Greek and Baltic last names sound similar

[riverman]

the hell does that even mean?

Try Wikipedia, the topic of the thread is similarities in spelling btw.

[Scholarios]

Try Wikipedia, the topic of the thread is similarities in spelling btw.

But I dont see the relevance. So did Greeks change their names to sound like Lithuanians or something? Or are you just enjoying your typical pasttime of half-assed Greek-bashing?

Most Greeks, like most Europeans in general didnt have surnames until the modern era. Here are a few families that did record a surname before the Modern Era however:

Laskaris

Palaiologos

Dukas

Monomachos

Akritas

Agryos

Xristos

Etc.

[lI]

They don't sound the same at all... Not even one bit...

I actually thought that Greek musician Vangelis was Lithuanian for several years until I finally saw a photo of him and realized that he isn't. You know why? Because that's a perfectly Lithuanian surname. Apparently, it's perfectly Greek too...

Here's some of the members of Greek parliament (past and present) who could pass as Lithuanians without any alterations done to their surnames: Mantas, Valinakis, Skondra, Skrekas, Tagaras, Virvidakis, Vagionas, Verelis, Nasiokas, Katrinis, Melas, Stratakis, Karanikas, Geitonas...
Show that list to any Lithuanian and he'll think that's a list of Lithuanian people but those are genuine Greeks!

They only say that because of the S at the end...

Saying that the similarity between Lithuanian and Greek surnames comes only from having S at the end is simply ignorant. The similarity doesn't just come from a fact that the whole endings -as, -is, -a are common in both countries.
The whole suffixes are often the same too and sometimes even the stems. I'll list some similar examples from the members of parliaments and famous people, these ends are common for many surnames in both LT & GR:

-giris
Greek Argiris, Lithuanian Margiris

-donis
Greek Aidonis, Lithuanian Rudonis

-ronis
Greek Tsironis, Lithuanian Mazuronis

-akis
Greek Deiktakis, Lithuanian Baltakis

-uras/-ūras
Greek Bouras, Lithuanian Būras

-raitis
Greek Moraitis, Lithuanian Giedraitis


Then there's these lookalikes:

Greek Salmas, Lithuanian Šalmas
Greek Zaroulia, Lithuania Žūraulia
Greek Ziogas, Lithuanian Žiogas
Greek Stamatis, Lithuanian Stamaitis
Greek Kikilias, Lithuanian Kirkilas
Greek Zagoritis, Lithuanian Žagarytis

Lithuanian have IUs and Greeks don't.
Lithuanian first names have As in it.. Greeks have it in their last name.

Lithuanians can have -as in both first and last names. In fact, it's the most popular ending for male last names.

the part about male last names is not exactly correct. male last names can also end in -a. (for example.: Breiva, Draudvila, Celka...this is more common in eastern Lithuania)

What makes you think it's more common in East Lithuania? Survila, Blinda, Alseika, Daukša, Švėgžda, Pabrėža, Riauba were Samogitians.

BTW the endings are rarely -ė too, e.g.: Galaunė, Lapė...

Baltic names sound extremely weird and foreign to me. They're quite different from the names around them

Are all of these members of Estonian Parliament just Russians? Their surnames sound like they could pass in Lithuania, some with small alterations:

1. Kaja Kallas (Kalas)
2. Kalev Kotkas
3. Väino Linde (Lindė)
4. Inara Luigas
5. Liisa-Ly Pakosta
6. Jüri Ratas
7. Siim Kabrits (Kabrytis)

Because if those are genuine Estonian surnames, a fair share of Lithuanian surnames should not sound foreign to you either.

[Sikeliot]

Here are a few families that did record a surname before the Modern Era however:

Laskaris

There is a surname in Messina today "Lascari".. obviously must come from it.

[Scholarios]

Greek Argiris, Lithuanian Margiris

-donis
Greek Aidonis, Lithuanian Rudonis

-ronis
Greek Tsironis, Lithuanian Mazuronis

-akis
Greek Deiktakis, Lithuanian Baltakis

-uras/-ūras
Greek Bouras, Lithuanian Būras

-raitis
Greek Moraitis, Lithuanian Giedraitis

Actually, they do look similar but the only one I'd mistake for Greek would be Margiris, which looks like the Greek word for " cook". " Buras sort of looks Greek.

Some of the others look somewhat alike. I think some of them come from Slav toponyms, like Zagoritis ( Za-gura- between mountain ) and Ziogas ( mountain range) and zaroulia have similar etymologies.

