Germanic names in Italy started to proliferate after the

fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

due to the

Barbarian Invasions The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

of 4th-6th centuries. Stephen Wilson, ''The Means Of Naming: A Social and Cultural History of Naming in Western Europe'', Chapter 5 "Germanic Names", Section "Latin to Germanic names"
p. 65
/ref> Early studies of the

Germanic names Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel". However, there are also ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

were carried out by German scholars (e.g., Bruckner (1895), and Gamillsсheg 1934 - 1936).

History

The adoption of Germanic names in Italy was less prominent than in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, another part of the Roman Empire conquered by the

Barbarian kingdoms The barbarian kingdoms, also known as the post-Roman kingdoms, the western kingdoms or the early medieval kingdoms, were the states founded by various non-Roman, primarily Germanic, peoples in Western Europe and North Africa following the collap ...

, and was associated with the

Ostrogoth The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

ic and

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

settlement in Italy. Over time, there was a growing mismatch between the ethnicity and the naming, similar to the Gaul. While initially Gothic names belonged to the Goths, by the 10th century the choice was influenced by the fashion independently of the ethnicity. Often the names were hybrids: German suffixes were added to Roman roots (e.g., Forteramnus =Forte + - ramn + -us) and vice versa (Hrodemia, from

Hroðr Hróðr (Old Norse: "famed") is a female jötunn in Norse mythology, mentioned in the Eddic poem ''Hymiskviða'', in which Thor is referred to as "Hróðr's adversary." Some readings of the poem have identified Hróðr as the name of the mother o ...

). Eventually Germanic names have become predominant, but did not displace the Latin-language ones completely.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

has played a considerable role in preservation of the classical Greco-Latin names, related to religious ideas and saints. Even the names of pagan gods were preserved via the name of saints (e.g.,

Mercurius Mercury (; la, Mercurius ) is a major god in Roman religion and mythology, being one of the 12 Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divinati ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

) Eventually, in the process of the adoption by non-Germans, Germanic names mutated and became the new names of their own.Wilson
p. 74
/ref>

History

See also

References

Further reading