List of English translated personal names

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This is a list of personal names known in English that are modified from another language and are or were not used among the person themselves.

It does not include:

  • names of monarchs, which are commonly translated (e.g. Pope Francis), although current and recent monarchs are often untranslated today (e.g. Felipe VI of Spain)
  • aliases, pseudonyms, and stage names (such as the librettist Metastasio)
  • latinized spellings of other languages and other spelling variants (such as removal/spelling out of diacritics, e.g. Arnold Schoenberg, born Arnold Schönberg, US citizen in 1941)[1])
  • permanent name changes, colloquially known as "Ellis Island Specials" (such as George Frideric Handel born Georg Friedrich Händel, naturalised British subject in 1727; Sumner Redstone, legally translated his originally German/Yiddish surname Rothstein along with the rest of his family in 1940)

This list also includes names from non-English languages the individual did not use, such as Latin or French.

Modern convention is not to translate modern personal names.[2]

Translated names currently used

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English name Original name Language Notability Notes
Alexander Agricola Alexander Ackerman Dutch Artist (musician)
Averroes Muḥammad Ibn-'Aḥmad Ibn-Rushd Arabic Intellectual (philosopher)
Avicenna 'Ali Ibn Al-Ḥusayn Ibn-'Abdillāh Ibn-Ḥasan Ibn-Sīnā Arabic Intellectual (philosopher)
Bill Alexander Wilhelm Alexander German Artist (painter) Self-translated
Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina Latin Political leader
Christopher Columbus Cristóbal Colón Spanish Explorer
Cristoffa Corombo Ligurian
Claudius Salmasius Claude Saumise French Intellectual
Clovis I Chlodovechus Latin Political leader
Hlōdowig Frankish
Confucius Kǒng Qiū (孔 丘) Mandarin Intellectual (philosopher) Birth name, no longer used
Kǒng Fūzǐ (孔 夫子) Mandarin
Cornplanter Gaiänt'wakê Seneca Political leader
John Abeel III English Birth name, no longer used
Denis the Carthusian Denys van Leeuwen Dutch Religious figure
Ferdinand Magellan Fernão de Magalhães Portuguese Explorer
Ferenc Dávid Franz David Hertel German Religious figure Hungarian and German names were both in use
George Santayana Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana Spanish Intellectual (philosopher) Self-translated
Georgius Agricola Georg Pawer German Intellectual (scientist)
Gerardus Mercator Gheert Cremer Dutch Intellectual (philosopher)
Hector Boyardee Ettore Boiardi Italian Chef
Henry of Ghent Henri de Gand French Intellectual (philosopher)
Henricus Gadavensus Latin
Hieronymous Bosch Jheronimus Bosch Dutch Artist (painter)
Homer Hómēros (Ὅμηρος) Ancient Greek Artist (poet)
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus Latin Artist (poet)
Hugo Etherianis Ugo Eteriano Italian Religious figure
Hugo Grotius Huig de Groot Dutch Intellectual
Ignatius of Loyola Ignacio de Loyola Spanish Religious figure (saint)
Jacobus Arminius Jacob Hermanszoon Dutch Religious figure
Jerome Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus Latin Theologian
Jesus Iēsoûs (Ἰησοῦς) Koine Greek Religious figure
John Amos Comenius Jan Amos Komenský Czech Intellectual (philosopher)

Religious figure

John Cabot Zuan Chabotto Venetian Explorer
John Calvin Jehan Cauvin French Religious figure (reformer)
John Huss Jan Hus Czech Religious figure (reformer)
John of Damascus Yuḥannā Ad-Dimashqi (يوحنا الدمشقي,) Arabic Religious figure (saint)
Josephus Titus Flavius Josephus Latin Intellectual (philosopher) Full Latin name.
Yosef Ben-Matityahu (יוסף בן מתתיהו) Hebrew
Lee Iacocca Lido Iacocca Italian Businessman
Livy Titus Livius Patavinus Latin Intellectual (historian)
Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea baron Evola Italian Intellectual (philosopher)

