Anbytarforum
Särskilda ämnen & övrigt => Efternamn => Personnamn => Språk, ord och namn => 06) Efternamnssuffix => Ämnet startat av: Norm Pono Sandin skrivet 2008-02-14, 20:56
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An ancestor of mine chose the surname Sandin. I have seen other names in Sweden with similar construction - Lundin, Nordin, Sundin and even Odin. Could someone familiar with linguistics please tell me if the suffix -in (or possible -din) has any meaning?
My ancestor lived on a farm named Sandsjön and I suspect that he took the “Sand” syllable from the farm. I speculate that in some language the suffix -in means “man” or “person” or “man from”. I have even invented a story. I know my ancestor chose Sandin when he became a clockmaker. I say he chose the name because an hourglass (clock) has ***sand in*** it!
Or perhaps it is simply “your sand”.
Thank you for any answer! Aloha, Pono
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Hi Pono, one explanation of the names ending in -in or -din or -lin etc. ist that someone went to school a long time ago. At school they were told to get a surname, and often chose a latin name, derived from the home place, like Sandinus, or Schrewelius.
Later in the 1700s it was no longer fashionable with a Latin ending, so they cut it off and got a more French-sounding name, which was popular then. Then others tought it was nice-sounding, and started to make up other names in the same style. Usually they don't mean much.
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Elisabeth:
I think you hit that right on the nose. There are several Google hits for the Latin suffix -inus and one of them says the French suffix -in is the equivalent! The meaning given is belonging to or pertaining to.
Nice to hear from you - thank you for the response! Aloha, Pono