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ArchivesOld names from my family (with edits)
I want to know the etymology of these names. (Edits are in parentheses)
Females:
Bathshuah - Born 1664 in Massachusetts
Bethiah - Born about 1600 in Providence, Rhode Island
Catone - Born about 1625 in England (her name was either Catherine Catone Surname or Catherine "Catone" Surname)
Civilla - Born about 1685 in Germany
Redigon - Born 1616 in England (immigrant to Massachusetts, parents born in Devonshire. Have also seen this name spelled Radigan and Radijan, and a couple Redigons had alternate names Redgrave and Redigunde.)
Sabra - Born 1674 in New England (Nickname for Sabrina or Sarah? Is the cactus mentioned in the Bible? There are lots of Sabras on rootsweb.)
Sconsolate - Born about 1550 in England
Theodate - Born about 1600 in England
Males:
Alverey - Born 1525 in England (Warwick)
Mounce - Born 1663 to a Swedish family in Pennsylvania (AKA Mans and Mouns - a form of Magnus or Moses?)
Rynold - Full name Rynold Reginald de Wynterwade (!), born before 1066 in France
Tisken - Born 1550 in Germany (full name Tisken an gen Doors, born in NW Germany. He may also have been called Theis and Matthias. I also found unrelated men in the Netherlands and Belgium named Tisken.)
Ziriakus - Born 1661 in Germany
Females:
Bathshuah - Born 1664 in Massachusetts
Bethiah - Born about 1600 in Providence, Rhode Island
Catone - Born about 1625 in England (her name was either Catherine Catone Surname or Catherine "Catone" Surname)
Civilla - Born about 1685 in Germany
Redigon - Born 1616 in England (immigrant to Massachusetts, parents born in Devonshire. Have also seen this name spelled Radigan and Radijan, and a couple Redigons had alternate names Redgrave and Redigunde.)
Sabra - Born 1674 in New England (Nickname for Sabrina or Sarah? Is the cactus mentioned in the Bible? There are lots of Sabras on rootsweb.)
Sconsolate - Born about 1550 in England
Theodate - Born about 1600 in England
Males:
Alverey - Born 1525 in England (Warwick)
Mounce - Born 1663 to a Swedish family in Pennsylvania (AKA Mans and Mouns - a form of Magnus or Moses?)
Rynold - Full name Rynold Reginald de Wynterwade (!), born before 1066 in France
Tisken - Born 1550 in Germany (full name Tisken an gen Doors, born in NW Germany. He may also have been called Theis and Matthias. I also found unrelated men in the Netherlands and Belgium named Tisken.)
Ziriakus - Born 1661 in Germany
This message was edited 9/11/2008, 1:19 AM
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Replies
Mounce is probably Måns if he's Swedish. It's a form of Magnus most commonly used in Skåne, the southern tip of Sweden.
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I found that Radigan is a surname, and according to American Family Name Origins, "Perhaps an altered spelling of the southern French family name Radigon, a diminutive of Radigue, which is of uncertain origin. It is largely confined to Gascony and is perhaps a derivative of Occitan razigar ‘to tear out or uproot’ (Latin eradicare, from radix, genitive radicis); if so, it is presumably a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of cleared land."
Tisken I think is a Dutch nickname for Matthias, as I found that -ken is a diminutive in Dutch.
There were several Sabras on rootsweb with alternate names of Sarah, enough that I think it's probably a nickname for Sarah.
I found an entry on another forum that Alverey was related to Aubrey and Alfred, which would also link it to Avery.
Tisken I think is a Dutch nickname for Matthias, as I found that -ken is a diminutive in Dutch.
There were several Sabras on rootsweb with alternate names of Sarah, enough that I think it's probably a nickname for Sarah.
I found an entry on another forum that Alverey was related to Aubrey and Alfred, which would also link it to Avery.
This message was edited 9/11/2008, 1:21 AM
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Theodate would be an alternative form of Deodata = God-given. At that period, it would probably have sounded like thee-oh-daht or maybe thay-oh-daht. Not thee-oh-dayt, which would be our modern version.
Could Alverey and Avery be the same? That L sound often gets 'lost'. Tisken looks like a dialectal form of Deutschen = German, especially if he was from the South, near Switzerland (where Swiss German is Schweitzer-Tysk, though my spelling might well be off). Ziriakus ... the Z and the C would sound the same, so probably Cyriakos = Kyriakos.
Sabra is fascinating! It's a word in modern Hebrew, used for someone born in Israel, and for the prickly-pear cactus I think, and it used to be the name of an orange liqueur! 'Native-born'. But in 1674?
Sconsolate looks like a word used as a name, like Joy or Dolores. Why the S, though? Disconsolate? Perhaps she cried a lot! Or, if the family had lost a child, she might have been their consolation. Civilla looks very like a word too, and a flattering one.
Caton is a surname, which would make her a very modern-sounding woman. Perhaps a form of Cat(her)ine?
Of course, with these and all old names, you're up against the often erratic spelling of the family, plus the erratic spelling and preconceived ideas of the priest or notary who wrote them down. Makes it difficult; makes it fun!
Could Alverey and Avery be the same? That L sound often gets 'lost'. Tisken looks like a dialectal form of Deutschen = German, especially if he was from the South, near Switzerland (where Swiss German is Schweitzer-Tysk, though my spelling might well be off). Ziriakus ... the Z and the C would sound the same, so probably Cyriakos = Kyriakos.
Sabra is fascinating! It's a word in modern Hebrew, used for someone born in Israel, and for the prickly-pear cactus I think, and it used to be the name of an orange liqueur! 'Native-born'. But in 1674?
Sconsolate looks like a word used as a name, like Joy or Dolores. Why the S, though? Disconsolate? Perhaps she cried a lot! Or, if the family had lost a child, she might have been their consolation. Civilla looks very like a word too, and a flattering one.
Caton is a surname, which would make her a very modern-sounding woman. Perhaps a form of Cat(her)ine?
Of course, with these and all old names, you're up against the often erratic spelling of the family, plus the erratic spelling and preconceived ideas of the priest or notary who wrote them down. Makes it difficult; makes it fun!
1
Tisken looks like a dialectal form of Deutschen = German, especially if he was from the South, near Switzerland (where Swiss German is Schweitzer-Tysk, though my spelling might well be off).
Actually, he was born near the Dutch border in Germany. His full name is Tisken an gen Doors. But that's a good idea, being from Deutschen, or maybe from Dutch? (Dietsen?)
Actually, he was born near the Dutch border in Germany. His full name is Tisken an gen Doors. But that's a good idea, being from Deutschen, or maybe from Dutch? (Dietsen?)
This message was edited 9/10/2008, 12:36 PM
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Bathshua is a Hebrew name meaning "daughter of wealth." It occurs in the Bible (1 Chronicles 3:5).
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