A guide to some Lithuanian naming patterns.

A guide to some Lithuanian naming patterns.

Compiled by ffrw ffride wlffsdotter, January 2022.

  1. Introduction.
  2. Double given names.
  3. Masculine Patronymics.
  4. Feminine Patronymics.
  5. Marital Bynames used by Women.
  6. Descriptive bynames used by men.
  7. Occupational Bynames used by Men.
  8. Locative, and affiliative bynames..
  9. References.
  10. Endnotes.

1. Introduction.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) was a multilingual and multicultural society that at its greatest extent encompassed the present-day territories of Lithuania, Belarus, and western Ukraine. The GDL also jointly administered vassal states with the Kingdom of Poland. From the 16th century these vassal states included the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, and the Duchy of Livonia (incorporating parts of the present-day Republics of Latvia and Estonia) (Blūzma 2020).

Frequently described as the "last pagan state" in Europe, the GDL (but not necessarily all of its inhabitants) converted to the Roman Catholic faith in 1387, during the reign of Grand Duke Jogaila (Baronas 2014:51). This is also the period when Lithuanian speakers (living in the approximate area of the present-day Republic of Lithuania) in the west of the Grand Duchy, started to create written records alongside their well-established oral history traditions (Baronas and Rowell 2015:66; Dziarnovič 2012-3). These written records generally did not use the Lithuanian language, but instead utilised Latin, Polish, and Ruthenian. Their choice of language depended on the reason for creating the record, its intended audience, and its context (Baronas and Rowell 2015:66-7). Despite the dearth of Lithuanian-language writings that mention people by name, onomatists and linguists have identified people with Lithuanian-language names in pre-1650 sources written in Polish, Ruthenian and Latin (eg. Maciejauskienė 1981; Čirūnaitė 2010; Ragauskaitė 2021).

Most of the patterns discussed below were accepted for inclusion in SENA Appendix A on the March 2021 Letter of Acceptances and Returns of the Society for Creative Anachronism's College of Arms, as relatively common naming patterns seen before 1650. They therefore do not require additional documentation to use in your name submission. The individual name elements in the submission will still need to be documented.

1.1 About the names of Lithuanians, limitations of the data, and limitations of this article.

It seems that Lithuanians were originally mononymous, and Girvilas (1978) says that in some places, people continued to be known by a single given name as late as the 18th century. But for much of the region, this trend had started to change from the 14th century onwards.

With the Christianisation of Lithuania under Jogaila, these mononymic names were followed by polynymic names comprised of two given names. At first, the newly converted nobility and rulers of Lithuania were recorded with names that often combined a Christian baptismal name and an indigenous Lithuanian name. Although these names came from the elite stratum of Lithuanian-speaking society, Petrauskas (2019:92) notes that there is no evidence for these bynames being considered to be dynastic or regnal names, nor for there to be any prohibitions against Lithuanians sharing the names of royalty: "There are no data that lead us to think that the sharing of a name by certain persons, which we encounter on occasion, reflected any close personal kinship: for example Manvydas, a son of Grand Duke Gediminas, had no connection with the nobleman Albertus Moniwid (Albertas Manvydas), who was active at the turn of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, nor was an early fifteenth-century Giedroyć duke named Jogaila related to the man who ruled Poland and Lithuania at that time. As later material shows, representatives of different social classes might have the same name."

In the decades after Christianisation, when people were born into the new faith, Zinkevičius (1977) states that Lithuanian people were increasingly recorded with some sort of byname following their given name, rather than an indigenous given name. The most common byname was a patronymic (a byname that indicates who your father is, like English "Johnson," or Russian "Stepanova") that could use a variety of suffixes. There are also examples of locative bynames, occupational bynames, descriptive bynames, and women with marital bynames (a byname that uses the name of their husband).

The patterns discussed below are also heavily skewed by the relative accessibility of research focusing on records from the 16th and 17th centuries that has been published online. Hence much of the evidence for Lithuanian naming patterns that are discussed here comes from a relatively late time period of interest in the Society for Creative Anachronism. The records that are often referred to below are also predominantly focused on the the activities of men, and hence examples include more masculine personal names (and patterns) than feminine. This over-representation of men is seen from the earliest records naming Lithuanian nobility, to the end of our time period of interest. For instance, unlike male nobles in the 14th century, we do not know for certain what Lithuanian noblewomen's "pagan" names were; generally they are solely referred to by their new Christian names in contemporary records, and their alleged original names only are mentioned decades or centuries afterwards (Petrauskas 2019:94). Furthermore, women in the 16th and early 17th centuries were only rarely named directly in records, and were instead defined solely in terms of their relationship to a man, to the extent that they were frequently not recorded with a given name at all (Čirūnaitė 2009c; Endzelytė 2021).

However if you have a masculine byname in Polish or Ruthenian, you can use it to form a feminine byname, as well as construct other masculine bynames. This is because Lithuanian masculine and feminine bynames are distinguished by their suffixes.

For example, if you have the masculine name Ian or Янъ [Ian"] (modern Lithuanian: Jonas), then you could form the following patronymic bynames:

  • Masculine patronymics:
    • Ianiunas, Янонисъ [Ianonīs"], (Modern Lithuanian: Janiūnas, Janonis.)
    • Ianaytis, Янайтисъ [Ianaĭtīs"]. (Modern Lithuanian: Janaitis.)
    • Ianuitis, Янойтисъ [Ianoĭtīs"]. (Modern Lithuanian: Januitis.)
    • Ianiulis, Янелисъ [Ianelīs"]. (Modern Lithuanian: Jan(i)ulis.)
  • Feminine patronymics:
    • Ianaicia. (Modern Lithuanian: Jonaičia.)
    • Ianaite, Янайтя [Ianaĭtia]. (Modern Lithuanian: Janaitė.)
  • Feminine marital bynames:
    • Ianienie. (Modern Lithuanian: Janienė.)
    • Ianuwyene. (Modern Lithuanian: Januvienė.)

This summary does not aim to give a comprehensive discussion of the different ways that Lithuanian-speaking people were named before 1650, but gives a brief overview of naming patterns mentioned in the literature. This summary is also focused upon the names that have been identified by academics, either through the language of the personal names used, suffixes, or both, that were used by Lithuanian speakers rather than the larger pool of names, used by the many different people, within the Lithuanian-speaking regions of the GDL.

If you are looking for names such as those borne by Ruthenians, Tatars, Jewish people, Poles, or Latvians, the freely available articles written by Jūratė Čirūnaitė are an excellent place to start your research (eg. Čirūnaitė 2001, 2009a,b, 2011, 2012).

To-date I have not found any examples of bynames that are gender neutral, nor examples using something like the "neutral" feminine suffix -ė (that doesn't reveal a woman's marital status) that was introduced into Lithuanian law in 2003 (van Langendonck 2011; 187).

1.2 Romanisation of Ruthenian and special characters in Polish.

Pre-1650 Lithuanian names can appear quite different from their present-day forms used in the Republic of Lithuania, and in overseas Lithuanian-speaking communities. This is because they were written down phonetically, as there was no standardised Lithuanian alphabet. For instance the 16th century author known today as Martynas Mažvydas, wrote his name in a Latin acrostic as Martjnvs Masvjdjvs (Sakalauskas 1998). In contemporary Latin records he was also referred to as Martinus Moswid, Moswidius, and in Old Lithuanian with his patronymic, M. Moſſuids Waytkunas (Senn 1945:129-30; Mažvydas 1549).

Since we are all modern-day people reading this webpage, who do not necessarily know Old Lithuanian, I have tried to provide the modern Lithuanian forms as a gloss. These modern forms are not necessarily registerable as a name by the College of Heralds in the Society for Creative Anachronism. Along with names where I have provided the nominative form of manuscript spellings, these names are marked with an asterisk to show that they have been modified from the spelling found in the referred source.
All Ruthenian-language names have been Romanised using the Library of Congress (2012) system for Belarusian. These Romanised forms are in square brackets.

Names recorded using Polish orthography often have letters that are not used in the present-day language. This includes «ʒ», «ƶ», «ſ» and «ÿ». Although focused on printed texts, Bunčić (2012: 222) notes that Polish printers were trying to record "44 phonemes of Polish, [while] 16th-century spellers did not even have the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet we take for granted today: both «j» and «y» were just variants of «i»... «s» and «z» often represented the same sound.... Therefore, the Latin alphabet as such provided only for about a third of the Polish phonemes."

