All about Emanuel

U.S. actor Edward G. Robinson, né Emanuel Goldenberg, 1893–1973

Emanuel is the Romanian, Scandinavian, German, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, and Croatian form of the Hebrew Imanuel (God is with us). In the Book of Isaiah, this is foretold as the name of the Messiah. Somewhat surprisingly, the name didn’t become popular in the Anglophone world till the 16th century (with the spellings Emmanuel and Immanuel). In continental Europe, it’s always been far more popular.

The variation Emánuel is Hungarian; Emanuël is Dutch; Emanúel is Icelandic; and Émanuél is Kashubian. I’ve really grown to love this name, not least because it was the birth name of one of my favourite male actors of the sound era!

Other forms include:

1. Emmanuel is French and English. The variation Emmanúel is Icelandic, and Emmanuël is Dutch.

2. Immanuel is German and English. The variation Immanúel is Icelandic, and Immanuël is Dutch.

3. Emmanuil is Russian. One of the nicknames is Emik.

4. Emmanouil is Greek.

5. Emanuil is Bulgarian. This is also a rare Croatian and Romanian variant.

6. Emanoil is Romanian.

7. Imanol is Basque.

8. Manu is Finnish.

9. Emanuele is Italian.

10. Manuel is Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, German, and English.

Greek aviation pioneer Emmanouil Argyropoulos, 1889–1913

11. Manoel is Brazilian–Portuguese.

12. Manel is Catalan.

13. Emanuels is Latvian.

14. Emaneulu is Samoan.

15. Emanuelis is Lithuanian.

16. Emmanwel is Maltese.

17. Manvel is Armenian.

18. Manyl is Mari, a Uralic language spoken in Russia.

19. Amaniu is Gascon.

20. Ammanuel is Ethiopian.

Russian politician Emmanuil Aleksandrovich Vatatsi, 1856–1920

Female forms:

1. Emanuela is Italian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, and Croatian; Émanuela is Kashubian; and Emanuéla is Hungarian.

2. Emmanuelle is French.

3. Manoela is Brazilian–Portuguese.

4. Manuela is Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, German, Galician, Slovenian, and Croatian. The variation Manuéla is Hungarian.

5. Immanuelle is Filipino.

6. Emmanuella is English.

7. Enmanuela is Galician.

8. Emmanuele is French.

9. Emmanuela is a rare Italian and modern Greek form.

10. Emmanouella, or Emmanouela, is Greek.

Gracious and dear Slavic names

Another fairly common root in Slavic names is milu/mil (dear, gracious). In comparison to the warlike meanings of many Germanic and Old Norse names, Slavic names often invoke things like love, peace, flowers, and dearness.

As might be expected, many of the female names have the nickname Mila.

Female:

Bohumila (Czech, Slovak), Bogumiła (Polish): Favoured by God.

Jarmila is Czech and Slovak. The first half of the name comes from Slavic root yaru (energetic, fierce). One of the nicknames is Jaruška.

Krasomila (Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian): Gracious/dear beauty.

Lyudmila (Russian, Bulgarian), Ludmiła (Polish), Lyudmyla (Ukrainian, Belarusian), Ludmila (Czech), Ľudmila (Slovak), Lidmila (Czech): Favour of the people.

Milada is Czech, Slovak, and Russian.

Milava is Serbian and Croatian. This name is very rare today.

Milena is Russian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovenian, Polish, Slovak, Bulgarian, Czech, and Croatian.

Mileva is Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Czech, and Slovak.

Miljana is Serbian.

Milodarka means “precious gift” in Serbian.

Miloslava means “gracious/dear glory” in Czech and Slovak. This was also a Medieval Slavic name.

Milota is Slovak.

Radomila (Czech), Radomiła (Polish), Radmila (Czech, Serbian): Happy/willing and dear/precious. This was also a Medieval Slavic name.

Svemila means “dear to all” in Serbian and Croatian.

Vlastimila means “gracious/dear sovereignty” in Czech and Slovak.

Male:

Błogomił means “dear and blessed” in Polish.

Bogumił (Polish), Bogomil (Bulgarian, Macedonian), Bohumil (Czech, Slovak): Favoured by God.

Bratumił means “dear/gracious brother” in Polish.

Čedomil means “gracious/dear child” in Croatian.

Dalimil means “dear/gracious distance” in Czech and Slovak.

Długomił means “long and dear” in Polish. Though I love most Polish names, these seem like really strange roots to put together in the same name!

Dobromil means “good and gracious/dear” in Czech. This was also a Medieval Slavic name.

