Re: [tied] Proto Romanian Cradle

----- Original Message -----

From: Paul Alesu

To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2002 11:15 PM

Subject: Re: [tied] Proto Romanian Cradle

> No. The popularity of the first name Dacia in USA is not due to the fans of Dacia Maraini (sorry Ms Maraini!). As a fad, one may expect it spread relatively even among the population. In USA the first name Dacia is found mostly related to Spanish (Mexican) surnames. So, in my opinion, the Spanish colonists and immigrants brought this name to Americas over the last five centuries from Europe.

 

Have you heard of any women named Dacia before the 20th century? I've checked some databases of early Italian (and other) names -- no Dacias anywhere.

 

http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/

 

I'm beginning to suspect that the name Dacia is something quite different from what we initially assumed -- e.g. a modern pet form of Audacia -- a rare name, but not unheard of.

> About your opinion that, if genuinely old, it would be adjectival here is a counter example: the name Argentina is fairly popular, not Argentiniana.

 

It would be a counterexample if Argentina were a Classical name, which it isn't, and if <argentina> couldn't be an adjective, which it can be (the feminine form of <argentino>, amigo).

> Anyway, my point was that in Romanian there are not - at least not popular - names like, let's say, Dalmatia, Dalmatiana or Dalmatian.

 

And what does all that prove about the origin of the Romanians?

 

Best,

 

Piotr