Given the ambiguities in spelling in the 16th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it is currently unclear if, or how, these letters in Polish examples may be substituted when name elements are registered by the SCA College of Arms.

2. Double given names.

Lithuanian nobility in the second half of the 14th century indicated that they had converted to Christianity (either to Roman Catholicism, or to Orthodox Catholicism) by taking a baptismal name (Schmalstieg 1982). Their "new" name became the first element in this style of name, with their "old" name in the second position. Selart (2016:6) notes that "for the Lithuanian nobility... receiving a new name at baptism can be considered a rule." They then go on to explain that "the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (c. 1350/1360–1434) bore the name of Władysław as a Polish King after his baptism; Duke Švitrigaila (1360s–1452) was baptized to Bolesław. Kęstutis’ son Tautvilas (d. 1390) was baptized in 1383 to Konrad, which refers to Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (1382–1390). Kęstutis’ daughter Danutė note 1 (1358–1448) was christened to Anna." Lithuanian noblity who had converted to Orthodox Catholic (Eastern Orthodox) Christianity could also be baptised with the names of Slavic saints, such as the sons of Grand Duke Gediminas; "Narimantas (d. 1348) became Gleb.... Karijotas (d. c. 1360) recieved the new name Mikhail; Liubartas (d. 1383/1385) became Dmitri, and Jaunutis note 2 (d. after 1366) came to be called Ioann" (Selart 2016:7).

Baronas and Rowell (2015:296) note that this new trend in naming practices was a reflection of contemporary societal norms, as well as the message(s) the bearer wished to convey. While King Jogaila took the name Władysław at his baptism in 1386, and only his newer Christian name was used "in all charters issued by the Polish chancery," other nobles used double names. This has been interpreted as reflecting "more faithfully the process of acculturation," to a new religion "within which experimentation with the new and its pragmatic use was on the order of the day" (ibid.).

Medieval Latin-language charters from Lithuania include examples of men's names using the patterns:

  • «Christian given name» alias «Lithuanian given name»
  • «Christian given name» dictus «Lithuanian given name»
  • «Christian given name» dictus «Lithuanian given name» de «Location»
    Where alias means something akin to "otherwise called," and dictus means "called." These names are wholly or partially Latinised, with the modern form in brackets to illustrate how different these names can appear from their modern Lithuanian spellings.

In Latin, Polish, and Ruthenian-language sources, there are also examples of names that appear to use two given names, but are in fact a given name and unmarked family name. This is described in greater detail below in section 3.1, as:

  • «Christian given name» «Lithuanian given name»

Finally, there are a handful of examples that appear to use two Christian names:

  • «Christian given name» alias «Christian given name»

2.1 «Christian given name» alias «Lithuanian given name» in Latin.

Examples of the pattern «Christian given name» alias «Lithuanian given name» were used by men, and include:

  • Andreas alias Gastold - 1387 - Modern Lithuanian: *Andriejus kitaip Goštautas (Petrauskas 2019:94, 102, footnote 23).
  • Alexander, alias Witold - 1423 - In English he is better known as Vytautas the Great. Modern Lithuanian: *Aleksandras kitaip Vytautas (The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences 2018a; Jasas 1980; 28 no. 30).
  • Allexander, alias Muntholt - 1440 - Modern Lithuanian: *Aleksandras kitaip Muntautas (Parchments' Digital Images Archive, F6-25; Jasas 1980; 34 no. 48).
  • *Johannes, alias Thautwil (ablative case: Johanne, alias Thautwil) - 1440 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas kitaip Tautvilas (Jasas 1980; 34 no. 48).

2.2 «Christian given name» dictus «Lithuanian given name» in Latin.

Examples of the pattern «Christian given name» dictus «Lithuanian given name» include the following examples used by men:

  • Petrus dictus Nicael - 1413 - Modern Lithuanian: *Petras Nygaila (Almonaitis 2011: 89).
  • Petrus dictus Vissabor - 1413 - Modern Lithuanian: *Petras Vizbaras (Almonaitis 2011: 90).
  • Stanislaus dictus Golmin - 1413 - Modern Lithuanian: *Stanislovas Galminas (Baronas and Rowell 2015:346).

2.3 «Christian given name» dictus «Lithuanian given name» de «Location» in Latin.

There are also examples of boiars (ie. nobles with landholdings) who were recorded with a dictus or alias double name and a locative byname:

  • Petrus dictus Vissabor de Scoconanow - 1413 - He owned the estate of Kaltinėnai. Modern Lithuanian: *Petras Visbaras iš Kaltinėnų (Baronas and Rowell 2015:346; Almonaitis 2011: 90; Almonaitis 2009:12).
  • Stanislaus dictus Nadobe de Widucla - 1413 - He owned the estate of Viduklė. Modern Lithuanian: *Stanislovas Nadabas iš Viduklės (Baronas and Rowell 2015:346).
  • Gothardus dictus Gotard de Raygel - 1413 - He owned the estate of Ariogala. Modern Lithuanian: *Gothardas Gotardas iš Ariogalos (Baronas and Rowell 2015:346; Almonaitis 1998:27).
  • Berhardus dictus Clausgel de Rosseyna - 1413 - He owned the estate of Raseiniai. Modern Lithuanian: *Bernardas Klausigaila iš Raseinių (Baronas and Rowell 2015:346).

and using alias:

  • Michael alias Minigal de Oszmena - 1387 - He owned the estate of Ashmiany, now in Belarus. Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolas Mingaila iš Ašmenos (Petrauskas 2019:102, footnote 23).
  • Georgius alias Giedigold de Vissniova - 1434 - It is possible that Georgius owned the estate of Vishneva, now in Belarus. Modern Lithuanian: *Jurgis Gedgaudas iš Vyšniavo (Fijałek 2013:95).

2.4 «Christian given name» alias «Christian given name» in Latin.

Baronas and Rowell suggest that Lithuanians not only converted from their indigenous faith to Christianity, but also between Christian faiths. They give the example of "honestus Stanislaus de Wilna nuncupatus Iwan" [honourable Stanislaus of Vilnius having been called by the name Iwan] from the early 1500s (Rowell 2014:41, footnote 29). They argue that "this man was once Orthodox" as he was recorded with the second name Ivan, not Johannes, and was the namesake of the Polish-born saint Stanislaus the Martyr, who is only venerated in the Catholic church (Baronas and Rowell 2015:447-8, footnote 40).

Although focused on examples of doubled given names from 15th century Galicia, outside of the territory of Lithuania, Zazuliak argues that, in the absence of other information, it is often difficult to know if these names truly indicate conversion, or if they were conveying something else about the bearer. Where individuals with two Christian names are mentioned multiple times in the surviving Galician records, often their second name is only occasionally mentioned, or they are recorded under different names at different times (Зазуляк 2007: 288-9).

Like Stanislaus-Iwan, and the examples mentioned by Zazuliak (2007), there are examples from the GDL of people bearing two Christian names. Curiously, some of them appear to simply be diminutives of the first name, like Basilius-Waschko note 3, and Zophia-Sonyka note 4:

  • Basilius alias Waschko Sackowycz - 1444 - Modern Lithuanian: *Vasilijus kitaip Vaška Sakavičius (Parchments' Digital Images Archive, F6-29).
  • Dorothea, alias Sonyka - 1449 - Modern Lithuanian: *Dorotėja kitaip Sonka (The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences 2018b).
  • Johannes, [dux de Swir], alias Grig - 1443 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas kitaip Grigas note 5 (Jasas 1980; 36 no. 53).
  • Zophia alias Sonyka - 1483 - Modern Lithuanian: *Sofija kitaip Sonka (Parchments' Digital Images Archive, F6-56).

3. Masculine Patronymics.

A patronymic is a byname derived from the name of a father or other male ancestor. These names started to appear in records in Lithuania from the early 15th century (Petrauskas 2019:96). As Petrauskas (2019:96) explains: "patronymics also create a personal identity and complement a [given] name with a reference to an important father, while forming a memory to that forebear. Thus a name which forms part of a patronymic fulfils a double role — as a sign of continuity of power and a form of memory preservation."

Masculine patronyms, based on the father's name, could utilise the suffixes -(i)unas, -(i)unos, -(i)uns, -(i)un, -aitis, -uitis or -(i)ulis. Patronymics could also be derived from the father's occupational byname, using these same suffixes.

