It has been several years since we have been working on our genealogy database / family tree. Working on it is reveling, and revealing as you end up learning a lot about ones own ancestry and the stories surrounding it. One of the factors which grab attention while updating the database are the names. On the upper steps of the ladder, the names are mostly repetitive. These are the traditional kerala christian names, which have been handed over through generations, and have been used extensively until 1950s/independence (eg: Kunnappallil descendancy chart through the generations).

Naming convention
The repetitive nature is mostly due to the naming convention followed: The eldest son/daughter carrys the name of the paternal grand father/mother. The second son/daughter carrys the name of the maternal grand father/mother. If you summarise these names, you can see that all those widely used kerala christian names count upto just a few, like ~25 for males and ~10 for females. A compilation of these names, with their origin, have been given in tabular form below.

Names, Origin and their Malayalam variants

English	Origin	Origin.Script	Malayalam
Abraham	Hw. Avraham	אַבְרָהָם	Avira, Avaran, Avarachan
Alexander	Gr. Alexandros	Αλεξανδρος	Chandy, Idiculla
Cyriac	Rm. Cirieco		Kurian
Cyril	Gr. Kyrillos	Κυριλλος	Korula, Kuruvilla
David	Hw. Dvd	דוד	Tharian, Thavu
Dominic	Lt. Dominicus		Dummini
Emmanuel	Hw.		Mani
Francis	Lt. Franciscus		Pranji, Pranju, Porinju
George	Gr. Georgios	Γεωργιος	Varghese, Varkey, Vakkachan, Vareethu, Geevarghese
Ignatius	Rm. Egnatius		Inasu
Issac	Hw. Yitzchaq	יִצְחָק	Ittack, Itty
Issac Abraham			Ittyavirah, Ittiyerah
Jacob	Hw. Ya’aqov	יַעֲקֹב	Chacko, Yakob
John	Hw. Yochanan	יוֹחָנָן	Yohannan, Ulahannan, Lonan, Lonappan, Ninan
Joseph	Hw. Yosef	יוֹסֵף	Yesoph, Ouseph, Outha, Ipe, Ittoop, Kunjeppu, Joppan
Joshua	Hw. Yehoshu’a	יְהוֹשֻׁעַ	Koshy, Eenashu, Easow
Luke	Gr. Loukas	Λουκας	Lukose
Mathew	Hw. Mattityahu	מַתִּתְיָהוּ	Mathew, Mathai, Mathan, Mathu, Mathulla
Mark	Rm. Marcus		Markose
Paul	Lt. Paulus		Paulose, Paili, Pailo
Peter	Gr. Petros	Πετρος	Pathros, Pathappan
Philip	Gr. Philippos	Φιλιππος	Philipose, Peeli, Pothan
Sebastian	Lt. Sebastianus		Devasy, Devasia, Devasianos
Stephen	Gr. Stephanos	Στεφανος	Eapen, Esthappan, Punnoose, Uthup
Thomas	Ar. Te’oma		Thomma, Thampan, Mamman, Oommen
Zachariah	Hw. Zekharyah	זְכַרְיָה	Cheriyan, Kuncheria, Karia, Scaria
English	Origin	Origin.Script	Malayalam
Anna	Hw. Channah	חַנָּה	Annamma
Bridgit	Ir. Brighid		Bridgita
Elizabeth	Hw. Elisheva	אֱלִישֶׁבַע	Elisa, Elia, Elacha, Eliamma
Mary	Hw. Miryam	מִרְיָם	Mariam, Maria, Mariamma
Rachel	Hw.	רָחֵל	Rahel
Rebecca	Hw. Rivqah	רִבְקָה	Akka, Raca, Akkamma
Rosa	Ger. Rose		Orotha, Kunjorotha
Sarah	Hw. Sara		Saramma
Susan	Hw. Shoshannah	שׁוֹשַׁנָּה	Susanna, Sosa, Sosamma, Achamma
Theresa	Sp. Teresa		Thresia, Therthia, Theyya, Iyya, Kochuthresia

_{Hw. Hebrew, Gr. Greek, Lt. Latin, Rm. Roman, Ar. Armenian, Ir. Irish, Ger. Germanian, Sp. Spanish
It is to be noted that the origin mentioned here is not the immediate origin from where the malayalam name originated, but the root of the name. The english equivalents given here are those used locally (in Kerala). Hovering your mouse over the english equivalents will give the extended meanings of the respective names.}

 

There are still other kerala christian names out there, and do comment us about them. Yet to identify the origin of names like Dummini, Outha, Kuriakose (Cyril or Cyriac?) etc., if there are any. There is a school of thought which says that ‘Itty’ is used as a prefix, like kutty, kunju etc. For example, usage of Itty Ipe, Itty Avirah etc could be analogous to Kutty Varkey, Kunju Ipe, etc. Hence do not take this list as conclusive or exhaustive.

Transition in the naming style
The transition beyond the 1950s (post independence) brought a multitude of names to the kerala christian name group, from simply the english quivalents (eg: George, Thomas) to the two-syllabled names (Sunny, Lisy) to the combination of parents’ names (eg: child of Sunny and Lisy will be Susy) to all kind of possible sounds! Sometimes while updating the database, I have the names but I would get stuck in identifying the gender of the person. Like, in our genealogy database of 2200+ (current figures), there are 9 of which I could not identify the gender by name.

<sub>Reference:
1. genealogy.rocksea.org
2. behindthename.com
3. Cross reference: The Syrian Christians by S.G. Pothen; from an article by Nidhin Olikara on nasrani.net.</sub>

Related posts

• a practical guide to genealogical research in kerala (15)
• sri krishna jayanthi and the legends of parana kananam (11)
• roots (24)
• kozhikode and kuttichira mishkal mosque (14)
• wedding album (36)

Tags: ancestry, family, family tree, genealogy, genealogy database, generations, kerala christian names, malayalam names, origin, religion, roots, syrian christian, tradition

98 Comments »