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Home , Given name, Greek name, Middle name, Ou (surname), Patronymic, Patronymic surname

Chapter 9 LEARN ABOUT

Learning more about Greek names will be very helpful to your research

GIVEN NAMES

There is only one way of spelling a Greek  The first daughter is named after the father's given . If it is found with a different mother spelling it means the person who wrote it  The second daughter is named after the made a spelling mistake. mother's mother.  Other children in the are usually named after uncles or other relatives, , friends etc.  A is never named after his father unless the father is deceased at the time the infant is named.  A daughter is never named after the mother unless the mother dies before the daughter is named.

This custom is not necessarily followed in every case but when followed, it can greatly simplify a search for the names of grandparents.

The Konsta brothers with nephew If a child dies young, then another child, born Nikolaos D. Katsakis. Athens 1914 later, would most likely be given the same name.

Naming children Example: If a girl named Vasiliki dies and later A child receives his/her name during , the parents have a new baby girl, they when still infant, some times as young as a most likely will name the new baby few days old. The name is given by the Vasiliki also. But if the new baby is a godfather (or godmother) who choose a boy they may name him Vasilis which is name of a member of his own family or any the male form of that name. other name. If the godfather desires to ask the parent’s preference, then most of the times the If a male infant appears to have little chance parents follow the tradition according which of surviving, he is named Θεόδωρoς the children in a family are named as follows: [Theodoros] meaning God’s gift, or Θεoχάρης [Theoharis], meaning God's grace or God's  The first son is named after the father's will, or Θεoδόσιoς [God given], is given to father. him. If it is a girl, may be called Θεoδώρα  The second son is named after the mother's (female form of Θεόδωρoς). father.

- 119 - Given names indicating place of origin Some times the of the husband is used and other times his surname. Name Place of origin -Γεράσιμoς Kefallinia (island) Example: Gerasimos If the husband's name is Παύλoς -Διoνύσιoς (island) [Paulos], the wife is called Παύλαινα Dionysios (Nionios) [Paulaina]. Or if his surname is Πλατής -Μαρίτσα or Asia Minor [Platis] she may be called Πλατίνα Maritsa [Platina]. -female names mostly Mainland ending in - Variations of given names - names mostly Asia Minor (See variations of above names on Appendix It should also be noted that, for every Greek B p.149). given name, there may exist several variations or which may appear quite Name changes in adulthood different. Richard and Dick is an example of how this occurs in English. However on  Priests some times, upon ordination when records the official name is recorded, not the joining the clergy, would receive a new altered name. Appendix B, p.149, includes a name. Therefore, if his given name were list of common Greek given names showing Σωκράτης [Sokratis], after being ordained their variations and the usual English he might take the name Παύλoς [Paulos] or equivalents. some other 's name. Male given names end in -as, -os, and -is. The ordained person is usually called byhis Female given names end in -a, or -i. Most given (or new) name with the prefix Papa- female names ending in -o are from the [Papa-] indicating his . mainland. There is no given that does not indicate the gender of the person who Example: bears it. However there are names that appear If his name were Σωκράτης Καvάκης in male and female forms. [Sokratis Kanakis ] and his new name were Παύλoς [Paulos] he would be Example: called Παπα-Παύλoς [Papa-Paulos] or Male Female Παπα-Κανάκης [Papa-Kanakis]; but Μάριoς [Marios] Μαρία[Maria] never Σωκράτης [Sokratis] nor Παπα- Γεώργιoς [Georgios] Γεωργία [] Σωκράτης [Papa-Sokratis]. Note that instead of celebrating birth dates  A priest’s wife often is not called by her Greek people celebrate name days. For a list given name but by the name Πρεσβυτέρα of given names, their variations, their English [Presvytera] which is actually a title equivalents, and the dates those names are meaning "the wife of an elder" for it derives celebrated see Appendix B, p.149. from Πρεσβύτερoς [Presvyteros] which means elder) MIDDLE NAMES

 Wives some times are refered to by the do not have middle names. What name of their husbands on which the appears between the given name and the ending -αινα [-aina] or -ινα [-ina] is added. surname is not a ; it is the given

- 120 - name of the person’s father. Grammatically this is the possessive form of the father's name, similar to the -'s used in English. Greek surnames can have various spellings.

