Gerenian name

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A Gerenian name consists of one or two ganamene (given names), and one or two zanamene (surnames). It is very common for Gerenians to have two given names, and one surname. Married people sometimes choose to carry both their maiden and their spouse's surnames.

Given names

A person has one or two names given at birth. Giving a child three or more names is not allowed. It is a widely extended custom for newborns to be given two names: one by their father, and one by their mother. (In many cases, both parets agree on which names they will give to the child.)

Ganamene mostly originate from two sources: some are derived from words with specific meanings in Gerenian language, while many others are not of Gerenian etymology, but are Latin or Romance, Greek, Christian or Biblical names, or others.

Common female first names

Name Origin Comments
Adriane Gerenian feminine form of Adrian
Ariene Gerenian feminine form of Arien
Daniele Gerenian feminine form of Daniel
Elena Greek equivalent to Helen
Firense Latin meaning "flourishing, prosperous"
Iren, Irene Greek meaning "peace"
Jane, Žana, Žane Greek equivalent to Joan
Karole French French feminine form of Carolus
Korene Gerenian meaning "strong", female form of Koren
Laura Latin meaning "laurel"
Maria Hebrew
Mariane, Mariîne French French diminutive of Marie (Mary)
Turene Gerenian meaning "lady of fields"
Valentîne Latin
Viktoria Latin equivalent to Victoria

Common male first names

Name Origin Comments
Aleksander Greek equivalent to Alexander
Andres Greek equivalent to Andrew
Arien Gerenian meaning "fighter"
Daniel Hebrew
Frederik Germanic equivalent to Frederick
Ion, Jan Hebrew equivalent to John
Karl Germanic equivalent to Carl
Konstantîn Latin equivalent to Constantin
Leon Greek meaning "lion"
Marîn Gerenian meaning "leader"
Marsel, Marssel Latin Latin diminutive of Marcus
Martîn, Marțîn Latin equivalent to Martin
Peder Greek equivalent to Peter
Rikard Germanic equivalent to Richard
Valentîn Latin

Surnames

Derivation and meaning

Most Gerenian surnames are formed by a root, which can be any word, and a suffix. Suffixes can be categorized according to their meanings:

  • suffixes meaning "belonging to" or "correspondant with" are:
    • -at, a preposition usually translated as "to(wards)". It indicates location;
    • -er, the definite article in Gerenian;
    • -s, a particle that indicates possession;
    • -ers, the combination of the two above suffixes;
    • -es, a suffix used to form adjectives;
    • -în, a preposition used to refer to places. Variations of -în that can be found in Gerenian surnames are -îne, and -an;
    • , the first letter of the word "ŷéer" (when). It connects a family with a time of the year, history, or the time of a major event;
  • created ("artificial") suffixes:
    • -are and -ere, believed to be variations of -er made to sound more "Gerenian", though this assertion is not universally accepted;
    • -au has an uncertain origin, yet is present in many common surnames;
    • -ea comes from Romanian language;
    • -vița was borrowed from Slavic languages, derived from -vić, -ović, -ič, -vič, -ovič, etc, but not with the same meaning.
  • common suffixes without a specific meaning:
    • those ending in -y: -ly, -ny, -ry, and -sy. Formerly written with i, they were replaced with the current y so they did not seem already existent Gerenian words.

The earliest surnames in Gerenian (especially those of the first category) were created as a manner to link families, clans or groups of people with determined places, objects, or activities. For example Mirnat conveys "towards Mirne (a Meeredrian river)", Hedrîn conveys "in/at Hedr", Diriŷ conveys "when [the] journey", etc.

Most common surnames

According to the 2014 census in the Republic of Gerenia, the most common surnames in the country are:

1. Väls
2. Korau
3. Antare
4. Kalat
5. Selîn
6. Turzan
7. Mirnat
8. Merínes
9. Lävers
10. Lines

See also