Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
The newly appointed German Minister for Economics and Technology has one of the longest names I’ve ever seen. He only uses Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, which is enough. His family history is aristocratic, but he seems like an ordinary type. He is pro-America, something I expect we will see more of as times goes on. And he is friends with Tom Cruise. Well, no one is perfect.
What’s in a name? A lot, in this case.
Karl – from Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, Karl the Great, Charles the Great), a king of the Franks and of the Lombards and of Rome.
Theodore – comes from the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodōros) meaning “gift of God.”
Maria – usually a female name, but is sometimes used as a male middle name in many Central European countries where it signified patronage of theVirgin Mary.
Nicholas – Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors and is often called upon by mariners who are in danger of drowning or being shipwrecked.
Johann – is the Germanized form of the originally Hebrew language name “Yohanan”(meaning “God is merciful”).
Jacob – in the Hebrew Bible means deceiver.
Philipp – is a given name, derived from the Greek Philippos (Φίλιππος), meaning “lover of horses” or “friend of horses”.
Wilhelm – William is from the Norman language (although Norman French was Latin-based and the proper name is Germanic) and is a cognate from the German Wilhelm, and of Germanic origin: wil = “will or desire”; helm;”helmet, protection.
Franz – German version of Francis, a French, English and Scottish first name and a surname ultimately descended from the Latin name Franciscus, the name of Francis of Assisi.
Joseph – a name originating from Hebrew, recorded in the Hebrew Bible, as יוֹסֵף, Standard Hebrew Yosef, Tiberian Hebrew and AramaicYôsēp̄. In Arabic, including in the Qur’an, the name is spelled يوسف or Yūsuf. The name can be translated from Hebrew as signifying “The Lordwill increase/add”.
Sylvester – means “wooded”, from the root sylvania meaning “forest land” in Latin. (more…)
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