Diego

Etymology

From the local Early Medieval Latin Didacus, attested since the 8th century. While frequently used as an alternative form of James, so equating this name and Santiago or Iago, there is no etymological relation in between both names.^[1]

Proper noun

Diego m

1. a male given name

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “Diego”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “Diego”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “Diego”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Diego, from the local Medieval Latin Didacus, attested since the 8th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdjɛ.ɡo/, /ˈdje.ɡo/^[1]
• Rhymes: -ɛɡo, -eɡo
• Hyphenation: Diè‧go, Dié‧go

Proper noun

Diego m

1. a male given name

References

Anagrams

• geodi, godei

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Diego m

1. a male given name from Spanish

Etymology

From an Iberian name, Latin Didacus, recorded from the 8th century, of unknown origin. Various suggestions include Greek, Basque and Celtiberian derivation, without wide acceptance of any proposal. The name Didacus is recorded in the vernacular as Diaco, Diago by the 10th century. The earliest record of the form Diego is of the late 11th century. Diego is the standard form in Spanish by the 14th century.

There has been a widespread folk etymology, current from at least the early 19th century, to the effect that the name is a reanalysis of Latin Sanctus Iacobus (“Saint James”), i.e. Sant-Yago read as San-Tiago, whence Diego. It has been common practice in Spanish to equate Jacob, Iacobus with Diego throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, e.g. the Enciclopedia Espasa-Calpe (1920) lists a number of Italian and German saints named Jacobo, Jakob under Diego. This derivation has been recognized as folk etymological since at least the 1970s.

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Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdjeɡo/ [ˈd̪je.ɣ̞o]
• Rhymes: -eɡo
• Syllabification: Die‧go

Proper noun

Diego m

1. a male given name

References

• Lidia Becker, Hispano-romanisches Namenbuch: Untersuchung der Personennamen vorrömischer, griechischer und lateinisch-romanischer Etymologie auf der Iberischen Halbinsel im Mittelalter (6.-12. Jahrhundert), Walter de Gruyter (2009), 385–389.