View Message

The name Iñigo and Inigo
There is a wide spread confussion about the name Iñigo in Spain but by any chance Inigo can be English. Much earlier than Inigo Jones lived, this was a common name in the Basque country and in the heart of the castilian territory. There are several Kings in the peninsular kingdoms with that names during the obscure days of the high middle ages.Some people relate Iñigo to the basque Eneko, and others to an antique form of Ignacio in Castile. No agreement.Mr. Jones was probably not from English origin.
vote up1vote down

Replies

I have searched Nerea and found that you say it has an basque origin, well, i disagree, my sister had a daughter and called her nerea because of Nereo, who was a greek god who had 40 daughters called the nereidas.I`m sick of reading everywhere that anyname has a basque origin, no more lies!BASTA YA!
vote up1vote down
Basta ya!?!? What are you talking about? Names have nothing to do with politics. The most likely origin of both names, Nerea and Iñigo, is Basque. In Nerea is evident that has a clear association with the basque language. It was difficult to find Nereas sometime ago outside the basque country, and the probability of finding it outside Spain is even smaller. I am going to find out soon, but my guess is that Nerea name in greece is absolutely absent. Same in Latin-Roman world. I may be wrong. I will be really glad to rectify if you can give me a classic source where a person, not a God, is named Nerea.My guess though is that Nerea is much recent than Eneko, name that is very ancient. There is a trend inventing new names in the Basque country. I could be wrong but I believe Nerea is one of them.

It happens the same with the name Iñigo. So popular in the Basque country much before Saint Ignatius of Loyola came up and made it even more popular. Iñigo is more complex than Nerea since is the Castilian version of Eneko, and somebody could argue that Iñigo came first and then was adopted by some basques who made there Eneko version. The Castilian language was born in an area with an strong basque influence. In some of these regions there was a large percentage of basque speakers, and it should not suprise anybody that people living there eventually shared names and the Castilian language.Javi, I am not preparing the "Aberri Eguna" simply because I highlight the probable basque origin of that name. Your final "Basta ya" stinks... do you think that I go around burning buses? Or Perhaps you think you have stumbled with one of those who thinks that "el Gorbea" is the bloody center of the universe. Whatever you think I consider your post insulting.Regards
vote up1vote down
NereaNerea can be the feminine form or a derivated form of Nereo, a Greek name, but it can be a feminine basque name, coming from the possessive "nere" (mine). The confluence of origins (and meanings) is an usual thing in onomastics.
vote up1vote down