Naming Conventions of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, throughout the ages, has always comprised of a mix of
ethnic groups consisting of the majority Sinhalese, and the minority Tamil,
Moor (Muslims of Arab origin), Malay (Muslims of Malay origin), Burgher
(Anglo-Sri Lankan) and Christians. History records that the
earliest Sinhalese civilization originated from West
Bengal in former India which is now a part of the newly created state of Bangla Desh. The Moors are
Muslims who are direct descendant of the
Arabs while the Malays are also Muslims who originated from the Far East. The
Christians are mainly converts from the Sinhalese and Tamil
communities during the colonial rule of the Portuguese, Dutch and British.
The Sinhalese community usually have two
names. The first is called the "GE" (Sinhalese for House or Tribe,
pronounced "gay") Name while the second is the actual name
of the individual. The "GE" name may indicate the place from which
their family originated, the title or profession of the Head of the family or
any other special characteristic of the family that prevailed at the time.
Hence a person may be called "MuhandiramlaGE
Simon" which indicates that he hails from the "House of Muhandiram" and his name is Simon. Muhandiram
is a title meaning an appointed commissioner or leader of
a locality. This prefix "GE" name is carried down through all
descendants irrespective of whether they are male or female and would serve
more effectively for searching such family connectivity. Sinhalese women
usually adopt the second name of the spouse after marriage, yet keep
their prefixed family or "GE" name in tact.
The Sinhalese, usually, use an initial to indicate the first name rather than
spell it out in its full form
The Tamil community have a completely
unique and different method of nomenclature. They also, usually, use two names,
the first representing their father's name and the second representing their own. Eg; Ponnambalam Ramanathan indicates that the individuals name is Ramanathan and he is the
son of Ponnambalam. The son of P. Ramanathan
would then become Ramanathan Arulanantham,
where the son's name is Arulanantham and is
prefixed by the name of his father. The Tamils, like the Sinhalese, usually,
use an initial to indicate the first name rather than spell it
out in its full form. Women too use the same naming structure but do adopt the husbands name after marriage. Searching for connectivity using
names for Tamils can be difficult unless one recognizes the convention they
usually adopt.
It must also be noted here that both Sinhalese and Tamil
communities maintain a caste system, even until today, and this caste system
can also have its influence on providing them prefixed names or titles.
Moors, who are Muslims of Arab origin, have multiple methods of naming amongst their community. Many of those in
villages and remote towns use their fathers name as a prefix, similar to the Tamils,
differing in only by the fact that they may use more than one name for the
prefix. Eg;
Muhammad Ismail has a son and names him Muhammad Ismail Muhammad Saleem where the sons name is Muhammad Saleem.
The names Muhammad or Ahmed are commonly sued across the board as first names
for male Muslims while the names Fathima or Sithy or Ummu or Noor are used for females. Furthermore Muslims have a tendency to give
more than one name for their offspring. This, usually, rises from the fact that all members
of both spouses family take part in contributing these names. Modern Muslims
living in the metropolitan areas and big cities, have adopted
the use of the running Surname as is used in western cultures. This is a direct
influence of the Colonial era. Malays too follow the practice
of carrying on the Surname throughout their descendants. However they have a
tendency to use the Prefix TUAN for males and GNEI for
females as a standard similar to the Muhammad and Fathima
of the Moors. Although Islam does not recommend the giving up of the family name by
women after marriage most Muslim women have adopted the modern western method
of taking their husbands name. Muslims also have a
tendency to use initials to depict all their names except the last one thus
giving rise to many names like, M.S.M. Irfan or
A.L.M. Rasheed.
By this they sometimes become known to the rest of the community
by the initials instead of the last name, ;eg ALM or MSM. Many Muslims living in
the Central Province of the country also have Sinhalese "GE" names
prefixed to all their Muslim names. This has been, mainly, on account
of special titles and honour rendered upon them by
the ancient Sinhalese Kings for various services and work rendered by them to
the Royalty and Community during that era.
The Burghers, who are direct descendants of Colonial Europeans and
the locals, either Sinhalese or Tamil, conform to the western system of naming
where the Surname is carried down the line. Women, of course, adopt the Surname
of the husband after marriage.
The Christians, who are mostly descended from converts from
Sinhalese Buddhists and Tamil Hindus during the colonial era
adopt the modern western method of nomenclature keeping their surnames running down
the line. However, some of them may still carry their prefix "GE"
names, if they were previously Sinhalese. Some Tamil Christians still
maintain their original Hindu system of nomenclature keeping their immediate
fathers name as a prefix.
