A Sinhalese name or Sinhala name may contain two or three parts: a patronymic, one or more given names, and sometimes a surname, which was often absent in the past.[1] Full names can be rather long, and hence are often shortened, by omitting or abbreviating the family name and one of the given names, as in R. M. S. Ariyaratna.[2]

Family names can be distinguished by the suffix -ge or -ghe,[2] though this suffix may accidentally result from a particular transliteration of a Sinhalese word, such as simhe or simghe (lion).[3]

Given names can be masculine, feminine and gender neutral.

Sinhalese surnames often originate from Sanskrit. However, as a consequence of the Portuguese invasion of Sri Lanka, during the 16th and 17th centuries, many Portuguese language surnames were adopted among the Sinhalese people. As a result, Perera and Fernando eventually became the most common names in Sri Lanka.[4]

History

Structure

Sinhalese names usually consists of three parts. The first part is the patronymic name (family name) of the father, ancestor name or 'house name', which often has the suffix ‘-ge’ at the end of it, this is known as the 'Ge' name (ge meaning house in Sinhalese). The second part is the personal name (given name) and the third part is the surname.[5]

For example, in the name Rajapaksha Mudiyanselage Siril Ariyaratna, Rajapaksha is the first part of the family name, Mudiyanselage is the 'Ge' name (second part of the family name) and Siril and Ariyaratna are two given names.[2]

Some names contain a family name, a given name, and a surname (Type 1) while some names contain only a family name and a given name (Type 2). Modern Sinhalese names do not contain a family name and only contain a given name and a surname (Type 3).

Structure of Sinhalese names
Family name Given name Surname
Type 1 Nawungala Jagodage Chaminda Jayalal Senaratne
Type 2 Nawungala Jagodage Chaminda Jayalal -
Type 3 - Chaminda Jayalal Senaratne


Conversion of Sinhalese names into Western structure
First name + Middle name Last name Notes
Type 1 (a) Nawungala Jagodage Chaminda Jayalal Senaratne Surname used as the Last name
Type 1 (b) Chaminda Jayalal Senaratne Nawungala Jagodage Family name used as the Last name
Type 2 Chaminda Jayalal Nawungala Jagodage Family name used as the Last name
Type 3 Chaminda Jayalal Senaratne Surname used as the Last name
  • In Sri Lankan passport, the name is divided into two parts as Surname and Other names wheres Surname means the Last name and Other names means the First name + Middle name. When a person's name contain all three parts (Type 1) or does not contain a Surname (Type 2), he/she can alternatively choose to use Family name as the Surname in passport.


Ge name

Family name

Foreign origin names

The Portuguese and Dutch being in Sri Lanka has left a legacy where many Sinhalese people converted religion or took on foreign names through intermarriage or adoption.[6]

Portuguese

Given name

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Plassard 1996, p. 213-219.
  2. 1 2 3 Chandralal 2010, p. 9, 43.
  3. ↑ Hanks, Coates & McClure 2016, p. 1402.
  4. ↑ Wanasundera 2002, p. 61.
  5. ↑ Evason 2016.
  6. ↑ Raymond 2018a, 2018b

Bibliography

  • Chandralal, Dileep (2010). Sinhala. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 9, 43. ISBN 978-90-272-8853-0.
  • Plassard, Marie-France, ed. (1996). Names of Persons: National Usages for Entry in Catalogues. UBCIM Publications -- New Series Vol 16 (4th ed.). K.G. Saur. pp. 213–219. ISBN 3-598-11342-0. Ebook: ISBN 978-3-11-097455-3.
  • Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 1402. ISBN 978-0-19-252747-9.
  • Wanasundera, Nanda Pethiyagoda (2002). Sri Lanka. Marshall Cavendish. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-7614-1477-3.
  • Raymond, Roel (28 February 2018a). "Portuguese-Sri Lankan Surnames And Their Meanings". roar.media. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  • Raymond, Roel (17 April 2018b). "Dutch-Sri Lankan Surnames And Their Meanings". roar.media. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  • Perera, B. J. (2009). "The "Ge" names of the Sinhalese". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. 55: 1–16. JSTOR 23731092.
  • Evason, Nina (2016). "Sri Lankan Culture – Communication". Cultural Atlas. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
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