L. L. Zamenhof

Dr. Ludovic Lazarus (Ludwik Lejzer) Zamenhof (December 15, 1859–April 14, 1917) was an ophthalmologist, philologist, and the initiator of Esperanto, the most widely spoken planned language to date. His native languages were Russian and Yiddish, but he also spoke Polish and German fluently. Later he learned French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and English, and he also had an interest in Italian, Spanish and Lithuanian.

Name discrepancy

Zamenhof's parents gave him the Hebrew name Eliezer (Lazarus), which for legal reasons appeared on his birth certificate in its Russian form Lejzer. He would have also been known by his patronymic Markovich. His family name was written Samenhof at the time; the form Zamenhof did not appear until after the publication of Esperanto.

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While at university, Zamenhof chose the gentile name Ludwik (Ludovic) in honor of Francis LODWICK (LODOWYCK), who in 1652 had published an early conlang proposal. When his brother Leon became a doctor and started signing his name "Dr L. Zamenhof", Ludovic reclaimed his birth name Lazarus and from 1901 signed his name "Dr L. L. Zamenhof". The two L's do not seem to have specifically represented either name, and the order Ludovic Lazarus is a modern convention.

Related Topics:
Gentile - 1652 - Conlang

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