[Hercus Monte]

What makes you think it's more common in East Lithuania? Survila, Blinda, Alseika, Daukša, Švėgžda, Pabrėža, Riauba were Samogitians.

BTW the endings are rarely -ė too, e.g.: Galaunė, Lapė...

just an observation.

and by -ė, I meant last names like Zvonkė. (female, marital-status neutral names)

[Turkophagos]

There is a surname in Messina today "Lascari".. obviously must come from it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_Lascaris


Constantine Lascaris (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Λάσκαρις; 1434 – 15 August 1501) was a Greek scholar and grammarian, one of the promoters of the revival of Greek learning in the Italian peninsula, born at Constantinople.

...

Lascaris died at Messina.

[Queen B]

Yes that is true and they don't have that is Greek names.. Except is and maybe us.. But they don't have the i in it .. Maybe but Greek names tend to end in opoulos

Lithuanian first names have As in it.. Greeks have it in their last name.

But in general they sound nothing alike..

Funny... Ancient Illyrians had their names ending in -ius and -ian and -as
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...ers_of_Illyria

I think Greeks and Lithuanians should be proud of holding their names like this... I wish my country did the same.

Greek endings have to do with the place they are from. -opoulos is from Pelloponese.
-akis from Greete, -atos from Kephallonia, -ellis from Lesbos, -oudas from Chalkidike, -idis from Pontus, etc, etc...
There are Greek names ending in -as. Andreas, Kosmas, Nikolas, etc.

In general, I don't confuse Greek with Lithouanian because Greek names have a meaning in Greek 9 out of 10 times. If a Lithouanian surname makes sense in Greek though....

[Äike]

Including Estonian.

Estonians have typically Finnic & Nordic names that are similar Finnish and Scandinavian names. While the Balts have very unique names.

[Äike]

I actually thought that Greek musician Vangelis was Lithuanian for several years until I finally saw a photo of him and realized that he isn't. You know why? Because that's a perfectly Lithuanian surname. Apparently, it's perfectly Greek too...

Here's some of the members of Greek parliament (past and present) who could pass as Lithuanians without any alterations done to their surnames: Mantas, Valinakis, Skondra, Skrekas, Tagaras, Virvidakis, Vagionas, Verelis, Nasiokas, Katrinis, Melas, Stratakis, Karanikas, Geitonas...
Show that list to any Lithuanian and he'll think that's a list of Lithuanian people but those are genuine Greeks!

Saying that the similarity between Lithuanian and Greek surnames comes only from having S at the end is simply ignorant. The similarity doesn't just come from a fact that the whole endings -as, -is, -a are common in both countries.
The whole suffixes are often the same too and sometimes even the stems. I'll list some similar examples from the members of parliaments and famous people, these ends are common for many surnames in both LT & GR:

-giris
Greek Argiris, Lithuanian Margiris

-donis
Greek Aidonis, Lithuanian Rudonis

-ronis
Greek Tsironis, Lithuanian Mazuronis

-akis
Greek Deiktakis, Lithuanian Baltakis

-uras/-ūras
Greek Bouras, Lithuanian Būras

-raitis
Greek Moraitis, Lithuanian Giedraitis


Then there's these lookalikes:

Greek Salmas, Lithuanian Šalmas
Greek Zaroulia, Lithuania Žūraulia
Greek Ziogas, Lithuanian Žiogas
Greek Stamatis, Lithuanian Stamaitis
Greek Kikilias, Lithuanian Kirkilas
Greek Zagoritis, Lithuanian Žagarytis

Lithuanians can have -as in both first and last names. In fact, it's the most popular ending for male last names.




What makes you think it's more common in East Lithuania? Survila, Blinda, Alseika, Daukša, Švėgžda, Pabrėža, Riauba were Samogitians.

BTW the endings are rarely -ė too, e.g.: Galaunė, Lapė...


Are all of these members of Estonian Parliament just Russians? Their surnames sound like they could pass in Lithuania, some with small alterations:

1. Kaja Kallas (Kalas)
2. Kalev Kotkas
3. Väino Linde (Lindė)
4. Inara Luigas
5. Liisa-Ly Pakosta
6. Jüri Ratas
7. Siim Kabrits (Kabrytis)

Because if those are genuine Estonian surnames, a fair share of Lithuanian surnames should not sound foreign to you either.

What? Just because of the s ending? Ratas means wheel, kallas means shore, kotkas means eagle. They're not "names", they're more like items, nature objects and animals. We don't have any "s" or "as" endings. You're just making up things and creating connections that just don't exist.