Armenian surnames?

[Էլիա]

Re: Armenian surnames?

Շա՜տ շնորհակալ եմ ամէն մարդ: Ես իմ մեծ մօրս կը հարցնեմ եթէ գիտէ եւ ձեզի կ'ըսեմ ի՛նչ որ կ'ըսէ (եթէ մականունին իմաստը գիտէ անշուշտ): Եւ dani87, եթէ դուն երբեք օգնութիւն պէտք ունիս հայերէն սորվելու համար, ինծի հարցո՛ւր եւ կը փորձեմ քեզի օգնել:

Thank you very much everyone! I'll ask my grandmother if she knows and I'll tell you whatever she says (if she knows the surname's meaning of course). And dani87, if you ever need help for learning Armenian, ask me and I'll try to help you.

[Selpak]

Re: Armenian surnames?

Bilemjian: son of scientist???

[Էլիա]

Re: Armenian surnames?

Are you sure it represents scientist?

[Selpak]

Re: Armenian surnames?

Are you sure it represents scientist?

No I am not sure. The word should be "bilim", not "bilem". But in english sometimes you read "e" like "i". So i thought it can be "bilimci".

[Էլիա]

Re: Armenian surnames?

OK, but what do you think of everyone else's guesses?

[Siamanto]

Re: Armenian surnames?

hmm......"Bilme" in turkish is "to know" and "Bilmem" means "i know"

your source could be mistaken

correction bilmem means = i don't know


i wanted to edit when i discovered the stupid mistake but the edit button is gone

Thanks for the clarification.
It was done on the phone, so I may have not been clear enough or pronounced it wrong???? In any case, I was laughing about it and the likelihood that it was because one of the ancestors said "I know" is highly unlikely???? Who knows.

[Siamanto]

Re: Armenian surnames?

Bari yerego,

I looked up the dictionary, and asked to some Turkish friends about that surname.

Result: there is a verb in Turkish which means "to sharpen": "bilemek". This verb is used when someone sharpens metal objects like knife and axe.

Not as many as in the past, but even today, in markets in small cities of Anatolia there are people who sharpen knives etc. for a small charge. Probably these people are called "bilemeci" or "bilemci". ("c" in turkish words is read as "j" in English)

The best online Turkish-English dictionary I can advise for you is: www.zargan.com

Sounds plausible to me!

[Siamanto]

Re: Armenian surnames?

Bilemjian means miner?

It seems that, so far, we have three possible explanations:
1- Related to knowledge
2- Sharpener
3- A proper name i.e. the name of a location or a person.
(Based on
3.1 Bilem Hotel
3.2 Bilem Omar (a person) http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article2638
3.3 I found a mention of "Bilem Eğitim Grubu" on the Web
)

[Էլիա]

Re: Armenian surnames?

Thanks Siamanto, but I don't think Bilem Hotel existed in the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century.

[Siamanto]

Re: Armenian surnames?

...
3- A proper name i.e. the name of a location or a person.
(Based on
3.1 Bilem Hotel
3.2 Bilem Omar (a person) http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article2638
3.3 I found a mention of "Bilem Eğitim Grubu" on the Web
)

Thanks Siamanto, but I don't think Bilem Hotel existed in the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century.

You're welcome!

I would be really surprised if it did, sorry for the misunderstanding. It was neither suggested that "Bilem Hotel" existed in the 19th Century, nor the existence of any relation between the surname of an Armenian family and a particular hotel in TEMPORARILY SO CALLED TURKEY. I hope that I'm not a naive enough - or *urk enough - to state such an absurdity.

Often hotels are named after a location or a person's name - i.e. in both cases, a proper name.


P.S.
Of course, the same applies to "Bilem Eğitim Grubu."


Note: I have chosen to auto censor the words "*urk," "*urkish" or *urkic" because it is commonly perceived as unpleasant and offending, evokes unpleasant emotions and imagery and is pregnant with immoral and evil connotations