Speaking of names: My birth name is Larry, which comes from Lawrence, which
can be traced back to the Roman Laurentius.

I have taken to using the name Lavrans among my heathen friends, but haven't
been able to find much reference to it as on Old Norse name, eastern or
western. The only real reference I've ever seen is in the tetralogy "Kristen
Lavransdottar" by Norwegian author Sigrid Undset. It is set around the 14th
century, and would seem to indicate that the name was in use in that area at
that time. Someone told me once that Lars is a diminutive of Lavrans, but I
haven't gotten that verified either.

If anyone has any further information about Lavrans, let me know.

Thanks!

Larry "Lavrans" Miller

llama_nom wrote:

>
> Hi Rob,
>
> The name is very common in runic inscriptions, but I'm not sure what
> the oldest is. I couldn't find any forms with 'n' in the Rundata
> database, but runic spelling has a convention of missing out 'n'
> before a dental consonant, so even if it was still there is might
> not show up. I wonder if it's attested in continental sources from
> the Viking period.
>
> Pronunciation changed over time. To avoid (and increase!) confusion
> I'll use the X-Sampa system to show the sounds [
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xsampa ]. This might seem complicated,
> but there are non-English sounds involved here, and English spelling
> is very irregular, and people have different accents. The simple
> answer is Old Norse <leif> would be most like English <lave>.
>
> Brackets and other symbols:
>
> // = phonemic spelling. Just represents the differences that are
> significant to native speakers, without specifying exactly how
> sounds are realised in a particular environment. E.g.
> English /spit/ and /pit/ have the same phoneme /p/, but on the
> latter word it sounds a little different with a puff of airt after
> it [p_hit], as against [spit].
>
> [] phonetic transcription. The exact sound.
>
> <> how something is spelt in native orthography.
>
> * in etymology, used before a hypothetical form that has been
> reconstructed my modern scholars, but isn't actually recorded in
> this form in the historical language.
>
> " main stress
>
> % secondary stress. E.g. the English word <gas-leak>, ["gas%li:k].
>
> : previous symbol to be pronounced long
>
> _~ previous vowel nasalised, as in French <on>
>
> Back in the 4th century or so, this name would have had the form:
> *Anulaibaz (as it might have been spelt by a clever runemaster on a
> good day). Main stress on the first syllable, secondary stress
> on /laib/, with /ai/ probably like the vowel in English 'eye',
> the /b/ probably pronunced [B] as in Spanish (with the lips not
> quite touching). The /z/ was probably somewhere between a rolled
> [r] and the <s> in English 'measure'. Some people in Scotland make
> this sound when saying the combination <rs> at the end of a word.
> Some people in southern England make a similar noise when they say
> the <r> in <drink>. Unfortunatley I'm not so familar with accents
> in different parts of America. Here's a possible X-sampa
> transcription of what I mean ["anu%laiBaZ_r].
>
> As far as I know, the name isn't recorded anywhere this early, but
> we can tell it had this form, or something very similar, by later
> sound changes. Of course, no one can be exactly sure of the
> pronuciation at any given time. The situation is complicated by the
> fact that two different versions of the name appeared. The one I'll
> describe first became the normal form in Icelandic prose in the
> middle ages, while the other survived is recorded in poetry. Or at
> least that's where I've met it.
>
> (1) Spelt Óláfr in standardised Old Norse. The first vowel of
> *Anulaibaz was raised and rounded by the /u/ in the next syllable,
> then nasalised by the /n/ (like in French <on> but in this case with
> the tongue slightly higher). /u/ and /n/ and the final /a/ were
> dropped causing the initial vowel to be lengthened to a nasal
> [o:_~]. [ai] under secondary stress was reduced to [a:]. The final
> consonant became a rolled [r], at different times in different parts
> of Scandinavia, but I think the change was complete by the time
> manuscripts were being written after Christianity was
> introduced/imposed. Nasalisation had probably disappeared in
> Iceland by 1200. Around this time, [a:] was raised and rounded to
> [O:_~], as in (British) English <saw>. A possible Viking Age
> pronunciation ["o:_%~la:BZ_r]. 13th c. Iceland (when a lot of the
> famous sagas were written) Óláfr ["o:%lO:vr]. Modern Icelandic has
> a slightly different form again, from a version with even more
> reduced stress on the second element: Ólafur ["ou:la.vYr_0], the
> second vowel being half-long, the final <r> voiceless, the first
> vowel quite like <o> in English <Olaf>. The spelling Olav comes
> from the modern languages of mainland Scandinavia and matches the
> Modern Icelandic form.
>
> (2) Spelt Áleifr in medieval Iceland. As above, except that the
> second element of the compound was originally given a stronger
> stress, which allowed the diphthong /ei/ to survive as it would
> normally in a stressed syllable. This also caused the /u/ to be
> lost earlier, before it had a chance to mutate the initial [a:] to
> [o:]. A possible Viking Age pronunciation ["a:_~%lEiBZ_r], with the
> first vowel like <a> in English <car>, but nasalised like a long
> version of French <en>, and the second vowel like <a> in English
> <lave>. 12th c. Icelandic ["a:_~%lEiBr]. 13th c. Icelandic ["O:%
> lEivr].
>
> At some point in 12th or 13th century Iceland (I'd be interested to
> know when), [B] is supposed to have become [v], as in English <hive>.
>
> > My understanding is that it is from "Áleifr",
> > derived from Old Norse "anu + leifr" = "ancestor descendant".
>
> Maybe with a suggestion of "inheritor" in the second element. Think
> of the English verb "leave", in the sense of leaving something to
> someone in a will. I don't know any English cognate for the first
> part, but German has Ahn "ancestor".
>
> Lama Nom
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Rob Livingston"
> <rlivingston1488@...> wrote:
> >
> > Hello,
> > I have some question about the name Olaf - its historical use and
> > pronunciation. My curiosity arises because my family's old
> surname
> > in Scotland was "MacOnlea" (pronounced "mak-ohn-lay", possibly
> > derived from "son of Onlaf".
> >
> > First, does anybody know the earliest documented Scandinavian
> > reference to the name? My understanding is that it is
> from "Áleifr",
> > derived from Old Norse "anu + leifr" = "ancestor descendant". The
> > earliest reference I can find is from the Irish Annals of Ulster,
> > when in 853 AD, "Amlaíb, the son of the king of Laithlinn" came to
> > Ireland to demand tribute. "Amlaíb" is the Irish equivalent of
> > Olaf. Are there any earlier Scandinavian citations for this name?
> >
> > Later references to the name are found in the Anglo-Saxon
> Chronicles
> > beginning in 911 AD with "Anlaf the Swarthy". There was a stone
> > cross erected in memory of "Cuni Onlaf" (King Olaf) at the
> Cathedral
> > of Leeds, England sometime about 937. Then there are coins from
> the
> > early to late 10th century bearing the names "Onlaf Rex Nor"
> > and "Anlaf Rex Tod", the first presumed to have been minted in
> > Norway. Again, what is the earliest documented citation for the
> name
> > Olaf in Scandinavia? Is it referenced in any of the Norse Sagas?
> >
> > My second question has to do with the pronunciation of "Áleifr",
> > which I presume is the proper way of spelling it, even in Modern
> > Norse? Or is it now spelled Olav or Olaf? If it did change, when
> did
> > it change? Is the "leifr" part of it "layfr" or "leefr"? And is
> > the "f" pronounced like the "f" in "leaf", or the "v" in "leave"?
> >
> > I very much appreciate anybody's input.
> >
> > Rob Livingston
> > Placerville, California
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
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