Anyone know this name?
Gentian (pronounced Gent-ee-un) was the name of an Albanian exchange student at my high school. I know that gentian (pronounced jen-shun) is a small flower, but I'm assuming that definition is irrelevent in this case.
Replies
Does anyone know the meaning of the name Dajhia? Thank you.
Post your own message, why don't you? n't
Were they male or female?
Male; sorry, I neglected to mention that... ;-(
From online etymology dictionary http://www.etymonline.com/ :
gentian (the flower)
O.E., from L. gentiana, said by Pliny to be named for Gentius, king of ancient Illyria who discovered its properties. This is likely a folk-etymology, but the word may be Illyrian, since the suffix -an frequently occurs in Illyrian words.
Also it says: Latin gentius is "(well)-born" (in the entry for gingerly).
Aboutnames.com claims the Albanian name is from the Latin root, but the author of that site does not list any sources that I could find. You could contact him to ask - his email is on the site.
http://www.aboutnames.ch/albanian.htm#gnGentian
http://www.aboutnames.ch/contact.htm
- chazda
Thanks so much. I'm sure the links will be a big help. :-D
My father's name is Gentius; he is from the island of St. Lucia, West Indies...He moved to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and I still don't know where it got it from.