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Help[Opinions] Re: No
in reply to a message by Feorsteorra
For whatever it's worth ... this site has two theories about the origin of Charles.
From the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning "man". However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic element hari meaning "army, warrior".
Believing the most widely accepted or authoritative answer to a question simply because it is said to be authoritative is foolish. Karl/Charles might even have been based on two earlier names that had different meanings but sounded similar, and both theories are right. Maybe the original "hari" name was short for something, and the full meaning is lost forever. Anyway, etymology's rarely an exact science.
Of course you can't change the origin of a name or word but I think Charlotte's complete "meaning" - what it means to people now, besides just the etymological one that "meant" something to people in the distant past - has to be different from that of Karl, since Charlotte is a female name. My name dictionary (one that cites good sources) says:
French Charlotte, in imitation of Italian Carlotta, feminine of Carlo (Charles) from Teutonic Karl ('man, countryman, husbandman'). Introduced into England in the 17th c. but popularized by George III's queen, Charlotte Sophia, in the latter half of the 18th c. Remained very popular until the beginning of the 20th c....
So for the first English speakers to use Charlotte, it "meant" ... not "man" but a reference to a queen. It was just a royal, noble female name. It never meant "man" to those who adopted it. They probably knew it was a form of Charles, but Charles had been Charles for centuries and nobody cared what it meant, it was just another royal name.
So the fact that your name's origin is a word meaning "man," is not its complete "meaning," it's only a tiny part of history. People use old names like Charlotte to evoke cultural connections, and the etymology is just a historical curiosity. If your name were "Husband" or "Churl" (a word related to Karl) then you would have reason for dismay, but English Charlotte may just as well "mean" the queen Charlotte as it "means" man.
- mirfak
From the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning "man". However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic element hari meaning "army, warrior".
Believing the most widely accepted or authoritative answer to a question simply because it is said to be authoritative is foolish. Karl/Charles might even have been based on two earlier names that had different meanings but sounded similar, and both theories are right. Maybe the original "hari" name was short for something, and the full meaning is lost forever. Anyway, etymology's rarely an exact science.
Of course you can't change the origin of a name or word but I think Charlotte's complete "meaning" - what it means to people now, besides just the etymological one that "meant" something to people in the distant past - has to be different from that of Karl, since Charlotte is a female name. My name dictionary (one that cites good sources) says:
French Charlotte, in imitation of Italian Carlotta, feminine of Carlo (Charles) from Teutonic Karl ('man, countryman, husbandman'). Introduced into England in the 17th c. but popularized by George III's queen, Charlotte Sophia, in the latter half of the 18th c. Remained very popular until the beginning of the 20th c....
So for the first English speakers to use Charlotte, it "meant" ... not "man" but a reference to a queen. It was just a royal, noble female name. It never meant "man" to those who adopted it. They probably knew it was a form of Charles, but Charles had been Charles for centuries and nobody cared what it meant, it was just another royal name.
So the fact that your name's origin is a word meaning "man," is not its complete "meaning," it's only a tiny part of history. People use old names like Charlotte to evoke cultural connections, and the etymology is just a historical curiosity. If your name were "Husband" or "Churl" (a word related to Karl) then you would have reason for dismay, but English Charlotte may just as well "mean" the queen Charlotte as it "means" man.
- mirfak
This message was edited 6/20/2015, 11:43 PM
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