Paul
If Adrian stems from Latin - Adrianus or Hadrianus meaning the man from Adria, an northern Italian town that gave its name to the Adriatic Sea. But what is meaning of Adria?, is it from the Ilyrian word Adur meaning water, sea?. this would seem likely, Whilst the town is no longer on the coast and is now about 5 miles inland, it was once a seaport. However, i have seen the root of adria quoted as being from ater meaning black?Thoughts?
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And a little moreIn my Italian name book I found a little more on ADRIANO:All about the meaning of the name – that originally indicated someone from that city – is uncertain, although many connect Hadria to Latin ater, atra, atrum, which can have various meanings depending on the case: “dark,” “dismal,” “gloomy,” “stormy.” So Adriano could be “one who is hard to get on with,” or else “he who bears misfortune”: in fact in ancient Rome the so-called “dies atri” were the “ill-fated or gloomy days.” (Marina Cepeda Fuentes and Stefano Cattabiani: Dizzionario dei nomi, Roma 1992)As Italian is not a language I really know at all, here is the original:
Quanto al signficato del nome – che inizialmente indicava chi era di quelle città – è incerto, sebbene molti colleghino Hadria al latino ater, atra, atrum che a vari significati secondo i casi: “oscuro”, “funesto”, “lugubre”, burrascoso”. Siccé Adriano potrebbe essere “colui difficile ad interdersi”, oppure “colui que porta sventura”: infatti nell’antica Roma i cosiddetti dies atri erano “i giorni malaugurati o funesti”.
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Good question. First of all: I found that the Adriatic Sea got its name from a different town with the same name as the one, Hadrianus derives from. "According to ancient tradition, the byname of Emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus goes back to the place of origin of his parents, Hadria, Atri today, Province of Teramo (not Adria south of Venice)." (Rosa and Volker Kohlheim, Das Große Vornamenbuch, Mannheim 2003)Very little did I find about the origin of the name of either town. Der Kleine Pauly, Lexikon der Antike, München 1979 has (obviously referring to Hadria in central Italy: "Latinic settlement (colony), 6 m from the shore, founded 298 BC, with an insignificant port by the same name. On coins there is the name HAT, which goes well with Stephanos Byzantinos' ATRIA, he claims it was founded by a man called Diomedes whose real name was AITHRIA." In Greek, AITRIA means "bright sky."
Der Kleine Pauly also confirms that the Adriatic Sea has its name from ATRIA near Venice, but it does not give a meaning.
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Just to say Thanks, every little bit helps Guys. nm
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