?conlang=tarsyanian
--
Clinersterton beademung, with all of love - RIP James Blish
-----
Mau e ki, he aha te mea nui?
You ask, what is the most important thing?
Maku e ki, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
I reply, it is people, it is people, it is people.

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