The Language Secretariat of Greenland

 
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Found 130 matching names:
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  Name European Old Spelling
  Name European Old Spelling
A
Aaju   WÂjo
 Aaju is a so-called babbling name. A small child tries to say "angaju" (big sister or brother) and produces the sound "aaju" instead. These names usually are used internally in the family, but as is often the case, they stick to the person and evolves into personal names.
Aajunnguaq   WÂjúnguaĸ
 From Aaju, a so-called babbling name, supplied with the ending: -nnguaq (dear or sweet). A small child tries to say "angaju" (big sister or brother) and produces the sound "aaju". These designations usually are used internally in the family, but as is often the case, these designations stick to the person and evolve into personal names.
 AamaN  WAuma
 Aannguaq   WÃnguaĸ
 AarunaN  WÂruna
 Ajaaja   WAjâja
 Aka   WAka
Akannguaq   WAkánguaĸ
 Hypocoristic name.
Meaning: From the kinship term Nuka (littlesister or brother to the speaker), prattled by a sibling as Aka, with the ending -nnguaq (Sweet little Aka).
 Akik  SWAkik
Akisooq   WAkisôκ
 the Precious One.
 Alasuaq   WAlasuaĸ
Amaalik   WAmâlik
 Amaalik was traditionally a name used by both genders. For females Amaalik means "the One Carrying a Child in Her Amaat (a womans coat with a large hood to carry children)".

Amaalik is also a birds name for the Common Eider duck, which is white on its back (also sometimes referred to as Qaqujuk (the white one)).
 Aneerajik E WAnêrajik
 Angajooraq   WAngajôraĸ
 Angaju   WAngajo
 Angajulleq   WAngajugdleĸ
Angerla   WAngerdla
 Girls and boys name (mostly in Northern Greenland).

The name is a short form of the word angerlartoq, the one who has returned, or angerlartoqut, ‘the person who once again has returned’.

Due to ritual name avoidance (taboos in mentioning names in traditional society), family members were weary of mentioning names of their deceased, even when babies were born and named after them, thus alternative forms of address were used such as: Angerla (short form of ‘angerlartoqut' (the one who has returned home), and Utertoq (the returned one), perhaps also Qaaqqutsiaq (the summoned one) and Taatsiaq (the fancied mention).

These forms of address have evolved into independent names over time. Angerla belongs to this category. The concept of angerlartussiaq (the one who was destined to return (to be born again after death) is often used in Greenlandic myths and legends.
 Angerlannguaq   WAngerdlánguaĸ
Angerlartoq   WAngerdlartoĸ
 'The One Returning Back Home'. Either an alternative designation for a person who was named after a deceased (due to names taboo), or a person who, since childhood was subject to certain rituals, to be destined to return home after having drowned at sea in the kayak (Angerlartussiaq - see: Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, Edinburgh, London: W. Blackwood and Sons, nr. 79, pp. 414 - 418: Avatarsuak, who was baptised Nathan).
 Apannguaq   WApánguaĸ
 Appa   WAgpa
Apunnguaq   WApúnguaκ
 Meaning: Probably from Aputsiaq, but could also be a short form of the Greenlandic pronounciation of the European name Apollo = Apulu = Apu, with -nnguaq (sweet, little) as an ending, or from the girls name Abelone = Apuluut = Apu.
Aputsiaq   WAputsiaĸ
 Meaning: snow crystal. The name Aputsiaq became known when the French author Paul-Emile Victor (1907-1995) published the children's book Aputsiaq, det lille snefnug in 1970 (first published in French in 1950 as Apoutsiak, le petit flocon de neige.), the Greenlandic version was published in 1984 with the title Aputsiaq nittaalannguaq.

A mainstream interpretation is that the name means snowflake, but a snowflake is qanik in Greenlandic and Oqaasiliortut - The Language Council, has sugeested to use snow crystal for Aputsiaq instead, since this is the correct word to use.
 Aqaatilik  SWAĸautilik
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.)
Ari   WAre
 Meaning: Hypocoristic name from Central Western Greenland, primarily to boys, and bear the meaning "the Sweet One", "Lovable" and /or "Precious One", Arivaraq f.ex. (Little Ari). Another similar name is: Ara, short form of "asasara" (my beloved).
 Arivaraq   WArivaraĸ
 Asiaq   WAsiaĸ
 Avalak   WAvalak
 Avalequt   WAvaleĸut
E
 Eqqumaq   WErĸumaĸ
 Ernguta   W
I
 Iinnguaq   WĨnguaĸ
 Ikinngut   WIkíngut
 IlaatsoqN  WIlaitsoĸ
 Inequ   WIneĸo
 Inequnaaluk   WIneĸunâluk
 Inooraq   WInôraĸ
 Inuinnaq  SWInuínaĸ
 Inuk   WInuk
 Inukkuluk   WInúkuluk
 Inungasoq   WInungassoĸ
Ivaaq   WIvâĸ
 The word 'ivaaq' means 'Brood Egg', or 'the Brooded/Embraced One (to keep warm or in affection').

