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Re: "Ivars" name and surname
in reply to a message by Satu
Thank you very much, Satu!About Ivars as a name, it seems common in Latvia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivars_Godmanis, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivars_Gailis, etc). I think it's not related to the scandinavian Ivars, since it's a first name. About Ivars as a surname, I'm also not sure about a spelling variation of Iversen, but I think I will never be sure on this issue, so it doesn't matter (if someone does know, please post here, since I don't speak nordic languages, I'm from France).Oh, and about Ivor and Ivar, I knew about that, but since this is an English language site, I thought I should put Ivor in priority. And thanks for the site, it is really interesting and useful!Thanks again. :D
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If you are from Franceyour family name probably is not from Scandinavian origin, but from Catalan origin.The Catalan surname Ivars (or Ibars, there are two spellings) come from the place names Ivars d'Urgell and Ivars de Noguera, which come from the Basque root ibar, "valley".In France, as family name it has some spelling variants (Yvars, Ivars, Ibars, Ibarz, Ybars). (http://jeantosti.com/noms/y.htm)
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Hmm, my grandfather always said to me we were descendants from the norsemen who ruled normandy. And then I found this: http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?sId=&s=ivarsBut maybe he was just trying to augment our heritage, I don't know (anymore). Probably I should start a genealogic tree...
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