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ArchivesRe: Grecian Surname "Chalikis"
in reply to a message by Cissii
How is the CH pronounced - as in English or as in German?
If it's Khalikis then A Greek explanation would be your best bet. Maybe "pebble", but God knows why anybody would be so called. A longshot would be a derivation of Michael, Michaelikis shortened to Chalikis.
If the CH is pronounced as in English it could be a nickname borrowed from the Turkish, and the "scarface/crooked face" would fit. There is no such sound in Greek though, and it would probably begin with TS when written in Greek.
Not very helpful, but just to show we've thought about it.
If it's Khalikis then A Greek explanation would be your best bet. Maybe "pebble", but God knows why anybody would be so called. A longshot would be a derivation of Michael, Michaelikis shortened to Chalikis.
If the CH is pronounced as in English it could be a nickname borrowed from the Turkish, and the "scarface/crooked face" would fit. There is no such sound in Greek though, and it would probably begin with TS when written in Greek.
Not very helpful, but just to show we've thought about it.
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Replies
Since posting this I've found a genealogy forum where this name is discussed. The alternative spelling Tsalikis is given there. One person writes that it's an "Arvanit" name, which I take to mean Albanian. He also states that it comes from the word celiki (C sedilla) meaning "steel". I think the Albanian suggestion is off-target, but who knows?
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i think that the possibility that the origin of the name tsalikis is albanian is not off-target because there are many people in Greece who have albanian originated surnames. and by the way there are people in Greece called chalikis(meaning peeble).
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So it seems that there are two names - one beginning with the letter chi (X), and one bginning with TS, but both likely to become Chalikis when written in the Roman script.
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Yes :) Greek characters can be tricksy like that. The "Ts" version isn't of my family, but of an island nearby. I've met these people and they're quite nice folks. The "Ch" or "X" version comes from my island, and we don't appear to have any tracable relation. As for the "H" version (Halikis) I mentioned below to inini, I've yet to establish a link to them, but am looking into the possibility.
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Thanks for the clarification.
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i think that the possibility that the origin of the name tsalikis is albanian is not off-target because there are many people in Greece who have albanian originated surnames. and by the way there are people in Greece called chalikis(meaning peeble).
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Thanks for the input!
I know it may hold water in certain cases that a Greek name be Albanian derived, but I'm positive in the fact that it isn't in this one as the location had absolutely no Albanian immigrants, colonies, etc., and this form of the name "Chalikis" seems to be isolated to this one island location betwixt Greece and Turkey where the only contact had been that of the Greeks and Turkish peoples. It might be Turkish derived, this is a possibility, but Albanian? Not likely.
As for the name Chalikis, I've scoured phone books in Greece and have come up with very little bareers. The only people I've met with a connection to it have all been relatives. The only known derritive spellings are Tsalikis and Halikis, and these seem to be even rarer. Pebble as a meaning might be likely given the island location and having met people with Grecian surnames meaning shell and sand it wouldn't seem too insane. The other likely possibility is that of "thorn"/"thorny" from my research.
I know it may hold water in certain cases that a Greek name be Albanian derived, but I'm positive in the fact that it isn't in this one as the location had absolutely no Albanian immigrants, colonies, etc., and this form of the name "Chalikis" seems to be isolated to this one island location betwixt Greece and Turkey where the only contact had been that of the Greeks and Turkish peoples. It might be Turkish derived, this is a possibility, but Albanian? Not likely.
As for the name Chalikis, I've scoured phone books in Greece and have come up with very little bareers. The only people I've met with a connection to it have all been relatives. The only known derritive spellings are Tsalikis and Halikis, and these seem to be even rarer. Pebble as a meaning might be likely given the island location and having met people with Grecian surnames meaning shell and sand it wouldn't seem too insane. The other likely possibility is that of "thorn"/"thorny" from my research.
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It's pronounced quite oddly, really, not as "ch" or "kh" but as "hah". This puzzled me, but made me include "chali/hali" (carpet), as that is a soft "ch" which is written both ways. The Turkish word for "thorn" is also pronounced with the "h" sound. At first I thought it could have come from the island Chalkis, but aside from the pronounciation being off, when written in Greek the two have different characters and just wouldn't work with the missing essential "i" in the middle. Thank you for acknowledging the post though, I'm glad I received any response!
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