Hello list
Would someone please tell me the English version of the German name Alke?
Thank you,
Edith Burk, Texas
Alke (Ahlke) was often a familiar name for Adelheid (Ahlheid).
Paul Scheele
I always thought Heidi was the familiar form of Adelheid or Adda, proving once again many brooks find their way to the same stream. I know Elke is the Frisian nickname for Adelheid (a name without any real English equivalent). Alke certainly appears to be a diminutive, and Adelheid or Ahlheid look as logical by extension as any.
Jb
It may be so but I never saw Alke used in Amerika for one case of Adelheid, and I have generations of Adelheids in my tree. Typically the familiar in America was Addie or the longer Adaline. I know this because, in order to find my Adelheids, I looked through hundreds of Adelheid variants, diminutives, and familiars on Ancestry.com. One variant, by the way, of Adelheid, was Adelphelide. I am still wondering why and how Adelheid became the even more difficult Adelphelide on the tongue of an American record taker (it is spelled so in the original record).
Elke was and is used quite often in Amerika in the Scandinavian families.
- Michael
Here some additional information from the LEXIKON DER VORNAMEN (=DICTIONARY OF CHRISTIAN NAMES), Weltbild-Verlag 1980: (! inserted by me) Short forms of Adelheid: Aleid, Aleit, Alheit, Aletta, Alette, Alke, Elke (!), Alice, Alida, Heidi (!), Lida, Lida, Lettie, Liddy.
Helmut (of Muenster, Westphalia)
Hi.
1675 waren die beliebtesten Frauen-Vornamen nach
dem �Seelenregister� von 1675 der Kirchengemeinde Stollhamm
(ver�ffentlicht von der Oldenburgischen Gesellschaft f�r Familienkunde)
Frauen
1.. Anna
2.. Grete
3.. Gesche
4.. Frowe
5.. Alke
6.. Tete
7.. Trine
Saludos
Herbert
Hi.
1675 waren die beliebtesten Frauen-Vornamen nach
dem �Seelenregister� von 1675 der Kirchengemeinde Stollhamm
(ver�ffentlicht von der Oldenburgischen Gesellschaft f�r Familienkunde)
Frauen
1.. Anna
2.. Grete
3.. Gesche
4.. Frowe
5.. Alke
6.. Tete
7.. Trine
Saludos
Herbert
Hello all
My Aunt Hedwig was called Heidi or also Hattie...
Pamela Bennett
Paul, Jane, Michael, Herbert, Helmut and Pamela all provided interesting accounts, from which we all probably learned something. As it were, Alke, Adelaide, Elke and Heidi(e) turned out to be just the opening salvo. Falk from Diepholz informed me from his vacation (hiking) retreat that Alice is but another equivalent for Adelheid. My grandmother (who departed this world before I had the chance to meet her) was named Alice. Who would have known!
Now if you look at the common variants and diminutives for Alice as a given name (in English anyway) you find a whole additional slew: Alica, Alicia, Alie, Alisa, Alison, Alix, Alley, Allie, Allison, Ally, Alyce, Alycia, Alyssa, Elsa, Else, Elsia, Elsie, Lettie, Letty, Lis, Lisa, Lise, Lissa, Lissy, Lyssa, Sonni, Sonnie, and Sonny. Note that many of these nicks are shared by Elisabeth, the name I used as an example of "spiraling returns" earlier. I'm sure some of these are shared by other given names too.
The church census that Herbert provided indicates Alke was a rather common name long ago, suggesting its use as a popular given name also. As for Adelphelide Mike, I'm not sure I've ever run across that twist, almost sounds American colonial (and vaguely patriotic, like in the 'city of brotherly love' circa 1776, or that popular cream cheese, but prettier), but I have seen other female names construed with such suffixes. It also clearly points to Liddy, which ironically, is used as but another nickname for Elisabeth!
Pamela wrote: Hedwig = Heidi = Hattie. This is a good example showing how more than a single name might share certain diminutives and nicknames. Hedwig is also nicked as Hatty, Hatsie, Hatsy, Hedda, Hedie and Hedy. Hattie, Hatty, Hatsy and Hatsie can be found likewise as common nicknames for Harriet and Henrietta.
It was Helmut's "Lexikon der Vornamen" reference though that hit the motherload, with 13 documented short forms which included Alice (!), Alida, Lida, Lettie and Liddy, all in one convenient package. It should be noted that German names beginning with the Adal-/Adel- prefix derive from the Old High German "adal," meaning noble or aristocratic (in modern German "edel"). Probably less known to English ears are Adelhild(e) and Adelinde from the same family (maybe the latter accounts for Adaline).
If this wasn't enough, Falk also mentioned Elke is rather diminished from Elisabeth of all things, which brings this all full circle in my book! I'm now of the opinion that names can often be as confusing as their owners. And you thought all the maddening variants applied solely to our surnames! [Armin take note]
I believe variants of Adelheid are also found in other languages too, notably Adelaida and Adelayida in Russian, Ada, Adela and Adelaide in Polish, Adah in Italian and Etalka in Yiddish. But then, the world has long evolved into something of a linguistic Kuhdorf.
Now I'm left to wonder how many short forms there might be for Jb. hmmm ...?
J (there's one)
Hi.
The register of souls of STOLLHAMM 1675, published by the
Oldenburgischen Gesellschaft f�rFamilienkunde has mentionned ALKE to be the 5st most liked name for girls at that time. Alke was a frisian name, Adelheit the german equivalent.
GENWIKI gives the following abreviations or nicknames at different countries. Please select yours.
Aaltje, Ada, Adel(a), Adele, �ltgen, Aile, Ailke, Ale(ide), Aleke, Alida, Alke, Auleid(e), Ayl
Deel, Dela, Dele
Ehl, Eila, Eile, Eil(i)chin, Eilika, Ela, Elch(gen), Ele(yde), Elgin, Elheid, Elke, Elle, Eltje, Eylheit
Halheyde, Heide, Heilecke, Hel, Helchin, Heleche, Helecke
Lidda, Liddy
Oletgen
Tal(e)ke
Saludos
Herbert