Aimar (name) explained

Aimar is a masculine given name of Germanic origin, common in mainly the Basque Country and Estonia (with 5,500 resp. 600 name bearers)^[1] Aimar is also used as a surname, probably as a result of the name having been used as a patronymic.^[2]

Etymology

The name Aimar is a Frankish form of the German name Agimar, composed by agi- (either from age 'reverence, discipline' or egg 'edge') and -mar ('famous').^{[3] [4] [5]} An alternative interpretation is that the name is composed of the words haim ('home') and hard ('hard').^{[6] [7]}

In Estonia, onomasticians have suggested that the name could be one of many versions of the popular name Aivar (in turn loaned from Latvian Aivars, a version of Scandinavian Ivar)^[8]

History

There are references to the name in medieval texts from the 13th to 14th centuries in the Kingdom of Navarre.^[9] In later years it has been assimilated as a Basque name, and it has become a popular name for boys in the Basque Country and Navarre.^[10]

People with Aimar as first name

• Aimar Altosaar (born 1959), Estonian sociologist, journalist and politician
• Hans Aimar Mow Grønvold (1846–1926), Norwegian civil servant
• Aimar-Charles-Marie de Nicolaï (1747–1794), French writer
• Aimar Moratalla (born 1987), Spanish football player
• Aimar Olaizola (born 1979), Spanish pelota player
• Aimar Sagastibelza (born 1984), Spanish football player
• Aimar Sher (born 2002), Swedish football player
• Aimar August Sørenssen (1823–1908), Norwegian politician
• Aimar V of Limoges (1135–1199), French nobleman
• Aimar Wajad (1135–1199), Pakistani nobleman

People with Aimar as surname

• Carlos Aimar (born 1950), Argentinian football player
• Lucien Aimar (born 1941), French cyclist
• Pablo Aimar (born 1979), Argentinian football player

Notes and References

1. Numbers from Spanish Instituto nacional de estadística and Estonian Eesti statistika. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
2. Lilljegren, Joakim (2021): "Namnet Aimar", Ortnamnssällskapets i Uppsala årsskrift, s. 15–20.
3. Kruken, Kristoffer & Stemshaug, Ola (2013): Norsk personnamnleksikon. Oslo: Samlaget. P. 23.
4. Seibicke, Wilfried (1996): Historisches deutsches Vornamenbuch Berlin: de Gruyter. Pp. 43–44.
5. Drosdowski, Günther (1968): Lexikon der Vornamen. Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut. P. 29
6. Dauzat, Albert (1951): Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille et prénoms de France. Paris: Larousse. P. 4.
7. Bidegain, Xarles (2007): Izendegia/Nombres vascos. Donostia: Elkar. P. 73.
8. Rajandi, Edgar (1966): Raamat nimedest. Tallinn: Eesti raamat. Pp. 18–20.
9. Euskaltzaindiaren izendegiak
10. Web site: INEbase / Demography and population / Municipal Register / Most common first names and surnames . Ine.es . 2013-04-30.