Greek Names in Egypt

Abstract This introductory chapter gives an overview of Greek names in Egypt based on the data available in Trismegistos [TM] People (https://www.trismegistos.org/ref). It starts with an introduction to the database, with a brief history and a description of its main structure and its limitations (1). This is followed by an overview of the different linguistic origins of names attested in Egypt (2). Subsequent sections touch upon various onomastic aspects and themes that are discussed in more detail in the other chapters of this book: the popularity of Greek names over time and how this is affected by political, cultural, and religious change—such as the rise of Christianity (3); regional variation in the use of Greek names (4); the language/script Greek names are attested in (5); variant spellings of Greek names in Greek and (mainly Demotic) Egyptian (6); gender aspects (7); and family naming traditions (8).