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I understand Sophia means wisdom. Can anyone tell me what dakis means.I have three leads to go by:1. I've been told dakis means 'to belong to';
2. I've been told dakis was added to names from Crete when the Turks invaded to belittle the conquered people and it means 'little'; and
3. I've been told dakis mean 'animal' or 'snake'.I have been looking for the correct interpretation for 25 years.Thanks.

Since you've been looking for the correct interpretation for 25 years I'm thinking this is old hat to you.Dakis
The God of Malevolence
"Kill anyone that gets in the way."-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: chaos, evil, trickery, destruction, war
Races: human, elven, ogran, undead
Primary Weapon: bastard sword

The Cretan name ending -akis is thought be a disparagingly form of address, accepted by Cretans in order to appear humble before their masters, the Turks. Literally it means "small" or "young". E.g. a kid named Yiannis can be called "Yiannanis" (little John). In reality the records show that the -akis fashion began in the middle ages but did not come predominant until the nineteenth century. In reality, the 19th century is when the Ottomans (Turks), were at their most oppressive and consequently a time that they would be most likely to have accelerated this "fashion"."Dakis" doesn't mean anything. "D" is used just as a "connection to join "Sophia" with the ending "akis". Btw, this ending is not used in all of Crete but mainly at Heraklio county.

That sounds much better, thanks.

True, but your explanation was interesting as well!
:-)Regards,
Yiannis

Hello Yiannis,Since you seem so adept at the name game, I've been told that my last name means "little Christian". I've also been told that "takes" is from Crete...100% of the time. Does that sound about right to you?yours, Nick C.

Hi Nick,Not really "little christian" but rather "little Christos" used as a byname of Christos. Christos of course derives from Christ.

Glad to be of service
Yiannis

Once I received the silly reply re the war lord, I didn't bother checking again. Sorry for the delay. Thanks for your reply. Very interesting and very similar to what I have recently discovered. Upon receiving my father's and grandfather's birth certificates from the appropriate municipal office in Crete, I discovered that the correct family name was Sofiadis. It appears to be a name used by a number of families in Greece. I do agree with the theory of being forced to change the names because of the Turks as this seems to be the only theory anyone has. (I've spoken to a few people in Government in Greece - a reminder that I'm in Australia). The only record is a sentence written on my father's certificate saying the name will be written as Sofiadakis from then on.The meaning is interesting because the Turkish/English Dictionary on the web states that akis means 'contrary'. I felt that it all fits because Sofia (ph being an English variant) means 'wisdom'. Hence the name becoming 'contrary to wisdom'.I've been waiting months for the Greek Embassy in Australia to decide whether it would be better for me to change my name by deed poll in Australia ($45 & 2 weeks) then apply for a Greek Passport in the hope of getting it in the original name. Otherwise, I'm told it would take forever to change the name in Greece because it would need to go through the courts.I've heard today it will confuse the poor public servants in Greece, especially since they have their hands full trying to put together a weak excuse for an Olympics. Despite the whole fiasco being their fault, since one person should not be allowed to have two names.Thanks for all your help.