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英文中 Newman、Freeman 等后缀 -man 的名字都是什么意思?


2 个回答

  • Brian | 2017-08-21 07:05:59

    (Thank you @tristeros for an awesome translation!)

    英语名字的各个成分没什么意义。有些名(first name)是从圣经里有名的人物来的(如 David、John、Luke),但不能像中国名字那样把英语名字拆开来分析。

    比方说,有人的姓(last name)是Newman,那就是 Newman,他就姓这个。要是有人姓 Brown、White 或 Black(都是在美国很常见的姓氏[1]),那可能意味着,在过去,他的家族与这些个颜色有什么关系,但是,当他的家人第一次踏上美国的时候也是可能的,移民局的官员给他们随便安排的一个盎格鲁·撒克逊名。现在这些姓大部分都没有意义。

    不过,一个人姓什么,也能让你多少了解一点他祖先的情况。比如说,Newman 和 Freeman 都有英格兰、爱尔兰或者苏格兰血统,而 Bergmann 则有德国血统。[2]

    - - - - -

    The components of English names don't have meanings. Some first names are the names of famous Biblical figures (such as David, John, Luke), but you can't deconstruct a name in English like you would a Chinese name.

    If a person's last name is Newman, then that's it, - that's that person's name. If a person's last name is Brown, White or Black (all very common names in America [1]), it may mean their family was associated with those colors in the past, but it most likely means that they were arbitrarily assigned an Anglo-Saxon name by an immigration officer when their family first entered the US. Most last names are meaningless nowadays.

    A person's last name can, however, give you a clue to their ancestry. For example, Newman and Freeman have ancestral roots in England, Ireland and Scotland; the name Bergmann has ancestral roots in Germany. [2]

    [1] Most Common Surnames [Last Names] in the United States (top 1000)
    [2] http://Ancestry.com

    本问答由Brian提供

  • Brian | 2017-08-21 06:47:21

    我大体同意Brian的意见,不过题主可能问的是Freeman这个姓氏在语源上的本意。在这个层面上,我认为说姓名的各个成分没有意义不太准确⋯⋯

    英语姓名Freeman应该来自于中世纪的自由民阶级,字面意思就是其含义。按照中世纪的取姓原则,职业、外号、地点、身份都可以变为姓氏。(但这个词应该不是被解放的奴隶的意思,这些人一般被称为Freedman而不是Freeman。)英语姓Franklin和它是同源词,也表示“自由民”的意思。

    Newman的含义也是其字面意思,“外来者、新人。”

    参考Percy Hide Reaney编写的《Dictionary of English Surnames》。

    本问答由Brian提供

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