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Lithuanian Surnames

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Alfred Senn
Alfred Senn*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
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Extract

Each Lithuanian surname appears in three different forms, one masculine and two feminine. The masculine form (Klìmas, Vābalas, Žukáuskas, Varkalà, Antanáitis, Variakōjis, Gudāvičius, etc.) is used for all male members of a family without regard of age or marital status. The surname of married women ends always in -ienė ﹛Klìmiene, Vabalíenė, Žukáuskiene, Varkalienė, Antanáitienė, Variakojiene, Gudāvičienė, etc.), while the feminine form of several diminutive suffixes (-aitė, -ytė, -utė, -utė) is used to form the surnames of little girls and unmarried women (Klimáitė,. Vabaláitė, Žukauskiátė, Varkaláitė, Antanaitytė, Variakōjýtė, Gudavičiutė, etc.). In Lithuania these three forms are legally established and it would be unthinkable and utterly ridičulous to use them otherwise than here described.

Type
Articles
Information
American Slavic and East European Review , Volume 4 , Issue 1-2 , August 1945 , pp. 127 - 137
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1945

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References

1 Cf. Senn, Alfred, The Lithuanian Language (Chicago, III., 1942), 14–15 Google Scholar.

2 A list of the basic printed sources for the study of Lithuanian surnames would include: Sprogis, I., Geografičeskij slovar’ drevnej iomojtskoj żemli XVI stolětija (Geographic Dictionary of Old Samogitia of the Sixteenth Century), Vilna, 1888 Google Scholar. Kuznetsov, J. P., “Dremija dvuosnovnyja ličnyja imena u Litovtsev” (Old Two-Stem Personal Names of the Lithuanians), Živaja Starina, vi (1896), 32 Google Scholar ff. Leskien, A. “Litauische Personennamen,“ Indogermanische Forsfhungen, xxvi (1909-10), 325–352 Google Scholar, with additional source references. Būga, K., “Apie lietuviii asmens vardus” (About the Lithuanian Personal Names), Lietuviii Taųta, II (Vilna, 1919), 1–50 Google Scholar. Lietuvos apgyventos vietos. Pirmojo visuotinojo Lieluvos gyventojų 1923 m. suraśymo duomenys (The Inhabited Places of Lithuania. Results of the First General Census of the Inhabitants of Lithuania in 1923), Kaunas, 1925. Fenzlau, Walter, Die deutschen Formen der litauischen Oris- und Personennamen des Memelgebiets (= Zeitschrijtfur Mundartforschung. Beiheft 13), Halle, 19 Google Scholar

3 Codex epistolaris Vitoldi magni ducts Lithuanian 1376-1430 collectus opera Antonii Prochaska (Vol. vi of Monuments, medii aevi historica res gestas Poloniae illustrantia), Cracow, 1882 Google Scholar.

4 About the development in central Europe, especially Switzerland, cf. my article “ Namen, Unsere,” Swiss Journal (San Francisco, Calif.), Vol. xxvi, Nos. 43–45 (1944).Google Scholar

5 Invenlari iménij XVI stolětija (= Akty izdavajemyje Vilenskoju Archeografičeskoju Kommissijeju, Tom xiv), Vilna, 1887. Cf. Būga, K. in Lietuvių Tauta, II (Vilna, 1919), 16 fGoogle Scholar.

6 iPopis śjachly zemli Žomojtskoj i ich ljudej. Būga in Lieluvių, Tauta, n (Vilna, 1919), 2-3 quotes from a folio manuscript of 384 sheets by Simonas Daukantas (1793-1864), Jura, immunitates et privilegia Samogetarum in unum collecla, in which the Lithuanian Nobility Register is reproduced in Polish spellingGoogle Scholar.

7 Mosvid, Die ältesten litauischen Sprachdenkmäler bis 1570 edited by Gerullis, Georg Heidelberg, 1922 Google Scholar. This edition consists of 35 pages of introduction written by Gerullis in German and 592 pages of Lithuanian texts photographically reproduced. Another edition, with the introduction in the Lithuanian language, but otherwise identical, appeared at the same time in Kaunas under the title Mażvydas, Seniausieji lietuvių, kalbos paminklai iki 1570 metams. The Catechism of 1547 is reproduced on pp. 1-79.

8 loc. cit., p. 135.

9 Loc. cit., p. 150. It should be added here that Mosvid died in 1562 and that these hymns were posthumously published by his cousin Bartholomew Willent.

10 Loc. Cit., p. 81. In addition, the same name appears also on the title page (80), but in the accusative form: Waitkuna, M. Mossuida Google Scholar.

11 P. xii of the Lithuanian edition of Mosvid.

12 The list was printed in the American daily newspapers Draugas (Catholic, Chicago, III.) and Naujienos (Socialist, Chicago, 111.) in the spring of 1942 Google Scholar.

13 Fick, A., Die griechischen Personennamen nach ihrer Bildung erklärt, mit den Namensystemen verwandter Sprachen verglichen und systematisch geordnet (Gottingen, 1875)Google Scholar.

14 Felix, Solmsen, Indogermanische Eigennamen als Spiegel der Ktdturgeschichte, ed. Ernst Fraenkel (Heidelberg, 1922), p. 111 Google Scholar.

15 See footnote 2.

16 The formation of Slavic names is explained in the following publications by Miklosich, Franz: Die Bildung der Personennamen(Vienna, 1859)Google Scholar; Die Bildung der Ortsnamen aus Personennamen (Vienna, 1869); Die slavischen Ortsnamen aus Appellativen, I and II (Vienna, 1872-1879). All these studies appeared in the Denkschriften der Wiener Akademie der Wissenschaften.

17 Prellwitz, Walther, Die deutschen Bestandteile in den Leltischen Sprachen (Göttingen, 1891), pp. 27 Google Scholar fi.

18 Cf. Boyer-Speranski-Harper, , Russian Reader (University of Chicago Press), p. 261 Google Scholar.