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Tuesday 23 December 2014

Namen aus Österreich: Names from Austria

I visited Austria  last week and was looking out for any interesting names. Most of the names were not really unusual as I'd heard of them before (some are quite popular where I live), though there were some unusual ones there and also some I'd never heard of before. 

Lea
I heard this on a student of secondary (high) school age. Her name is the general European variant of Leah, a Biblical name meaning "weary". It has also been suggested that it's alternative origins are from the ancient Akkadian language, meaning "mistress" or "ruler".

Gerrit
I'm not sure whether is name was spelt with one or two Rs, but this was the name of the owner of my apartment who was middle aged. His name has a strong meaning of "brave with the spear" and is the Dutch and Frisian equivalent of Gerard. 

Evie
I heard this on a toddler, who was from Northern Ireland (I think). It originates from Eve which itself has a beautiful and deep meaning of "life", as the name of the first woman on earth in the Old Testament. It is also used as a nickname for the longer Evangeline. 

Matthew
Evie's older brother, who only looked like he was about a couple of years older than her. It is of Hebrew origins where it means "Gift of Jehovah". Matthew was the name of one of Jesus's Apostles in the Bible. 

Claudia
She was part of an orchestra, though I'm not sure how old she looked as I spotted her name on a programme. Her name has a meaning of "lame" and is a feminisation of Claudius.

Russi
She was also part of the same orchestra, and like Claudia I couldn't tell her age as she was also mentioned in the programme. The meaning of her name is largely unknown, though it can also be used as a surname.

Stanislava
The lead violinist in the orchestra. Her name is the feminisation of the ancient Stanislav, which is of Slavic origins and has a wonderful meaning of "someone who achieves glory or fame". 

Annika
A little girl of primary school age at a Christmas market. Her name was originally used as a Dutch and Swedish pet form of Anna, meaning "grace", though it has since taken off as a standalone given name. In the Netherlands, it can also be spelt as Anneke (pronounced as "ah-neek", or sometimes like Annika). Annika is also suggested to be of Sanskrit origins and is a common name in Hinduism. 

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