Diego
Encyclopedia
Diego is a Spanish
male name derived from the Hebrew
Yaʻăqōbh
(Jacob), via the name of Saint James the Great
(Sant Yago), re-analysed as Santiago
and San Diego
. The assimilation of the final t of Sant into the name is attested in other saints' names, including Spanish and Portuguese
Telmo 'Elmo
' (< Sant Elmo) and Slovenian Tilen 'Giles
' (< Šent Ilen).
Diego is a very popular name in the Spanish-speaking world. In Brazil
/Portugal
, France
and Italy
it is a very widespread name as well (as are other Spanish names such as Fernando
). For example: due to the Spanish influence from the days of the kingdom
of Naples
, on the death of king Alfonso I of Naples (also known as Alfonso V of Aragon
) in 1458, a famous elegy was composed by one Diego del Castillo.
The patronymic
for Diego is Díaz
in Castillian (used for example by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid
) and Dias
in Portuguese. Like many patronymics, these have become common surnames in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions. The form Diéguez is much less common; Diegues can be found in Portuguese-speaking countries. de Diego and Diego can also be found as surnames.
times, the names "Sant Yago", "Diago" and "Diego" seem to have coexisted.
"Sant Yago" is used, for example, in a letter by James II of Aragon
dated 1300: "[...] maestro de la cavalleria de Sant Yago et de la dita orden [...]".
"Diago" is recorded, for example, in "Et fue a casa del Rey. e mostrolo a don diago que era adelantado del Rey" (Fuero de Burgos, ca. 1240 )
The Cid
's father was named Diego Laínez. Since the Cid is believed to have been born around 1040, the name Diego can be placed in Castile
at the beginning of the 11th century.
as "Didacus" ("learned person"), which is retrospectively traced to the Greek
Διδάχος, Didákhos, "teacher", from διδάσκειν, didáskein, "to teach". Thus, for example, the usual English language
name for San Diego de Alcalá (after whom San Diego, California
is named) is "Didacus of Alcalá
".
This form, and its Spanish equivalent "Didaco", were most likely created in retrospect (that is, to translate Diego into Latin, as opposed to being the source of the name Diego). There are no mentions of Spanish people named Didacus during the Middle Ages. During those times, it was common practice to Latinize existing names, as in Ludovicus for Ludwig (Luis
in Spanish).
Even so, some have insisted on deriving Diego from Didacus; nineteenth-century Spanish author Benito Pérez Galdós
has a passage in his National Episodes Series 4 (Narváez) that reads:
The forms Tiago, Thiago, Diago and Diogo
are seen mostly in Portuguese speaking (lusophone) countries.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
male name derived from the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
Yaʻăqōbh
Jacob (name)
Jacob is a common male first name and a less well-known surname. Since 1999 and through 2010, Jacob has been the most popular baby name for newborn boys in United States. It is a cognate of James....
(Jacob), via the name of Saint James the Great
Saint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
(Sant Yago), re-analysed as Santiago
Santiago (name)
Santiago, is a Spanish name that derives from the Hebrew name Jacob via "Sant Iago," "Sant Yago," "Santo Iago," or "Santo Yago," first used to denote Saint James the Great, the brother of John the Apostle...
and San Diego
San Diego (disambiguation)
San Diego is a city in California, United States.San Diego may also refer to:- Argentina :* Cabo San Diego, the easternmost point of the Mitre Peninsula, on Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina- United States :...
. The assimilation of the final t of Sant into the name is attested in other saints' names, including Spanish and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
Telmo 'Elmo
Saint Elmo
-People:* Erasmus of Formiae , the patron saint of sailors* Peter Gonzalez, also known as Saint Elmo or Saint Telmo* St. Elmo Brady, the first African American to obtain a Ph.D....
' (< Sant Elmo) and Slovenian Tilen 'Giles
Giles (given name)
-Etymology:Giles is the Medieval English form of the Old French saints' name Gilles, an altered form of Latin Aegidius.Some explain this as from Greek αιγιδιον meaning "kid, young goat"....
