Diego
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223947729
2008-07-06T17:25:29Z
Elpincha
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/* The name Didacus */ Didacus as original name is redundant (already cited) & proven incorrect
{{for|the cartoon character|Go, Diego, Go!}}
{{Infobox Given Name Revised
| name = Diego
| image=
| imagesize=
| caption=
| pronunciation=
| gender = Male
| meaning =
| region =
| origin = Hebrew
| related names = James, Santiago
| footnotes =
}}
'''Diego''' is a [[Spanish language|Spanish]] male name, derived from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[Jacob (name)|Yaʿqob]] (Jacob), the name of [[Saint James the Great]], via ''[[Saint James|Sant Yago]]'', re-analysed as ''[[Santiago (name)|Santiago]]'' and ''[[San Diego (disambiguation)|SanDiego]]''. . The assimilation of the final "T" of ''Sant'' into the name, a process called [[sandhi]], has also occurred in "Telmo", the Spanish and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] name for [[Elmo]].
The Portuguese variant is '''Diogo''', quite popular in the [[CPLP|Portuguese speaking countries]] and comunities.
The name Diego is popular in the Spanish speaking world and also in Southern [[Italy]] (as are other Spanish names such as Fernando), due to the Spanish influence from the days of the [[Kingdom of Naples]]. For example, 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. <ref>[http://parnaseo.uv.es/Lemir/Revista/Revista3/Lourdes/Elegia.htm Una Nueva Elegía A La Muerte De Alfonso El Magnánimo<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The [[patronymic]] for Diego is ''Díaz'' (used for example by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as [[El Cid]]). As with most Spanish patronymics, it has become a common Spanish surname (see [[Diaz]] for a list of people with that surname). The form ''Diéguez'' is much less common. The form ''Diegues'' is common in lusophone countries.
==Simultaneous usage of several forms==
During [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] 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 [...]". <ref>http://descargas.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/35738374545040276754491/023384_0090.pdf</ref>
"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 <ref>http://spanish-portuguese.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Fueros.doc</ref>)
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 [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]] at the beginning of the 11th century.
==The name Didacus==
Diego was translated into Latin as "Didacus" ("learned person"). 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 the simplified Spanish "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 name 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:
''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, while Santiago and Sandiego are found as surnames.
The forms Tiago, Thiago, Diago and Diogo are seen mostly in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]-speaking (lusophone) countries.
==See also==
*[[San Diego (disambiguation)]]
*[[Diego (footballer)]] a list of football players known as Diego
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Spanish masculine given names]]
[[da:Diego]]
[[de:Diego]]
[[es:Diego]]
[[it:Diego]]
[[ja:ディエゴ]]
[[pt:Diego]]
[[zh:迭戈]]