#sumerian onomastics

[sumerianlanguage]

Hi, i love your blog, can i ask what Gilgamesh's name mean? I can't find it

Hello, and thanks! The name Gilgamesh 𒀭𒄑𒂆𒈦 is actually the Akkadian name, and is derived from his earlier Sumerian name, most often rendered Bilgames 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌. Bilga 𒉋𒂵 means "ancestor, elder relative", as in someone you're related to who's older than you, derived from pabilga 𒉺𒉋𒂵 which means "paternal grandfather, paternal uncle" or possibly another male paternal ancestor. Mes or mesh is "hero, young man, masculine". (This word is written several ways in cuneiform, but in this name is most often 𒎌).

This combination is most often read to mean something like "male hero-ancestor, masculine elder, young heroic man who is also a paternal ancestor". However, the exact type of ancestor he's meant to be is a point of contention, and who exactly he's an ancestor to. And his name was also spelled a number of different ways which can have their own interpretations.

[sumerianlanguage]

I also don't know of an example of "Enki" used outside the context of the god, but I can tell you a bit about the name! Enki 𒀭𒂗𒆠 is written with the signs en 𒂗 "lord, priest" and ki 𒆠 "earth, land, place", so the literal translation is "earth lord" or "lord of the land". (The initial 𒀭 sign indicates a deity name, and isn't pronounced.)

The en element is used in the names of other gods, like Enlil ("lord of wind") and Enmesharra ("lord of all me", me being the Sumerian concept of a thing divinely ordained). Some people say that the ki element isn't meant to represent "earth, land" but instead a shortened form of another word (maybe kid "to build"?) but I haven't seen any specific evidence of this. And as you mentioned, Enkidu's name uses the same elements, but this may be a coincidence - his name means "lord of the good (du(g)) land".

I hope that's helpful!

Hi! This is a little far-fetched considering your niche is not linguistics or names (feel free to redirect me!), but I was wondering if you knew/knew where to find any specific information about the name Enki? It's my name (just about), and it's a little weird since literally nobody's heard about it, and looking around online I can't seem to find much reputable information aside from the god Enki and Enkidu's name, and I also don't know enough about Mesopotamia to be able to make cultural links or anything, and whether the name and derivatives originated from the god (and so the meaning is from there) or if there's a different source.

It doesn't have a specific meaning irl, my parents gave it to me bc they didn't want me to share a name with anyone else at school, and it's annoyingly superficial enough I've never had a strong connection to it. But idk, it'd be nice to at least know what it represents.

Thank you in advance! (And apologies if this is way out of your realm or anything!!)

hi! my apologies, this is absolutely way out of my scope of knowledge BUT i know a guy

@mostlydeadlanguages perhaps you can answer or direct anon to sources they could look into? thank you ^^

[sumerianlanguage]

I have had occasion to look real close at 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌, and I get why 𒀭[DIĜIR] is there, and 𒉋𒂵𒎌 [BIL₂.GA.MEŠ] are clearly phonetic components---but what the hell is 𒄑 [GIŠ] doing there? it's not pronounced (evidently), but as a determiner it doesn't seem to make much sense to me (used for wooden objects and trees), and 𒄑𒉋𒂵 [(GIŠ) BIL₂.GA] as "male ancestor" with a determiner for wooden objects/trees *haunts* me, but I can't find a source for that. What's going on with 𒄑 in this name?

You know, I can't find a good source on why 𒄑 appears in this name, as I don't think scholars agree on why it's there. The most common theory seems to be that the bilga element may derive from pabilga 𒉺𒉋𒂵 "paternal grandfather, paternal uncle". Halloran lists bilga as being "a plant-breeder's terminology for a human ancestor", as pa 𒉺 has "branch" as its most basic meaning, like the branch of a family tree. Somewhere along the line, the 𒉺 sign of (pa)bilga got reinterpreted as the similar-looking 𒄑 (and related meaning, branch > tree), and thus got stuck in the name of Bilgamesh and presumably others derived from the same root.

However, not all sources agree on pabilga as being a proven etymology for bilga at all, so take all this with a grain of salt. And check out this prior post on the meaning of Gilgamesh's name.

[sumerianlanguage]

Hi!! Thank you for creating such a nice blog with a whole bunch of intresting information, your posts help me with understanding Sumerian culture a lot!!!