' (< Šent Ilen).
Diego is a very popular name in the Spanish-speaking world. In Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
/Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
it is a very widespread name as well (as are other Spanish names such as Fernando
Fernando
Fernando may mean:* A Portuguese, Spanish and Italian given name equivalent to the Germanic given name Ferdinand or Vernon, with an original meaning of "adventurous, bold journey".-First name:* Fernando el Católico, king of Aragon...
). For example: due to the Spanish influence from the days of the kingdom
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, on the death of king Alfonso I of Naples (also known as Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon , Valencia , Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica , and Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416 and King of Naples from 1442 until his death...
) in 1458, a famous elegy was composed by one Diego del Castillo.
The patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
for Diego is Díaz
Diaz
Díaz is a common Spanish surname meaning "son of Diago" variant of Diego. The name accounts for ~0.74% of the Spanish population, ranking 14th most frequently found surname in both 1999 and 2004...
in Castillian (used for example by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , known as El Cid Campeador , was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat...
) and Dias
DIAS
Dias or DIAS may mean:*Direct Internet Access System*Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies* Detaşamentul de Poliţie pentru Intervenţie Rapidă, , a Romanian police rapid response unit...
in Portuguese. Like many patronymics, these have become common surnames in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions. The form Diéguez is much less common; Diegues can be found in Portuguese-speaking countries. de Diego and Diego can also be found as surnames.
Medieval usage of different forms
During MedievalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
times, the names "Sant Yago", "Diago" and "Diego" seem to have coexisted.
"Sant Yago" is used, for example, in a letter by James II of Aragon
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...
dated 1300: "[...] maestro de la cavalleria de Sant Yago et de la dita orden [...]".
"Diago" is recorded, for example, in "Et fue a casa del Rey. e mostrolo a don diago que era adelantado del Rey" (Fuero de Burgos, ca. 1240 )
The Cid
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , known as El Cid Campeador , was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat...
's father was named Diego Laínez. Since the Cid is believed to have been born around 1040, the name Diego can be placed in Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
at the beginning of the 11th century.
The name Didacus
Diego was translated into LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as "Didacus" ("learned person"), which is retrospectively traced to the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
Διδάχος, Didákhos, "teacher", from διδάσκειν, didáskein, "to teach". Thus, for example, the usual English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name for San Diego de Alcalá (after whom San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
is named) is "Didacus of Alcalá
Didacus of Alcalá
Saint Didacus of Alcalá, , Saint Diego, was a lay brother of the Order of Friars Minor who died at Alcalá de Henares, Spain, November 12, 1463.-History:...
".
This form, and its Spanish equivalent "Didaco", were most likely created in retrospect (that is, to translate Diego into Latin, as opposed to being the source of the name Diego). There are no mentions of Spanish people named Didacus during the Middle Ages. During those times, it was common practice to Latinize existing names, as in Ludovicus for Ludwig (Luis
Luis
Luis, , Luís , Lois , Lluís , or Luiz may refer to:-People:Royalty of Portugal...
in Spanish).
Even so, some have insisted on deriving Diego from Didacus; nineteenth-century Spanish author Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós was a Spanish realist novelist. Considered second only to Cervantes in stature, he was the leading Spanish realist novelist....
has a passage in his National Episodes Series 4 (Narváez) that reads:
Su nombre es Didaco o Yago, aunque vulgarmente lo llaman Diego. (His name is Didaco or Yago, but he is commonly called Diego.)
Modern usage
In today's Spanish-speaking countries, Diego and Santiago are common as given names; Diego, Santiago and Sandiego are found as surnames.The forms Tiago, Thiago, Diago and Diogo
Diogo
Diogo is a Portuguese male name. Originally, this name comes from James which in turn is derived from the Hebrew Yaʻăqōbh , via the name of Saint James the Great, to Santo Iago , re-analysed as Santiago....
are seen mostly in Portuguese speaking (lusophone) countries.