This is with reference to Hari Nair’s comment on my post, The Original Fold.
I have always believed names like Kuriakos, Paulos and Markos, which are almost exclusive to the Jacobite division of the Syrian Christian community, are of Greek origin. (Yes, there are three divisions – the Marthomites, the Jacobites and the CSI (Church of South India) – but that’s another long story of politics in religion). I think the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church were/ are closely linked historically, and thus the crossover names. Anyone out there who can confirm this?
The Jacobite Church, by the way, still conducts its services in archaic Syraic, while the other two do so in Malayalam and sometimes English. Parishioners belonging to the three divisions do intermarry, so it is not an uncrossable schism.
© Sosha Srinivasan
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June 11, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Mona
I once met a taxi driver in Chicago who was from Syria and his last name was Kiorkis. It made perfect geographical sense to me. It’s close to the Malayali name Geeverghese which we’ve been told is a form of George. If you head further west, Italians have the name Giorgio (the first ‘G’ is soft) and then further west to England, George. I don’t know what the Greek for George is but here’s how it’s written in Greek: Γεώργιος
I know the perfect person to ask: my Greek friend Georgia!
June 12, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Mona
Here’s what Georgia says (her English spellings of the letters are a little off):
Male version:
gama, epsilon, omega, ro, gama, yiota, omokron, sigma
Female version:
gama, epsilon, omega, ro, gama, yiota, alpha
She adds: The lithuanians use it too in a very similar way the greeks do.
August 1, 2007 at 12:03 am
Mona
After I wrote the above comments, I came across an Armenian student whose first name is Gevorg. Naturally I asked him about it and he said it was the equivalent of George. So there’s the perfect bridge between George and Geeverghese.
September 8, 2007 at 9:46 am
Babu Daniel
I had a friend by the name of Kiriakose who used to take me to the Greek Orthodox Church in Euless,TX when I lived in Arlington,Tx as a student in the early 90’s. That’s when I realized how close we Syrian Orthodox are to the Greek.
December 24, 2007 at 5:12 am
Kuriakose « The Long Hol
[...] For me, History, Food and Nature are the most seductive elements of travel. And the middle-east provides a fascinating mix of all three. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I consider Lebanon one of those dream places to visit, mostly because of this lovely book by Colin Thubron. In the book, Thubron explores the history and culture of a pretty ancient land while walking across its pastoral landscape. Another interesting book that traces a historical thread of the middle east is ‘From the Holy Mountain’ by William Dalrymple. The book is only one I have read that brings out the ‘eastern’ roots of Christianity through its exploration of Syrian Christianity. Funnily enough, the book also solved an old doubt I had pertaining to odd christian names in Kerala, such as ‘Kuriakose’. For more on that, check out these posts. http://cathedralist.wordpress.com/2007/05/14/its-greek-to-me/ [...]