November 14, 2006

Is there a secret meaning to your name? Surnames (last name) can be found there as well. Apparently, my ancestors were not born serfs or slaves. So, what's the secret meaning of your name?

Freeman (given name) = From a surname meaning "free man" in Old English. Freeman (surname) = Referred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf.

posted by drivingmenuts 17 years ago
  • Note to monkeys, et. al.: my name is not Freeman Freeman. That sounds like something from a bad sci-fi novel.
  • Ball: Ba'al Derived from Semitic ba'al meaning "lord" or "possessor"... Point: PONTIUS m Ancient Roman, Biblical Roman family name...itself probably derived from Greek ποντος (pontos) "sea"... Head: HED m & f Jewish Means "echo" in Hebrew. So I spose this means I am Lord of the Sea Echo...or something like that...
  • Meredith means something like "lord of the sea." They don't have my last name (which isn't *too* uncommon, I thought) in the database :(
  • DAMHNAIT f Irish "Damhnait, pick up your socks!" Yeah. Totally using that one if I ever have a daughter.
  • "Victory of the people". Uhm, ok.
  • My full name roughly translates to: "The seagull that flies gracefully over the place where the itchy plants grow."
  • Well, no prizes for guessing the etymology of "Scott." Though I was interested to learn that the word might also have originally been used to mean "tattoo," since, you know, Scots had tattoos. Nothing on my surname, though, which is kind of comical, since anyone with a knowledge of Greek and Latinate roots would know it translates "The Progeny of Whom Are Hung Like Elephants and Possess the Sexual Prowess of All the Gods of Love like Totally Put Together." I mean, it's basic.
  • I'm totally Son of Santa Claus. Where my flying reindeer posse?!?
  • I discovered Greenland.
  • The secret meaning to my Swiss-Italian will probably stay one, even to me. There's only a handful of people with it period. As far as I can tell, we're either from short people or pikemen. (We *are* all short but that's the less likely meaning.)
  • Cool site. I've been using it for years to get names for my stories. (There are Chinese name characters in the database, but not mine, alas)
  • I have a Polish surname that is based on a place (City Name+ski), so nothing spooky there. And my first name is Paul- bibilical name and all that. I wish I was more exciting, but that's pretty much it.
  • Son of the Awesome Protector. (kinda like it.)
  • "Dark lady of truth who lived or worked in the house of a medieval noble." Rock.
  • Woot to HawthorneWingo for the same first name they didn't have my last name though I read somewhere a long while ago that it meant son of the sword.
  • INNES Anglicized form of AONGHUS, - Possibly meaning "one strength" derived from Irish óen "one" and gus "force, strength, energy". Aonghus (sometimes surnamed Mac Og meaning "young son") was the Irish god of love and youth. The name was also borne by an 8th-century Pictish king and several Irish kings. SAUL From the Hebrew name שָׁאוּל (Sha'ul) which meant "asked for" or "prayed for". This was the name of the first king of Israel who ruled just before King David, as told in the Old Testament. Also, Saul was the original name of Saint Paul before his conversion to Christianity. LIN Means either "forest" or "fine jade" in Chinese. CHIMA Means "God knows" in Igbo. InsolentChimp - "A force desired trees or maybe fine jade - god knows..."
  • EACHANN m Scottish, Irish - Means "brown horse" from Gaelic each "horse" and donn "brown".
  • My first name is quite common, but my (spanish) surname wasn't there. Oh well.
  • My name is more or less slender red king, which is odd as I'm a stocky dark peasant.
  • 'small gift from yahweh' - a book token perhaps, or some nice soap. Quote from Alexei Sayle: "In the old days, people were named after what they made. 'Cooper' if they made barrels, 'Milliner' if they made hats, 'Thatcher' if they made people sick"
  • Hmmm.... apparently Young is, "Derived from the Old English word geong, which means "young". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son." Who knew??? I guess that's what i get for having a boring last name...
  • My ancestors were boring too: surname means "grey house."
  • Boring ancestors here too. Surname isn't on the database, but means 'from [insert town name here]'. Only somebody spelled the town name wrong. But given their lives out on the boats, literacy wasn't a big concern.
  • my [rather uncommon and sorta funny] surname is not on there, but I already know what it means. my first name is on there, with a variant I hadn't encountered before.... so something like "Good Woman (or possibly good warrior chick) with round cheeks like a small child or chipmunk-type animal"
  • I've got an exciting surname, meaning "war" and "brave." My days of avoiding conflict are over. Bring on the trolls!
  • One of my friends is "Ruddy Misshapen Head." This shall provide many hours of amusement.