3.1 Unmarked Patronymics using an ancestor's Lithuanian name in Latin, Polish, and Ruthenian.

Although these names look like they are two given names, without the Latinised particles used in the examples covered in section 2, this is not necessarily the case. This style of name has been interpreted as using an unmarked, inherited byname. Petrauskas (2019:100) gives the example of Albertus alias Moniwid, a Lithuanian nobleman who had converted to Christianity and subsequently obtained new heraldry in 1413. His son, called Jan, had a son also called Albertus, who was recorded in 1475 as Albertus Moniwid, apparently referring back to his grandfather. Albertus lived almost a century after the Christianisation of Lithuania, and after multiple generations of men had been bestowed Christian given names. From examples like this, Petrauskas concludes that these "names from the pre-Christian period were resurrected for a second, this time long life as the (sur)names of families who were descended from them."
Examples of the pattern «Christian given name» «Lithuanian ancestor's name» are used by men in Latin-language sources, including:

  • Albertus Moniwid - 1423 - Modern Lithuanian: *Albertas Manvydas (The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences 2018a; Jasas 1980; 28 no. 30).
  • Nicholas Kyesgal - 1498 - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolas Kęsgaila (Fijałek and Semkowicz 1932: 452).
  • Alexander Wytowdus - 1500 - Modern Lithuanian: *Aleksandras Vytautas. The more famous grand duke, Vytautas the Great, had died in 1430 so this cannot be him (Fijałek and Semkowicz 1932: 553).

Ragauskaitė (2018a:59-60) illustrates that in early 17th century Kėdainiai that this pattern of inherited "pre-Christian" personal names, used as bynames, continued to be appear in Polish-language sources:

  • Marcin Gintowt - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Martynas Gintautas.
  • Ławryn Gierdwił, Ławryn Girdwil - 1624 (x2) - Modern Lithuanian: *Laurynas Girdvilas.
  • Marcin Jokant - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Martynas Jokantas.
  • Sebestian Narwid - 1604 - Modern Lithuanian: *Sebastijonas Norvydas.
  • Matẏs Surwilo, Maciey Surwiło - 1604, 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Motiejus Survila.

This is also reflected in Ruthenian-language sources. The examples below are Romanised using the Library of Congress system for Belarusian:

  • Кгедутисъ Сукгоилисъ [Khedutīs" Sukhoīlīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Gedutis Sugaila(s) (Būga 1911:18,31; Senn 1945:129).
  • Петръ Нармантисъ [Petr" Narmantīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Petras Narmantas (Būga 1911:18; Senn 1945:129).
  • Кондратъ Монтъ [Kondrat" Mont"] - 16th century - from a diminutive of a personal name beginning with Mont- (Būga 1911:18; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:646).
  • Петрашъ Римкантисъ [Petrash" Rīmkantīs"] - 1581 - Modern Lithuanian: *Petras Rimkantas (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:240).

3.2 Patronymics suffixed with -(i)unas, -(i)unos, -(i)uns, -(i)un, or -(і)онисъ.

3.2a Personal names suffixed with -(i)unas, -(i)unos, -(i)uns, or -(i)un in Polish- and Latin-language documents, used as a patronymic.

Maciejauskienė (2008) examined the wedding records of Lankeliškiai‎ parish, in the modern-day county of Marijampolė, between 1617 and 1692. From the photograph of a page in her article, the register was written in Latin with Polonicised bynames. For example example, individuals in 1630 were recorded as Petrum Bludʒiunas, Stephanum Dauƶiunas (with their names in the Latin accusative case). In the body of the article, however, Maciejauskienė simply lists the byname and the year it was recorded. Modern surname forms are taken from the Institute of the Lithuanian Language's Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames (2012-2021). Ragauskaitė (2018b: 105) notes, that because of the interaction between written Polish and spoken Lithuanian, sound substitutions such as switching a and o are recorded. This can be seen in the examples of 17th century Maciunos and Petraſзiunos below, when compared to their modern equivalents, Mačiūnas and Petrašiūnas:

  • Andreiunos - 1645 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Andrejūnas, from the masculine name Andrius (Maciejauskienė 2008:150).
  • Mikailunos - 1628 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Mikalojūnas, from the name Mikalojus (Maciejauskienė 2008:151).
  • Petraſзiunos - 1628 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Petrašiūnas, from the name Petras (Maciejauskienė 2008:152).
  • Ambroźieiunas - 1635 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Ambroziūnas, from the name Ambrozas (Maciejauskienė 2008:150).
  • Lukoſзiunas - 1636 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Lukošiūnas, from the name Lukos (Maciejauskienė 2008:150).
  • Wenciunas - 1631 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Venciūnas, possibly from a diminutive of Vaclovas (Maciejauskienė 2008:153).

This pattern is not unique to Marijampolė county, with further Polish-language examples found in Kėdainiai, in Kaunas County:

  • Mikołay Bałtromieiunos - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolas Baltramiejūnas, from the name Baltramiejus (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108).
  • Jan Maciunos - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Mačiūnas, possibly from the Polish name Maciej, Lithuanian Motiejus (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108).
  • Lawrʒẏn Pietkunos - 1604 - Modern Lithuanian: *Laurynas Petkūnas, from a diminutive of the name Petras; Petka (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108).
  • Maciey Sʒymkunos - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Motiejus Šimkūnas, from the diminutive Simko (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108).
  • Stanisław Mikołaiunas - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Stanislovas Mikalojūnas, from the baptismal name Mikalojus (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Mikalojūnas) (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108).

Ragauskaitė (2021:15-16) examined a Latin-language baptismal register from Joniškis parish, Šiauliai county, in northern Lithuania. The article gave some examples of masculine bynames where the final vowel was not recorded, leaving patronymics that end in -(i)uns:

  • Dapkuns - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Dabkūnas, from the Slavic personal name Dobko, itself a diminutive form of a name such as Dobeslav (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Dabkus).
  • Grigaluns - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Grigaliūnas, from the baptismal name Grigalius, a form of Gregorius (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Grigalius).
  • Mikałoiuns, Mikałoiunſ - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Mikoliūnas, from the baptismal name Mykolas (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Mikalojūnas).
  • Petrośiuns, Petroßiuns - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Petrašūnas, from the personal name Petras (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Petrošius).

Ragauskaitė (2018b:108) also lists examples of Polish-language patronymics from Kėdainiai, that were not recorded with their final syllable at all, but simply ended with -(i)un:

  • Bartłomieẏ Satkun - 1604 - Modern Lithuanian: *Baltramiejus Satkūnas, possibly an abbreviated form of a personal name beginning with Sat- (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Satkus).
  • Paweł Dobkun - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Pavelas Dabkūnas, from the Slavic personal name Dobko, itself a diminutive form of a name such as Dobeslovas (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Dabkus).
  • Pawel Pietraſʒun - 1604 - Modern Lithuanian: *Pavelas Petrašūnas, from the personal name Petras (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Petrošius).
  • Macʒul Towtkun - 1604 - Modern Lithuanian: *Matulis Tautkūnas, possibly from a diminutive of a Lithuanian personal name beginning with Tautk- such as Tautkantas (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Tautkus).

3.2b Personal names suffixed with -(і)онисъ in Ruthenian-language documents.

In Ruthenian-language sources, the Cyrillic spelling of this suffix appears to be -(і)онисъ [-(i)onīs"].

  • Янъ Юргіонисъ [Ian" Iurhionīs"] - 1595 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Jurgionis, from the personal name Jurgis (Būga 1911:19; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:530).
  • Шимасъ Бутвилонисъ [Shīmas" Butvīlonīs"] - 1595 - Modern Lithuanian: *Simas Butvilonis, from the personal name Butvilas (Būga 1911:19; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:530).
  • Юхно Нарбутонисъ [Iukhno Narbutonīs"] - 1595 - Modern Lithuanian: *Juchno Narbutonis, from the personal name Narbutas (Būga 1911:19; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:530).
  • Микесъ Кгитовтонисъ [Mīkes" Khītovtonīs"] - 1595 - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykas Getautonis, from the personal name Getautas (Būga 1911:19; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:528).

3.2c Occupational bynames suffixed with -(i)unas, or -(i)unos in Polish.

