![]() Cyril of Alexandria (died 444), both doctors of the church Κυνθία is an epithet of Athena, not a name, except one instance from Romeġ7, ? 2 nd c. Pseudonym of the Roman poet Propertius’ mistress *Saints Kosmas and Damian, healing saints supposedly martyred in Syria *St Christopher, the patron of travellers (in origin perhaps a martyr of the 3 rd c.)ģ, 5 th or 3 rd c. Repeated use by the Roman poet Horace? or New Testament? (1Cor. The Trojan prophetess Cassandra, and the popularity of Trojan legends in the Middle Ages.Ģ1, ? 2 nd c. The first element is obscure (-andra is from ἀνήρ, ‘man’)ġ8, 1 st c. Anastasia, a victim of the great persecution of 303-4 ADĪn old Greek name applied in the New Testament to Jesus’ first disciple St Andrew, but probably there standing in for a Semitic name of similar sound or meaning Ambrose (Ambrosius, the Latin form), 4 th c. Alexis, popular in Russia, whence the name was introducedġ8, 6th c. *Alexander king of Macedon, via the late antique and mediaeval Alexander romanceġ11, 5 th c. Agatha, martyred at Catania in Sicily during one of the Roman persecutions Alethea, Antigone, Philemon, Theophilus) that have come and gone in English are not included.ĭate of first appearance in English if after 1500 Many other names with Greek origins (e.g. Cynthia and Delia, barely attested as real names in antiquity, only scrape in below. Isadore/Isidora and Angela are names that come from Greek, but only indirectly: Angela derives ultimately from ἄγγελος, 'messenger', from which came the man's name ῎Αγγελος, but was not used as a female name in antiquity Isadore/Isidora is probably a feminine version created in modern times of Isidore, which comes from the common Ἰσίδωρος, 'gift of Isis' via several saints popular in Spain, rather than a direct descendant of the Greek feminine ᾿Ισιδώρα. But names that were created in late Greek as expressions of Christian values are included (Anastasia, Christopher, Gregory). Maria, John (᾿Ιωάννης ) and Thomas are examples of originally Hebrew names appearing in the New Testament that with the spread of Christianity in the Greek-speaking world became naturalized in late Greek and so are included below other such names appear so seldom in Greek that they cannot really count as naturalized and are excluded (e.g. Some 'Greek' names had entered Greek from different sources, most notably the Bible. 2 2002, or (more popular) Inclusions, exclusions and near misses 3 1977, Adrian Room, The Cassell Dictionary of First Names, ed. Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, ed. Where the adoption of a name in England apparently occurred after 1500, that date is noted (precision is hard to achieve earlier). But different names were adopted at very various dates and by various routes (often via French or another European language, and sometimes a further famous bearer of the name) the Reformation in England, for instance, caused a turning away from saints' names towards those attested in the Old and New Testaments. 2, 2002.Ī later column in the table indicates the probable 'springboard' through which the Greek name entered the later name stock. Solin, Die griechischen Personennamen im Rom, 3 vols., ed. Greek names were extraordinarily popular at Rome from the 1st c BC onwards, as is indicated vividly by the added figures given in the form (plus X at Rome), taken from H. The numbers given include instances from volume V B, not yet available on line. The list below gives a modern name, followed by its Greek original and skeleton information about the frequency and dates of occurrence of the Greek name: for fuller information click on the link, which will take you to a listing of attestations and, via the 'place' tab, to a map. Some Greek names, however, entered the European name stock through their use in works of literature. Any name used in a positive context in the New Testament was liable to be taken up. ![]() But since there is no direct historical continuity between Greek and English naming, there is always an intermediate stage, most commonly associated with Christianity: Greek names borne by apostles, martyrs and saints (often in Latinized form) were perpetuated through their cults. A good number of English first names that are still familiar come from the Greek, and appear in their original form in LGPN. ![]()
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