If your
parents named you John, don't be surprised that in France people will call you
Jean. Or if you find yourself in Spain, an abuela (grandmother) may refer to
you as Juan. Women with names like Mariska, Mariah and Mary owe their names to
a Hebrew name. Muhammad, the most popular name in the world, has many different
spellings in different languages. Fascinating, isn't it?
Most of the
given names today originated from Latin, Greek, Hebrew or Arabic names.
Throughout human history, given names have changed from one location to
another. As people moved across lands and over seas due to migration, war or a
multitude of other reasons, they brought with them their given names that came
from their original mother tongues. The locals in their new communities must
have spoken a dialect or language different from theirs. So when their names
were adopted in these new settings, their original given names were changed in
order to fit the local language or dialect better.
The Hebrews were the first peoples to name their children John. In Hebrew form, John is Yohanan or Yochanan. The meaning of this given name in Hebrew is "graced by Yahweh" where Yahweh means God. In the dead language, Latin, John is Ioannes or Iohannes. This was adopted from the Greek name Ioannes.
John was
and still is a very common name around the world. Many Jewish parents named
their sons John in its Hebrew form during the time of the Roman Empire. Its
eventual popularity in Europe came after the Crusades and stemmed from the fact
that Kings, Emperors and Popes often were called John or its equivalent in
their language.
Italians
use Giovanni, Gianni or Gian; Germanic language speakers used Johann, Jan,
Jannis or Hans, Hungarians preferred János, while those who spoke Slavic
languages named their children Honza, Ion, Ivan, Jan, Janez, or Jovan.
Albanians used Gjon or Gjin. Juan was used in Spain while Juo, now João, was
used by the medieval Portuguese.
From the
Old French you have Jehan. This later became Jean, a name that found itself in
the shores of England back in the 11th century when William the Conqueror
invaded England. There was even a time in England that the spelling of John was
Iohn. In Wales, John was Ieuan, Ifan or Ianto. Rendered in English, Ifan became
Evan. Even the Irish had their own versions of John, which were Eoin and Sean.
In Scotland, Iain stood for John.
There are
feminine forms of the masculine given name John. Some of its feminine
equivalent names are: Joan, Joana, Joanna, Johanne, Jana, Hanna, Hana, Ivana,
Ivanka, Yoana, Yoanna, Yoanka, Yanina, Ghjuvanna, Hanne, Juana, Juanita, Janet,
and Janina.
Two of the
most popular Johns are found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible: St. John
the Baptist and John the Apostle. American President John F. Kennedy, nicknamed
Jack, is also a very popular John in today's culture.
Mary
The name
Mary is an English form of the Greek name Maria or Mariam. The Greeks adopted
this name from the Hebrew name Mariam. Some sources have said that Miriam comes
from the Egyptian word "mry" that means beloved or the name Meritamen
or Meri-Amun that means "beloved of the God Amun" in Egyptian. What
does Mary mean? A number of sources attach the meaning "bitter" to
the given name Mary. To the name Mariam, "rebellious" and
"disobedient" are pointed to as possible meanings.
There are
many (too many) variants of the name Mary in different languages. In German you
have Marie, Mareike, Mariele, Marita, Mia and Ria. For French speakers there's
Marie, Marion, Mariette, Marielle, and Marianne. In Arabic there's Mariam and
Maryam. Moira, Maura, and Maureen are Irish, while Maria and Marita are
Spanish. The Maoris have Mere, the Hungarians have Marika, Mariska and Mari,
while the Lithuanians and Macedonians use Marija in place of Mary.
In some
European countries like Italy, Poland, Germany, and in the Southeast Asian
country Philippines, males may include Maria as a middle name.
Who is the
most popular Mary in the world? Mary, the blessed mother of Jesus Christ.
Muhammad
Sources
point to the name Muhammad as the most common given name in the world. It is a
transliteration of an Arabic given name. In Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, the
original spelling is retained. But in Afghanistan and Iran, it is more commonly
spelled as Mohammad, while in North Africa the locals use the spelling
Muhammed. Muhamed is used in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In countries like Albania
and Turkey, the following transliterations are common: Muhammed, Muhammet, Muhamed
and Muhamet.
Latin and
Greek also have their own versions of Muhammad. These are Mahometus and
Moameth, respectively. The Spanish and Catalans say Mahoma while the Galician
version is Mamede. If you go to Russia, you may meet men with names like Mukhammad
or Magomed. In West African countries like Senegal, Mamadou is their version of
Muhamman while in Somalia you have Maxamed. The Kazakhs use Mukhammed.
What does
Muhammad mean? Muhammad originates from the Middle East and is the name of the
prophet of Islam. The name Muhammad means "praised." Another popular
Muhammad is Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay), one of the greatest boxers of all
time.
Different
languages, different names? Not really. Many given names in use today came from
languages that are no longer spoken in daily conversations. Greek and Latin are
common sources of given names. Some given names come from Hebrew. If you are
interested, find out the language of origin of your own given name. And while
you are at it, try to discover the famous (and infamous) people you share your
name with.
Wow! I have never known that! Thank you for sharing!
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