Maciejauskienė (2008) also included the following examples of patronymics derived from occupational bynames:

  • Kubiliunos - 1650 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Kubiliūnas, from kubilius, "cooper" (Maciejauskienė 2008:152).
  • Kurpiunas - 1637 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Kurpiūnas, from kurpius, "cobbler" (Maciejauskienė 2008:150).
  • Podзiunos - 1619, 1621 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Puodžiūnas, from puodžius, "potter" (Maciejauskienė 2008:152).

3.2d Descriptive bynames suffixed with -(i)unas, -(i)uns, or -(i)un in Polish.

Descriptive bynames were also combined with these patronymic suffixes. Examples include:

  • Saldзiunas - 1638 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Saldžiūnas, from the adjective saldus, "sweet."(Maciejauskienė 2008:152; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Saldžius).
  • Jan Prociunas, Abram Praciunas - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Pračiūnas, a name that is often associated with the adjective prastas, "poor" (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Pračiūnas).
  • Błudziuns - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Blauzdžiūnas, a descriptive byname from blauzda "shin, shank" (Ragauskaitė 2021:14; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Blauzdys).
  • Zariun - 1599 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Zariūnas. This name may be from Latvian zariņš "twig" (Ragauskaitė 2021:15; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Zarinis).
  • Stanisław Błauʒdziun - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Blauzdžiūnas, a descriptive byname from blauzda "shin, shank" (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Blauzdys).
  • Jan Naudziun - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Naudžiūnas, a descriptive byname from Lithuanian naudžius "greedy, mercenary" or Latvian nauda "money" (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Naudžius).

3.3 Patronymics suffixed with -aitis, -aitys, -uitis, -айтисъ and -ойтисъ.

Maciejauskienė (2004) treats -aitis and -uitis as different patronymic suffixes. She argues that -aitis was a much more common patronymic suffix, and that in Samogitia (Žemaitija, in the Lithuanian lowlands) in particular -uitis was used for the patronymics of young, unmarried boys. The suffix -uitis also appears in records from Joniškis parish (in Aukštaitija, the Lithuanian highlands), and the city of Kaunas (in Suvalkija). But Ragauskaitė (2005, 2021) considers them to be a patronymic suffix, and does not comment on the possibility that they are a byname suffix that indicates a man's marital status.

3.3a Personal names suffixed with -aitis or -uitis in Polish-language documents.

Ragauskaitė provides examples of very late 16th, and early 17th century patronymics, using the father's personal name and the suffix -uitis, from Joniškis parish (Ragauskaitė 2021:17) and Kaunas (Ragauskaitė 2005: 66). Note that Ragauskaitė does not include the full names of the men from Joniškis parish, only their patronymics:

  • Tomaß Janułuitis - 1619 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Janulaitis, from Janulis, a diminutive of the Polish name Jan, or in modern Lithuanian, Jonas (Ragauskaitė 2005: 66; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Janulaitis).
  • Jurkuitis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Jurkaitis, from Jurka a diminutive of Jurgis (Ragauskaitė 2021:17; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Jurkaitis).
  • Petrikuitis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Petrikaitis, from Petrikas, a diminutive of Petras (Ragauskaitė 2021:17; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Petrikaitis).
  • Spirakuytis - 1600 - this may be from a diminutive of the name Spurius, it is not a modern Lithuanian byname (Ragauskaitė 2021:17).

In Ragauskaitė's (2021) examination of names from Joniškis parish, masculine bynames derived from personal names ending in -aitis are also discussed. These records were in Latinised Polish:

  • Gabriel Augaitis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian: *Gabrielius Augaitis, possibly from a Baltic name beginning with Aug-, or or a baptismal name such as Augustas. (Ragauskaitė 2021:6)
  • Bartholomæus Jurgaitis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian: *Baltramiejus Jurgaitis, from the name Jurgis (Ragauskaitė 2021:5).
  • Gregorius Łaurinaytis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian: *Grigalius Laurinaitis, from the name Laurynas (Ragauskaitė 2021:5).
  • Nicolaus Januſzaitis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian: *Nikolajus Janušaitis, from the name Janusz (Ragauskaitė 2021:5).

Because spelling was not standardised, there are also examples from Polish-language sources with the patronymic suffix spelled -aitys, -aytis and -aytys:

  • Iakubus Stanislawaitys - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jokūbas Stanislovaitis, from the personal name Stanislovas (Maciejauskienė 1981:160; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Stanislovaitis).
  • Motieius Mikołaiaitys - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Motiejus Mikolaitis, from the personal name Mykolas (Maciejauskienė 1981:160; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Mykolaitis).
  • Woytekus Mildawgaitys - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Voitechas Mildaugaitis, possibly from the Lithuanian personal name Mildaugas (Maciejauskienė 1981:161).
  • Lawrynas Jonaytis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Laurynas Jonaitis, from the personal name Jonas (Maciejauskienė 1981:160; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Jonaitis).
  • Mikołay Andrzeiaytis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolay Andrejaitis, from the the Polish personal name Andrius (Maciejauskienė 1981:160; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Andrejaitis).
  • Krʒysʒtoph Grygaytis - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Kristupas Grigaitis, from the personal name Grigas (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Grigaitis).
  • Stanisław Bartkaytys - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Stanislovas Bartkaitis, from the personal name Bartko (Maciejauskienė 1981:160-1; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Bartkaitis).
  • Mikołay Gustaytys - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolay Gustaitis, from the personal name Gustas, a diminutive of a name like Augustas or Gustavas (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Gustaitis).
  • Jan Kasperaytys - 1604 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Kasperaitis, from the personal name Kasperas (Ragauskaitė 2018b:108; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Kasperaitis).

3.3b Personal names suffixed with -айтисъ or -ойтисъ in Ruthenian-language documents.

This style of patronymic is also recorded in Ruthenian-language patronymics, using -айтисъ [-aĭtis"]:

  • Кгинвилъ Янкайтисъ [Khīnvīl" Iakaĭtīs"] - 1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Ginvilis Jakaitis (Būga 1911:18; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:13).
  • Янушъ Микитайтисъ [Ianush" Mīkītaĭtīs"] - 1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonušas Mikitaitis (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:13).
  • Монтвилъ Можайтисъ [Montvīl" Mozhaĭtīs"] - 1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Montvilas Mazaitis (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:13).

This type of patronymic also used -ойтисъ [-oĭtis"]:

  • Лувашъ Петройтисъ [Luvash" Petroĭtīs"] - 1581 - Modern Lithuanian: *Levas Petraitis, from the name Petras (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:243; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Petraitis).
  • Томашъ Кгедкговдойтисъ [Tomash" Khedkhovdoĭtīs"] - 1581 - Modern Lithuanian: *Tomas Gedgaudaitis, from the name Gedgaudas (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:244).
  • Янъ Минбутойтисъ [Ian" Mīnbutoĭtīs"] - 1581 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Minbutaitis, from the name Minbutas (Būga 1911:23).
  • Стасюсъ Якгелойтисъ [Stasius" Iakheloĭtīs"] - 1581 - Modern Lithuanian: *Stasys Jogailaitis, from the name Jogaila (Būga 1911:29).

3.3c Descriptive bynames suffixed with -aitis, or -uitis in Polish-language documents.

There were also examples of patronymics derived from occupational or descriptive bynames:

  • Petryk Burbaytis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Petrikas Burbaitis, from burba "a talkative person" (Girvilas 1978; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:380).
  • Stasiulis Wiłkaytis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Stasiulis Vilkaitis, from vilkas "a wolf" (Girvilas 1978; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:381).
  • Mikołay Ƶyłaytys - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolay Žilaitis. From žilas "gray, hoary"(Ragauskaitė 2018a:66; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Žilaitis).
  • Maciey Kurpaytis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Motiejus Kurpaitis, from kurpius, "cobbler" (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:459).
  • Ławryn Melnikaytis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Laurynas Melnikaitis. From Russian and Ukrainian мельник [mel'nik], and related to Lithuanian malūnininkas, "miller" (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:379).

and with -uitis:

  • Buyłuitis - 1600 - Reconstructed Lithuanian byname: *Builaitis. This name is possibly from Latvian builis, blunt (like a knife) or Lithuanian builus, an oval shape (Ragauskaitė 2021:17; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Builis).
  • Szariuitis - 1599 - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Šaraitis, from šaras, fodder or animal feed (Ragauskaitė 2021:17).
  • Paulos Sʒukuitis - 1617 - Modern Lithuanian: *Paulius Šukaitis, from šukos "the comb," or the verb šukuoti "to comb" (Ragauskaitė 2005: 66; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Šukaitis).
  • Jerʒi Traſuitis - 1621 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jurgis Trasaitis, from the verb trasioti "to run" or the adjective trasus "likes to run" (Ragauskaitė 2005: 66; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Trasaitis).

