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Help[Surname] Re: Last name MENKE
in reply to a message by Christopher Menke
I read on a German website that this is a diminutive of the male given name Mainhard. Now all you have to do is find out what Mainhard means.
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From Mainhard comes the italian surname Mainardi as well.
It is an old german personal name:
"Magin", strength or power
"hardhu", strong, valiant
So the meaning could be: "hard or redoubtable for his strength".
See E. De Felice / Dizionario dei Cognomi Italiani/ Cognome Mainardi.
It is an old german personal name:
"Magin", strength or power
"hardhu", strong, valiant
So the meaning could be: "hard or redoubtable for his strength".
See E. De Felice / Dizionario dei Cognomi Italiani/ Cognome Mainardi.
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to be more precise: Menke is a short form of names starting with the Germanic component meine- which comes from Germanic megin meaning "strength". Meinhard is one of those names and the latter part, -hard, means "hard, strong". Other known names are Meinfri(e)d, Mein(h)old and Meinulf or Meinolf. Menke is not only a German surname, but also Frisian, since the firstname Menke is Frisian as well.
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I believe the English surname Maynard is another version.
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