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First names in Esperanto

door mvk20, 12 oktober 2007

Berichten: 8

Taal: English

mvk20 (Profiel tonen) 12 oktober 2007 15:45:02

Does anyone know where one can look up a list of the Esperanto equivalent of common names from English or other languages?

Thanks!

erinja (Profiel tonen) 12 oktober 2007 16:34:35

http://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperantaj_personaj_n...

This doesn't contain English translations but in most cases you can figure out which English name matches to the Esperanto version (if any).

Some common English names will be found in dictionaries and you can look them up that way. For names of well-known historical figures, you can look them up in the English Wikipedia, then see if there's an Esperanto entry for the same person, that you can pull the Esperanto name from.

This page may also be useful. It lists Esperanto names, although whoever wrote the page clearly made up some random names and added them to the list, and spelled them with the h-system (hh = ĥ, ch = ĉ, u = u or ŭ, etc). I doubt very many people would name their daughter Pipra but the list has some normal names too:
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/esp.php

Also this page:
http://www.esperanto-chicago.org/nomoj.htm

It has some Esperanto versions of well-known names, and also the author's personal opinion of how to Esperantize some of the new-fangled names that are popular in the US today.

And just to beat a dead horse, here's someone else's long list of their personal opinion on how to translate names (with origins in lots of languages):
http://www.geocities.com/valamer/

Note that everyone pretty much agrees on Esperanto versions of classic names that already have many international variations (Petro, Johano, Vilhelmo, etc). There will be more doubt with some newer or less international names.

Betka (Profiel tonen) 12 oktober 2007 17:48:58

So, I'm "Elisabeto"? demando.gif I think I'll just stick with Alzbeta.

It's a wonderful resource though, some of the names are great (Tajlora, Suzana, Napoelono).

erinja (Profiel tonen) 12 oktober 2007 18:22:05

Some people use a nickname suffix, -ĉj- for men, -nj- for women. So you could also call yourself Elinjo or Elinja, or Alinjo or Alinja.

But call yourself whatever you want. There is no requirement to 'Esperantize' your name. People will call you whatever you tell them to call you. A hint - keep it easy to pronounce, whatever you choose. People from all different countries will be trying to say your name, so be nice to them!

Don't be like the David Jordan story about "Knaĥoĥŝveŭpsceg"! lango.gif

mvk20 (Profiel tonen) 12 oktober 2007 18:23:26

Very interesting - thanks! Of note is that my daughter's name, Charlotte, which I consider to be a fairly classic name, was listed as Karlota on one site and Ĉarlota on another, so even there there's some variation.

Thanks again so much for all of the help!

Frakseno (Profiel tonen) 18 oktober 2007 15:36:21

I am currently studying with two books. In one book, the name "Mary" is rendered "Maria." In the other, it is rendered "Mario." I understand wanting to end personal names with the letter -o to indicate the noun, but it leaves me wondering what an Italian man named Mario might have to call himself if, while meeting some Esperantistoj, he is introduced to a woman named Mary who introduces herself as "Mario."

On the other hand, it seems that making Mary into "Maria" is simply changing the name to something generically "foreign" (i.e. Spanish or Italian) rather than changing it out of any real Esperanto need.

erinja (Profiel tonen) 18 oktober 2007 20:48:26

"Mario" is a very old use and seldom seen today, precisely for the reason you mention (That is, that "Mario" is a common men's name). You could also say "Mariino" to make it clear, via the -in- ending, that it's a woman. Or "Marinjo" with the womens' nickname suffix. And a woman named Petra would not likely call herself "Petro" in the Esperanto world. The -o ending for women is usually only used with names that don't have a strong male association. If my name were Rebecca and I called myself "Rebeko", there would be no doubt, there is no male version of Rebecca that I know of.

But the use of the -a ending is also old in Esperanto, and I don't see its use as necessarily a bad thing (obviously, if you look at my name), and I don't see it as necessarily "foreign". I just see it as another valid Esperanto option for womens' names.

mnlg (Profiel tonen) 18 oktober 2007 23:38:22

An Italian man named Mario would perhaps use "Marjo" in Esperanto. On the other hand, "Marjo" is a female name in Finnish... ridulo.gif

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