3.4 Patronymics suffixed with -(i)ulis, or -елис(ъ).

The suffix -(i)ulis, unlike the other patronymic markers discussed, is interpreted by academics as being a suffix that functions as a diminutive (Klimas 1969; Maciejauskienė 2010:3; Ragauskaitė 2021:19). It does appear that this diminutive was also used for given names (eg. Baniulis Andrieiuns in 1599, Matulis Łaucuns, and Matulis Wiluns in 1600 (Ragauskaitė 2021:4,5)).

Interestingly, in Ruthenian-language contexts, this diminutive is spelled -юлис [-iulīs]. Like in Polish-language sources, this diminutive was also used for given names in the 16th century, such as Казюлис чоботар [Kaziulīs chobotar] a shoemaker, Ендрюлис ужъкур [Endriulīs uzh"kur] and Станюлис Ушъкурисъ [Staniulīs Ush"kurīs"], both men were užkurys, someone who had married a widow (Maciejauskienė 1981:156,157,158).

Although this suffix could be used with a personal masculine name, in this section I have only included examples that have been identified as bynames.

3.4a Personal names suffixed with -(i)ulis in Polish.

Masculine patronymics from a diminutive of the father's personal name include the following examples using -(i)ulis in a Polish-language context:

  • Jeniulis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: Jeniulis, 'little Janas' from the personal name Janas (Ragauskaitė 2021:17)(Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Janiulis).
  • Matulis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: Matulis, 'little Matas' from the personal name Matas (Ragauskaitė 2021:17)(Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Matulis).
  • Staniulis - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian byname: Staniulis, 'little Stanislovas' from a diminutive of the personal name Stanislovas (Ragauskaitė 2021:17)(Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Staniulis).

3.4b Descriptive bynames suffixed with -елис(ъ) in Ruthenian.

In Maciejauskienė (1981), Ruthenian-language records spelled this suffix as -елис(ъ) [-elīs(")]. However, only examples of patronymics derived from a father's byname were mentioned:

  • Яким Тубелис [Iakīm Tubelīs] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Joachimas Tūbelis, from tūbas "felt (textile), felt boots" (Maciejauskienė 1981:160)(Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Tūbelis).
  • Станиславъ Руделисъ [Stanīslav" Rudelīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Stanislovas Rudelis, from rudas "brown" (Maciejauskienė 1981:169)(Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Rudelis).
  • Амбросъ Вилкелис [Ambros" Vīlkelīs] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Ambrozas Vilkelis, from vilkas "wolf" (Maciejauskienė 1981:169)(Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Vilkelis).
  • Павла Авинеля [genitive case: Pavla Avīnelia] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Paulius Avinelis, from avinas "ram, male sheep" (Maciejauskienė 1981:169)(Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Avinas).

3.5 Patronymics suffixed with -utis or -утис(ъ).

Like the patronymics that use the diminutive suffix -(i)ulis, Maciejauskienė (1981) gives some examples of another diminutive used as a patronymic: -utis. Note that this pattern is presently not included in SENA's Appendix A.

One Polish-language example uses -utis:

  • Grygalis Janutis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Grigalius Januitis from the personal name Jonas (Maciejauskienė 1981:169).

While Ruthenian-language examples use -утис(ъ):

  • Янъ Петрутисъ [Ian" Petrutīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Petruitis, from the personal name Petras. (Maciejauskienė 1981:169).
  • Юшко Довкгутис [Iushko Dovkhutīs] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian byname: *Daugutis, from a personal name beginning with Daug- (Maciejauskienė 1981:169; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Daugutis).

3.6 Patronymics suffixed with -owicz, or -ович(ъ).

This style of patronymic ending in -owicz, or -ович(ъ) [-ovīch"] (modern Lithuanian: -avičius) is, by far, the most common sort recorded in records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Unless the name uses recognisably Lithuanian elements, these names are indistinguishable from Polish or Ruthenian-language names.

3.6a Descriptive bynames suffixed with -owicz in Polish and Latin.

  • Mateius Daugwilowycz - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Motiejus Daugvilavičius, from the personal name Daugvilas (Maciejauskienė 1981:164; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Daugvilavičius).
  • Miczus Gintowtowicz - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Matas Gintautavičius, from the personal name Gintautas (Maciejauskienė 1981:164).
  • Jonas Rymgailowycz - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Rimgailavičius, from the personal name Rimgailas (Maciejauskienė 1981:165).
  • Banis Wyzgirdowycz - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Benys Vizgaudavičius, from the personal name Vizgaudas (Maciejauskienė 1981:165; Čirūnaitė 2010:11).

Polonicised spellings are also used in Latin-language contexts such as:

  • Dorgys Gethowthowycz - 1449 - Modern Lithuanian: *Dargis Getautavičius, from the personal name Getautas (Parchments' Digital Images Archive, F6-32).
  • Petrus Gastowtovicz - 1475 - Modern Lithuanian: *Petras Goštautavičius, from the personal name Goštautas (Parchments' Digital Images Archive, F6-52; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Goštautas).
  • Narbuth Gynuylovicz - 1491 - Modern Lithuanian: *Narbutas Ginvilavičius, from the personal name Ginvilas (Parchments' Digital Images Archive, F6-63).

3.6b Descriptive bynames suffixed with -ович(ъ) in Ruthenian.

  • Ян Буйвидович [Ian Buĭvīdovīch] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Buivydavičius, from the personal name Buivydas (Maciejauskienė 1981:164; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Buividavičius).
  • Стась Бутъвиловичъ [Stas' But"vīlovīch"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Stasys Butvilavičius, from the personal name Butvilas (Maciejauskienė 1981:164; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Butvilavičius).
  • Стасис Кгинвилович [Stasīs Khinvīlovīch] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Stasys Ginvilavičius, from the personal name Ginvilas (Maciejauskienė 1981:164).
  • Богданъ Визгирдовичъ [Bogdan" Vīzhirdovīch"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Bogdanas Vizgirdavičius, from the personal name Vizgirdas (Maciejauskienė 1981:165; Lithuanian Integral Museum Information System 2021).

4. Feminine Patronymics.

Ragauskaitė (2005, 2014, 2015) gives examples of patronymic suffixes used by women, that literally identify her as being related to her father. They either use his given name, or his descriptive or occupational byname. Ragauskaitė says that in records from 16th century Kaunas women were recorded with suffies like -aczia, -iczia, or -uczia. These are equivalent to the present-day suffixes used in the Aukštaitian (Highland) dialect area: -aičia, -yčia, and -ūčia (Garšva 2008:27, 30). In Lithuania today, the suffixes -ytė and -aitė are most frequently used in this type of byname. Fortunately for our purposes, they do appear in early 17th century Joniškis, northern Lithuania, in Polish and Ruthenian-language records (Ragauskaitė 2015).

4.1a Personal names suffixed with -aic(z)ia in Polish.

Patronymics derived from a father's personal names, ending in -aic(z)ia and variations:

  • Jagnieʃʒka Jakaicʒia - 1564-1569 - Modern Lithuanian: *Agnietė Jakaičia, from the personal name Jakas, a diminutive of Jokūbas (Ragauskaitė 2005: 43).
  • Giendra Tomkucʒie - 1564-1569 - Modern Lithuanian: *Gendra Tomkučia. Gendra (a diminutive of Gendrutė) is the daughter of Tomka, a diminutive of Tomas (Ragauskaitė 2014: 10,13).
  • Elena Boryßaycʒa - 1620 - Modern Lithuanian: *Elena Barysaičia, from the personal name Borisas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70).
  • Agnießka Powiłaicia - 1620 - Modern Lithuanian: *Agnieška Povilaičia, from the personal name Povilas (Ragauskaitė 2015:68).
  • *Agneta Ianulaicia (Latin ablative: cum Agneta Ianulaicia) - 1623 - Modern Lithuanian: *Agnietė Janulaičia, from the personal name Janulis, a diminutive of the Polish name Jan, or in modern Lithuanian, Jonas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70).
  • *Gedrudis Martinajcia (Latin ablative: cum Gedrude Martinajcia) - 1627 - Modern Lithuanian: *Gendrutė Martinaičia, from the personal name Martinas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70).

