Latvian name
Latvian names, like in most
Latvian male names end in 1st or 2nd declension masculine endings, either -s/-š or -is (with a handful of mostly foreign exceptions ending in indeclinable -o, such as Ivo, Raivo, Gvido, Bruno, Oto and only a few belonging to the 3rd declension ending in -us, such as Ingus, Mikus, Edžus, Zemgus). Latvian female names have the feminine 4th or 5th declension endings -a or -e respectively.
For centuries, one of the most popular Latvian names has been Jānis, whose written use dates back to 1290.[1] The vocative case is used when addressing someone directly, for example, Jāni for Jānis. The diminutive form is often used to express endearment or when addressing children, for example, addressing Jānis as Jānīt (vocative diminutive).
Spelling
Writing of Latvian names always conform to the highly phonetic
This has given rise to at least half a dozen lawsuits over the last couple decades, mostly ethnic Russian Latvian nationals not content with addition of case endings. Other examples include:[3]
- a Latvian woman contesting her foreign husband's name being transcribed phonetically in her documents (Mentzen alias Mencena v. Latvia case) where the plaintiffs were turned down
- legal proceedings by a Latvian couple to allow them to register their child as Otto (instead of Oto)
- a claim filed with UN HRC by a Latvian national of Russian-Jewish Leonid Raihman whose claims were upheld.
History
Before the
Before the emancipation from serfdom (1817 in Courland, 1819 in Vidzeme, 1861 in Latgale) only noblemen, free craftsmen or people living in towns had surnames. Therefore, the oldest Latvian surnames usually originate from German or Low German, reflecting the dominance of German as an official language in Latvia till the 19th century. Examples: Meijers/Meijere (German: Meier, farm administrator; akin to Mayor), Millers/Millere (German: Müller, miller), Šmits/Šmite (German: Schmidt, smith), Šulcs/Šulca (German: Schulze, constable), Ulmanis (German: Ullmann, a person from Ulm), Godmanis (a God-man), Pētersons (son of Peter). Some Latvian surnames, mainly from Latgale are of Polish or Belarusian origin by changing the final -ski/-cki to -skis/-ckis, -czyk to -čiks or -vich/-wicz to -vičs, such as Sokolovskis/Sokolovska, Baldunčiks/Baldunčika or Ratkevičs/Ratkeviča. However, some surnames of Latvian origin (like Mucenieks, Kalns and Putns) have also been recorded as early as the 16th and 17th century, for example, among the transport workers.[5]
The official records of Latvian names were often variously forcibly assimilated into the foreign culture dominant at times in Latvian lands. For example, local
In rural regions it historically was common to identify individual by the name of the farmstead they lived in, rather than by a surname. Using surnames became mandatory after serfdom was abolished. Head of the family, usually the oldest living male, was required to choose the surname for his entire family. To document the newly adopted surnames in 1826 a special soul revision was conducted in the governorate of Livonia (in Vidzeme), in Courland the surnames were documented in 8th soul revision in 1835, while in Latgale serfdom was fully abolished only in 1866. Diminutives were the most common form of family names. Examples: Kalniņš/Kalniņa (small hill), Bērziņš/Bērziņa (small birch).
During the times when
In the 20th century, in particular, in the
Name day
Latvia is among the European countries that celebrate name days (vārda dienas), a celebration almost comparable in importance to that of a birthday. Most of them are related to the Saints' days in the Church calendar, but in recent decades new names have been added to the calendar by a special commission. Some names and their name days bear a connection with important holidays, for example, arguably one of the most important holidays, summer solstice, referred to as Jāņi starts on June 23 with Līgo diena (name day for females named Līga) and continues through June 24 or Jāņi – name day for males named Jānis. Similarly Mārtiņi on November 10 coincides with the name day for males named Mārtiņš, Mārcis and Markuss.
Most common Latvian names
Below are the most common ethnic Latvian names in 2006. However taking into account the large Eastern Slavic diaspora (
No. | Male names | Female names | Family names |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jānis | Anna
|
Bērziņš |
2 | Andris | Kristīne | Kalniņš |
3 | Juris | Inese | Ozoliņš |
4 | Edgars | Inga
|
Jansons |
5 | Māris
|
Ilze | Ozols |
6 | Aivars
|
Līga
|
Liepiņš |
7 | Mārtiņš | Dace | Krūmiņš |
8 | Pēteris | Anita | Balodis
|
9 | Ivars | Marija | Eglītis |
10 | Valdis | Iveta | Pētersons |
References
- ^ a b Jacobs, Timothy (February 28, 2002). "Latvian names are more than just Janis". The Baltic Times. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- ^ Mawhood, Will (September 23, 2016). "Why You Will Almost Definitely Have to Change Your Name When Speaking Latvian". Deep Baltic. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- ISSN 1691-9254.
- ^ Indriķis Šterns. Latvijas vēsture 1290—1500. Rīga, 1997. pp 480–481
- ^ a b "Why did Latvians choose German surnames?". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 1-4437-2444-0, p. 151
- ^ "Imant Yanovich Ziedonis".
- ^ "The most popular names" (in Latvian). Apollo. May 25, 2006. Retrieved May 19, 2009.