I have one question regarding names and personal gods in Sumer. Was a personal god chosen by birth or the person could decide by themselves? I'm also intrested in how did parents choose a name of a child or, maybe, it was done by someone else? Could one change their name later in life? I found little to no info on this topic but it kept sitting in my head for weeks now

Thank you in advance if you'll answer on my questions! <3

Hi, and thank you so much for the kind words!

"Personal gods" in Mesopotamian religion aren't quite "personal" in the modern sense. The ones we have examples of were generally inherited - so a given "personal" deity would actually be more like a family deity. In royal lineages, this would be the same as the patron deity of a city, so the rulers of Uruk (whose city deity was Inanna) would also have Inanna as their "personal"/family deity.

There are many fewer examples of such "personal deities" for non-royal, regular people, and in fact they're generally referred to not as "gods" but more like "guardian/tutelary spirits", alad (generally masculine) and lamma (generally feminine). I don't think they're ever referred to by specific names, instead being a (nameless) member of a broad class of such spirits. Hymn to Inanna C says that Inanna is responsible for assigning these minor deities, but not how or when they'd be assigned.

As far as I know, names were assigned by the parents at birth. There is a verb phrase for "to give as a name", mu(she) sa, but I can't find an example of it in use with this meaning (the ePSD doesn't have it as an entry separate from mu "name"). Based on my understanding of this verb, the name would be the direct object, the person named would be dative, and the word "name" would be terminative, so Ngae [name] mushe murabsan "I give [name] to you as a name" - but if someone can find an example of this or correct the structure, please do so! And, like you, I can't find a clear example of someone changing their own name later in life.

I hope that's helpful!

[sumerianlanguage]

What did Sumerian names sound like? I see the names of the deities and kings, but what kinds of names were given to average people?

If there was a list of most frequent questions I get, this one would probably be #1 - and it's certainly my #1 question I don't have an answer for. There is no comprehensive source on Sumerian names or name systematics, unfortunately. (If anyone has such a source, please reblog with it below!) And if you want a sampling, do check out my Sumerian onomastics tag.

[sumerianlanguage]

Hi! Apologies if you've answered something like this before (Tumblr's search function is terrible), but do you know of any resources on names and/or naming conventions? I'm trying to name a character but I don't just want to name him with a noun or smash words together willy-nilly.

Hi, and I feel you about tumblr's search system. This is almost certainly the most common question I get these days - and I still don't know of any clear, comprehensive resource on Sumerian naming. Your best bet is to find a name that's already in use, since that's the only way I can guarantee it's a legit Sumerian name.

Barring that, Sumerian names generally had pretty transparent meanings, so if you have a noun or phrase you think would work as a name, I'd gladly help with the translation/combination accuracy (to avoid, as you said, willy-nilly smashing). And you can also peruse my Sumerian onomastics tag if you want examples & inspiration!

[sumerianlanguage]

How do you write the names of the gods?

Hi! I'm not sure what you mean by this question - do you mean a list of deity names in Sumerian? I'm not sure of a resource with such a list (other than the wikipedia pages) but if you have specific deities you want me to write in cuneiform, let me know!

If instead you want to know in general how to indicate a deity name in Sumerian, it's pretty simple! A given deity's name would be preceded by the determinative sign 𒀭, which like all determinatives wouldn't be read aloud. (In other contexts, 𒀭 can mean dingir "deity" or an "sky" along with other meanings.) So Enlil would be written 𒀭𒂗𒆤, with the three signs being "[deity marker] + en + lil".

If you're looking for a translation of "the names of the gods", it would be mumudingira "the (many) names of the god(s)", written 𒈬𒈬𒀭𒀀.

[sumerianlanguage]

Hello, I have a few questions, and I appreciate any help you can provide: 1) is there an easy way, or a handy resource, to tell if a name is Akkadian or Sumerian? 2) I'm looking into the period under Naram-Sin and I've come across a few names that I am not sure if they are Sumerian/Akkadian. If they are Sumerian, would you please tell me what they mean? Amar-Girid, Yetib-Mir, Mesag, Ilum-palil, Sagadu, Adda, Sumirat-Istar, and finally, a partial name: x-kitushdu. Thank you very much!

