Ferdinand

Ferdinand m

English, German, and French: from a Spanish name, originally Ferdinando, which is of Germanic (Visigothic) origin, being composed of the elements farÒ journey (or possibly a metathesized form of friÒ peace) and nand ready, prepared. The name was hereditary in the royal families of Spain from an early date. It was borne, for example, by Ferdinand I (d. 1065) of Castile and Leon, sometimes called Ferdinand the Great, who conducted successful campaigns against the Moors, and by his descendant Ferdinand V (1452–1516), who finally expelled the Moors from Spain altogether. Ferdinand V was the king who gave financial backing to Columbus. Through the marriage in 1496 of his daughter Joan the Mad of Castile to the Habsburg Archduke Philip, the name Ferdinand also became hereditary in the Austrian imperial family. Their younger son was called Ferdinand; he lived from 1503–64, acquiring the succession to the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage in 1521, and becoming Holy Roman Emperor in 1558. Thus the name Ferdinand is intimately associated, not only with the history of Spain, but also with the origins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Old French contracted form Ferrand was sometimes used in England in the Middle Ages, but has not survived. The current form appeared in Britain in the 16th century, probably introduced by Roman Catholic supporters of Queen Mary I, who married Philip II of Spain in 1554.

In Ireland it has been used as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic names FEARADHACH (SEE Fearadhach) and FEARDORCHA (SEE Feardorcha).

Variant: French: Fernand.

Cognates: Spanish: Fernando, Hernando; Fernán, Hernán. Portuguese: Fernando, Fernão, Ferrão. Italian: Ferdinando. Romanian: Nandru. Hungarian: Nándor.