Die Ortsnamen Kulkwitz, Meusdorf und Schkölen in neuer Sicht

Abstract

With the evaluation of numerous sources for personal and place names in the Niederlausitz (Lower Lusatia) new information also was gained to shed further light on three place names in the Leipzig area. The Niederlausitz place name Kolkwitz and the Leipzig place name Kulkwitz, wich have a very similar historical documentation, originally were traced back to *Kolkovici, from the personal name *Kolk, and also to *Kolkovica, from an appellative *kol, respectively, the diminutive *kolk 'pile, peg, stick, pole'. A more likely possibility is probably *Golkowici, from the personal name *Golk, which has been verified as a frequent family name in Lower Lusatia. Until now one presumed that the hybrid place name Meusdorf was derived from the Sorbian personal name *Mič< Nikolaus. The oldest historical forms- 1245 Mitisdorf, 1254 Mitisdorf, and only in 1339 Miczdorf - would seem to indicate a derivation from a personal name *Mět or *Mětiš. Both are common as family names in the Lausitz. One traced the name Schkölen, a place not far from Leipzig, on the basis of *skol < *sьkolь,, back to kol 'pile' and arrived at the meaning of a 'settlement near or with a palisade rampart', also because there is a circular rampart in the vicinity of the village. We have traced back the Niederlausitz place names Schollen and Schuhlen, which based on a chain of evidence closely correspond to Schkölen, to *Skolin, from the personal name *Skola, which was often used as a family name in the Niederlausitz. This interpretation is most probably also valid for Schkölen. This article once again demonstrates the close relationships between personal names and place names.