4.1b Descriptive bynames suffixed with -aic(z)ia in Polish.

Patronymics derived from a father's descriptive bynames, ending in variations of -aic(z)ia include:

  • Maryna Slomaycze - 1551–1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Marina Šlamaičia, possibly from Lithuanian šlamas "mud, sludge" (Ragauskaitė 2014:13; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Šlamas).
  • Caterina staniʃlawienie wirbalacʒie - 1561 - Modern Lithuanian: *Kotryna Virbalaičia, from Lithuanian virbalas "needle/rod." Note that Caterina is also the wife of Stainislaw (Ragauskaitė 2014: 13; Čirūnaitė 2009c: 43; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Virbalas).
  • Jadwyga Kÿskielicʒia - 1561 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jadvyga Kiškelaičia, from the Lithuanian diminutive kiškelis "little hare" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 13; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Kiškis).
  • Jagnieʃʃka Ƶabaicʒie - 1551–1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Agnietė Žabaičia, possibly from Ruthenian zhaba "frog" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 13; Čirūnaitė 2009c: 43; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Žaba).
  • Agneti Zubaicʒie - 1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Agnietė Zūbaičia, possibly from Ruthenian zub "tooth" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 13).

4.2a Personal names suffixed with -ayte, and -aite in Polish.

Patronymic bynames derived from a father's personal name, ending in -aitė, have been recorded in an early 17th century Latin-language parish register from Joniškis. In these documents it was spelled -ayte or -aite:

  • Anna Abromayte - 1641 - Modern Lithuanian: *Ona Abromaitė, from the personal name Abromas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70).
  • Cæcilia Bernotayte - 1646 - Modern Lithuanian: *Cecilija Bernotaitė, from the personal name Bernotas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70).
  • Heduigis Staniułayte - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jadvyga Staniulaitė, from the personal name Staniulis, a diminutive of a name beginning with Stan- like Stanislovas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70).
  • Gendruta Martinaite - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Gendrutė Martinaitė, from the personal name Martynas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70).
  • Catharina Normuntaite - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Kotryna Narmontaitė, from a Lithuanian personal name such as Narmontas, or Narmuntas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Normantas).
  • Heduigis Noruełaite - 1624 - modern Lithuanian: *Jadvyga Norvilaitė, from the Lithuanian personal name Narvilas or Norvilas (Ragauskaitė 2015:70; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Norvilas).

4.2b Descriptive bynames suffixed with -ayte in Polish.

And in examples of patronymics that were derived from descriptive bynames:

  • Magdalena Stugaÿte - 1646 - Modern Lithuanian: *Magdalena Stugaitė, from stugė a type of archaic ploughshare (Ragauskaitė 2015:70; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Stugis).
  • *Anna Sʒyrwayte (Latin genitive or dative: Annæ Sʒyrwayte) - 1624 - Modern Lithuanian: *Ona Širvaitė, from širmis "grey" (Ragauskaitė 2015:70; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Širvys).
  • Agnetis Ƶemgulayte - 1632 - Modern Lithuanian: *Agnietė Žemgulaitė. Lietuvių pavardžių žodynas suggests this is a compound byname from žemė "land, planet earth" and gulėti "to be lying (down)" (Ragauskaitė 2015:70; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Žemgulys).

4.2c Personal and descriptive bynames suffixed with -йтя [-ĭtia] in Ruthenian.

The Ruthenian equivalent for bynames ending in -ayte and -aite appears to have been recorded as -йтя [-ĭtia]. Due to the smaller number of these names mentioned by Ragauskaitė (2014), I have grouped bynames derived from personal names, and descriptive bynames, together below:

  • *Лица Романойтя [*Lutsa Romanoĭtia] (Ruthenian accusative: Луцу Романойтю [Lutsu Romanoĭtiu]) - 1542–1544 - Modern Lithuanian: *Liucija Romanaitė, from the personal name Romanas (Čirūnaitė 2010: 12; Ragauskaitė 2014: 10).
  • *Дорота Бунохайтя [*Dorota Bunokhaĭtia] (Ruthenian accusative: Дороту Бунохайтю [Dorotu Bunokhaĭtiu]) - 1542-1544 - Modern Lithuanian: *Dorotėja Bunokaitė, from an unknown personal name (Ragauskaitė 2014: 10).
  • *Катерина Пеполойтя [*Katerina Pepoloĭteia] (Ruthenian genitive: Катерины Пеполойтей [Katerīny Pepoloĭteĭ]) - 1542–1544 - Modern Lithuanian: *Kotryna Piepalaitė, from Lithuanian piepala, "quail, Coturnix communis" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 12).
  • *Алжбета Боярейтя [*Alzhbeta Boiareĭtia] (Ruthenian accusative: Αлжбету Боярейтю [Alzhbetu Boiareĭtiu]) - 1544 - Modern Lithuanian: *Elžbieta Bajoraitė from Lithuanian bajoras, "szlachta, nobleman" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 12).

5. Marital Bynames used by women.

Although Maciejauskienė (2004) has suggested that masculine bynames ending in -uitis could have been used by young, unmarried boys, it is women (in the past, as well as today) who are frequently identified with bynames that indicate their marital status (Jurėnienė 2010: 5). Specifically, a type of bynme that indicates who is a given woman's husband.

In Polish-language examples found in the 16th century, these bynames took the form -(ow)ien(i)e, equivalent in present-day Lithuanian as -(uv)ienė. These bynames can be used with a husband's given name, their byname, or their full name.

5.1 Marital bynames, derived from a personal name ending with -owiene and -uw(i)ene, in Polish.

  • katarʒina ʃtaniʃlawowÿenie - 1561–1564 - Modern Lithuanian: *Kotryna Stanislovovienė, from the personal name of her husband, Stanislovas (Ragauskaitė 2014: 11).
  • Anna Woytkuwyene - 1551–1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Ona Vaitkuvienė. This byname is from the pesonal name of her husband, Voitko, a diminutive of Voitechas (Polish: Wojciech) (Ragauskaitė 2014: 11).
  • Lucia Griciuwiene - 1601 - Modern Lithunaian: *Liucija Griciuvienė. Her husband was called Gryc, a diminutive of Grigalius (Ragauskaitė 2015: 66; Grumadienė 2001: 47, 50).
  • Magdalena Digciuwene - 1601 - Modern Lithuanian: *Magdalena Dikčiuvienė. From the Lithuanian noun dikčius, "big, large, stout" (Ragauskaitė 2015: 66).
  • Ƶaniuła Balciuwiene - 1601 - Modern Lithuanian: *Balčiuvienė From the Lithuanian noun balčius "white" (Ragauskaitė 2015: 66). Her given name is a dimunutive of Zuzana (Ragauskaitė 2015: 62).

5.2 Marital bynames derived from a personal name, ending with -ien(i)e, in Polish.

  • Anna Marthÿnÿenÿe - 1544 - Modern Lithuanan: *Ona Martynienė, her husband was Martynas (Ragauskaitė 2014: 11).
  • Jagnieʃka Lawrÿnienie - 1566 - Modern Lithuanian: *Agnietė Laurynienė, her husband was Laurynas (Ragauskaitė 2014: 11).
  • Lucia Jacubÿenie - 1522–1545 - Modern Lithuanian: *Liucija Jokūbienė, her husand was Jokūbas (Ragauskaitė 2014: 11).
  • *Giendra Janienie (Polish instrumental: Giendrą Janienie) - 1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Gendra Jonienė, Gendra's (a diminutive of Gendrutė) husband was named Jonas (Ragauskaitė 2014: 10).

5.3 Marital bynames derived from a byname, ending with -(i)en(i)e, in Polish.

  • Gertrude Cobotarene - 1599 - Modern Lithuanian: *Gendrutė Čebatorienė. A čebatorius is a shoemaker (Ragauskaitė 2015: 66).
  • Dorota Łaumokene - 1601 - Modern Lithuanian: *Dorotėja Laumakienė. This is from the compound byname Laumakis, meaning "laumė eye" note 6 (Ragauskaitė 2015: 67; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Laumakis).
  • Magdalæna Worene - 1601 - Modern Lithuanian: *Magdalena Vorienė, from voras, "a spider" (Ragauskaitė 2015: 67).
  • *Dorotha Jawniene (Polish instrumental: Dorothą Jawniene) - 1545 - modern Lithuanian: *Dorotėja Jaunienė. From the Lithuanian adjective jaunas, "young" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 11).

