Louis Weichmann

[Eva Elisabeth]

(09-10-2015 09:53 AM)Pamela Wrote:  So now Weichmann is to be taunted for the meaning of his name. Whatever floats your boat, have fun. But a quick Google search that I just did suggested warrior or battle+man. I'll leave it there as far as I'm concerned. I don't know the language.

I didn't intend to taunt Weichmann for his name (and the Germans are said to lack any sense of humor, just saying...). I have always been interested in name history and etymology. I posted this just FY('all) I as I thought some others might find such interesting too.

And quite often nomen indeed erat omen. In former times, families were often named after prominent/reoccurring jobs, like "Müller" (=Miller) and body- or character features, like "Kleinx (=small), or "Zorn" (=rage). Since Wiechmann is a typical Hanseatic name, greatly limited to the north, it makes sense Wiech/Wich comes from Wicht (or Wichtelmann), a northern folklore dwarf. Hanseactic people were and are merchants, trading by ship, never warriors. But they believed in all kinds of little mystical creatures living on their ships. I really think it was originally to "nick"name families of little average body height, because the Wicht was a typical symbol.