Hello! Unfortunately there's not an easy way to tell if a name is Akkadian or Sumerian unless you're well-versed in the vocabulary of at least one of the two. In fact, in writing it can sometimes be hard to tell the intended reading of a name, especially if it could be interpreted as either an Akkadian or Sumerian rendering. The best rule of thumb is that some names are transliterated with sounds that exist in Akkadian, but not Sumerian - Yetib-Mir would be such an example, as there is no "Y" in Sumerian transliterated phonology.

The ones of these that I can identify as Sumerian (or have a potential Sumerian meaning) would be:

Amar-Girid 𒀫𒀭𒄌𒆠 would be "calf of Girid", Girid being a somewhat obscure deity.

Mesag 𒈨𒉺𒃶 is most associated to the Mesag archive, a trove of letters and documents from the city of Sagub. As for what it would mean, it would be something like "to scatter me", with me being a complex Sumerian concept of "essence, idealized form, custom, divine power, responsibility, cult (of a deity), etc."

Ilum-Palil 𒀭𒅆𒁺 was a servant and hairdresser of the princess Enheduanna, whose name means something like "foremost Ilum", with Ilum again being a deity name.

Adda 𒀜𒁕 means "father". (I'm assuming this is the name, and not adda 𒇿 "corpse".)

Lugal-kitushdu ��𒆠𒆪𒄭 is a recurring name, meaning "King of the du throne (kitush)". Du is again a word that can have any of several readings, including "knee, kneeling" or "good, pleasant". I assume the x-kitushdu name would be this one.

I can't find a source for Yetib-Mir (certainly Akkadian) or Sagadu (which sounds Sumerian, but whose meaning I can't ascertain without the cuneiform). Sumirat-Ishtar is Akkadian given that it refers to the goddess by her Akkadian name.

I hope that's helpful, and if you have the cuneiform (or source links) for any of these names I may be able to provide more details!

[sumerianlanguage]

I have a question about the Sumerian language. "Pardon my poor English i advance.) In the hypothetical scenario that a Sumerian family had a surname, since most ancient peoples did not have surnames or clan names, how would it be structured? What were the Sumerian naming conventions? Asking this for a fantasy story.

Hi there! There isn't really an answer to your question, since I know of no example of surnames being used in Sumerian at all. So the question remains extremely hypothetical.

Sumerian naming conventions are complex, but in general they had a transparent meaning, unlike our names today, which, while having traceable origins, mostly function simply as names and not as other words. For examples and discussions of naming in Sumerian, please check out my Sumerian onomastics tag.

[sumerianlanguage]

Hello!

What is a female mesopotamian name or title that means colorful and joyous?

Hello! I'm not sure of a name specifically, as there aren't comprehensive sources on Sumerian names (see my Sumerian onomastics tag for more) - and Sumerian words often weren't gendered the way vocabulary in many European languages is. But I can translate these words for you!

"Colorful" in Sumerian is gunu 𒁯, also meaning "speckled, spotted, multicolored, variegated, decorated," etc.

Hul 𒄾 means "joy, joyful, joyous, joyously, to be joyful" - basically "joy" as any part of speech. It's not to be confused with its homophone, hul 𒅆, which means "evil, hostile, malicious, violently, to destroy".

[sumerianlanguage]

Silim!

Im making a villain for a short novella, he's a Edimmu who's terrorizing his former tribe and I've been struggling for a name.

He calls himself the Gate-Breaker (may I get a translation on that) but I've been struggling on his human name. His appearance is based on the Bull Of Heaven as that was his greatest sin before he died.

Any help? I can be ironic

Silim! A perpetual struggle in answering questions on this blog is that there isn't a great source for human names in Sumerian, but I'll refer you to my Sumerian Onomastics tag for more.

For "gate-breaker", I'd use the verb gul 𒄢 "to destroy, demolish, break down" in a participial form like gulgule "the one breaking, the one who breaks", which I believe is 𒄢𒄢𒇷 in cuneiform. There are two words for "gate" in Sumerian, the general kan 𒆍, and abul 𒆍𒃲 "city gate, large gate or door". So the whole phrase could be kan gulgule 𒆍𒄢𒄢𒇷 or abul gulgule 𒆍𒃲𒄢𒄢𒇷 "the one who breaks gates". I hope that's helpful!

