Medieval History, Modern History, Syro Malabar Church, Thomas Christians

All the names are originally used by Syriac …

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Comment posted Major Arch Bishop Alencheril Mar Giwargis II Bava-The Patriarch of Syro Malabar Church and The Gate of All India- A Discussion on The Historical Hierarchical Status of The Church of Saint Thomas Christians by Kezhakken.

All the names are originally used by Syriac Christians in Malabar. Hindus do not use these names at all.
From my minimal knowledge:

Cherian:
From Zacharias (its Hebrew or Syriac equivalent). The “an” at the end denotes masculine third person. Krishna in Sanskrit would become Krishnan in Malayalam.
My Grandmother used to say that Cherian is from “Cheriya (Little) Yaakob”. There are two “Yaakob”s and the little one is James (please correct me if I am wrong). I have not heard this version outside my family. If anyone has, please do let me know.

Koshy
From what a friend told me once, Joshua or Yoshua. It is interesting to note that this name is not used by Syro-Malabar Catholics.

Chandy
From Alexander.

Kurian
St. Cyriacus, who is known as Kuriakose. I know that the letter “Y” once were used to denote the sound “U”.

Kuruvilla
St. Cyril. Again the “Y” to “U”.