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I'm looking into the origin of my friend's name, Coryan. He was named after a deceased family friend of Romani descent, so I'm assuming the name has Slavic or Middle Eastern roots. It may have been a nickname.
I've found the names Goryan and Goryana, which may be cognates, listed for June 22 on a Bulgarian name day calendar, but I can't find their definition/origin online.
To summarise: Coryan, male, Romani origin, possibly nickname
I've found the names Goryan and Goryana, which may be cognates, listed for June 22 on a Bulgarian name day calendar, but I can't find their definition/origin online.
To summarise: Coryan, male, Romani origin, possibly nickname
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Replies
How is it pronounced?
And do you know what country/countries the Romani friend's family were living in?
It makes a difference because this probably isn't a strictly Romani name. There's no "c" in Romani except when it's "ch", though sometimes a "c" is written to mean a sound like "ts".
There are also no obvious root words or diminutives here, which Romani names have if they aren't the Romani form of a name from another language.
Goryan is an Indian last name (and some places in India have this name too) so it's possible the two are connected.
And do you know what country/countries the Romani friend's family were living in?
It makes a difference because this probably isn't a strictly Romani name. There's no "c" in Romani except when it's "ch", though sometimes a "c" is written to mean a sound like "ts".
There are also no obvious root words or diminutives here, which Romani names have if they aren't the Romani form of a name from another language.
Goryan is an Indian last name (and some places in India have this name too) so it's possible the two are connected.
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My friend and his parents pronounce it with a hard C, much like 'coriander' (as Sabertooth noted), so it probably is a borrowed word, as you said. His family is uncertain about the original Coryan's background, but I'll drop my friend a line and see what I can glean.
My cursory search suggests Goryan means 'woodsman' in Bulgarian, and was formerly a popular peasant's name. Whether it or an Indian analogue were used by the Romani is uncertain.
Thanks for your response; I was having a hard time with the basics of Romani names.
My cursory search suggests Goryan means 'woodsman' in Bulgarian, and was formerly a popular peasant's name. Whether it or an Indian analogue were used by the Romani is uncertain.
Thanks for your response; I was having a hard time with the basics of Romani names.
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So it sounds almost exactly like Korean?
With a hard C (K) the name Kor-yan with the Y sounding like the Y in yellow is phonetically possible in Romani, but it still has no obvious root words.
If it does come from Goryan it's possible it was deliberately changed to avoid the association with the word "gor" (which means the outer edge or boarder-line of something) combined with Yan which often used as a nickname for "Yanoro".
Really I'm just guessing though! I hope you find what you're looking for :)
With a hard C (K) the name Kor-yan with the Y sounding like the Y in yellow is phonetically possible in Romani, but it still has no obvious root words.
If it does come from Goryan it's possible it was deliberately changed to avoid the association with the word "gor" (which means the outer edge or boarder-line of something) combined with Yan which often used as a nickname for "Yanoro".
Really I'm just guessing though! I hope you find what you're looking for :)
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I see similarities between this name and the etymology of CORIANDER.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander#Etymology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander#Etymology
This message was edited 9/28/2014, 5:26 AM
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Apparently he was teased mercilessly with the name Coriander in school. However, he was fairly certain that Coryan had near-Eastern, rather than Latin, roots. Or maybe he didn't want to admit that he was named after a shrub.
Thanks for the thought though.
Thanks for the thought though.
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