Faramond is to the Franks, what Arthur is to the Britons.
If your looking for a semi-mythical legend that is rarely used,
Faramond's your man.
Origin: |
From the Old Germanic dithematic (two-part) name Faramund. The first element is descended from the Proto-Germanic *faranan meaning "to journey, to travel" which moved into the Old High German, Old Norse and Old English languages. It is, in fact, the origin of the English verb "to fare" and the noun "a fare" (payment for passage) and can also be found in names such as Ferdinand and Farnulf. The second element is mund "protection, hand, guardian," a word used in Old High German, Old Norse and Old English, and related to the Latin manus "hand, strength, power over." This was quite likely an auspicious word, as it is found in several well known names: Edmund, Raymund, Rosamund, Osmund, Sigmund. Faramond, Faramund and Pharamond are all common spellings of the name. |
Usage: |
According to Frankish legend, Faramond was the first king of the Franks who brought about Salic law. His history is a little sketchy and debate still runs rife whether he was a real figure or not. The history of Faramond is mentioned in the Liber Historiae Francorum, written around 727, which tells of brothers Sunno and Marchomir, once Frankish war leaders who engaged in many skirmishes with the Romans. After Sunno's death, Marchomir united the Franks together by electing his own son, Faramond, to be their first king. Where the Liber Historiae Francorum falls down is its claim that Marchomir was the son of Priam, the legendary King of Troy. This certainly smacks of a little genealogical engineering as, from this point on, Frankish rulers claimed Trojan descent. But whether Faramond existed or not little matters, as his name became the stuff of legend and romance. Pharamond is the king of France in the Prose Tristan — an adaptation of the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Shakespeare mentions Pharamond in Henry V and Handel wrote a whole opera (Faramondo) about the legendary king, which was followed by several other French operas entitled Pharamond or Faramond. As a literary name, it was used several times in the 17th and 18th century. There is a principle character named Pharamond in the popular Jacobean play Philaster, while Faramond (1661) was a popular French heroic romance. The name seems to have had some real use in France in the Middle Ages as surnames such as Pharamond and de Faramond are still in use today in France. There is, however, little evidence for its use as a first name in France over the last few centuries, perhaps because the name did not conform to Frances once strict name laws. The 1861 UK census lists four males named Faramond and one Pharamond, all living in central England and under the age of 30. Faramonds are even harder to find on the Birth Index, which lists no Faramonds at all from 1838-1950 and only three Pharamonds: one in 1864, 1874 and 1891. Since the 1950s I have only been able to find two examples of Faramond on birth registers in Britain, both of which were as middle names. |
Famous Bearers: |
History: * Faramond (fl. 4th century), legendary first king of the Franks. Literature and Media: * Father Faramund, a character in the silent chamber-drama The Haunted Castle (1921) |
Variants: |
Faramund (Germanic), Pharamond (French), Faramondo (Italian) |
Pronunciation: |
FA-rə-mund [key] |
Possible Diminutives: |
Ari, Farry, Freddie, Mondy |
Sibling Names: |
Belisent Constanza Eleonore Genoveva Rowena Ailith |
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Thanks to J for requesting Faramond.