5.4 Marital bynames derived from a husband's full name, ending with -(i)enie, in Polish.

There are also examples of women who are recorded in Polish, with the full name of their husbands:

  • Giendrutha Jakubienie dudenie - 1562 - modern Lithuanian: *Gendrutė Jokūbienė Dūdienė. She is the wife of Jokūbas Dūda, or "bagpipes" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 12).
  • Jagnieʃka Jakubienie Dylbienie - 1561 - modern Lithuanian: *Agnesė Jokūbienė Dilbienė. She is the wife of Jokūbas Dilba, or "a clumsy person" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 12; Kuć 2005: 48).
  • Magdalena Janienie Kiermelienie - 1566 - modern Lithuanian: *Magdalena Jonienė Kirmėlienė. She is the wife of Jonas Kirmėlė, or "a worm" (Ragauskaitė 2014: 12).

6. Descriptive Bynames.

Descriptive bynames are a name element that can refer to the mental or physical characteristics of an individual. Descriptive bynames using Lithuanian-language terms are recorded in Polish and Ruthenian, but they were primarily used by men.

No examples of women bearing Lithuanian-language bynames have been found, although there are some examples of women with Ruthenian-language bynames (see Čirūnaitė 2009c). It was much more common women were recorded with modified forms of the bynames used by their husband or father. Please see sections 5.3 marital bynames derived from a byname, and 4.2c personal and descriptive bynames suffixed with -йтя for more about these bynames used by women.

The following examples of descriptive bynames in a Polish context, used by men, were identified by Ragauskaitė (2021):

  • Kayris - 1599 - Modern Lithuanian: kairys, "left-handed" (Ragauskaitė 2021:18).
  • Skieris - 1599 - Modern Lithuanian: skėrys, "grasshopper, locust" (Ragauskaitė 2021:18).
  • Vszkuriſ - 1600 - Modern Lithuanian: užkurys, "a widow's second husband" (Ragauskaitė 2021:18).

The following examples of descriptive bynames from Ruthenian-language contexts, used by men, were identified by Maciejauskienė (1981):

  • Петрик Пилкис [Petrīk Pīlkīs] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Petrikas Pilkis, from pilkis "a grey-coloured being" (Maciejauskienė 1981:170; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Pilkis).
  • Масюлис Раинис [Masiulīs Raīnīs] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Masiulis Rainys, from rainys "variegated, striped" (Maciejauskienė 1981:170; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Rainys).
  • Петрик Жоденис [Petrīk Zhodenīs] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Petrikas Juodenis, from the adjective juodas "black" (Maciejauskienė 1981:170; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Juodas, Juodenis).

7. Occupational Bynames used by men.

These occupational bynames describe an individual in terms of their occupation. Occupational bynames using Lithuanian-language terms are recorded in Polish and Ruthenian-language documents, but they were only used by men.

Women do not appear to have been identified with an occupational byname that described their work, instead they were recorded with bynames that indicated the occupation of a man, such as their husband or father. Please see sections 5.3 marital bynames derived from a byname, and 4.2c personal and descriptive bynames suffixed with -йтя for more about these bynames used by women.

7.1 Occupational bynames used by men, in Polish.

The following examples of occupational bynames were identified by Maciejauskienė (1981):

  • Jan Kubil - 1584 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Kubilius, from kubilius "cooper." (Maciejauskienė 1981:157; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:277)
  • Mikucz Doylida - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolas Dailidė, from dailidė "carpenter." (Maciejauskienė 1981:157)
  • Czeputis Kalwis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Čeputis Kalvis, from kalvis, "smith." (Maciejauskienė 1981:157)
  • Pietryk Podzius - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Petrikas Puodžius, from puodžius, "potter." (Maciejauskienė 1981:157)

7.2 Occupational bynames used by men, in Ruthenian.

  • Мартинъ Кубилюсъ [Martīn" Kubīlius"] - 1595 - Modern Lithuanian: *Martynas Kubilius, from kubilius "cooper." (Maciejauskienė 1981:157; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:524)
  • Филипъ Дойлида [Fīlīp" Doĭlīda] - 1585 - Modern Lithuanian: *Pilypas Dailidė, from dailidė "carpenter." (Maciejauskienė 1981:157; Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:299,300)
  • Юркгисъ Кальвисъ [Iurkhīs" Kal'vīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jurgis Kalvis, from kalvis "smith." (Maciejauskienė 1981:157)

7.3 Locative byname used by men, with an occupational byname, in Polish.

There is another naming pattern used by men in 16th century Kaunas, described by Ragauskaitė (2006), that includes a locative byname and an occupational byname. Please note that in these examples the occupational byname is Polish, however SENA Appendix A implies that a Lithuanian-language byname could also be used. Locative bynames are discussed in greater detail below.

  • Thomaſus Kieydaniſkis Budnik - 1561-1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Tomas Kėdainiškis Budnikas, he is a resident of Kėdainiai, and a stall-holder (cf. Polish: budnik, Ukrainian: будник, Belarusian: буднік) (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Budnikas; Ragauskaitė 2006:85).
  • *Maczis Kieydaniſkis Kowal (Polish genitive: Macʒieia Kieydaniſka Kowala) - 1561-1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Motiejus Kėdainiškis Kalvis, he is a resident of Kėdainiai, and a blacksmith (cf. Polish: kowal, Ukrainian: коваль, Belarusian: каваль)(Ragauskaitė 2006:85).
  • Andrzei Sargeniſſkis Styrnik - 1551-1555 - Modern Lithuanian: *Andrius Sargėniškis Wairininkas, he is a resident of Sargėnai, and a ship's helmsman (cf. Polish: sternik)(Ragauskaitė 2006:86).

8. Locative, and affiliative bynames.

Bynames indicating a place, or a person that an individual is affiliated with, are also attested in Lithuanian. They use the ending -iska with feminine names, and -iskis, or -(i)etis with masculine names. In modern Lithuanian, these suffixes, presently spelled -ietis, -iškis, and -iškė, are often used with a proper noun that indicates someone's place or origin or their place of habitation (like the English nouns Salzburgian, or Melburnian). They can also be used to indicate someone's affiliation, as in the examples indicating a man or woman's relationship to a significant man in their life. The suffix -(i)etis is also used to indicate a man's origin or their place of residence (Miliūnaitė 2021).

8.1 Masculine locative bynames.

8.1a Masculine locative bynames ending in -ишкис, in Ruthenian.

Examples using Ruthenian -ишкис [-īshkīs] include:

  • Петр Керновишкис [Petr Kernovīshkīs] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Petras Kernaviškis, "a resident of Kernavė." (Maciejauskienė 1981:170)
  • Юри Кульвишкис [Iurī Kul'vīshkīs] - 1542-1544 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jurgis Kulviškis, "a resident of Kulva." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 85)
  • Стась Олетишкис [Stas’ Oletīshkīs] - 1542-1544 - Modern Lithuanian: *Stasys Alytiškis, "a resident of Alytus." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 84)

8.1b Masculine locative bynames ending in -iskis, -isskis, -iskisz and -yskys, in Polish.

