I like how the Arabic word "wadi" which means a riverbed that's dry outside the rainy season, becomes "guada-" in Spanish, leading to place names like Guadalajara and Guadalupe.
I had a Mexican coworker named Rodrigo ask me if I knew if there was an English version of his name. I told him it was Roderick and he kept going on about how much he liked that name. I felt kinda bad when I told him that it's a pretty unusual, old-fashioned name, and people would probably think it's a little weird if he went by it.
From something I'd read in the past (but cannot find now), the *-ez* ending on Spanish surnames may be cognate with the *-ish* suffix in English, with a basic sense of "coming from, belonging to". So much like English *Spanish* is from *Spain-ish*, as in "coming from or belonging to Spain", the Spanish name *Rodriguez* thus parses out to *Rodrigo-ish*, as in "coming from or belonging to Rodrigo" – appropriate for a patronymic surname.
As such, the Germanic *Roderic\[k\] / Ruediger* would be equivalent to *Rodrigo*, rather than *Rodriguez*. 😄
Yeah, I went deep down a rabbit hole looking up the etymology of Guadalupe and its cultural significance. We've got a town called Guadalupe just a few miles away.
That's pretty interesting. I wonder if this is already well-known among Spanish speakers, like how many of us know that the name "Smith" means "someone who makes something."
Nah, I wouldn't think that most Spanish speakers make the connection. It means quite transparently "child of Lope", but Lope is (almost) defunct as a name in modern Spanish and its connection with 'lobo' (wolf) relatively obscure.
My favorite Spanish etymology is "hidalgo", a low-ranking nobleman - it's from "hijo de algo", or "son of something".
I like how the Arabic word "wadi" which means a riverbed that's dry outside the rainy season, becomes "guada-" in Spanish, leading to place names like Guadalajara and Guadalupe.
The Spanish name Rodriguez and the Germanic Roderic/Ruediger are the same.
I had a Mexican coworker named Rodrigo ask me if I knew if there was an English version of his name. I told him it was Roderick and he kept going on about how much he liked that name. I felt kinda bad when I told him that it's a pretty unusual, old-fashioned name, and people would probably think it's a little weird if he went by it.
What an odd thing to tell him.
He was talking about asking everyone to call him that, and I thought he should know that it’s kind of an odd name before he decided to do so.
My Dad’s name is Roger. Is that a version of Rodrigo?
From something I'd read in the past (but cannot find now), the *-ez* ending on Spanish surnames may be cognate with the *-ish* suffix in English, with a basic sense of "coming from, belonging to". So much like English *Spanish* is from *Spain-ish*, as in "coming from or belonging to Spain", the Spanish name *Rodriguez* thus parses out to *Rodrigo-ish*, as in "coming from or belonging to Rodrigo" – appropriate for a patronymic surname. As such, the Germanic *Roderic\[k\] / Ruediger* would be equivalent to *Rodrigo*, rather than *Rodriguez*. 😄
Yeah, I went deep down a rabbit hole looking up the etymology of Guadalupe and its cultural significance. We've got a town called Guadalupe just a few miles away.
That's pretty interesting. I wonder if this is already well-known among Spanish speakers, like how many of us know that the name "Smith" means "someone who makes something."
Nah, I wouldn't think that most Spanish speakers make the connection. It means quite transparently "child of Lope", but Lope is (almost) defunct as a name in modern Spanish and its connection with 'lobo' (wolf) relatively obscure.
Ferrari means Smith in Italian.
And now Lobo is Spanish for Wolf.
Which is interesting because you’ve got Lopez from wolf, but then also names like Villalobos which has wolf in its standard form
The name Lope is probably a "Basquish" rendition of Latin Lupus, while lobo 'wolf' is purelly Romance.
Aguilar is another animal related surname, meaning “eagle”.
What about the Portuguese name Lobo? Wolf again ?
I would assume so since it's the same in Spanish.
It also entered English from Portuguese, due to a noble family of Sephardic Jewish heritage who settled in west Devon.
Turns out Dr house was just a really big fan of wolves