New toy: Dictionnaire Étymologique des noms de lieux en France, by Dauzat & Rostaing. I’m a bit disappointed that it lists only towns, not rivers, but that’s a detail. (Many river-names are too old to analyze anyway.) It’s fun to sort out the traces of Aquitani, Basques, Gauls, Romans, Franks, Normans – have I forgotten anyone?
One thing puzzles me, and I’m hoping some classicist in the legence will shed some light (or pass on my question to someone who can). In all my reading about naming-practices, I have been given to understand that the Romans had a very small stock of personal names. And yet in just the first 32 pages of Dauzat/Rostaing, the following “noms d’homme lat.” are invoked:
Abus, Absentius, Abundus, Acatius, Accius, Accinius, Aco, Aconteus, Acrius, Acrisius, Adius, Agius, Alarius, Albus, Albanus, Albius, Albinus, Albinius, Albucius, Alinnius, Allus, Allarius, Allenius, Allius, Allinius, Alonius, Altinius, Amantius, Amatius, Ambillus, Amius, Amilius, Aminius, Ampellius, Ancus, Ancius, Anicius, Anitius, Annus, Annius, Anno, Ansius, Antenus, Antius, Antianus, Anticius, Antinius, Antistius, Antonius, Antullus, Aper, Apicius, Appius, Apponius, Apuleius, Aquila, Arbennius, Arbussonius, Archontius, Arcius, Arcisus, Arculus, Aredius, Arenus, Arguenna, Armalius, Armarius, Armatius, Arvinius, Ascius, Asius, Asperius, Astus, Atius, Atilius, Attius, Avitus, Axius, Harpilius, Hilarius, Rantius
— and that’s not counting the asterisked (unattested, reconstructed) forms. So. Ought I not to be surprised at this list? Are they Roman nomina or prænomina (they do smell genuinely Latin to me) or perhaps names of retired legionnaires from all over the Empire? Some must be nicknames: Aper ‘boar’, Albinus ‘Whitey’, Absentius.
Later: I am told that Dauzat was not particularly competent; if I remember right, it is said that he often failed to recognize an obvious Celtic root and instead contrived something absurd.