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Erkmute and Marike
does anyone know the origin (& possibly meaning) of these female names?
I found both in my genealogy. Erkmute was born in East Prussia in the mid-1830's and Marike was born in Germany before 1715
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Hi LC,when I read the name Erkmute, I immediately thought of Erdmute, which is an Old German first name meaning "earth" + "mind, courage". I haven't heard of the name Erkmute, but there are several female Old German names beginning with Erk- or Erken- (like Erkamberta, Erkenhild etc.) The "erk"-part of the names means "real, firm", so Erkmute would mean "real, firm" + "mind, courage".Marike is still a quite popular name in the north of Germany and in the Netherlands. It's a Dutch and Low German form of Marie. The "-ke" ending is a diminutive ending, so Marike means "little Marie".Regards, Satu
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wow, fascinating. I guess I should study German.
Now I know what my great grandmother's nickname means. Her name was Anna but her father called her Anke "litle Ann"!
Thanks
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Marike is used in South Africa as well - the more usual diminutive of Marie is Marietjie (ma-REE-kee), and Marika (ma-Rick-a) makes a nice change.
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That makes sense since some of the Dutch settled in South Africa
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