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ArchivesLeofstan . . .
in reply to a message by "Bagpus" (Happy Easter Everyone)
This one is easy - It's Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), leof meaning "dear, agreeable, beloved" (as seen in Leofwine and Leofric) and stan meaning "stone" (as seen in Athelstan and Dunstan).
You could have found that out yourself quite easily, by doing searches for "leof*" and "*stan" on the main page (www.behindthename.com). I don't mind helping you out with these queries, but it would be better if you learned to research the easy ones yourself, and only posted the ones that aren't so easy.
:-)
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
You could have found that out yourself quite easily, by doing searches for "leof*" and "*stan" on the main page (www.behindthename.com). I don't mind helping you out with these queries, but it would be better if you learned to research the easy ones yourself, and only posted the ones that aren't so easy.
:-)
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
1
Replies
Attn:- Chrisell
Hi, thanks for your help. In most cases i know one or other of the elements, but seek conformation of this. As to searching for the individual elements, i can see the logic here, but is there not a danger? whilst you may be able to descern each element this way, it does not confirm that the two elements found will have originated at the same time (obviously meanings change, even over a few decades). Therefore by searching for the complete name, it seems the only way to confirm this? What do you think? regards Bagpus
Hi, thanks for your help. In most cases i know one or other of the elements, but seek conformation of this. As to searching for the individual elements, i can see the logic here, but is there not a danger? whilst you may be able to descern each element this way, it does not confirm that the two elements found will have originated at the same time (obviously meanings change, even over a few decades). Therefore by searching for the complete name, it seems the only way to confirm this? What do you think? regards Bagpus
1
Yes and no. With any other language, I'd be hesitant to search that way, because I don't know the language very well. But with Old English names, you can easily see the elements being put together in different orders and with different elements. My reasoning in this case was based on the wide use of the element stan in other names.
The element stan, meaning "stone", comes with all of the following elements:
æðel, meaning "noble" (as in Aethelstan)
dun, meaning "dark" (as in Dunstan)
ford, meaning "ford" (as in Stanford)
leah, meaning "meadow" or "clearing" (as in Stanley)
thur, meaning "Thor" (as in Thurstan)
wig, meaning "Battle" (as in Wystan)
You also see the later equivalent turning up in Winston, and the Norse equivalent in names such as Eysteinn, Torsten, Halstein etc.
Given that the element stan is so widely used in names (and there are many more place names with the element that haven't become personal names), it seems eminently reasonable that Leofstan is yet another stan compound, particularly as leof itself is an Old English element showing up in several two-element compound names (Leofric and Leofwine again as examples).
Did that all make sense? :-)
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
The element stan, meaning "stone", comes with all of the following elements:
æðel, meaning "noble" (as in Aethelstan)
dun, meaning "dark" (as in Dunstan)
ford, meaning "ford" (as in Stanford)
leah, meaning "meadow" or "clearing" (as in Stanley)
thur, meaning "Thor" (as in Thurstan)
wig, meaning "Battle" (as in Wystan)
You also see the later equivalent turning up in Winston, and the Norse equivalent in names such as Eysteinn, Torsten, Halstein etc.
Given that the element stan is so widely used in names (and there are many more place names with the element that haven't become personal names), it seems eminently reasonable that Leofstan is yet another stan compound, particularly as leof itself is an Old English element showing up in several two-element compound names (Leofric and Leofwine again as examples).
Did that all make sense? :-)
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
1