Example: For example the name Katsakis [Κατσάκης] in Georgios, the son of Nikolaos Kanakis some records is found spelled Katzakis is: Georgios Nikolaou Kanakis. [Κατζάκης], depending on how the recorder Ioanna, the daughter of Nikolaos Kanakis heard it. Also the name Skavatzos is: Ioanna Nikolaou Kanaki. [Σκαβάτζoς], was found spelled Skavatsos [Σκαβάτσoς], and some times Skavantzos For a married woman the name between her [Σκαβάντζoς]. In one death record it was given name and her new surname is the given stated: “Βαϊρακτιάρη, Χαρίκλεια” name of her husband. Today some women in [Vairaktiari, Harikleia] 95 years old from maintain their maiden name after Athens died 19 Oct 1866. The informant was marriage. her son “Χρήστoς Μπαριακτάρης” [Hristos Mpariaktaris]. Note the different spelling of Upon divorce she receives back her father’s the last name which is the same last name! given name and last name. This is mandatory without any exceptions. History of surnames

The in which the names are written is The Chinese were the first known people to not always the same. The surname may be acquire more than one name. The written first or last, and the father’s (or the Fushi is said to have decreed the use of family husband’s) given name may be in the middle names, or surnames, about 2850 B.C. No one or at the end. was permitted to change his family name A child may be given two “given names.” In except in the event of adoption. The family some records the one given name will be name, placed first, comes from one of the 438 written first, and in another record the other words in the Chinese sacred poem given name will be written first. Po-Chia-Hsing, attributed to the Emperor Yao who reigned about 2350 B.C. The exact date Example: when family names began is shrouded in legend but they clearly came into use over two The baptism record may state: thousand years ago.

Νικόλαoς Ανδρέας Γεωργίoυ Κανάκης The inherited family name is a comparatively Nikolaos Georgiou Kanakis recent development in the . (given names) (father’s) (surname) Although a few ancient Greek identified themselves by an ancestor's name, The recruting record may state: such as Atreides [descendants of ] Danaos [descendants of Dan], the Romans Ανδρέας Νικόλαoς Γεωργίoυ Κανάκης appear to be the first Europeans to make Andreas Nikolaos Georgiou Kanakis regular use of family names. But the custom died out with the collapse of the Roman The name Andreas was placed first because in empire and the introduction of the Greek alphabet the letter “A” is before the which recognized only the baptismal name. letter “N” ).

- 121 - In earlier centuries throughout , one In Greece, the family is a very revered name was usually sufficient. But as institution. Family ties extend far beyond the populations increased it became necessary to immediate family. Family surnames came to distinguish between individuals with the same be applied to these extended families or . name. The problem was usually solved by This practice developed gradually from the adding descriptive information. time of the .

Thus we find John the tailor, John the son of Even after surnames began to be used, a single Nicholas, John the short, or John from Thrace. given name was often all that was ever needed When these "surnames" first came into being or used in everyday village life. Nevertheless, they were applied only to one person and not the Greek custom of naming children after to the whole family. In time, these names their grandparents quickly produced a great became hereditary so that they passed from many individuals in the same community with generation to generation. It is not possible to the same name. Nicknames were used to determine the exact year or even the century distinguish between persons with the same when hereditary family names were taken. In name. These nicknames developed just as the most countries, the process took two or three original surnames had developed; from centuries to become universally established in father's names, occupations, and descriptions. the society. Hereditary names were first used This often resulted in the creation of a new by the nobility and wealthy land owners. surname. If, for example, there were several Later the custom was followed by merchants individuals named Paulos in the Doukas and townspeople and eventually by the family, one might be called Paulos Kontos common village folk. [Paulos the short], another might be called Karapaulos [black-haired Paulos] and another Surnames in the modern sense were used might be called Paulos Raptidis [Paulos the among Byzantine and Venetian nobility about tailor's son]. The children of these individuals the ninth century. From Venice the practice may take the original Doukas surname or the spread to much of Western Europe. By the may become a new surname. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the custom next few generations there may be so many was widely practiced in Britain and . In individuals in the Karapaulos family with the and Poland, the practice was well name Ioannis that the process starts all over established by the fifteenth and sixteenth again. Thus, although hereditary family centuries. In other areas, the process was names were prevalent in Greece quite early, much slower. In Scandinavia, most families the names were not firmly fixed. This used surnames which changed flexibility of surnames was commonplace, with each generation until the late 1800s when especially in villages until the third decade of the government began requiring the usage of the nineteenth century when Greece won her hereditary family names. independence from Turkey. Surnames became much more firmly fixed after that Surnames in Greece time. Nevertheless the adoption of new surnames still occurred occasionally as late as In the Balkan states, the practice of adopting the early 1900s. Do not be surprised, then, if fixed family names developed more slowly. see changes in family surnames in your Four centuries of Turkish rule delayed the research. Some times both the old and new wide-scale adoption of the practice. surname is listed on the records.