Drogomił means “precious and gracious” in Polish.

Drogomysł means “precious thought” in Polish.

Jarmil is Czech. The first half of the name comes from Slavic root yaru (energetic, fierce).

Ładzimił means “lovely and dear” in Polish.

Ludomił means “dear people” in Polish.

Milan is Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, and Croatian.

Miłobor means “gracious battle” in Polish.

Miłogost means “gracious/dear guest” in Polish.

Miloje is Serbian. It was originally a nickname only, but is now given as a full name in its own right.

Miomir, or Milomir, means “gracious/dear peace” and “gracious/dear world” in Serbian. The Polish form is Miłomir.

Milorad (Serbian, Croatian), Miłorad (Polish): Gracious/dear and happy/willing.

Miloš (Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Croatian), Miłosz (Polish) was originally a nickname only, but is now given as a full name in its own right.

Miloslav means “gracious/dear glory” in Czech and Slovak. This was also a Medieval Slavic name.

Milutin is Serbian and Croatian.

Miodrag means “dear and precious” in Serbian and Croatian.

Nowomił means “dear novelty” in Polish.

Radomil (Czech), Radmilo (Serbian), Radomił (Polish): Happy/willing and dear/precious. This was also a Medieval Slavic name.

Robomił means “dear work” in Polish.

Rodomił means “dear family” in Polish.

Sławomił means “gracious glory” in Polish.

Tihomil means “quiet and gracious/dear” in Croatian.

Tugomil means “strong/mighty/potent and dear/precious” in Croatian. This is a rare name.

Vlastimil means “gracious/dear sovereignty” in Czech and Slovak.

Witomił means “dear/gracious master” in Polish.

Wszemił means “always gracious” in Polish.

Zbawimił means “to save/redeem graciously” in Polish.

Żywomił means “alive and dear” in Polish.

The many forms of Martin

To mark Martin Luther King Day, I thought it’d be fitting to do a post spotlighting this incredible hero’s name.

Martin comes from the Latin Martinus, which in turn derives from Martis, the genitive case of Mars. The Roman god Mars was copied from the Greek god Ares, the god of war. Mars may derive from the Latin word mas (male). Very fitting, given that the astrological glyph for Mars is the same as the symbol for male!

St. Martin of Tours, a fourth century bishop, is France’s patron saint. One of many legends about him depicts him as ripping his cloak in half to warm a freezing beggar during winter. Because he was such a beloved saint during the Middle Ages, his name became popular across Christendom. Theologian Martin Luther later added to the name’s popularity.

Statue of Mars at Rome’s Capitoline Museums, Copyright Andrea Puggioni

Martin is used in English, French, German, the Scandinavian languages, Finnish, Macedonian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Estonian, and Croatian. The variant Martín is Spanish, and Martîn is Norman.

In the U.S., Martin was Top 100 from 1880–1970. To date, its highest rank was #44 in 1880. In 2018, it was #272. It also enjoys popularity in Galicia (#2), Spain (#3), the Czech Republic (#13 in 2016), France (#24), Norway (#25), Slovenia (#36), Hungary (#38), Catalonia (#41), Belgium (#73), Ireland (#79), and Switzerland (#82).

Polish historian, diplomat, and cartographer Marcin Kromer (1512–89), painted by unknown 1688–1703

Other forms of Martin include:

1. Martim is Portuguese.

2. Martyn is Welsh, Ukrainian, and Manx. This is also a Russian variation.

3. Marcin is Polish.

4. Márton is Hungarian.

5. Martti is Finnish.

6. Máirtín is Irish. Without accents, Mairtin is Scottish.

7. Martynas is Lithuanian.

8. Martino is Italian.

9. Mattin is Basque. The nickname is Matxin.

10. Morten is Danish and Norwegian.

Self-portrait (1553) of Dutch painter Maarten van Heemskerck, 1498–1574

11. Martí is Catalan.

12. Maarten is Dutch.

13. Martijn is also Dutch.

14. Mārtiņš is Latvian.

15. Mārcis is also Latvian. It started as a nickname for Mārtiņš, but is now used as a given name in its own right.

16. Mårten is Swedish. The variant Marten is Dutch.

17. Màrtainn is Scottish Gaelic.

18. Martèin is Emilian-Romagnol, a Gallo-Italic language spoken in northern Italy.

19. Martiño is Galician.

20. Martinos is a rare Greek form.

Hungarian actor Márton Rátkai, 1881–1951

21. Martinu is Corsican.

22. Marttiin is Finnish.

23. Marzhin is Breton.

24. Mātene is Maori.

25. Měrćin is Sorbian.

26. Mieta is Vilamovian.

27. Môrcën is Kashubian.

28. Martinian is an English, Russian, and Ukrainian form of Latin name Martinianus, which derives from Martinus, the original Latin form of the name. Martinus is also the official Dutch form, though almost no Dutch people use Latin forms of their names outside of legal documents.

