# Name pairs with reverse compounds (e.g., Dorothy and Theodore) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2022, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572 "2022-07-26T08:43:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/1 "2022-07-26T08:43:39Z")
The names Dorothy and Theodore are both derived from the Greek words δῶρον, meaning “gift”, and θεός, meaning “god”. The only difference, etymologically, is that in Dorothy, the order is δῶρον + θεός, whereas in Theodore, it’s θεός + δῶρον. Are there any other examples of pairs of personal names where the etymological constituents are reversed? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/2 "2022-07-26T09:10:06Z")
Marie-Anne and Anne-Marie OK, I got nuthin’. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/3 "2022-07-26T09:12:53Z")
Somebody’s name could be Fitzwilliam Williamson ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/4 "2022-07-26T09:20:59Z")
Kyoto (capital city) and Tokyo (east capital) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/5 "2022-07-26T09:21:31Z")
I looked up a few possibilities, including “Phillip and “Hippophile” (no one I can find with the latter as a personal name), The closest I’ve gotten is “Roger” (“ruling spear”) and Gerald/Gerard (“spear ruler”). The “spear” part is cognate, but unfortunately the “rule/power” part seems to be from distinct words (“hrod” vs. “wald”). So close! Here’s more on “wald”: [https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂welh₁-](https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h%E2%82%82welh%E2%82%81-) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/6 "2022-07-26T09:30:29Z")
Got one! “Harold” and “Walter” are composed from the same Germanic elements; they mean “warrior ruler” and “ruler warrior.” ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/7 "2022-07-26T09:32:57Z")
Amadeus (lover of God) and Theophilus (God-lover). The former is Latin, the latter is Greek. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/8 "2022-07-26T09:43:08Z")
> Amadeus (lover of God) and Theophilus (God-lover). The former is Latin, the latter is Greek. Or for a pure Greek example, I suppose there’s Theophilus and Philotheus. I assume Demophilus and Philodemus also fit the bill, along with Xenophilus and Philoxenus. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/9 "2022-07-26T11:00:31Z")
There’s also _Philodendron_, a plant genus, and _Dendrophilus_, a genus of beetles. Edit: Dendron = tree. ---
**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 26, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/10 "2022-07-26T15:04:16Z")
Slavic first names _Miroslav_ and _Slavomir_ (e.g. Russian: Мирослав, Славомир; Polish: Mirosław, Sławomir). The components _mir_ and _slava_ mean, respectively, “peace/world” and “glory”. ---
**Author:** ![newme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@newme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newme)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/11 "2022-07-26T22:17:29Z")
And in German you have the pair Gottlieb and Liebgott. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/12 "2022-07-26T22:35:44Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > The names Dorothy and Theodore are both derived from the Greek words δῶρον, meaning “gift”, and θεός, meaning “god”. The only difference, etymologically, is that in Dorothy, the order is δῶρον + θεός, whereas in Theodore, it’s θεός + δῶρον. > > Are there any other examples of pairs of personal names where the etymological constituents are reversed? So basically Dot and Tod? ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/13 "2022-07-27T20:43:51Z")
Gerald Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzgerald. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/14 "2022-07-27T21:00:01Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > Gerald Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzgerald Unless “Gerald” and “Patrick” have the same meaning in some language, I don’t see how this meets the criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/15 "2022-07-27T21:41:17Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Unless “Gerald” and “Patrick” have the same meaning in some language, I don’t see how this meets the criteria. “Gift” and “God” - the two roots in the OP - don’t share a meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/16 "2022-07-27T21:42:22Z")
The best i can come up with is the duelling political candidates on Futurama - John Jackson and Jack Johnson. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ll3iyvbsRDM/hqdefault.jpg "Jack Johnson vs John Jackson") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll3iyvbsRDM) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/17 "2022-07-28T06:29:52Z")
I think the point is that Patrick Fitzgerald and Gerald Fitzpatrick are not the same thing but merely with the order switched. They are different. One is Patrick son of Gerald and the other is Gerald son of Patrick. The difference isn’t one of word order, it’s a difference in genealogy. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/18 "2022-07-28T08:51:17Z")
Also in German, ‘Friedemann’ und ‘Manfred’, both meaning ‘man of peace’. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/19 "2022-07-28T09:02:46Z")
> The best i can come up with is the duelling political candidates on Futurama - John Jackson and Jack Johnson. That one’s better insofar as “Jack” is (or was, originally) just a nickname for “John”. So both candidates’ names mean “John, son of John”. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572/20 "2022-07-28T18:39:16Z")
Here’s one pair that fits your criteria exactly: Bertram and Rambert Bertram means “bright raven”, derived from the [Germanic](https://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/germanic_languages) [element](https://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/name_element) _[beraht](https://www.behindthename.com/element/beraht)_ “bright” combined with _[hramn](https://www.behindthename.com/element/hramn)_ “raven”. Rambert: Derived from the [Germanic](https://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/germanic_languages) [elements](https://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/name_element) _[hramn](https://www.behindthename.com/element/hramn)_ “raven” and _[beraht](https://www.behindthename.com/element/beraht)_ “bright”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-pairs-with-reverse-compounds-e-g-dorothy-and-theodore/968572.md?page=2)