Variants: Ivaaq, Ivaneq (the Brooded One), Ivaaraq (the Sweet Little Brooded One).

Mythological names which are yet to be included this names list: 'Ivaasaq' (the One Having Been Brooded) name of a female shaman from the Qeqertarsuaq region, and 'Ivalimaaq' (The Adept Brooder) and Ivaniisaq (The One Resembling Ivaneq), from East-Greenland.

Number of bearers: Ivaaq 9. Ivâĸ <4.
K
 Kaaka E WKâka
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).
 Kassoq   WKagssoĸ
 Kuka   WKuka
 Kukku E WKúko
Kuluk   WKuluk
 Originally a hypocoristic name

The ending -kuluk is a syncopation of the babbling forms aakkuluk or iikkuluk (you sweet little one).

Syncopation before or after a word is rather common in Greenlandic names, either due to babbling with a child, or because a child has tried to utter a word and omitted a sound or a syllable, f.ex.: Uka (from Nuka – little brother or little sister), Kartaava (from Nukartaava – her/his new N.), Qunaaq (from Inequnaaq – you are so sweet!) etc.

Names with syncopation following a word often appears when adults babble with a child, as in: Mineq (‘little’ from unamineq or inumineq – small one or small human being), Nguujuk (iinnguujuk – sweet/dear/poor little child), Natuk (unukunattuk - sweet/cute little child), Palu (from the ending –paluk (Pipaluk ’one’s sweet little possession’ or from another expression with same ending), Taaraq (itaaraq – sweet or cute/awful little one) etc.

The name Rulu (Rulo) has the same form and meaning as Kuluk, from the ending –ruluk. Babbling names which do not appear in ‘Fortegnelse over grønlandske navne (List over Greenlandic Names)’, that primarily are used internally in families are hypocoristic names such as: Kulooq (big one), Tsiakasik, Kasik (little mite!), Nguaq (sweet/adorable) etc.

The variant Kulunnguaq 35 (sweet little K.) is used solely as a name for girls. Kulúnguaĸ 24.
 Kulunnguaq   WKulúnguaĸ
 Kuuka   WKûka
M
Maannguaq   WMãnguaĸ
 Hypocoristic name.

”the whining/wailing one”, i.e. (lovingly): ’the sweet thinskinned little one’.

Other names in the same category: Ungaaq & Ngaanga (onomatopoetic for baby bawling).
 Majuutaq   WMajûtaĸ
Masik   WMasik
 A significant amount of Greenlandic names originates from daily household activities and articles and also from the hunting life and its equipment. Masik belongs to the latter category, and is the name for a cross beam on the deck of the kayak, which is situated just in front of the cockpit. Samuel Kleinschmidt's Greenlandic Dictionary from 1871 (p. 204) describes Masik as follows:

"Masik 1) Gill (in a fish, crab, or other living being breathing through gills) ... 2) The curved cross beam in front of the cockpit (thus named due to its resemblance to the shape of the curved gill of a fish)."

Masik as a description of gill in fish and the cross beam in a kayak is used in most Inuit dialects.

Other traditional personal names which has to do with the kayak and its equipment are: Norsaq (throwing stick in a harpoon), Avataq (harpoon float), Kujaaq (keel), Tuilik (wind and water proof jacket with a hood used in kayaking, the word means “the one with shoulders.” ), Paajuk (the paddler) etc.

Number of name bearers: Masik 5. All born in the 90s.

Kalaallit aqqi allat qaannamut pisataannullu attuumassuteqartut makkuupput: Norsaq (qisuk saaqqutinut igeriussinermut ajattaatitut atorneqartartoq), Avataq (qaannami puttaqut), Kujaaq (qaannap kujaava), Tuilik (atisaq imermik pitarneqarneq ajortoq), Paajuk (paartoq) il.il.
 Meeraq   WMêraĸ
 Miki   WMike
 Mikisoq   WMikissoĸ
 Mineq   WMineĸ
N
 Naatsoq   WNaitsoĸ
Napaartoq   WNapârtoĸ
 ‘Standing upright.’ Name of tree: Greenland mountain ash. (Latin: Sorbus Groenlandica). In the Canadian and Alaskan Inuit dialects napaartoq is a generic term for tree.

Number of name bearers: Napaartoq 12. Napârtoĸ 5.
 Nasaasaq  SWNasaussaĸ
 Nataaq  SWNatâĸ
Nuka   WNuka
 Kinship term

Nuka means a sisters younger sister or a brothers younger brother. The name Nuka is widespread (as of 01.01 2005 899 persons in the Danish realm bore the name Nuka, of which 694 were living in Greenland).

