Justinov
Registered User
Well thank you
Everyone feel free to ask if you have any etymological questions!
Strange thing with the modern world is that people nowadays gets their name exclusively based on aesthetics and very few parents base it on etymology!
In former times the meaning of your name "became your identity" or vice versa as people often changed names, if they increased their status. You could also easily get nicknames (good or bad) based on your personality or exploits.
Nicknames are still in use, but less prevalent than in former times (though hockeyfans still use them a lot for the players).
We still wait for an actual guy called "Hockey" in his name (or at least one called Puck) from ambitious parents
.Great nicknames from the sagas:
1) Eysteinn meinfretr
Ey-steinn = Island-Stone.
mein-fretr is a nickname meaning "bad/harmful fart".
- this guy must seriously have loved his cabbage.
2) Þorbjǫrg "Knarrarbringa".
Þorbjǫrg = Thor-"helper" (-bjǫrg is here likely a nomen agentis "helper/rescuer").
knarrar-bringa. [A Knarr is a viking cargo ship, -ar (feminine genitive), "bringa" means breast/chest].
So the nickname means "Cargoship's-breasted". (A woman clearly of some renown).
