How wrong is this invented name?
Hi!
For the main character of my story I wanted to put the Germanic elements "is" (ice or iron) and the Old English element "giefu" (gift) together. I would assume you'd end up with Isgiefu, which judging off of Godgifu, would be latinized into Isiva.
How utterly incorrect am I? Am I a shame to the world of name etymology? How would one properly put those two elements together?
Thanks :)
For the main character of my story I wanted to put the Germanic elements "is" (ice or iron) and the Old English element "giefu" (gift) together. I would assume you'd end up with Isgiefu, which judging off of Godgifu, would be latinized into Isiva.
How utterly incorrect am I? Am I a shame to the world of name etymology? How would one properly put those two elements together?
Thanks :)
This message was edited 4/24/2016, 1:02 AM
Replies
Did you already notice this other real name with "giefu" as second element on this site? You may compare the development that this name went through:
Sunniva
Sunniva
This message was edited 4/24/2016, 3:09 AM
Well, of course there is a "name element" page now for this, with even more names to compare to your invented one:
http://www.behindthename.com/element/giefu
http://www.behindthename.com/element/giefu
I think it's imaginable. But I think it depends on when the story is set, and how realistic the setting is. It would be much harder to suspend disbelief about a person named Isiva living in a realistic contemporary world, than it would be to do so for a character in a necessarily fictionalized medieval setting with the name's meaning being relevant to her characterization. If the story is set in medieval times or is fantastic in some way, you're already using a lot of imagination, and the invention wouldn't seem nearly as intrusive and phony as it would if you were to pretend it is a modern name with a contrived etymology. This is just my opinion, of course.
It would be in a fantasy world and all the other characters also have Anglo-Saxon or other Germanic names. I agree, using it in a modern setting would be weird.
Thanks :)
Thanks :)
Continental Germanic names beginning with the "is" element include Isbrand, Isabert, Iseger, Isigildis, Isohard, Hisburg, Isuwarth and others. This element can also be commonly found in the extended form "Isan-". The continental Germanic equivalent of Old English "giefu" was "geba" or "giba". This is not rare as an initial element, but it is very rare as a second element. Förstermann mentions only Thiatgif (Theitkeba in Swabian), and feminine names Ottogeba and Wiligip as examples.
Looking at this from the Anglo-Saxon angle, the element "is" seems to be uncommon. PASE ( http://www.pase.ac.uk/jsp/index.jsp ) lists Isegod, Isulf, Iseweard, Iseard.
I think all this demonstrates is that there are a number of ways this hypothetical name could have been recorded. Maybe Isegifa if Anglo-Saxon and Isegeba if continental?
Looking at this from the Anglo-Saxon angle, the element "is" seems to be uncommon. PASE ( http://www.pase.ac.uk/jsp/index.jsp ) lists Isegod, Isulf, Iseweard, Iseard.
I think all this demonstrates is that there are a number of ways this hypothetical name could have been recorded. Maybe Isegifa if Anglo-Saxon and Isegeba if continental?
The Onomasticon lists Iseldis, Iseweard/Isweard/Isuwarth/Isuuardus/Iseward, Isgaer, Isolf/Isulf, Ishard, Ishere, Ismaer and Isgod. Many may be abbreviations of Isen- rather than representing Is "ice" (dative Ise), but it's impossible to be certain, and Is as a rune name has the pedigree for onomastic use, and the correlates in Frost- (Frostulf) and Hrím- (rime-frost, in Hrimgrim and Hrimweald).
The reduction from ȝiefu/ȝefu (the oblique cases are all ȝiefe/ȝefe) to -iva has two causes, 1: the g/ȝ in OE is actually the voiced palatal fricative /ʝ/, near enough to the approximant /j/ (consonantal i) to be indistinguishable and sharing a common letter in OE. 2: the f represents both the sound of modern f and v; so the change in spelling from -giefu to -iva reflects pronunciation, not just Latinization.
The reduction from ȝiefu/ȝefu (the oblique cases are all ȝiefe/ȝefe) to -iva has two causes, 1: the g/ȝ in OE is actually the voiced palatal fricative /ʝ/, near enough to the approximant /j/ (consonantal i) to be indistinguishable and sharing a common letter in OE. 2: the f represents both the sound of modern f and v; so the change in spelling from -giefu to -iva reflects pronunciation, not just Latinization.
This message was edited 6/6/2016, 10:24 PM