Folia onomastica Croatica, No. 12/13, 2003.
Original scientific paper
Slovene surnames derived from the Biblical name Šimeon
Marko Snoj
; SASA, Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovneian Language, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
The paper treats Slovene surnames derived from the biblical name Šimeon, from which the modern surnames Simon, Simonič, Simončič, etc., also come. Initial s- suggests that the names came to Slovene from Romance, i.e., Friulian and Venetian intermediaries. The original Romance stress has been preserved in the patronymic Simónčič. The accent shift in Símon and Símonič has taken place just as in the given name Símon, presumably because of the shortening of Simón > Simòn, under the influence of the hypocoristic Síma, attested in the 16th c., perhaps itself under German influence. These hypocoristics have given rise to the contemporary surnames Simič, Simčič, Sinčič, Sinček, Simšič and Simsič. However, the surnames Semen, Semenič and the toponym Semič are not part of this group; rather, they most likely originate in the Slavic anthroponym *Sěmislavъ. The surnames Simenc, Simenčič, Simnovčič are based on the name *Símen, G -mna, which probably arose after the weakening of the unstressed -o- in Símon. The surnames with -u- in the second syllable, e.g., Simunič, may be attributable to the Uskoks, though this notion is not unequivocal, given that -u- here could have developed regularly from the long circumflex-stressed -o- in the Lower Carniolan dialect. Word-initial š- in the surnames Šimon, Šimonič, Šimonovič originates partly via German from the Hebrew etymon Šimeōn. As early as the 16th century the hypocoristic Šime is attested, which provides the basis for the formation of the surnames Šimič, Šimec, Šimic, Šimek, etc. The variant Šímen, G -mna, which is not necessarily directly borrowed from Yiddish Schiemen, as it could have arisen just as did the form Símen after reduction, gave rise to the contemporary surnames Šimenc, Šimnic, Šimnovec. The surname Šmon, which undoubtedly comes from *Šimón, speaks in favor of the view that the base Šimon, too, came to Slovene partially from Romance, mostly likely via a Venetian territory, just as is the case with the Croatian surnames Šimun, Šimunić, Šimunović, etc.
Keywords
Slovene surnames; Biblical name Šimeon; Slovene anthroponymy
Hrčak ID:
22972
URI
Publication date:
28.3.2007.
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