A Sinhalese name or Sinhala name may contain two or three parts: a patronymic, one or more given names, and sometimes a surname, which was often absent in the past.[1] Full names can be rather long, and hence are often shortened, by omitting or abbreviating the family name and one of the given names, as in R. M. S. Ariyaratna.[2]
Family names can be distinguished by the suffix -ge or -ghe,[2] though this suffix may accidentally result from a particular transliteration of a Sinhalese word, such as simhe or simghe (lion).[3]
Given names can be masculine, feminine and gender neutral.
Sinhalese surnames often originate from Sanskrit. However, as a consequence of the Portuguese invasion of Sri Lanka, during the 16th and 17th centuries, many Portuguese language surnames were adopted among the Sinhalese people. As a result, Perera and Fernando eventually became the most common names in Sri Lanka.[4]
- ^ Plassard 1996, p. 213-219.
- ^ a b Chandralal 2010, p. 9, 43.
- ^ Hanks, Coates & McClure 2016, p. 1402.
- ^ Wanasundera 2002, p. 61.