Where does “Herman” come from?
Herman derives from Old English here combined with an agent suffix, from Proto-West Germanic hari, from Proto-Germanic harjaz meaning "army," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ker-.
Ancestry of “Herman”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | hēre | army, military (especially of the enemy) |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | hari | army |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | harjaz | army; army leader; commander; warrior |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kóryos | war; troops; army; war, troops |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |