Attila is a popular masculine name in Central-Eastern Europe (primarily

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and

Chuvashia Chuvashia (russian: Чувашия; cv, Чӑваш Ен), officially the Chuvash Republic — Chuvasia,; cv, Чӑваш Республики — Чӑваш Ен is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is the homeland of the Chuv ...

) and in Western Asia and

South-Eastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

(primarily

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

). Another version of Attila in Hungary is Etele, the female equivalent of which is Etelka. Another version of Attila used in Turkish is Atilla.

Etymology

It has been traditionally claimed that the name Attila is formed from

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

''atta'', meaning "father", through the

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

-''ila'', the "little father". Related names are not uncommon among

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

of the period, i. e.

Ætla Ætla, who lived in the 7th century, is believed to be one of many Bishops of Dorchester during the Anglo-Saxon period. The village of Attlebridge, Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. ...

, Bishop of Dorchester. The Gothic etymology was proposed by

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...

and

Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author and anthropologist, and the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1786 in Hanau, in ...

in the early 19th century.

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

argued that the Gothic etymology is a product of 19th century Germanic romantic philological revisionism.

Otto Maenchen-Helfen Otto John Maenchen-Helfen (German: Otto Mänchen-Helfen; July 26, 1894 – January 29, 1969) was an Austrian academic, sinologist, historian, author, and traveler. From 1927 to 1930, he worked at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow, and from 193 ...

, who considered Gothic etymology, noted that Hunnic names were "not the true names of the Hun princes and lords. What we have are Hunnic names in Germanic dress, modified to fit the Gothic tongue, or popular Gothic etymologies, or both".

Hyun Jin Kim Hyun Jin Kim (born 1982) is an Australian academic, scholar and author. He was born in Seoul and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. Kim got his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford. He started learning Latin, German, and Fren ...

noted Attila has more natural and probable Turkic etymology.

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvar ...

considered ''̕Άττίλα'' (Attila) a composite title-name which derived from Turkic *''es'' (great, old), and *''t il'' (sea, ocean), and the suffix /a/. The stressed back syllabic ''til'' assimilated the front member ''es'', so it became *''as''. It is a nominative, in form of ''attíl-'' (< *''etsíl'' < *''es tíl'') with the meaning "the oceanic, universal ruler". Peter Golden, citing Pritsak, like

László Rásonyi László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. Other versions are Lessl or Laszly. The name has a history of being freque ...

connected Attila's name with a note by

Menander Menander (; grc-gre, Μένανδρος ''Menandros''; c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His rec ...

in which the term ''Attilan'' was used as the name of the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

(Turkic ''

Atil Atil (also Itil) , was the capital of the Khazar Khaganate from the middle of the 8th century until the end of the 10th century. Known to have been situated on the Silk Road in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, its precise location has long been ...

/Itil''; "great river"). J.J. Mikkola connected it with Turkic ''āt'' (name, fame). Gerd Althoff considered it was related to Turkish ''atli'' (horseman, cavalier), or Turkish ''at'' (horse) and ''dil'' (tongue).

Given name

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

(died 453), ruler of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

* Saint Attila (937-1007), Aragonese bishop *

Atilla Altıkat Colonel Atilla Altıkat was the Turkish military attaché to the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was assassinated in 1982. The Armenian militant group ASALA claimed responsibility for the attack."Turks honour memory of assassina ...

(died 1982), Turkish diplomat *

Attila Ábrahám Attila Ábrahám (born 29 April 1967 in Kapuvár, Győr-Moson-Sopron) is a Hungarian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Completing in two Summer Olympics, he won a complete set of medals (gold - 1988: K-4 1000 ...

(born 1967), Hungarian sprint canoeist *

Attila Ambrus Attila Ambrus (born October 6, 1967), alias The Whiskey Robber, is a Hungarian bank robber and professional ice hockey player. He became notorious during the 1990s for committing a string of undercover "gentleman robberies" in and around Budapest, ...

(born 1967), Hungarian bank robber *

Attila Aşkar Attila Aşkar (born September 4, 1943) is a Turkish civil engineer, scientist and former president of the Koç University in Rumelifeneri, Istanbul, Turkey during 2001 and 2009. Life Attila Aşkar was born on September 4, 1943 in Bolvadin, Afyo ...