29. Martiniano is Spanish and Italian.

30. Martinien is French.

Roman Emperor Martinian (Sextus Marcius Martinianus), ?–325

31. Martinijan is Serbian and Croatian.

32. Martynian is Polish.

Female forms:

1. Martina is English, German, Italian, Catalan, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovenian, Swedish, Czech, Slovak, Aragonese, Gascon, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Russian, and Croatian. The name is #2 in Catalonia, #3 in Spain, and #4 in Galicia. In Icelandic, it’s Martína.

2. Martine is French, Dutch, Danish, and Norwegian.

3. Martyna is Polish.

4. Martinha is Portuguese.

5. Martixa is Basque.

6. Martyne is Québecois.

7. Martien is Dutch. This can also be a male name.

Candied names

Everyone knows the English name Candy (which doesn’t exactly have the greatest onomastic reputation), but there are a number of other names whose meaning relates to the word “candy.” People who don’t like the scary aspect of Halloween can surely appreciate delicious candy!

Unless otherwise noted, all these names are female. This list also includes words which mean “candy” in other languages, words which sound like real names. As always, these names could be used for pets, dolls, stuffed animals, or fictional characters, not just human babies.

Alewa is Hausa.

Ame (U) can mean “candy” in Japanese.

Amena can mean “candy apple tree” in Japanese.

Caramella is Italian.

Caramelle is Corsican.

Caramelo (M) is Spanish.

Dulce means “candy” or “sweet” in Spanish and Portuguese.

Kandaĵa means “made of candy” in Esperanto.

Karamela is Greek.

Karamele is Albanian.

Karamelli is Finnish.

Kendi is Cebuano, Filipino, and Gujarati.

Keremela is Amharic.

Khandav (M) means “sugar candy” (among other things) in Sanskrit, Hindi, and the other Indian languages. This is also the name of a sacred forest in Hindu mythohistory. The female form is Khandavi.

Labshakar derives from the Uzbek words lab (mouth, lip) and shakar (candy, sweets, sugar).

Lole is Hawaiian and Samoan.

Mayshakar comes from Uzbek words may (wine) and shakar.

Meva means “candy, sweets, fruits” in Uzbek.

Mevagul derives from Uzbek words meva and gul (flower, rose).

Miako can mean “candy child” in Japanese when this is used as a unisex name.

Michari is Bengali.

Mohishakar comes from Uzbek words moh (mouth, Moon) and shakar.

Nammi is Icelandic.

Oyshakar derives from Uzbek words oy (Moon) and shakar.

Permen is Indonesian and Javanese. This reminds me of male Serbian, Russian, Georgian, and Croatian name Parmen, which derives from Greek Parmenas (to stand fast).

Qurbonshakar comes from Uzbek words qurbon (religious offering, oblation) and shakar. The first element bears a strong resemblance to the Hebrew word for the same concept, chorban. This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed unexpected similarities between these languages from two entirely different families.

Şêranî (Sher-ahn-ee) is Kurdish.

Xolshakar derives from Uzbek words xol (beauty mark, mole, dot) and shakar.

Masked names

Continuing the Halloween theme for October, here are some names related to the word “mask.” Almost all of them are Ancient Germanic or Old Norse in origin, and thus not so realistic for a modern, real person. Unless otherwise specified, all these names are male.

Adalgrim means “noble mask,” from Old High German adal (noble) and Old Norse grîma (mask).

Aldgrim means “old mask,” from Gothic alds and Old High German alt (old) and Old Norse grîma. This name may also be an alternate form of Adalgrim.

Alfgrim is a Middle English and German name meaning “elf mask,” from roots alf and grim.

Arngrímr comes from Old Norse ǫrn (eagle) and grímr (person wearing a mask).

Ásgrímr comes from Old Norse áss (god) and grímr.

Aurgrímnir comes from Old Norse aur (clay, sand) and grímr or grimmr (grim). This is the name of a jötunn, a type of otherworldly creature in Norse mythology.

Auðgrímr comes from Old Norse auðr (riches, fortune, prosperity) and grímr.

Biligrim comes from Ancient Germanic bili (gentleness) and Old Norse grímr.

