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Indo-European Personal Names

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Ernst Pulgram
Ernst Pulgram*
Affiliation:
Union College, Schenectady
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Extract

The basic tenet of Indo-Europeanists with regard to personal proper names has been, stated briefly, that the typical Indo-European name is a dithematic compound, as exemplified most eminently by many Indic, Greek, and Germanic names. Any name that is not compounded in a like manner, it is asserted, is either actually a shortened hypocoristic form of an original dithematic name, or is some sort of nickname or hybrid—at any rate not a genuine original. If indeed the theory went only so far as to state that the predominant feature of a great number of Indo-European names, particularly in Indic, Greek, and Germanic, is a form of composition resulting largely in the dithematic onomastic type, no serious objection could be raised. But the creators and propagators of this theory were obviously determined to arrive at some more comprehensively valid rule. Of course, this rule was bound to include exceptions; but not even the existence of an abnormally great number of exceptions seemed to arouse any grave doubts as to the universal applicability of the rule, nor was it deemed necessary on their account to investigate the causes of the divergencies.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 23 , Issue 3: July-September , September 1947, pp. 189 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © 1947 Linguistic Society of America

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References

1 For a full description see August Fick, Die griechischen Personennamen (Göttingen, 1874). An excellent résumé of the theory may be found in Mats Redin, Studies on uncompounded personal names in Old English (Diss. Uppsala, 1919).

2 A. Zimmermann, Spuren indogermanischer Namengebung im Lateinischen, BB 23.77, 257, 25.1.

3 Op.cit. 25.72 f.

4 Op.cit. 23.77–92.

5 Op.cit. 23.92.

6 Op.cit. 23.93.

7 Op.cit. 23.257, 25.1–72.

8 K. Brugmann, Grdr.I 2.1.§18.

9 August Fick, op.cit.; A. Fick and F. Bechtel, Die griechischen Personennamen nach ihrer Bildung erklärt und systematisch geordnet (Göttingen, 1874).

10 K. Brugmann, KVG §380, Anm. 2. Cf. also Grdr.2 2.1.§64 for further examples.

11 If I seem to take for granted characteristic differences between plebeian and aristocratic names, it is because I have thoroughly investigated this problem in both Indo-European and other speech-communities of various periods. Perhaps I may also assume that the validity of a distinction between plebeian and aristocratic names—since it is still exemplified even today—is not in the main controversial. For examples see below.

12 See the society pages and the gossip columns of our daily newspapers, which thrive on this propensity.

13 Cf. the end of part II of the present paper.

14 Here again the preserved records are by no means complete.

15 Leo Weisgerber, Sprachwissenschaftliche Beiträge zur frührheinischen Siedlungs- und Kulturgeschichte, Rhein. Mus. 84.329.

16 Op.cit. 330.

17 For statistics showing the proportion of the various classes in 1086 see Ellis, Introduction to Domesday Book 2.422 ff., 511 ff.; Ballard, The Domesday inquest 264. For some counties see Baring, Domesday tables. Three ‘villani’ are mentioned in Domesday Book: Askell (Sf), Aelfric (Ha), Wulfric (Sf).

18 Olaf von Feilitzen, The pre-Conquest personal names of Domesday Book 11 ff. (Diss. Uppsala, 1937).

19 Enrique de Gandía, Del orígen de los nombres y appelidos y de la ciencia genealogica 113 (Buenos Aires, 1942?)—a book to be used with great caution. Observe that one-third of it concerns itself with genealogy in general and in particular with the story of the Gandía family.

20 Emil Gratzl, Die altarabischen Frauennamen: mit einer Einleitung über die Geschichte des arabischen Personennamens bis zum Ende der Gahilajja 7 (Diss. München, 1906).

21 Hermann Ranke, Die Personennamen in den Urkunden der Hammurabidynastie: ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der semitischen Namenbildung 12 ff. (München, 1902).

22 Johann Jakob Stamm, Die akkadische Namengebung, Mitteilungen der vorderasiatisch-ägyptischen Gesellschaft 44.13 (1939).