(born 1943), Turkish mathematician and president of Koç University *

Attila Balázs Attila Balázs (; born September 27, 1988) is a Hungarian professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ATP ranking of No. 76 achieved on 2 March 2020. He is a seven time Hungarian National Tennis Champion; after Béla von Kehrling, ...

(born 1989), Hungarian tennis player * Attila Barcza (born 1985). Hungarian politician * Attila Szalai (born 1998), Hungarian footballer * Attila Böjte (born 1976), Hungarian footballer * Áttila de Carvalho (born 1910), known as ''Áttila'', Brazilian international footballer *

Attila Csihar Attila Csihar (; born 29 March 1971), also sometimes known as Void, is a Hungarian extreme metal vocalist, best known for his vocal work in Norwegian black metal band Mayhem and American drone-doom project Sunn O))). Author Ian Christe descr ...

(born 1971), Hungarian musician * Attila Csipler (1939–1996), Romanian fencer *

Attila Cseke Attila-Zoltán Cseke (born 9 June 1973) is a Romanian lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), he was a member of the Romanian Senate for Bihor County from 2008 to 2012, representing the same ...

(born 1973), Hungarian politician in Romania *

Attila Czene Attila Czene (born 20 June 1974) is a former medley swimmer from Hungary, who won the gold medal in the 200 m individual medley at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native co ...

(born 1974), Hungarian swimmer *

Attila Dargay Attila Dargay (June 20, 1927 – October 20, 2009) was a Hungarian comics artist and animator. He was born in Nyékládháza, Mezőnyék. Life He began working as a scenery painter for the Hungarian National Theatre in the late 1940s. He dire ...

(1927–2009), Hungarian animator * Attila Demény, (1955–2021), Romanian composer and theatre director *

Attila Elek Attila Elek (born 6 December 1982 in Budapest) is a Hungarian ice dancer. With former partner Nóra Hoffmann, he is a two-time (2003–2004) World Junior silver medalist, the 2003 JGP Final champion, and a five-time (2003–2007) Hungarian n ...

(born 1982), Hungarian ice dancer *

Atilla Engin Atilla Engin (1946-2019) was a Turkish American fusion jazz drummer. From 1974 to 2001 he was active in Denmark as a musician and educator; he organized music festivals and represented Denmark as a musical ambassador. In 2001, he left Denmark f ...

(born 1946), Turkish American musician * Attila Fekete (disambiguation) *

Attila Filkor Attila Filkor (born 12 July 1988) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Budafok II. Club career Early career Born in Budapest, Filkor started playing football with local side MTK, before joining Maltese cl ...

(born 1988), Hungarian footballer * Attila Hejazi (born 1976), Iranian retired football player and coach. *

Attila Horváth (disambiguation) Attila Horváth may refer to: * Attila Horváth (discus thrower) (1967–2020), Hungarian discus thrower * Attila Horváth (footballer, born 1971), Hungarian retired international football player * Attila Horváth (footballer, born 1988), Hungar ...

Attilâ İlhan Attilâ İlhan (15 June 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Turkish poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and reviewer. Early life and education Attilâ İlhan was born in Menemen in İzmir Province, Turkey on 15 June 1925. He received most of his pr ...

(1925–2005), Turkish writer and poet *

Attila József Attila József (; 11 April 1905 – 3 December 1937) was one of the most famous Hungarian poets of the 20th century. Generally not recognized during his lifetime, József was hailed during the communist era of the 1950s as Hungary's great ...

(1905–1937), Hungarian poet *

Attila Kerekes Attila Kerekes (born 4 April 1954) is a Hungarian former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a defender. Career Born in Budapest, Kerekes played club football in both Hungary and Turkey for Békéscsaba and Bu ...

(born 1954), Hungarian international footballer * Attila Kovács (disambiguation) *

Attila Ladinsky Attila Ladinszky nicknamed ''Le Gitan'' (The Gypsy) (13 September 1949 – 14 May 2020) was a Hungarian football striker, born in Budapest. He was top scorer of the Belgian League in 1973/74. Following his career, he worked as a scout and ra ...

