Sobieslaw Explained

Sobiesław
Gender:	male
Meaning:	sap ('to know') + ḱléwos ('fame, glory')
Origin:	Proto-Indo-European
Alternative Spelling:	Soběslav, Собѧславь
Variant Forms:	Sobiesława (f), Soběslava (f), Собѧслава (f)
Related Names:	Sobierad, Sobiemir, Sobiebor, Sophocles

Sobiesław, Soběslav or Sebeslav (Proto-Slavic: Slavic languages: Sobęslavь|i=yes, Polish: Sobiesław, Czech: Soběslav, Slovenian: Sebeslav, Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: Собѧславь|Sobęslavǐ) is a very old Slavic given name, mostly common among the West Slavs. Because of folk etymology, it is popularly supposed to derive from sobie ("usurp, for me, myself") and sław ("glory, prestige"); however, it is actually derived from a Proto-Indo-European name meaning "wise-famous", cognate with Sophocles (roots

• sap

and

• ḱléwos

).^[1] The feminine form is Polish: Sobiesława, Czech: Soběslava, or Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: Собѧслава (Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old Church Slavonic: Sobęslava).

People with the name

• Soběslav (d. 1004), a brother of Saint Adalbert of Prague
• Soběslav I, Duke of Bohemia
• Sobieslaw I, Duke of Pomerania
• Soběslav II, Duke of Bohemia
• Sobiesław Zasada, a Polish former rally driver
• Soběslav Pinkas, a 19th-century Czech painter

See also

• Samborides, a Pomeranian dynasty

Notes and References

1. Adams, Douglas Q. Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997, p.390.