23 Stamm, op.cit. 11.

24 Cf. W. W. Skeat, An etymological dictionary of the English language s.v. (Oxford, 1882).

25 Alfons Hilka, Die altindischen Personennamen, Indische Forschungen 3.29 ff. (1910).

26 Loc.cit.

27 Ferdinand Justi, Iranisches Namenbuch; Marburg, 1895.

28 This last group reminds one distinctly of Semitic names.

29 BB 24.305.

30 Loc.cit. 306.

31 Note how various kinds of names are reserved for different classes of society.

32 Heinrich Hübschmann, Die altarmenischen Personennamen, Festgruss an Rudolf v. Roth 99 f. (Stuttgart, 1893).

33 Not Latin!

34 But see p. 190 above.

35 This contradicts A. Leskien, Litauische Personennamen, IF 26.325 ff., 27.390 ff.; Die litauischen zweistämmigen Personennamen, IF 34.296 ff. For Lithuanian names see below.

36 Hübschmann, op.cit. 106.

37 The reference, of course, is to praenomina.

38 Paul Kretschmer, Einleitung in die Geschichte der griechischen Sprache 201 (Göttingen, 1896).

39 Lat. lallāre, Gk.

40 Cf. Robert Mowat, Les noms familiers chez les Romains, Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique de Paris 1.318 ff. Mowat gives an extensive survey of such formations, classified by roots.

41 Note the preponderance of the ‘easy’ sound a. Kretschmer (Einleitung 353) further notes that when these Lallnamen are used to express kinship relations, the sounds p and t are associated especially with ‘father’ and ‘grandfather’, the sounds m and n with ‘mother’, ‘grandmother’, and ‘wet nurse’. According to Kretschmer, the reason is physiological: m and n are easier and hence produced first, attaching themselves thereby to the closest, most immediate persons in the child's environment.

42 August Fick, BB 24.315.

43 Einleitung 200.

44 For a contrary view on Illyrian names see the next paragraph.

45 Cf. Wilhelm Tomaschek, Die alten Thraker: 2.2. Personen- und Ortsnamen, Sitzungsberichte d. philos.-hist. Klasse d. k. Akademie d. Wissensch. zu Wien. 131.1.

46 Op.cit. 3–52.

47 See above in the discussion of Armenian names.

48 Hans Krahe, Lexicon artillyrischer Personennamen; Heidelberg, 1929.

49 Op.cit. 159.

50 Loc.cit.

51 Loc.cit.

52 Loc.cit.

53 Op.cit. xv f.

54 Nub. 60 ff.

55 Heintze–Cascorbi, Die deutschen Familiennamen7 4 (Halle, 1933).

56 Grace Macurdy, Classical Quarterly 23.23.

57 Glotta 20.230.

58 Cf. Felix Solmsen, ed. Ernst Fraenkel, Indogermanische Eigennamen als Spiegel der Kulturgeschichte 134 (Heidelberg, 1922).

59 H. Ziemer, Zeitschrift für d. Gymnasialwesen 49.422 (1895).

60 Cf. Tobler, Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie 1866.68 ff.

61 Cf. p. 189 above.

62 See Fick, op.cit. lxvi. Cf. also Christian W. Glück, Die bei Julius Caesar vorkommenden keltischen Namen in ihrer Echtheit festgestellt und erläutert (München, 1857); H. d'Arbois de Jubainville, Les noms gaulois chez César et Hirtius De bello gallico (Paris, 1891). A comprehensive work on the Keltic languages by J. Whatmough is forthcoming.

63 See p. 194 above.

64 Edward Schröder, Ueber deutsche und griechische Personennamen, Verhandlungen d. 46. Versammlung deutscher Philologen und Schulmänner (1901) 34 (Leipzig, 1902).

65 Franz Stark, Die Kosenamen der Germanen, Sitzungsberichte der k. Akademie d. Wissenschaften Wien, philol.-hist. Klasse 52.257 ff., 53.433 ff.

66 Op.cit. 342.

67 Loc.cit.

68 Adalbert Bezzenberger, Die Bildung der altpreussischen Personennamen: ein Versuch ihrer Deutung, Altpreussische Monatsschrift 13.396.

69 Op.cit. 397.

70 A. Leskien, Litauische Personennamen, IF 26.325 ff., 28.390. The quotation is from 26.326.

71 Drevnija douosnovyja ličnyja imena u Litocev: statja pervaja (Old dithematic personal names of the Lithuanians: first part), Živaja Starina 6.32 (1896).

72 District of Telsch.

73 Franz Miklosich, Die Bildung der slavischen Personennamen, Denkschriften d. k. k. Akademie d. Wissenschaften zu Wien, philol.-hist. Klasse 10.215 ff.

74 Fick, op.cit. xc vii.

75 Miklosich, op.cit. 233.

76 Kretschmer, Einleitung 13.

77 Op.cit. 15.