It is very common to combine the name with another Greenlandic or Danish name, i.e.: Nuka Aqqalu (Aqqalu means younger brother to an older sister), Nuka Marie, Nuka Peter, Nuka Anders, Nuka Pavia etc.

A total of 86 persons bore names combined with another name. Also approx. 25 variants of the name Nuka with varying endings (chiefly bearing the meaning small, sweet N., etc.) are listed in the approved names list.

Number of name bearers: Nuka 694.
Nukaaka   WNukâka
 from the name Nuka, which means 'younger sister or brother'. The form Nukaaka is a babbling name which is a widespread category in Greenlandic names, that is names which small siblings use among one another, or adults use in cooing with toddlers. These forms have since evolved into regular personal names.

In the approved names list, other types of names with the same ending as Nukaaka appears, names such as Atsaaka (of atsa: paternal aunt) or Akkaaka (of akka: fathers brother) and Najaaka (of naja: older brothers younger sister) and Kaaka (probably deriving from Nukaaka, with the first syllable omitted,

a common occurence in Greenlandic names) and finally from a original European name which have been adapted into Greenlandic, the name Juaaka (probably from Johan (Grl.: Juaat)). The names Aka and Kaka are babbling forms of Nuka.

The name Nuka is widespread (as of 01.01 2005 899 persons in the Danish realm bore the name Nuka, of which 694 were living in Greenland). It is therefore very common to combine the name with another Greenlandic or Danish name, i.e.: Nuka Aqqalu (Aqqalu means younger brother to an older sister), Nuka Marie, Nuka Peter, Nuka Anders, Nuka Pavia etc.

A total of 86 persons bore names combined with another name. Also approx. 25 variants of the name Nuka with varying endings (chiefly bearing the meaning small, sweet N., etc.) are listed in the approved names list.

Nukaaka is a contraction of the babbling form Nuka Nuka or Nuka Aka, hence the correct meaning would be ’my littlesister/brother who is named/called Aka or Nuka’. Another contracted form is Nukanu, with the last syllable omitted.

The name Nukaaka became mainstream as a formal name after the introduction of Home Rule. The first persons who were baptized Nukaaka were registrered in the 80s. Nukâka in the old orthography were first registered in the 70s. However, this doesn't mean that the name wasn't used informally or as a nick name prior to this period.

Number of name bearers: Nukaaka is primarily used as a girls name, a total of 48 persons bore the name, of which 44 were women. 4 men use the name as a first name, in comparison 27 women use Nukaaka as a first name. Under 4 persons are registered with the name Nukâka.

Kinship term.
 Nukaarannguaq   WNukâránguaĸ
 Nukaaraq   WNukâraĸ
 Nukannguaq   WNukánguaĸ
 Nukanunnguaq   WNukanúnguaĸ
 Nukarleq   WNukardleĸ
 Nukarliaq   WNukardliaĸ
 Nukartaa   WNukartâ
 Nukartaaq   WNukartâĸ
 Nukatsaaq   WNukatsâĸ
 Nungu   WNungo
 Nunni   WNúne
 Nunnu   WNúno
 Nuunu   WNûno
 Nuunuuta   WNûnûta
O
 Oqqapia E WOrĸapia
 Orliina   WOrdlîna
P
 Pakkutaq   WPákutaĸ
PalleqN  WPatdleκ
 Name for (dwarf) willow or alder (alnus crispa). Grows in tall shrubs in the interior.
 Pikinnguaq   WPikínguaĸ
Pilu   WPilo
 name for bog bilberry, great bilberry, whortleberry (vaccinium uliginosum). The name Pilu could also be a shortened form of pilutaq (leaf).

Variants: Pilunnguaq 91 (dear P.). Pilúnguaĸ 43 (dear P.). Pilutaq 35 (leaf). Pilutaĸ 11 (leaf). Pilutannguaq 9 (dear small leaf). Pilutánguaĸ 4 (dear small leaf).

Number of name bearers: Pilu 33. Pilo 11.
Pilutaq   WPilutaĸ
 Varianter: Pilutannguaq 9 (dear little leaf). Pilutánguaĸ 4 (dear little leaf). Pilunnguaq 91. Pilúnguaĸ 43

Number of name bearers: Pilutaq 35. Pilutaĸ 11.
 Pituaq   WPituaĸ
Q
 Qaamaq   WK'aumaĸ
 Qissisaq   WK'íssissaĸ
Qivioq   WK'ivioĸ
 Qivioq is the name of down on a birds skin or wooly hair or fleece on an animals skin. It is also the name for fluff or down from plants.