(born 1949), nicknamed ''Le Gitan'', Hungarian footballer * Attila Losonczy (born 1974), Hungarian neuroscientist and Columbia University professor *

Attila Mesterházy Attila Mesterházy (born 30 January 1974) is a Hungarian politician, who served as the seventh chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) from 10 July 2010 to 29 May 2014. He was the party's candidate for the position of Prime Minister of ...

(born 1974), Hungarian politician *

Attila Özdemiroğlu Attila Özdemiroğlu (5 January 1943 – 20 April 2016) was a Turkish composer, arranger and music producer. He was best known for his award winning film scores in the 1970s and 1980s. Career Born on 5 January 1943 in Ankara, Özdemiroğlu got ...

(1943–2016), Turkish composer and arranger *

Attila Péterffy Attila Péterffy (born February 26, 1969) is a Hungarian politician and mechanical engineer. In the 2019 Hungarian local elections, he was elected as the Mayor of Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Nam ...

(born 1969), Hungarian politician *

Atila Pesyani Atila Pesyani ( fa, آتیلا پسیانی, born 30 April 1957) is an Iranian actor. He is the son of actress Jamileh Sheykhi. Career Among the movies in which he has performed are ''The Hidden Half'' (2001), ''Ceasefire 1 and 2'' (2005 and ...

(born 1957), Iranian actor. *

Attila Petschauer Attila Petschauer (December 14, 1904 – January 30, 1943) was a Hungarian Olympic champion sabre fencer of Jewish heritage. Fencing career Petschauer was born in Budapest, and was Jewish. He fenced first at a salle in Budapest opened in 18 ...

(1904–1943), Hungarian 2x team Olympic champion saber fencer killed in the Holocaust * Attila Pintér (disambiguation) *

Attila Sávolt Attila Sávolt (born 5 February 1976) is a tennis player from Hungary, who represented his native country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where he lost to Paradorn Srichaphan in his first match. Starting his professional career in 1995, he peaked th ...

(born 1976), Hungarian tennis player *

Attila Sekerlioglu Attila Sekerlioglu (born 27 January 1965) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. After retiring, he moved into management. He has most recently been manager of Austrian club SV Stockerau. He is now a scout for ...

(born 1965), Turkish footballer * Attila Simon (disambiguation) * Attila Szabó (disambiguation) *

Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy (born May 6, 1972) is a Hungarian economist and global head of Global Securities Services at UniCredit Group in Milan. He is the president of the Budapest Olympic Movement civil association and co-chairman of the Hungarian ...

(born 1972), Hungarian economist *

Attila Tököli Attila Tököli (born 14 May 1976) is a Hungarian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Honours Dunaferr SE * Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 1999–2000 * Nemzeti Bajnokság II Western Group: 1997–98 Ferencváros * Nemzeti Bajnoks ...

(born 1976), Hungarian footballer *

Attila Zoller Attila Cornelius Zoller (June 13, 1927 – January 25, 1998) was a Hungarian jazz guitarist. After World War II, he escaped the Soviet takeover of Hungary by fleeing through the mountains on foot into Austria. In 1959, he moved to the U.S., wher ...

(1927–1998), Hungarian-born jazz musician *

Attila the Hun (calypsonian) Raymond Quevedo (24 March 1892 – 22 February 1962), better known as Atilla the Hun, was a calypsonian from Trinidad. He began singing in 1911 and was at his most prominent in the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of the pioneers in spreading awarene ...

(1892–1962), Trinidadian singer *

Attila the Stockbroker John Baine (born 21 October 1957), better known by his stage name Attila the Stockbroker,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 208 is an English punk poet, multi instrumentalist musician and songwriter. He pe ...

(born 1957), British punk poet

Other

* Attila (horse) (1839–1846), British thoroughbred racehorse and sire * Louis Attila (1844–1924), name used by German-born American strongman Ludwig Durlacher

References

{{given name, Attila Hungarian masculine given names Turkish masculine given names

Etymology

Given name

Other

See also

References