What's In A Name: Elmer, Ellen
Elmer-This is a name from England, originally a family name, which began as "Aethelmaer," with "aethel" meaning noble (see Word History below) and "maer" meaning "famous, renowned." This name contracted to "Aylmer," then to "Elmer." Not a common name anymore, but a next door neighbor many year's ago was named Elmer, and one of his sons was named after him.
Ellen-This name is really a form of "Helen," which goes back to Greek "Helene," and seems to have had to with "bright, shining." "Ellen" was the more common spelling in English until the 1600s, when "Helen" became more common, likely from the influence of Latin and French.
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see: 1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940.
WORD HISTORY:
Noble-This word, distantly related to "know" and "can" (the verb), both original English words of Germanic derivation, and to Latin-derived "notice," a word borrowed by English by way of French, goes back to Indo European "gn(oh)/gn(eh)," which meant, "to know." This gave Latin "gnoscere," meaning, "to come to know." This gave Latin the adjective "nobilis," meaning, "well known, renowned;" thus, "famous," with the further implication of "of good and high quality birth." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "noble," with the "of good and high quality birth" meaning becoming primary, and also, "having outstanding qualities." English borrowed the word in the early 1200s, and the noun for a man of high social rank "seems" to have been derived from that a few decades later, but likely with reinforcement by French, and probably by Latin, too. "Noble" replaced the native English word "aethel," which had become "athel." Close relative German still has "Adel," meaning "nobility," and "Edelmann" and "Edelfrau" meaning "nobleman" and "noblewoman," respectively.
Ellen-This name is really a form of "Helen," which goes back to Greek "Helene," and seems to have had to with "bright, shining." "Ellen" was the more common spelling in English until the 1600s, when "Helen" became more common, likely from the influence of Latin and French.
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see: 1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940.
WORD HISTORY:
Noble-This word, distantly related to "know" and "can" (the verb), both original English words of Germanic derivation, and to Latin-derived "notice," a word borrowed by English by way of French, goes back to Indo European "gn(oh)/gn(eh)," which meant, "to know." This gave Latin "gnoscere," meaning, "to come to know." This gave Latin the adjective "nobilis," meaning, "well known, renowned;" thus, "famous," with the further implication of "of good and high quality birth." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "noble," with the "of good and high quality birth" meaning becoming primary, and also, "having outstanding qualities." English borrowed the word in the early 1200s, and the noun for a man of high social rank "seems" to have been derived from that a few decades later, but likely with reinforcement by French, and probably by Latin, too. "Noble" replaced the native English word "aethel," which had become "athel." Close relative German still has "Adel," meaning "nobility," and "Edelmann" and "Edelfrau" meaning "nobleman" and "noblewoman," respectively.
Labels: Aethelmaer, Aylmer, Ellen, Elmer, England, English, etymology, French, Germanic languages, Greek, Helen, Latin, names
posted by Randy at 6:16 PM
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