Thus it will be seen that Sri Lankans have a mixed variety of
naming conventions and methods amongst all their ethnic groups to such an
extent that it would be almost impossible to use any fixed type of search
methodology to research their progeny. This fact is very important to be borne in
mind by those using presently established methods of search using Surnames or
Family Names.
European Occupation of
Sri Lanka (Ceylon) compiled by Bobby Caspersz
1694 CENSUS IN JAFFNAPATNAM CITY AND CASTLE (Fort)
H.E.A. de
Vos to Nederveen Cappel
GENS
NOSTRA 1978 ADDENDUM 41/48 PAGES 308-15.
ARA - Algemeen Rijks
Archief, The Hague.
Original title:
"DIE
DIENAREN VAN DE VOC TEELDEN IN CEYLON VELE KINDEREN BY EUROPESE, MESTIESEN,
CASTIESEN, TOEPASSEN, SWARTE, BANDANESE, MALEISE EN SINGALESE VROUWEN"
translation:
"The
VOC officials beget numerous children with European, Mestiesen,
Castiesen, Toepassen,
Black, Bandanese, Maleise
and Singhalese women"
· Mesties = child of European and local born 1/2 white mother.
· Casties = child of a Mesties (3/4 white).
· Toepas = from Portuguese "topaz", a Christian halfblood of Portuguese lineage.
· Swarte = probably belonging to the Dravida's
with darker skin color (editor.)..
"In the ARA section of the VOC contain
letters sent from the Far East to Holland from 1614-1794. There are 2900 thick
volumes. The register is in the study hall. These letters contain a treasure of
information for the genealogist. The employees of the VOC sent yearly reports
to the Administrators concerning the census: Christians, orphans, elephants,
produce and of course the financial results. Of great importance is the census
on families of Ceylon in the years 1684, 1694 and 1696. The survey was done
exact, noting the number of people, men, women, ages of sons and daughters, if
a parent lived in, protegees, slaves and female
slaves. These statistics are of great advantage for genealogists as the baptism
and marriage registration books of Jaffnapatnam have
disappeared completely and those of Colombo and Matara
were initiated only in 1743. However, the Galle books dating from 1677-1807,
are in the Church and the Dutch tourists are so happily thumbing through them,
that in a couple of years they will be totally unreadable. Soon afterward only
the well-printed "Klappers" of baptism and
marriage of Colombo will survive.
An example of the house census of 1694 of Jaffanpatnam
City and Fort follows. In Jaffanapatnam were a total
of 118 families consisting of 504 persons and 558 slaves. Among these were 100
employees of the VOC and 5 free citizens "vrijburgers".
Among the women, only 14 came from Holland, while for the men the countries of
origin were: Holland, Germany, France, Flanders, Norway and Denmark. The
"Citizens", those who left the service of the VOC, earned their money
from property and/or ale houses. The widows of non-European lineage earned
their living with small profits from sewing, baking, stocking knitting,
spinning and moreover "from the poor" (alms box).
The "Castle", nowadays "Fort" is a beautiful
example of a Dutch star-shaped fortification. If the temperature was not 30
degrees C one would imagine approaching the fortification of Naarden. One enters through a gate dated 1680. The fort is
completely intact with the Dutch Church built in 1706 with the orphanage and is
still used as a fortification. In the church one can still see tombstones with
shields and engravings, the escutcheons and the pews for the Commandant and the
high and low commissioned employees of the VOC. The Fort is on an area of 55
acres (22.5 ha) and in it there lived in 1694, 586 people."
Who are
the Burghers (By Dr K.D. Paranavitana - Extract from
the Daily News of 5-9-1998)
Who are
the Burghers: The term "Burgher" is of Dutch origin, used in Ceylon
to identify the ethnic group comprising the descendents of the Dutch who
settled down in Ceylon. The term Burgher has been used in the Netherlands since
the 13th century. The Dutch who migrated on their own to Ceylon were known as
Burghers (virjburghers).
The
Burghers enjoyed the rights of residing on their own and enjoyed certain civic
privileges without interfering with the interests of the Dutch East India Co
Administration and staff, who came with the Company (VOC) to Ceylon. Burghers
who left the Company were granted "Burghership".
Portuguese men inter-married with local women, as there were not enough
Portuguese women to marry. In time the Dutch men married the Portuguese women
of pure and mixed blood.