- 122 - How are Surnames Formed Leontidis [lion's son] may indicate that the bearer roared like a lion when he was angry or Surnames from most cultures, especially the that he had the courage of a lion. Western world, fall into five main categories; , descriptions, occupations,  From Occupations and foreign terms, and places. Greek surnames are no exception. Occupations are a rich source for surnames in all cultures. It is interesting to note that the  From Father’s Name (patronymics) most common occupational name in most countries, , is seldom seen in Greece. Surnames derived from the father's name are This is because the working of metal was called Patronymics. This type of surname is traditionally considered a Gypsy trade in the most prevalent among Greeks. Such Greece. Examples of occupational surnames names are formed by adding, to the father's include Raptis [tailor], Papoutsis [shoemaker], given name, an ending meaning “son of.” Mylonas [miller], Mylonatos or Mylonopoulos [son of the miller], Karvounis [coal man],  From Personal Characteristics Kapetanidis [son of ship captain], Anagnostopoulos [son of the acolyte, assistant Many surnames in Greece reflect some priest], Sakellariou [son of the Sakellarios, a physical or personality characteristic of the Byzantine ecclesiastical title], Kaffetzis original bearer. In some cases such nickname [coffee house owner], Kaltsis [stockings, surnames refer to some event in the life of the likely refers to one who sold stockings], individual. It is often difficult to figure out Ktenas [comb, refers to one who sold or made what such names actually refer to. Does a them]. The name Karampinos derives from name like Mauros [black] mean that the bearer the word for musket or rifle. This likely refers had black hair, dark complexion, or that he to one who bore arms (in all probability often wore black clothing? Does a name like against the Turks). The Greek tendency for Kaltsis [stockings] mean that the bearer made patronymics gives us the name or sold stockings (see occupations below) or Karampinopoulos [son of a gun], an amusing that he wore colorful stockings or had some name to Americans but quite normal in experience with stockings that earned him the Greece. nickname? Sometimes family traditions can explain the origin of the name, especially if Priests of the Orthodox Church are usually the name was adopted in recent generations. married men with families. Because of the In most cases there is no way of knowing how great esteem with which the Greek people the name originated. regard their priests, it is not surprising that a great many surnames give reference to priestly Some surnames which reflect physical parentage. Surnames beginning with "Papa-" characteristics include: Kontos [short], [priest] are the most numerous in Greece. Spanos [beardless], Spanidis or Spanopoulos [son of the beardless one], Xanthakos [blond], Names such as Papas [priest] and Kokkinis [red], Karas [Turkish for black or Papadopoulos [priest's son] are very common. dark], Karapaulakis [son of dark-haired Paul], Often the given name of the priest is used as a Galanis [blue-eyed], Katsaros [curly], Makris patronymic proceeded by the title "Papa-" [long], Koutsogiorgos [lame George]. Some yielding such names as Papagiannakis [priest names reflect personality traits such as John], Papapaulou, Papandreou, Leventis [brave, honorable], Katsoufis [never Papanikolatos, Papamichelis, Papakontos and cheerful], Markogiannis [clever John], Papakonstantopoulos.

- 123 - Other titles are also seen as prefixes. "Hatzi-" meaning "Let go! Slacken off (the rope)." [Χατζη-] is a title for one who has made a Thus the names Laskos and Laskaridis pilgrimage to the Holy Land and has been indicate a nautical ancestor. "Deli" is Turkish baptized in the River Jordan. for crazy or rash and gives us such names as Deligiannis [crazy John]. The prefix "Dela-," The title "Mastro-" [Μαστρο-] indicates a on the other hand is apparently of Italian skilled master craftsman. These titles produce origin meaning "of the" yielding names like such names as Hatzigiannakis and Delapatridis [of the homeland]. Occasionally Mastrodimitros. a given name is found in its Albanian or Slavic version which might produce a  From Foreign Terms , such as Kolias [Albanian for Nikolaos]. Some Greek names are derived from words of other languages which have had ties with  From Places Greece. Turkish terms are most common but Spanish, Italian, Albanian and Slavic have Localities are only a minor source for Greek also contributed names. This does not mean surnames. If an individual moves to another that a person with a surname that derives from place, then his surname may be replaced by a Turkish word has Turkish ancestry, but the name of his origin. Examples of surnames simply that a Turkish word was modified into of this type are Kritikos [Cretan], a Greek surname. The term may be derived Thessalonikos [of Thessalonika], Souliotis [of from an occupation, personal characteristic, Souli, a region in the mountains of ], nickname or place as discussed above. The Arvanitis [Albanian], and Nisiotis [from the most common surname of Turkish origin is islands]. [Kypros] yields such names Karas [black] which was noted earlier. Paras as Kypraios, Kypraiou, Kypriadis, Kypriotis, [money] is also of Turkish origin and may Kypriotakis, and Kyprizoglou. indicate an occupation such as money changer or merchant or perhaps it was a nickname for someone who acted rich. The surname Lekas probably derives from Turkish "leke" [mark, stain] and indicates the original bearer had a birthmark or other distinguishing mark. Katsakis would appear to be a patronymic from Crete, but actually derives from the Turkish word "kaçak" [fugitive, escapee]. This name was taken by a man who during Turkish rule, after being forcefully drafted by the Turks he deserted the Turkish army, and joined the Greeks who were fighting for their independence.

