# Adverbs as surnames - around the world **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429 "2016-07-20T16:46:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/1 "2016-07-20T16:46:59Z")
Lil (to Johnny): “Did you know your name is an adverb?” - _Johnny Dangerously (1984)_ … What are some good examples of surnames that happen to share the same spelling OR the same sound with adverbs (IOW, both homonyms and homophones count)? Interested in both English examples and examples from other languages. In English, “Fairly/Fairley” was the first one to come to mind. “Lively” is not all that uncommon, and still has adverbial usages. I have also run across the surname “Gravely”. There must be many more in English – even some not ending in _-ly_ – that I just can’t come up with right now. I was thinking there had to be some from the Romance languages ending in _-ment(e)_ and some from Germanic languages ending in _-lich/-lik_ (or similar). Even if their similarities to actual adverbs are pure coincidence. If anyone has examples from any of Asian or African languages, please feel free to mention them. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/2 "2016-07-20T17:03:21Z")
First example that came to my mind is [Heiko Herrlich](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heiko_Herrlich), a former German soccer player and now coach. Note that “herrlich” is both the adjective and adverbial form, it means magnificent or magnificently. Another German surname of that kind that comes to mind is “Fröhlich”, meaning happy/happily. I’m sure there are much more examples in German, but my mind is a bit lazy today because it’s the hottest day of the summer so far here in Germany. P.S: got one more I already heard: “Redlich”, which means righteous/righteously. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/3 "2016-07-20T17:07:32Z")
If in German, adverbs and adjectives often have the same form (and I don’t know but Einsteinshund made me think possibly) then I’d think there would be lots of them. There are many adjectives used as surnames in English starting with many colors and other physical descriptors like tall, short, strong, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/4 "2016-07-20T17:27:59Z")
These can all be adverbs in English, and are common or fairly common surnames: best small little short close bright wild strange rather early (common Irish surname, etymology unrelated) right (obviously Wright is much more common) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/5 "2016-07-20T17:30:43Z")
My surname is _pronounced_ like an adverb, with a “ly” sound at the end (though the ending is spelled “-le”), but, AFAIK, it’s not actually one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/6 "2016-07-20T17:40:55Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > right (obviously Wright is much more common) “Wrightly” is out there, too. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/7 "2016-07-20T17:54:41Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > If in German, adverbs and adjectives often have the same form (and I don’t know but Einsteinshund made me think possibly) then I’d think there would be lots of them. There are many adjectives used as surnames in English starting with many colors and other physical descriptors like tall, short, strong, etc. Yeah, you thought right: German doesn’t really make a difference between adjectives and adverbs, the first I ever heard about a thing called “adverbs” was in my English class in fifth grade. But I have always thought that the ending -lich of many German adjectives was related to the English adverbial suffix -ly (but that’s just a hunch), so I was looking for examples of that sort. Of course there are surnames like Groß, Klein, Kurz, Stark as well as Rot(h), Grün, Braun, Schwarz and so on all over the place, which CAN be adverbs. Interestingly, there are variants of adjectives representing colors with the -lich suffix, like “rötlich” or “bräunlich”, which have no adverbial meaning, but simply mean “reddish” and “brownish”. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/8 "2016-07-20T18:52:20Z")
A few searches for the most probable Swedish ones at eniro.se gave me _Anna Lätt_ (= lightly/easily), _Giovanni Fort_ (= speedily) and _Asus Kort_ (= shortly). I’m sure there must be at least a dozen more. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/9 "2016-07-20T19:02:03Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Interestingly, there are variants of adjectives representing colors with the -lich suffix, like “rötlich” or “bräunlich”, which have no adverbial meaning, but simply mean “reddish” and “brownish”. Could the “lich” suffix then be closer to English “like” rather than “ly”. “Rötlich” then means red-like. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/10 "2016-07-20T19:06:02Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > These can all be adverbs in English, and are common or fairly common surnames: > > best > small > little > short > close > bright > wild > strange > rather > early (common Irish surname, etymology unrelated) > right (obviously Wright is much more common) These are all adjectives. “Best” can be used adverbially (“T’were best done quickly”) but I can’t think of adverbial examples for any of the others. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/11 "2016-07-20T19:19:42Z")
I take that back. There are some uncommon adverbial uses for some of these, mostly in set phrases; for example, “to fall short” and “to run wild”. I still don’t see examples for the others though. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/12 "2016-07-20T19:22:16Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I take that back. There are some uncommon adverbial uses for some of these, mostly in set phrases; for example, “to fall short” and “to run wild”. I still don’t see examples for the others though. > > –Mark No, they can all be adverbs, although most are more commonly adjectives. I’m not going to go through them all - just Google the word + adverb for examples. If there’s any particular one or two that remain that you dispute I’ll be happy to find you an example. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/13 "2016-07-20T19:24:53Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I take that back. There are some uncommon adverbial uses for some of these, mostly in set phrases; for example, “to fall short” and “to run wild”. I still don’t see examples for the others though. > > –Mark “Bright” also seems to be the adverb form when it’s modifying an adjective while “brightly” seems to be the choice when modifying a verb. “The ball was a bright red.” v. “The light shone brightly.” ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/14 "2016-07-20T19:27:24Z")
Does Ace Frehley count? How about his author cousin, I. P. (_Yellow River_)? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/15 "2016-07-20T19:36:49Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > **Does Ace Frehley count**? How about his author cousin, I. P. (_Yellow River_)? Absolutely. And the I.P. Frehley joke tickled my inner third-grader 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/16 "2016-07-20T19:37:13Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > “Bright” also seems to be the adverb form when it’s modifying an adjective while “brightly” seems to be the choice when modifying a verb. > > “The ball was a bright red.” v. “The light shone brightly.” It’s dubious whether to call the use in “bright red” an adverb. But it’s certainly an adverb in: _The stars shone bright_ ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/17 "2016-07-20T19:40:19Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Could the “lich” suffix then be closer to English “like” rather than “ly”. “Rötlich” then means red-like. I don’t think so. It bugged me, so I looked it up, and according to [these](http://www.canoo.net/services/WordformationRules/Derivation/To-Adv/Suffixe/lich.html) [links](http://www.canoo.net/services/WordformationRules/Derivation/To-A/Suffixe/lich.html), the suffix -lich in German can do the following transformations: adjective-\>adverb noun-\>adjective verb-\>adjective adjective-\>adjective so it’s a universal modifier. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/18 "2016-07-20T20:15:25Z")
I once was heading over to an office to meet with some new lawyers that the other side had hired, and they sent me an email telling me to “go to the seventh floor lobby and ask for Matthew Nicely.” it took me a moment to figure out that that was his name; my first reaction was to think, “Don’t tell me how to talk to people!” 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/19 "2016-07-20T20:34:55Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429/20 "2016-07-20T21:02:15Z")
From the trivial desk. Here are some surnames and the number of people reported with the surname in the latest U.S. census. Jolly 15166 Early 13855 Daily 11041 Lively 10731 Nicely 4635 Lovely 3917 Gravely 3050 Easterly 2401 Overly 2199 Weekly 1845 Manly 1489 Bodily 1409 Wisely 948 Likely 488 Cleverly 468 Weakly 406 Truly 358 Southerly 291 Freely 264 Fairly 247 Friendly 245 Brightly 235 Sagely 226 Stately 217 Only 158 Finely 151 There were several other amusing surnames ending in -ly but, with a few exceptions, I extracted only the English adverbs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverbs-as-surnames-around-the-world/760429.md?page=2)