The term
Burgher was defined by The Chief Justice of Ceylon, Sir Richard Ottley, in an authoritative pronouncement, when he gave
evidence before the Commission which was appointed in connection with the
establishment of a Legislative Council in Ceylon in 1883. He stated that,
"The
name Burgher belongs to the descendants of the Dutch, Portuguese and other
Europeans born in Ceylon, and the right to distinction must not be decided by
the Country from which their father or paternal ancestor came. So whatever the
number of generations through which the family has passed in this Island, If
the male ancestors were Dutch, Portuguese and or other Europeans, whoever may
have been the female parents, if the parents were married the offspring would
be Burgher. If the parents were not married, the country of the mother would
decide the question. If the right to be denominated Burgher be once lost by the
legitimate father being a Cingalese or other Indian,
it cannot be recovered.".
Formation of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon 12 Nov 1907
An
Informal meeting was first held at the Lindsay Hall, Bambalapitiya
on 12 November 1907 men and women of the Dutch Burgher community, distinguished
each in their own right, by professional achievement and of social standing
meant to air opinion. In the outcome, a resolution was carried unanimously
which read That this meeting is of opinion that a union of the Dutch Burghers
of Ceylon, with the object of promoting the moral, social and intellectual
well-being of the community is very desirable (Extract from an article by Deloraine BrohierThe DBU of
Ceylon its founding & growth)
First Gathering of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon
(Source -
Extract from the Ceylon Independent Newspaper published in the De NieuweCourant of Amsterdam (4 Jan., 1908),
"The
first gathering of the "Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon" on the
occasion of the Sint Nicolaas
celebrations .At this most curious gathering, at which our compatriot who so
fervently represents the Dutch tribe and language, not only played the role of
the Good Sint, but apparently also organized this
event successfully. There were also a great many children present who were told
by Miss Pieters, another compatriot staying on the
island, about the origin and meaning of the festivity.Then
entered Sinterklaas accompanied by the melody of the
Dutch National Anthem, and a puppet show was
presented by Mr. Ernest van Dort with his own hand-made puppets, and the entertainment
was closed with a little concert.
A number
of Burghers with true Dutch names were at this party, from these we only
mention the truly recognizable ones Anthonisz , Albrecht, Bartholomeusz, Christoffelsz, Caspersz, Drieberg, De Boer, De Kretser, De
Vos, De Jong, Hoffman, Huybertz, Jansz, Kriekenbeek, Leembruggen, Maartensz, Modder, Prins, Paulusz, Speldewinde, Schokman, Thomasz, Van Dort,Van Cuylenburg, Vollenhoven, Van der Straaten, Van de Gucht, Van Geyzel, Van Twest. Each of these
families was represented by one or more members. Will there ever be a time all
these burghers will speak Dutch
Dutch Burgher Names, Their Origin &
Significance
(Source Extracts from the R J Anthonisz Lecture in the DBU Hall 13-3-1914
Names
derived in various ways from the fathers Christian name, which was the
earliest form of Patronymic Ing & Ink
e.g., Baldsing, Beling, Metzeling, Meurling, Theuring etc.
English
names under this class are Dering, Browning, Whiting etc
The Next
form of patronymic is that ending in Zoon (son)
· Janszoon contracted to Jansz. It is
equivalent to the English name Johnson
· Dirkszoon contracted to Dirksz also
spelt Direksz
· Anthoniszoon into Anthonisz
· Casperszoon into Caspersz (son of Caspers)
· Maartenszoon into Martensz
· Lourenszoon into Lourensz
We are
familiar with a large number of English names ending in son such
as Davidson, Johnson, Robinson, Richardson etc., all
of which have been formed of corresponding Christian names, as David, John,
Robin and Richard.
Dutch
names appearing with prefix van (of or from):
· van Buren Buren is a flourishing town in the Betuwe
district of the province of Gelderland
· van Cuylenburg Cuylenburg is an old town on the
Rhine situated on the borders of the province of Gelderland
· van Dort Dort is the ancient name for Dordrecht in South Holland famous
for the Synod held there in 1618
· van Houten Houten
is a small town in the Province of Utrecht
Among
other names which maybe ascribed to this class are
those ending in beek (a brook)
· Kriekenbeek brook of the black country
· Wambeek mud locked brook
Names
ending in berg (hill)
· Drieberg three hills
· van Langenberg from the long hill
· van den Berg from the hill
Names
ending in brug (bridge)
· van den Bruggen from the bridges
· Leembruggen bridges of clay
Other
Names
· van der Meer from the lake
· van der Sluys
from
the sluice
· van der Spar from the spar
· van der Wall from the rampart
· Foenander Scandinavian name from the island of Funen
in Sweden
Family
surnames which are derived from trades and occupations:
· De Kretser carder of wool
· Cramer Peddler
· Schneider tailor
· Schumacher Shoemaker
· Schokman taxer or appraiser
· Muller miller
· Visser fisher
·