A number of names that derived from places have Turkish roots; Moraitis [from Morea, Turkish for Peloponnesus], Roumeliotis [from Residents of Hamako, Magnisias, 1905

Rumeli, Turkish for Mainland Greece]. Some places have become so associated with Sailors use many foreign terms. "Laska" is a certain trades or other situations so that it is Turkish word commonly used by sailors, difficult to say whether the name derives from

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the place or the association. Vlahos, or Ending Place of origin Vlahopoulos for example, refers to the Vlach -atos Kefallinia (island) people, a minority ethnic group from the -elis Lesvos (island) Pindos mountains. These people were -ikas traditionally shepherds. Thus Vlahopoulos -akas Thessaly may mean son of a shepherd or son of a -oudis Northern Greece Vlach. Fragkos [French] usually means -idis Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Catholic so that names such as Fragkos or Pontos, and other areas of Turkey Fragkogiannakopoulos refer to a religious -adis Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, rather than ethnic heritage. Pontos, and other areas of Turkey -oglou Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Pontos, and other areas of Turkey

Greek given names are often altered in everyday use. This is not unlike the way Richard becomes Dick in everyday English. The altered name may then be used as a surname; Kostas (from Konstantinos), Thanos (from Athanasios), Mitsos (from Dimitrios). Then an ending, such as -opoulos, may be added to the altered version. An example is the name Thanopoulos [son of Athanasios]. A list of given names and their altered versions is given in Appendix B, p.149.

GRAMMAR AND SURNAMES

Sotirios Moulas, Pelasgia, Fthiotidos, 1910 As briefly explained in chapter 10 grammatical endings can affect all Greek Endings that indicate the place of origin words including the names of people and places. In actual documents, names may have In Greece the endings of surnames vary from grammatical (different) endings depending on area to area, often indicating the place of their usage in a sentence. When you record origin. The ending “-opoulos” is most names on genealogical forms always put them common on surnames in . Thus in the standard form (nominative case). the son of Nicholas would be Thomas Nikolopoulos. The following list shows the The grammatical possessive case of the given endings and possible place of origin. name (an "-ou" ending) is widely used in much of Greece to form the patronymic, Ending Place of origin resulting in names like Grigoriou from Grigorios. -opoulos Peloponnese -akis Crete The “-ou” ending is one of the endings used to -akos Mani (South Peloponnese) form a woman’s surname from a man’s -eas Mani (South Peloponnese) surname. Most surnames have different -ias Mani (South Peloponnese) endings when the bearer is male or female.

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Example: Examples:

Male Female Changeable Endings Κοντός [Kontos] Κοντoύ [Kontou Male Female Κανάκης [Kanakis] Κανάκη [Kanaki] Μίχoς Μίχoυ Τάκoς [Takos] Τάκoυ [Takou] Mihos Mihou

In some cases may be called Καρράς Καρρά Παπαϊωάννoυ [Papaioannou] meaning "of Karras Karra Papaioannis," in which case the surnames of their wives and children (male and female) Πλατής Πλατή would have the same ending. Platis Plati

Some of the most common male endings and Unchangeable Endings their female counterparts are: Male Female male female Παπαvδρέoυ Παπαvδρέoυ Papandreou Papandreou -oς -os becomes -oυ -ou -ας -as becomes -α -a Νικολάου Νικολάου -ες -es becomes -ε -e Nikolaou Nikolaou -ης -is becomes -η or -oυ -i or –ou

(For more about Greek grammar see chapter 10, The Language, p. 127)

Men sitting at the café of the central square of a small Greek town on a Sunday morning, 1932

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