Basque Onomastics of the Eighth to Sixteenth Centuries
Appendix 4: Names Identified from Roman-Era Aquitanian Stones

Some Roman-era stonecarvings include references to names in the Aquitanian language, the ancestor of the Basque language. The Euskaltzaindia online onomastic database identifies some of those names; I have translated the relevant information from the database below:

Aio (m) -- Documented for the first time in the inscriptions of the Roman era, at times Latinized as Aius.

Andere (f) -- Appears in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era (first through third centuries), as can be seen in the museum of Toulouse.

Andos (m) -- Appears in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era. The base and- has been related to the Basque handi "big" and with the Gaulish ande-, of intensificative value; the -os ending is a suffix, but the meaning is not clear.

Arai (f) -- Appears on a Roman stone in Kontrasta (in Alava): Araica Arai f(ilia) ("Araica, daughter of Arai").

Araika (f) -- Appears on a Roman stone in Kontrasta (in Alava): Araica Arai f(ilia) ("Araica, daughter of Arai").

Arixo (m) -- Documented in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era, in the majority of cases as Arixo or Arixoni. [Another entry indicates that the name may be related to the Basque word haritza, meaning an oak tree.]

Bihotza (f) -- Bihotz is a common Basque name, meaning "heart," which appears as a personal name in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era (first through third centuries) written as bihox-, bihos- (Bihoxus, Bihoscinnis ...).

Edunxe (f) -- Woman's name documented in a stone of the Roman era (first through third centuries) in the locality of St. Gaudens in Aquitaine.

Hahan (f) -- Base that we find in some names (Hahanni, Hahanten, Hahantenn) of the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era (first through third centuries).

Hartz (m) -- Name of an animal ("bear") used historically as a given name by Basque-speakers. It seems to be present in Aquitanian inscriptions, in the genitive Harsi.

Ilun (m) -- Documented in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era (first through third centuries). In the majority of these cases it appears Latinized as Iluni or Iluno.

Iluna (f) -- A name (from the adjective ilun "dark," it seems) documented in the Aquitanian inscriptions (Illunnosi) of the Roman era (first through third centuries).

Iluntso (m) -- A medieval Basque name which is documented in Ermua (in Biscay) in 1514. In Aquitaine (first through third centuries) the name Ilunosi is documented.

Ilurdo (m) -- Medieval Basque name. In the opinion of A. Irigoien one must relate it with Ilurberrixo from the Aquitanian inscriptions (first through third centuries).

Leheren (m) -- Documented in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era (first through third centuries). In the majority of cases it appears Latinized as Leherenni or Leherenno.

Lohitz (m) -- Basque name that appears in an inscription of the Roman era (first through third centuries) in Aquitaine (Lohisi, Lohixsi).

Maura (f) -- Appears in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era (first through third centuries). In Gaul there is also documented a masculine variant of this name (Maurus).

Neskato (f) -- A Basque name documented in the Aquitanian inscriptions of the Roman era (first through third centuries). The name Nescato appears in a stone in the wall of the church at Saléchan and in another that is in the museum of Toulouse.

Seme (m) -- This name is related to the common word seme "son" which appears in Bera (in Navarre), in 1366. In the Middle Ages names like Semeno, Semen, Semero, Xemen, Xemeno, Ximen, and others were common. In any case, in the opinion of the experts, the names Semeno, Semen, Semero, et al. are related to seme. This word is derived from Sembe-, which is documented in the Aquitanian inscriptions (first through third centuries).

Selatse (m) -- A theonym which is documented in three Roman inscriptions from Barbarin (in Navarre): Sempronius Betunus Selatse.

Ubeltso (m) -- A name from the Roman era that appears in an inscription from Oiartzun (in Guipuzcoa). In the stone one can see a face that, as the tradition says, belonged to a knight who stole some flowers from the hermitage of Andrearriaga; he turned to stone and cannot turn back.

A study of Aquitanian names would be an interesting project for someone interested in pursuing early-period onomastics; the list above may prove useful as a starting point for such research. For more information on the relationship between Aquitanian and Basque languages, see Larry Trask's "Prehistory and Connections with Other Languages".