--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> <Hals-> in the sense "narrow something" (strait, pass, etc.) is
found in Germanic toponymy, but here I feel we have a personal name
or anyway a term denoting a man, just as in other -ing derivatives.
The Heimskringla says that the province of Helsingjaland (not to be
confused with Helsinki) was established by Thorer Helsing (note also
Hysing and Helsing, Gandalf's sons). <Helsing> has the typical
structure of tribal or clan names.
>
> Piotr
>
But what would that name be the nick- of? And I think I saw a non-
person explanation for Birmingham, viz related to the bjarm- people
(which some have tried to relate to Perm'). Your example with mr.
(prof. van ?) Helsing shows perhaps that a Helsing clan or tribe
existed, but not a name *Hals-. Besides the -ing ending is alive and
kicking in the Scandinavian languages. How about <færing> "inhabitant
of the Faroe Islands (which were not discovered by a mr. Sheep)",
<falstring> "person from the island of Falster", <yngling> "young
man", <yndling> favorite (these -ing's are different from the verbal
noun forming -(n)ing).
BTW, talking of -ing, I saw somewhere that the name of the Jutland
peninsula of Salling (in the Limfjord) was related to Silesia (Slãsk)?
Torsten