Sargis or Sarkis (Armenian: Սարգիս, Armenian pronunciation: [sɑɾˈkʰis]; Syriac: ܣܪܓܝܣ, Syriac pronunciation: [sargis]) is a male given name in both Armenian[1] and Assyrian[2] communities. The Armenian surname Sargsyan/Sarkisian is derived from this name.

Sargis
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameArmenian, Syriac
MeaningProtector
Region of originWest Asia
Other names
Alternative spellingSarkis, Sarkees, Serkis
Nickname(s)Seggy, Sagi, Sago, Sako, Seggo
Related namesSergius, Sargent

Etymology

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The name ultimately derived from the Latin name Sergius.

Assyrian Tradition

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Saints Sergius and Bacchus with their names written in Syriac. Sargis is seen on the right in this iconography with the caption ܡܪܝ ܣܪܓܝܣ (Mar Sargis) above him.

In the Assyrian community, the name Sargis is a common veneration to Saint Sergius who was martyred in the Syriac speaking city of Resafa,[3][4] popularizing the name in the language amongst liturgically Syriac speaking communities since at least the 4th century. The name Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܪܝ ܣܪܓܝܣ, Syriac pronunciation: [mar sargis], meaning Saint Sargis, is also used for Assyrian churches in both the Assyrian homeland[5] and diaspora.[6]

List of notable people or places with the name Sargis

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Saints

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The Armenian Saint, Sargis the General

Places

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Churches

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Mar Sargis Assyrian Church in Seiri, Urmia, Iran

Mononym

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First name

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Last name

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hanks, Patrick (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. p. 271. ISBN 9780199771691. Sargis (177) Reduced form of Armenian Sargisian, western Armenian form of SARKISIAN
  2. ^ Hanks, Patrick (2022). "Names from Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent". Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190245115. Assyrian/Chaldean: from a Syriac equivalent of the Latin personal name Sergius (see Sergio) a Christian saint's name. Compare Sarkis American shortened form of Armenian Sargsyan or its rare variant Sargisyan. (Compare Sarkis)
  3. ^ Aboud, Ibrahim George. "Religion in language policy, and the survival of Syriac". CSUSB ScholarWorks. California State University, San Bernardino. p. 30. Retrieved 8 December 2022. Despite all these developments, Syriac continued to be used by Chalcedonian rural communities in Syria until the end of the Middle Ages...To the East, in the city of Sergiopolis in the Syrian Desert, the columns' inscriptions found in the sixth century main cathedral used reversed Greek, written from right to left like Syriac
  4. ^ "Greek and Syriac inscriptions on the chancel screen of the church of *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) in Zabad (near Anasartha, to the southeast of Chalkis and Beroia/Aleppo, north Syria), listing donors involved in the construction of this sanctuary, and possibly invoking Sergios. 6th c. (after 511)". figshare. pnowakowski. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. ^ "MAAR-SARGIZ HISTORICAL CHURCH". Iran Touring and Tourist Organization. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Assyrian Church of the East - Mar Sargis IL". assyrianchurch.net.