Comments (Meaning / History Only)
I often read the Northman explanation for Norman. However, not so long ago I ran into another explanation which takes the word NOR as a starting point.
In Germanic 'nor' also seemed to mean strong next to being a derivative from north or Nord as in German. Something which is understandable when you know that the Dutch use the word 'nor' as slang for jail.
So I wonder if it might be that there are two explanations for Norman and other names with nor, like Norbert. Maybe the explanation might be connected to the language in which the name is used. In Germanic languages it could mean strong man. Where in Anglo-Saxon language it would mean man from the north.
Another explanation could be that nor, as it meant strong was used for man from the north, as they were seen as strong. That might also explain the strange pronunciation of Norman in English language speakers, which often sounds more like nor men and not nor man.
I even wonder if the word north might have been created with nor or that nor was derived from north, to indicate something strong as you needed to be strong to live in the north.
However, I think the strong man explanation might be a little more logical also if you connect it to Norbert, which would mean strong light, as Bert is derived from the Germanic for bright. Where north bright is not all that logical for a name for a male child. Because Norman as well as Norbert hold a wish and a hope for the child that got the name, which would be logical in a time in which child mortality was high. And maybe it was even just a naming of the strength the child showed at birth, in the form of how it survived childbirth or how strong its grip was once born.
Where Northman would be like giving your child a curse because it was named after people who came to steal and kill.
This wishful thinking in names has all but disappeared in the western world, as we now can appreciate names for their esthetics, because we have lost our awe for language and do not see the need to bless our children hoping it will help them survive. Although you still see something of this wishing behaviour in parents when they name their child after a famous person at the time of birth.
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In Germanic 'nor' also seemed to mean strong next to being a derivative from north or Nord as in German. Something which is understandable when you know that the Dutch use the word 'nor' as slang for jail.
So I wonder if it might be that there are two explanations for Norman and other names with nor, like Norbert. Maybe the explanation might be connected to the language in which the name is used. In Germanic languages it could mean strong man. Where in Anglo-Saxon language it would mean man from the north.
Another explanation could be that nor, as it meant strong was used for man from the north, as they were seen as strong. That might also explain the strange pronunciation of Norman in English language speakers, which often sounds more like nor men and not nor man.
I even wonder if the word north might have been created with nor or that nor was derived from north, to indicate something strong as you needed to be strong to live in the north.
However, I think the strong man explanation might be a little more logical also if you connect it to Norbert, which would mean strong light, as Bert is derived from the Germanic for bright. Where north bright is not all that logical for a name for a male child. Because Norman as well as Norbert hold a wish and a hope for the child that got the name, which would be logical in a time in which child mortality was high. And maybe it was even just a naming of the strength the child showed at birth, in the form of how it survived childbirth or how strong its grip was once born.
Where Northman would be like giving your child a curse because it was named after people who came to steal and kill.
This wishful thinking in names has all but disappeared in the western world, as we now can appreciate names for their esthetics, because we have lost our awe for language and do not see the need to bless our children hoping it will help them survive. Although you still see something of this wishing behaviour in parents when they name their child after a famous person at the time of birth.
2
Norman means Northman. But Nordmann also means Norwegian in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.
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One example is the novel "Norman Leslie" by American author Theodore S. Fay, published in 1835. It was a melodramatic bestseller, infamous for the scathing but hilarious review of it written by Edgar Allen Poe. In the USA at least, "Norman Leslie" probably also had a big influence on the use of Norman as a given name.
A link to Poe's famous review:
https://www.eapoe.org/works/criticsm/slm35f01.htm