View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: First name or surname?
in reply to a message by Betty
(Male or female?)
vote up1vote down

Replies

Pordy is the first name. It is on a baptism record in 1805.
vote up1vote down
Perhaps it's short for Portianus (if it's male).
vote up1vote down
Thanks for your response. I assume Pordy was a male. Do you know the origin of Portianus?
vote up1vote down
It is first and foremost the name of a saint. I don't know what it means. I'd guess it derives from 'portere' meaning 'to carry'. This could be consistent with this saint being a slave (i.e. porter?) before becoming a monk.
'A one time slave, he became a monk after gaining his freedom and eventually became the abbot of a monastery in Auvergne, Gaul. He is known to have compelled the Frankish Merovingian king Thierry I of Austrasia into releasing various prisoners from the dungeons.'
vote up1vote down
Thanks for the info on the name. Betty
vote up1vote down