Ebergrim comes from Old High German ebur (wild boar) and Old Norse gríma (mask).

Edlgrímr comes from Old Norse eldr (fire) and gríma.

Frotgrim comes from Old High German frôd (cautious, prudent) and Old Norse gríma.

Grímr is the Anglo–Saxon, Old Swedish, Old Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish form of Grímr (mask, helmet), which was popular till the 12th century. This is also another name for the god Odin.

Grimbald comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German bald (brave, bold).

Grimbert comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German beraht (bright).

Grimburg comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German burg (fortress), or Gothic bairgan and Old High German bergan (to preserve, save, keep).

Grimfrid comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German fridu (peace).

Grimhard comes from Old Norse grîma, and Gothic hardus and Old High German hart (hardy, brave).

Grímheiður is Icelandic, derived from roots grímr (person wearing a mask) and heiðr (bright, cloudless, clear).

Grimland comes from Old Norse grîma and land (land).

Grímr means “masked person” or “shape-changer” in Old Norse, from gríma (mask, helmet). Since this was also a name for Odin, it may have been given to human boys in the hopes they’d walk through life with Odin’s protection.

Grimulf comes from Old Norse grîma and Gothic vulfs (wolf).

Grímúlfur is an Icelandic name derived from Old Norse grim (mask, helmet) and ulfr (wolf).

Grimward comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German wart (guard).

Grimwald derives from Ancient Germanic grim (mask) and walk (power, ruler, leader).

Hadegrim comes from Old High German hadu (battle) and Old Norse grîma.

Hafgrímr comes from Old Norse haf (ocean, sea) and grímr (person wearing a mask).

Hallgrímr comes from Old Norse elements hallr (rock) and grîma.

Hardgrim comes from Gothic hardus and Old High German hart (brave, hardy), and Old Norse grîma.

Hildegrim comes from Old Norse hildr (battle) and grîma.

Hildigrímr comes from Old Norse hildr and grímr (person wearing a mask).

Hólmgrímr is an Icelandic name formed from holmr (small island) and grímr.

Hrafngrímur is an Icelandic name derived from Old Norse hrafn (raven) and grim (mask, helmet).

Isangrim comes from Ancient Germanic isan (iron) and Old Norse grîma.

Isgrim comes from Ancient Germanic îs (ice) and Old Norse grîma.

Járngrímur is an Icelandic name formed from jarn (iron) and grímr.

Jógrímr comes from Old Norse iór (horse) and grímr.

Kolgrímur is Icelandic and Faroese, derived from Old Norse kolr (black, coal, dark) and grim (mask, helmet).

Kriemhild (F) derives from Ancient Germanic grim and hild (battle). This name is famous as a character in the Nibelungenleid saga.

Landgrim comes from Ancient Germanic land and Old Norse grîma.

Liutgrim comes from Old High German liut (people) and Old Norse grîma.

Madalgrim comes from Gothic mathi (meeting place) and Old Norse grîma.

Margrímur is an Icelandic name derived from marr (ocean, sea, lake) and grímr (person wearing a mask).

Menkao (F) can be derived from Japanese elements men (mask) and kao (face).

Moye derives from Chinese elements mo (mask) and ye (deed, job, occupation, karma).

Radgrim comes from Old High German rât (counsel) and Old Norse grîma.

Rotgrim comes from Ancient Germanic hróthi (fame) and Old Norse grîma.

Sigurgrímur is an Icelandic name formed from sigr (victory) and grímr.

Skallagrímr comes from Old Norse skalli (bald head) and grímr.

Stafngrímr derives from Ancient Germanic stafn (stern/prow of a ship) and grímr.

Steingrímur is an Icelandic name derived from Old Norse steinn (stone) and grímr.

Tegrimo may be a nickname for Teudegrimo, the Italian form of an Ancient Germanic name derived from þeud (people) and grim.

Thancgrim comes from Ancient Germanic thanc and Old High German dankjan (to think) or dank (thanks), and Old Norse grîma.

Theudegrim comes from Ancient Germanic þeud and Old Norse grîma.

Þórgrímr comes from Thor/Þórr (thunder) and grímr. The modern Norwegian form is Torgrim.

Víggrímur is a Faroese name derived from víg (battle, fight) and grímr.

Walagrim comes from Old High German walah (traveller, wanderer, foreigner) and Old Norse grîma.

Waldgrim derives from Gothic valdan (to reign) and Old Norse grîma.

Wilgrim comes from Gothic vilja (desire, will) and Old Norse grîma.