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Nicknames / Potamos

People > Nicknames

Because Kythera was settled in such a way that a few dozen original families spawned the majority of present-day Kytherians, almost every branch of every family had a "nickname" to distinguish it from that of others with the same surname.

The nicknames were sometimes simply the genitive form of a christian name (e.g. "Dimitrelou") or derived from the profession of an ancestor (e.g. "Miliotis" = "Miller") or even describe a physical attribute (e.g. "Koutsaftis" or "Tarzan").

This is the section of the website where you can view the island's nicknames and read about which surnames they are associated with and hopefully where they came from as well.

You can submit to the section by clicking on add to nicknames at the top right.


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People > Nicknames

submitted by Alexandra Malanos on 04.11.2009

Adzatos - Cassimatis Family

To distinguish between the many families with the surname "Cassimatis", nicknames were very common. Adzatos was the name given to my great-grandfather who lived in the village of Potamos. I have been told that it means "thick/large/strong thighs". In Potamos, there is a building on a corner which is the tallest building on your right-hand side as you leave the village heading for Agia Pelegia. This corner was known as the "Adzatos Corner" for many, many years. This is because it was owned by my ...

People > Nicknames

submitted by George Poulos on 05.11.2004

"Delegos" - "Delegate" - Potiris.

From the guest book:

Costa Potiris - Sydney - Australia

Family village of origin: Potamos

My father Dimitris had two brothers, Theodoris and Evdoras all born in Asia Minor, Koukloutza village near Smyrna. In 1922 they were driven out to Greece, My father married Katina Stivaktakis, from Voutes Iraklio, Crete and had me and two sisters Stella and Maria, all born in Crete.

My father's father (Costa POTIRIS)had close relatives ...

People > Nicknames

submitted by Peter Tsicalas on 09.03.2004

Michalakakis - Tsicalas

The story goes that a few families from the Mixalakiani clan (aka Michalakianikos/Michalakianoi/…) of the Mani progressively arrived on Kythera from the late 1700s and, to differentiate themselves, one lot adopted, or brought with them, or had thrust upon them, the nickname Tsikalas (meaning potter). Only a few descendants practiced the trade but most carried on the name.

Other families in the the clan included Aggelakos, Androutsakos (or Gerakarakos?), Diakaikos, Drakoularakos, ...

People > Nicknames

submitted by Eleni Malanos on 25.08.2003

Bellos - Coroneo

My father's family nickname was "Bellos".
Apparently it means "beautiful" which my father certainly was.