The Polish form of these locative bynames uses forms such as -iskis, -isskis, -iskisz and -yskys.
With the suffix spelled -iskis:

  • Roman Bierſtaniſkis - 1561-1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Romanas Birštoniškis, "a resident of Birštonas." (Ragauskaitė 2016: 84)
  • Jan Karmielowiſkis - 1561-1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Karmėlaviškis, "a resident of Karmėlava." (Ragauskaitė 2016: 85)
  • Joannes Zeymiskis - 1583-1591 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Žeimiškis, "a resident of Žeimiai." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 85)

With the suffix -isskis:

  • Tomasz Eiragolisskis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Tomas Ariogališkis, "a resident of Ariogala." (Maciejauskienė 1981:170)
  • Ian Moissagolisisskis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Maišiagališkis, "a resident of Maišiagala." (Maciejauskienė 1981:170)
  • Iurgis Punisskis - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jurgis Puniškis, "a resident of Punia." (Maciejauskienė 1981:170)

With the suffix -iskisz:

  • Jan Berſtaniſkiſʒ - 1564-1569 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Birštoniškis, "a resident of Birštonas." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 84)
  • Mikolai Hibieniſkiſʒ - 1561-1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolas Ibėniškis, "a resident of Ibėnai," today there are two neighbouring villages called Didieji Ibėnai, and Mažieji Ibėnai (Ragauskaitė 2006: 85)
  • Maſſiſʒ Kiernuwiſkiſʒ - 1564-1569 - Modern Lithunian: *Motiejus Kernaviškis, "a resident of Kernavė." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 85)

With the suffix -yskys:

  • Jurgysa Solakyſkys - 1545 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jurgis Salakiškis, "a resident of Salakas." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 86)
  • Endrzey Vylnyskys, and Maczyea Vylnyskys - 1545 - Modern Lithuanian: *Andrius and *Motiejus Vilniškis, "a resident of Vilnius." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 87)
  • Juchno Wyelonyskys - 1545 - modern Lithuanian: *Juchno Veliuoniškis, "a resident of Veliuona." (Ragauskaitė 2006: 87)

8.1c Masculine locative bynames ending in -(i)etis, in Polish, and -етис in Ruthenian.

With the suffix -(i)etis:

  • Mykolais Szauletis - 1544 - Modern Lithuanian: *Mykolas Šiaulietis, "a resident of Šiauliai," derived from the Polish name Szawle (Ragauskaitė 2006: 88).
  • Stasius Wyeprhethis - 1545 - Modern Lithuanian: *Stasius Veprietis, "a resident of Vepriai" (Ragauskaitė 2006: 88).
  • Pawlos Zeymietys - 1545 - Modern Lithuanian: *Paulius Žeimietis, "a resident of Žeimiai," derived from the Polish name Żejmy (Ragauskaitė 2006: 88).
  • Павел Жейметис [Pavel Zheĭmetīs] - 1542–1544 - modern Lithuanian: *Paulius Žeimietis, "a resident of Žeimiai" (Ragauskaitė 2006: 88).

8.2 Feminine affiliative bynames ending in -iska, in Polish.

Ragauskaitė's examples of women bearing this type of byname were recorded in Polish. She notes, in contrast to the masculine names discussed above, that "women’s names with the suffix -iškė were seen in a few places in the documents, but they have not been fully investigated" (Ragauskaitė 2006:94). However Ragauskaitė was still able to draw some conclusions about these names. She says that these bynames are actually derived from their husband's byname (Ragauskaitė 2006: 90). However, these bynames ending in -iska are using a suffix that, like in the masculine examples above, could also be used to contruct a name that for all intents and purposes looks like a locative byname.

  • Catrina Wydrysska (Polish dative case: Catriny Wydrysskie) - 1551-1555 - Reconstructed, modern Lithuanian: *Kotryna Vidriškė (Ragauskaitė 2016: 90). Possibly from one of the villages called Widra in Poland, or Vydra in Ukraine (Sulimierski et al. 1895: 77-78). Ragauskaitė suggests that she was the widow of a man with the byname Vidra, or ūdra "otter."
  • Anna Popyelyszka (Polish accusatve case: Annę Popyelyszkę) - 1542-1544 - Reconstructed, modern Lithuanian: *Ona Popeliškė (Ragauskaitė 2016: 90). Popeliškė is also the name of a village in Vilnius county (Istorinių vietovardžių duomenų bazė sv. Popeliškė).
  • Luchna Zabellyska (Polish accusative case: Luchnę Zabellyskę) - 1551-1555 - Reconstructed, modern Lithuanian: Zabeliškė (Ragauskaitė 2016: 90). Ragauskaitė notes that she was the mother of Jurgy Zabelis. The name Luchna is a diminutive of Liudmila.

8.3 Masculine affiliative bynames ending in -iskis and -ишкис(ъ), in Polish and Ruthenian.

Like in the feminine examples above, the -iskis suffix was also used in bynames, indicating that the man was affiliated with, or belonged to the family of, another man. Maciejauskienė (1981) gives examples of men in Polish- and Ruthenian-language documents, whose non-locative bynames ended in -iskis and -ишкис(ъ) [-īshkīs(")].

8.3a Affiliative descriptive bynames ending in -ишкис(ъ), in Ruthenian.

  • Павелъ Бискупишкисъ [Pavel" Bīskupīshkīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Paulius Biskupiškis, from Polish or German biskup "bishop" (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:311; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Biskupas).
  • Матей Тубелишкисъ [Mateĭ Tubelīshkīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Motiejus Tūbeliškis, from tūbelis "felt" or "felt shoes" (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:547; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Tūbelis).
  • Янъ Пукишкисъ [Ian" Pukīshkīs"] - 16th century - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Pūkiškis, from pūkys "fluffy" (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:604; Ragauskaitė 2015: 186)

8.3b Affiliative patronymic bynames ending in -iskis, in Polish and -ишкис(ъ), in Ruthenian.

Maciejauskienė (1981) also lists examples of bynames derived from a father's personal name in Polish-language sources:

  • Maciey Dawnaryszkysz - 16th century - from the personal name Chwiedko, a diminutive of the name (in modern Lithuanian) Teodoras (Maciejauskienė 1981:169; Sajewicz 2015:75).
  • Mikołai Grygiszkis - 16th century - from the personal name (in modern Lithuanian) Grigas (Maciejauskienė 1981:169).
  • Ianik Simoniskis - 16th century - from the personal name (in modern Lithuanian) Simonas (Maciejauskienė 1981:169).
  • Балтромей Беринкишкисъ [Baltromeĭ Bernīkīshkīs"] - 16th century - from the personal name Bernik, a Polish diminutive of Bernard (Виленская археографическая комиссия 1887:650; Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Bernikas).

8.4 Patronymic byname with a Polish or Lithuanian suffix, with a locative byname in Lithuanian.

Finally, there is some evidence for combining multiple name elements, such as the examples below where men are recorded with a patronymic and a locative byname:

  • Jakub Rymgielianis Bierſtaniſkis - 1561-1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jokūbas Rimgailietis Birštoniškis, he was the son of Rimgailas, and resided in Birštonas (Ragauskaitė 2016: 82,84).
  • *Jan Juchnowicz Poswoliſkis (Polish genitive: Jana Juchnowicza Poswoliſka) - 1561-1565 - Modern Lithuanian: *Jonas Juchnovičius Pasvališkis, he was the son of Juchno, and resided in Pasvalys (Ragauskaitė 2016: 85).
  • *Macʒiei Jakubowicʒ Upithyſkis (Polish genitive: Macʒieia Jakubowicʒa Upithyſka) - 1564-1569 - Modern Lithuanian: Motiejus Jokūbovičius Upytiškis, he was he son of Jokūbas and resided in Upytė (Ragauskaitė 2016: 86).

9. Thanks.

Thanks must go to Markéta z Prahy, for their marathon effort in reading and commenting on an earlier draft of this guide. All errors in the transcribing and interpretation of the above information are entirely my own.

10. References.

All links checked 23 January 2021.

11. Endnotes

  1. Princess Danutė of Lithuania is only recorded with the name Anna alias Danuta circa 1455-1480, decades after her probable death (Taszycki 1965:458). Go back to the "Double Given Names" section.
  2. The name Jaunutis shouldn't be confused with Janutis, as the former is derived from the Lithuanian adjective jaunutis "very young," and the latter is a diminutive of the Christian name Jan, or Jonas (ie. English "John"). Go back to the "Double Given Names" section.
  3. According to Cieślikowa et al. (1995:20) Polish names like Waszko are a diminutive of Bazyli or Wasyl. In Lithuanian the name is Vasilijus. Go back to the "Double Given Names" section.
  4. According to Magda-Czekaj (2019:57) Sonyka is a diminutive of the feminine name Zofia. Go back to the "Double Given Names" section.
  5. Lietuvių pavardžių žodynas [Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames] says that Grigas is a diminutive of Gregorius (Lietuvių kalbos institutas 2012-2021 sv. Grigas). Go back to the "Double Given Names" section.
  6. A laumė is a supernatural being variously described as a deity, a water spirit or fairy. They are often associated with, and live within, fresh waters. For more about the laumės, see Būgienė (2015). Go back to the "Marital Bynames" section.