Relligious figure (mystic)

Maimonides Moses Maimonides Latin Intellectual (philosopher)
Moshe Ben-Maymon (משה בן‏‏ מימון) Hebrew
Mūsa Ibn-Maymūn (موسى بن ميمون) Arabic
Mark Antony Marcus Antonius Latin Political leader
Mencius Mèng Kē (孟 軻) Mandarin Intellectual (philosopher) Birth name, no longer used
Mèngzī (孟 子) Mandarin
Michael Servetus Miguel Serveto Spanish Intellectual (scientist)
Moses Mōše (מֹשֶׁה) Biblical Hebrew Religious figure (prophet)
Muhammad ibn Abdullah Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh (مُحَمَّد ٱبن عَبْد ٱللَّٰه) Arabic Religious figure (prophet)
Nachmanides Bonastruc ça Porta Catalan Intellectual (philosopher)

Religious figure

Moshe Ben-Nachman (משה בן נחמן) Hebrew
Nicolas Steno Nicolas Stenonis Latin Intellectual (scientist)

Religious figure

Niels Steensen Danish
Nicolaus Copernicus Niklas Koppernigk[3] German Intellectual (scientist)
Mikołaj Kopernik Polish
Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame French Intellectual
Octavian Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Latin Roman emperor
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso Latin Artist (poet)
Paul of Venice Paolo da Veneto Italian Intellectual (philosopher)
Paolo Nicoletto Italian Birth name, no longer used
Paulus Venetus Latin
Pete Fountain Pierre LaFontaine, Jr. French Artist (musician)
Peter Damian Pietro Damiani Italian Religious figure (saint)
Peter Lombard Pietro Lombardo Italian Intellectual (philosopher)
Peter of Bruys Pierre de Bruys French Religious figure (priest)
Peter of Ravenna Pietro de Ravenna Italian Intellectual
Peter Waldo Pierre Vaudès French Religious figure
Petrarch Francesco Petracco Italian Artist (poet)

Intellectual

Franciscus Petrarca Latin
Petrus Apianis Peter Bienewitz German Intellectual (scientist)
Plato Plátōn Ancient Greek Philosopher
Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus Latin Political leader
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio Italian Artist
Regiomontanus Johannes Müller von Königsberg German Intellectual (scientist)
Rodolphus Agricola Roelof Huysman Dutch Intellectual
Samuel Maresius Samuel Des Marets French Intellectual
Terence Publius Terentius Afer Latin Artist (playwright)
Theodore Beza Théodore de Bèze French Religious figure
Thomas Aquinas Tommaso d'Aquino Italian Intellectual (philosopher)

Religious figure (saint)

Thomas à Kempis Thomas Hammerlein German Intellectual (philosopher)

Religious figure

Birth name, no longer used
Thomas Hemerkin Dutch Birth name, no longer used
Thomas van Kempen Dutch
Thomas von Kempen German
Titian Tiziano Vecelli Italian Artist
Tycho Brahe Tyge Brahe Danish Intellectual (scientist)
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro Latin Artist (poet)
William of Salicet Guglielmo da Saliceto Italian Intellectual (scientist)
Zoroaster Zarathustra Avestan Prophet

See also

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References

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  1. ^ John R. Shook – Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers: Volume 1 – 2005 Page 2153 "He became a US citizen in 1941, thereafter spelling his name as Schoenberg."
  2. ^ Journal of the Kafka Society of America Kafka Society of America 2003 Volume 27, Nos 1 & 2 – Page 54 "To begin with false notes, the conventional recent practice among translators has been not to translate personal names, and we might therefore think of the transformation of the German Georg into an English George (Jolas, Beuscher, ."
  3. ^ Dava Sobel A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionised the Cosmos – Page 5 – 2011 "He was christened for his father — Mikolaj in Polish, Niklas in German, his native tongue. Later, as a scholar, he Latinized his name, but he grew up Niklas Koppernigk,"