At 7:21:29 PM on Monday, June 27, 2005, aquila_grande wrote:
> kvänn - may be the name of an ethnic group immigrated from
> Finland. The world is present in many Norwegian names.
Alternatively consider <af Kuændale> ca.1360 for modern
Norwegian <Kvanndal>; the first element is from the OIc
plant name <hvo,nn> 'angelica'. It's also in <Kvenna>,
explained as from OIc *<Hvannin>, from <hvo,nn> + <vin>
'meadow'.
> Sigri - may be a womans first name. In Norwegian name
> traditions, places are often named after someone that has
> live there.
Presumably <Sigríðr>, if it is a feminine name.
The element <Kvämmir> calls to mind OIc <hvammr> 'grassy
hollow or little vale', found as <Kvam-> in a number of
Norwegian place-names, except that so far as I can tell,
<hvammr> is an a-stem, and I see no way to explain the <i>
and the umlaut.
Brian