The Language Secretariat of Greenland

 
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Matching Names

Found 37 matching names:
A | I | K | M | P | Q | S | T | U
  Name European Old Spelling
  Name European Old Spelling
A
 AamaN  WAuma
 AarunaN  WÂruna
AkitseqN   Akitseĸ
 Meaning: The Precious One.
 AlalaqN   Alalaĸ
 AleqatsiaqN   Aleĸatsiaĸ
AqissiaqN  WAĸigssiaĸ
 Mythological name, meaning Ptarmigan chick. The main character in one of the best known myths in Greenland was Aqissiaq. (The myth is believed to be inherited from Tuniit - Dorset people, as it is not to be encountered throughout the Arctic, except among Indians in Northwestern Canada.)
 AvoortungiaqN   Avôrtungiaĸ
I
 IlaatsoqN  WIlaitsoĸ
 IlaatsukN   Ilaitsuk
 IlaatsunnguaqN   Ilaitsúnguaĸ
 IlaitsoqN   Ilaitsoĸ
 IlaitsukN   Ilaitsuk
 IlaitsunnguaqN   Ilaitsúnguaĸ
IvikN   Ivik
 Grass.

Variant: Ivinnguaq 26 (Sweet little I.). Ivínguaκ <4.

Plant name.
IvinnguaqN   Ivínguaĸ
 Sweet little grass.

Number of name bearers: Ivinnguaq 26 (Dear little I.). Ivíngua? <4. Variant of: Ivik 77
K
KajoqN  WKajoκ
 'the Brown One'. Originally a byname established to characterize a distinct attribute of the bearer of the first name.

Variants: Kaju (short form), Kajuaq (the brownish one) & Kajuinnaq (solely brown).
KajuN  WKajo
 short form of Kajoq 'the Brown One'. Originally a byname established to characterize a distinct attribute of the bearer of the first name.

Variants: Kajoq, Kajuaq (the brownish one) & Kajuinnaq (solely brown).
M
MagserannguaqN   Magseránguaĸ
 From the stem 'massippoq: rising half up from horisontal position' + the ending -nnguaq: 'sweet, dear'. The Greenlandic author Karl Siegstad explains that the name means 'Flower which is raised up by the heat of the sun, whilst small pieces of ice are still above it.'
ManuminaN   Manumina
 "Small piece of fur under chin", from "manumineq" where manu is '(fur)chin' and -mineq is 'small piece'.

The form -mineq is either contaminated with the names' suffix -na and has become -mina (Manumina), or the -mina form is a hypocorism.

Naming with pieces of clothing was rather common in traditional society: Nasaq (hat), Teqqiaq (cap peak), Pualut (mittens), Kamik (boot) etc.

Variants: Manu (under chin or its cover), Manunnguaq (sweet little M.), Manuaraq (little M.), the mythological name Manutooq (The One With a Big Fur Under Chin)

Number of name bearers: Manumina 25. As surname 11.
 MassannguaqN   Magssánguaĸ
 MasserannguaqN   Magsseránguaĸ
 MavsannguaqN   Mavsánguaĸ
 MikissukN   Mikivssuk
MinikN   Minik
 Samuel Kleinschmidt defines the word minik in his Greenlandic dictionary (Den grønlandske ordbog fra 1871 p. 211), that minik is "1) Blubber, which has become a viscous glue-like substance (of which a thin layer has been exposed to the action of the air, fex. outside, or on the rim of, a blubber vessel); 2) earwax.)"

According to Jonathan Petersen’s ’ordbogêraĸ’ from 1951 p. 101 the word minik means ’hardened layer of fat’.

Kleinschmidt's next entry is: 'minippaa or minitserpaa, pastes the seams of the boat with minik.'

The name Minik might derive from these definitions. A significant portion of Greenlandic names have their origin from the daily life, some of them dealing with the household and its tools, as well as hunting life and its equipment. Minik might belong to this category, however a mainstream interpretation is Kleinscmidt's no. 2 definition.

Due to cooing with babies and constant use, consonants often weaken. A good example is the girls' name Natuk, which is believed to be a babbling form of inequnartoq (cute and sweet), with the following process: unoqunartoq -> uukunattuk -> nattuk -> natuk). Thus mineq can become minik.

The name is short and easy to pronounce, and this might be the reason why it is so popular. Also the fact that several books were published about the controversy concerning the boy Minik, who in 1897 was brought with his family to New York by Robert E. Peary, might have had an impact on the popularity of the name.

According to statistics, only a handful of people (10 persons) bore the name Minik in the 50s, 60s and the 70s. But after the books were published, there was a marked increase of boys being named Minik, 57 persons in the 80s and 84 persons during the 90s.

Number of name bearers: Minik 152 (72 in DK), totalling 224, of which only 4 were girls.

Taamatuttaaq Samuel Kleinschmidtip ordbogiani Den grønlandske ordbog-imi 1871-imi saqqummersumi q. 211-mi ima nassuiarneqarsimavoq: orsoq, mattutsissimasoq nipoqqutalluni (qaava ilaatigut silaannaap sunniineranik qalippersimasartoq, soorlu qulliup ukkusissap qaavani sinaaniluunniit).
P
PalleqN  WPatdleκ
 Name for (dwarf) willow or alder (alnus crispa). Grows in tall shrubs in the interior.
 PallipalukN   Patdlipaluk
Q
 QaavigaqN   K'âvigaĸ
S
 SaamikN  WSâmik
 SatoranaN   Satorana
 SoqqaqN   Sorĸaĸ
T
TaoranaN   Taorana
 From the stem Taorat. Possibly from the same stem as the Canadian Inuktitut “taurannituq” or “tauranniqtuq” which means “pleasure to watch”, ("takorannertoq" in Greenlandic) i.e. "handsome or beautiful." The following -na is the traditional names suffix (Taorana), which indicates it is a personal name.
 Taorana (Daorana)N   Taorana
 TorngiN   Tornge
U
 UjarakN  WUjarak
UlaajukN  WUlâjuk
 Ulaajuk means ‘the tall, shapely or well-built one’. Other names with the same stem and meaning are the Eastgreenlandic girls and boys name Ulannaq and the womens name from Southernmost Greenland Ulartoq. In 1881, a man in Alluitsoq (Lichtenau) was baptised, prior to his baptism his Greenlandic name was: Ulaasi.
 UlulikN   Ululik
 UngaaqN  WUngâĸ

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