Other similar Greenlandic names include: Meqqoq (feather), Meqqunnguaq (dear little feather), Meqqupaluk (dear little feather (Thule dialect)) perhaps also Meqqusaaq (see under this name).
Qunerna   WK'unerna
 one whom one finds sweet/attractive. From the word Quneq (sweet/beautiful) and a short form of (ine)qunaaq. Qunaaq from Western Greenland and the Eastern Greenlandic name Qunerseeq carries the meaning.

Likewise Quneqitooq which means the very sweet or beautiful one was a name for a woman from Uummannaq who had moved to north of Upernavik in the 1880s. Other names with the same meaning is the Western Greenlandic girls name Quniganna and the Southern Greenlandic girls name Quneq.

The word quniitsoq with the opposite meaning: the ugly/untidy one can be found in the dictionary, the Eastern Greenlandic girls and boys hypocoristic name Quninngi (the not attractive/sweet one) is derived from this stem.
S
 Saamaq   WSaimaĸ
 SaamikN  WSâmik
 Satorina   WSatorina
 Seqineq   WSeĸineĸ
Sikkersoq   WSivkersoĸ
 "Bud", "Sprout", "The Blossoming One" or "The One in Bloom." The word sikkersoq also means: "burst out laughing."

Number of name bearers: Sikkersoq 59. Sivkersoĸ 21
 Sikki   WSivke
 Sinnii   WSivnê
 Sinniisoq   WSivnîssoĸ
Siuana   WSujuana
 Siuana derives from the stem siu- (suju- in the old writing system), which has to do with the meaning 'front', 'face', 'foremost' or 'forward'. In the Register over Greenlandic Names, 3 names with the same stem have been recorded: Siuleqatuk (Hiuleqatuk), and Sujuleqatsiaq, both girls names from the Thule Region, which seems to allude to 'forefathers', the latter name meaning 'The One With Good Forebears'.

The Western Greenlandic boys' name Siukiaq has to do with 'Front'.

Parallels are to be found in Alfred Berthelsen's treatise re. Grl. names from 1918: Sujortoq (Sujugtoq, 'Leader' or 'The One in Front'), a male name from 1799 meaning 'The Harpooner' in a whaling sloop. The womans name from 1799: Sujotona (Sujutuna = siutuna), 'Large Front', alludes to her large nose. In 1867 a man's name from Northern Greenland was registered: Sujoraq (Sioraq), 'Long-nosed'.

The ending -na in the names Siuana and Siutuna is a so-called names affix common in Inuit names signifying a personal name.
 Sorlak   WSordlak
 Sorlannguaq   WSordlánguaĸ
 Suloraq   WSuloraĸ
 Suluk   WSuluk
 Sunavana   WSunavana
T
 Tajaq   WTajaĸ
 Tassuana   WTássuana
 Tuapak   WTuapak
 Tukuma   W
Tukumaq   WTukumaĸ
 'quick', 'eager', 'active', 'cheerful', 'vigorous', 'is prompt to act' with the connotation 'is busy' from the verbal form; ’tukumavoq’. Informal form: Tukuma.

Other names in the same category are Qiimaaraq, a boys name from W. Greenland meaning 'Cheerful Little One', and the W. Grl. boys name Oqila, meaning 'Fast Runner’, short form: Oqi.

See also under the girls name Tukummeq.
 Tungutsiiannguaq   WTungutsîánguaĸ
 Tungutsiiaq   WTungutsîaĸ
 Tuujuk   WTûjuk
 Tuukkaq   WTũkaĸ
 Tuullik   WTûgdlik
U
 Uerana   WUverana
 Uilulaq   WUilulaĸ
 UjarakN  WUjarak
 Ujarneq E WUjarneĸ
 Ujoru   WUjoro
 Ukaleq   WUkaleĸ
 Ukaliusi   WUkaliuse
 Ulaaju   WUlâjo
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.
 Unaliina   WUnalîna
 Unalina   WUnalina
 UngaaqN  WUngâĸ
 Usinna   WUsivna
Utertoq   WUtertoĸ
 The name Utertoq means the returned one, (the family member who has come home again). Due to ritual name avoidance (taboos in mentioning names in traditional society), family members were weary of mentioning names of the deceased

, even when babies had been born and named after the deceased, thus alternative forms of address were used such as: Angerla (short form of ‘angerlartoqut' (the one who has returned home), and Qaaqqutsiaq (the summoned one), perhaps also Taatsiaq (the fancied mention). These forms of address has evolved into independent names over time.

Utertoq belongs to this category. Another name under this category is Sinniisoq (the one who comes in your stead, i.e. the substitute).
Uti   WUte
 Abbreviation of Utertoq. The name Utertoq means the returned one, (the family member who has come again). Due to ritual names of the deceased, even when babies had been born and named after them - thus alternative forms of address were used such as: Utertoq, Angerla, perhaps also Qaaqqutsiaq and Taatsiaq. These forms af address have evolved into becoming independent names over time. Uti belongs to this category. Another name of this type is Sinniisoq.

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