What's In A Name? Michael, Michelle, Alan
"Michael" goes back to Hebrew "Mikhael" (transliterated from Hebrew) , and means "who is like God?," in a question form. Greek borrowed the name from Hebrew as "Mikhael" (transliterated from Greek), and Latin took it as "Michael." "Michelle/Michele" are just feminine forms of "Michael," and they came to English via French "Michel."
While far from a certainty, Alan and its main spelling variations, Allen and Allan, "may" go back to the name of an ancient group of people, the Alans, who came from the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo European. At least some of the Alans settled in Gaul, including in Brittany. Gaul was the area of western Europe which generally later became France. Brittany, whose inhabitants are called "Bretons," * is important, because it is highly likely the name "Alan" was carried to England by Bretons who came after the Normans invaded in 1066. The name then spread into Scotland and Ireland.
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.
* Breton is a Celtic language, and Celtic dialects were spoken in much of Gaul and Britain long ago. Breton is closely related to Welsh and Cornish, as well as Irish and Scots Gaelic, and Manx (from the Isle of Man).
WORD HISTORY:
Angel-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but Greek had "angelos" (transliterated from Greek), which meant "messenger," but which later took on the religious meaning as translations from Hebrew biblical texts for "messenger of God, God's messenger." Latin borrowed the term as "angelus," and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) borrowed a form as "engel." The spelling change to "angel" with the "j" like pronunciation of the "g" came from the influence of French "angele" (derived from Latin), carried to England by the Normans, but the process "seems" to have taken some time, and the old spelling and pronunciation persisted into the 1400s. The French form was from Latin. The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German Saxon "Engel," West Frisian "ingel," Dutch, Norwegian and Danish "engel," Icelandic "engill," Swedish "ängel."
While far from a certainty, Alan and its main spelling variations, Allen and Allan, "may" go back to the name of an ancient group of people, the Alans, who came from the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo European. At least some of the Alans settled in Gaul, including in Brittany. Gaul was the area of western Europe which generally later became France. Brittany, whose inhabitants are called "Bretons," * is important, because it is highly likely the name "Alan" was carried to England by Bretons who came after the Normans invaded in 1066. The name then spread into Scotland and Ireland.
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.
* Breton is a Celtic language, and Celtic dialects were spoken in much of Gaul and Britain long ago. Breton is closely related to Welsh and Cornish, as well as Irish and Scots Gaelic, and Manx (from the Isle of Man).
WORD HISTORY:
Angel-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but Greek had "angelos" (transliterated from Greek), which meant "messenger," but which later took on the religious meaning as translations from Hebrew biblical texts for "messenger of God, God's messenger." Latin borrowed the term as "angelus," and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) borrowed a form as "engel." The spelling change to "angel" with the "j" like pronunciation of the "g" came from the influence of French "angele" (derived from Latin), carried to England by the Normans, but the process "seems" to have taken some time, and the old spelling and pronunciation persisted into the 1400s. The French form was from Latin. The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German Saxon "Engel," West Frisian "ingel," Dutch, Norwegian and Danish "engel," Icelandic "engill," Swedish "ängel."
Labels: Breton, English, etymology, Germanic languages, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, names, the Alans
posted by Randy at 12:24 PM
4 Comments:
Right, and the french spelling is Alain. Etymologically, the name means "handsome"
Here could be your answer to the word "angel" - it is found in your paragraph through the word "anglo" http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=England
It seems that England was the land of angels. And then you have Angel itself derives from the world Angelos - messenger (from God). http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=angel&allowed_in_frame=0
Hey I know this is like 5 years too late but I just saw this and I’m just weirded out because you posted that on my birthday November 22nd and you talked about my name and my middle name and and also my boyfriends name and it’s just so many coincidences I can’t believe it
Maybe I need to play the lottery ... glad you liked it.
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