Proto
Indo-European:
Most Western Europeans are very anciently
descended from common nomadic horse tribes that conquered Western Europe from
the steppes of modern Georgia and the Ukraine.
These people also invaded northern India and are in consequence, usually
referred to as Indo-Europeans. All European languages are believed to have a
common root in these people’s language identified by linguistic scholars as
Proto-Indo-European. The language today that most closely resembles this common
language is Sanscrit, which today is the sacred language of India and of the
Hindu faith. In Sanscrit our name has the following etymology: Ravi a name
meaning "Sun", and "Nath" meaning "Lord". In other words Sun Lords. It is commonly recognized that Sun worship
was one of the most important aspects of Indo-European religion. Might our very
distant ancestors have been associated with this religious practice in some way
or another?
From the Germanic :
The various Germanic languages including modern German and English
are descendants of Proto-Indo European.
According to French etymological expert Patrick Jouannés, Ravignat would mean the “son of a powerful warrior.” According to him, Ra is the term used for “son of,” in Germanic, similar to O’ or Mac in Irish and Scottish, and Vignat is related to the Germanic Wig (war or warrior) and alt to power. Alt could also be related to reigning or ruling:
The latin
affirmation of Dauzat (French etymologist) is only correct if we consider names
such as
Vignard, Vignier et Vignoud,
etc. Dauzat was quite ignorant of anything which was not Latin based. He
ignored the fundamental effect of other languages in the place names and
surnames of France. RAVIGNAT is a derivation of VIGNAT with the meaning of “son
of VIGNAT.” The names with the root of VIGN don’t all come from the root vine
but also from the Germanic WIG meaning combat. VIGNAT with a (T) corresponds to
VIGNAUD which comes from WIGWALT. Which means “powerful combat,“ like RIGAL
which comes from RIGAUD from RIKWALT or “powerful reign.” AUD gives AL or AT after the loss of the
final D. Therefore, RAVIGNAT means “son of a powerful warrior.”
Consultation with the expert étymologiste: Patrick Jouannès
(http://www.ifrance.com/onomastic)
Germanic names beginning with Ra are frequent in Belgium and
particularly in the Hesbaye region where the name comes from and where the Germanic
Franks had their heartland. The European encyclopedia guide for place names in
Belgium confirms this: One particularity of
names in Wallonia is its hybrid mixing of Germanic and Latin elements. Most
names ending in monts (lantin montis) and in court (latin curia) fall into this
category. Names starting with H, Ra,
Th, W, X, are almost always of Germanic (Frankish) origin.
Therefore, there is also solid linguistic evidence that the name Ravignat is of Walloon origin and is itself a mix of Germanic and Latin elements.