Auke, pron. [ˈaukə], is a quite common West Frisian masculine given name. It seems to have been a diminutive form originally (-ke is one of the most common diminutive suffices in West Frisian), which developed from the historic form Auwe or Auwen. According to onomatologist Rienk de Haan, Auwe was a very reduced form of certain Germanic names, possibly starting with Alf- (meaning "elf", "supernatural" or "nature spirit").[1]

In West Frisian, masculine given names can usually be adapted to equivalent feminine given names. In the case of Auke, this is accomplished by dropping the voiceless final syllable and adding a diminutive suffix in its place (in this case -je), resulting in Aukje. This is a very common feminine given name in Friesland.[2]

People named Auke edit

Notable people with the name Auke include:

People named Aukje edit

Notable people with the name Aukje include:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Rienk de Haan, Fryske Foarnammen, Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), ISBN 9 03 30 11 506, p. 35.
  2. ^ Rienk de Haan, Fryske Foarnammen, Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), ISBN 9 03 30 11 506, p. 35.