Where did the name Leopard (Leapard) originate?  The movie, "The
Leopard" with Burt Lancaster is considered Sicily's "Gone With the
Wind."  I've heard that Sicily--or Italy--is where the name
originated--but also Germany.  So where?

Dear sandyjones,

First, I would like to point out that nobody in the movie "The
Leopard" (and neither in the novel the movie is based on) has
"Leopard" as a family name. The main character, the Sicilian prince
Duke Fabrizio of Salina, carries a coat-of-arms with a Leopard. In
heraldry, "Leopard" is the term for the figure of a lion walking
forward, looking at the viewer. Duke Fabrizio is called "The Leopard"
after his heraldic figure, but it is not his name.

The word "Leopard" as such is of ancient Greek origin. In ancient
times, the cat of prey we know as a leopard today was mistakenly
considered a hybrid of lion and panther. Consequently, the Greek
called that animal "leopardos", a compound of their words "leon"
(lion) and "pardos" (panther). The Romans adopted the word into late
Latin as "leopardus". Via Latin, the word found its way into the
various European languages during the Middle Ages.

Since the word as such is not limited to a single language, "Leopard"
as a family name has no singular geographic origin. People all over
Europe may have been called Leopold after their heraldic figure, as a
nickname that related to their character, or for any other reason.
When personal names evolved into family names during the Middle Ages,
such names that originally only referred to one particular individual
often became the names of entire families. But it is futile to search
for "the one and only" origin of the family name Leopold, since the
word it is based on was widespread.

"Leopard" should not be confused with the German, French and Dutch
name "Leopold", which is of Germanic origin and means originally
"brave people".

Hope this is useful for you!
Regards,
Scriptor


Sources:

Online Etymology Dictionary: Leopard
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=leopard

Ancestry.com: What we know about the Leopard family
http://www.ancestry.com/search/SurnamePage.aspx?html=b&ln=Leopard

Wikipedia: Leopold
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold

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Request for Answer Clarification by sandyjones-ga on 29 Jan 2006 18:08 PST

You say in paragraph 3 that "People all over Europe may have been
called Leopold after their heraldic figure..."  And later in same
paragraph, you say "it is futile to search for the one and only origin
of the name Leopold..."

Then in the very next paragraph, you say that Leopard should not be
confused with Leopold....This does not make sense...

---

Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 29 Jan 2006 18:18 PST

It's a mistake. I was already thinking about the next paragraph, so
without even noticing, I wrote "Leopold" instead of "Leopard".

What I meant to write was:

"Since the word as such is not limited to a single language, "Leopard"
as a family name has no singular geographic origin. People all over
Europe may have been called Leopard after their heraldic figure, as a
nickname that related to their character, or for any other reason.
When personal names evolved into family names during the Middle Ages,
such names that originally only referred to one particular individual
often became the names of entire families. But it is futile to search
for "the one and only" origin of the family name Leopard, since the
word it is based on was widespread."

Please accept my apologies for causing a bit of confusion.
Regards,
Scriptor

Appreciate the info.  I had a coat of arms done and it gave the
history of the family name Leopard and stated it was of Italian origin
but they used the name, Leopardi.  Thanks again--even though I don't
have an answer of where my family's from.