[sumerianlanguage]

How would you write Gilgamesh and Enkidu's names in cuneiform?

Hello! Gilgamesh is written any of several ways in cuneiform. In Akkadian (and thus in his Epic), it’s 𒄑𒂆𒈦, based on his earlier Sumerian name Bilgames 𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌.

Enkidu is written 𒂗𒆠𒄭, and his name is more transparent, meaning something like “lord (en) of the good (dug) place (ki)”.

[sumerianlanguage]

I was reading about mesopotamian history the other day and saw that the meaning of the name of Sargon of Akkad's wife Tashlultum is unknown. What's your take on it?

Hello! Tashlultum is, we believe, the name of Sargon of Akkad’s wife, but her name is only known from one shard of a vase; thus her relationship to other members of Sargon’s family, like his daughter Enheduanna, hasn’t actually been confirmed. An archival link to the shard’s text is here, but it roughly translates to “The estate administrator of Tashlultum, wife of Sargon ... for his life, dedicated [this vase].” From that we can see the cuneiform would be 𒀾𒈜𒌈, which can be found in the ePSD here.

As for its potential meaning, the name is almost certainly Akkadian, not Sumerian, so my knowledge is a bit lacking. -tum is a common feminine name ending, but tashlul isn’t listed in the Akkadian dictionary I know. There are some sound-alikes: taṣliltu means “prayer, plea” while tašīltu is “celebration, feast day” and tašlimtu is “reimbursement, salary, completed payment”; so it’s possible one of these is the source of the name.

In Sumerian, tash3 isn’t even an independent root as far as I can find, and is only used in personal names; lul means “lies, deception”, but its use in this name is certainly phonetic for an Akkadian equivalent.

[sumerianlanguage]

Sorry if my last question wasn't exactly clear. What I meant was more along the lines of names people had back then, even if not in use anymore, kind of the first/last name of a specific person where the meaning of the name is known. For example, the name Hannah means favor/grace, so would we be able to decipher the meanings of any mesopotamian names?

Oh, I understand! (Original answer here.) In general, Sumerian people had (given) names that had clear meanings. For example, Queen Puabi’s name means “word/mouth (pu) of the father (abi)”, while Enheduanna’s means “high priestess (en-hedu) of An (an-na)”. This same principle holds for Akkadian names, like Enheduanna’s father, Sargon of Akkad - Šarrukīn probably means “the king (šarru) has established (kīnum)”. So we can at least make an attempt at deciphering all Mesopotamian names!

As for “last names”, ancient people generally didn’t have such names; they’re a more modern invention. You can find more in my Sumerian onomastics tag, or feel free to ask about any specific Sumerian names you may be interested in the meanings behind.

[sumerianlanguage]

Hi! I really enjoy your blog. I'm hoping to be able to go to school for assyriology someday so it's rly cool seeing your work.

I was wondering if you'd be willing to check if I have the right cuneiform / translation for this Summeriam theophoric name.

So my understanding is that these signs:

𒀴𒀭𒂗𒆠

would be transliterated as: arad-enki

which would mean: (masc.) servant of Enki.

So if you wanted to you could plug in a different deity's sign for a different name, right? So:

𒀴𒀭𒈹

would be the same but it would be arad-inana meaning a masculine servant of Inana.

Is that right? Or am I missing something?

That’s basically right! Arad (written 𒀵 or 𒀴) meant “male slave” or “male servant”, and when followed by a deity’s name meant “male servant of [deity]”. If a deity’s name ended in a consonant (unlike the examples above), however, I’d add the genitive ending -a 𒀀, as in aradEnlila 𒀵 𒀭𒂗𒆤𒀀 “servant of Enlil”.

[sumerianlanguage]

Do you know of any ancient Mesopotamian names that have their original meanings preserved?

Hi there! I’m not sure what you mean - do you mean names that were used in ancient Mesopotamia that are still used today? If so, I don’t believe there are any in the English-speaking world; there might be in a language community that I’m not familiar with, so anyone who knows of an example please reblog!

Of course, modern people often name their children (or themselves) after ancient (real or mythological) figures, so you can find many Mesopotamian deity or monarch names on baby name websites. And there are examples in fiction - in the 1997 film Contact, a character is named S.R. Hadden, a reference to Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon.