Offtopic [Re: Can't use gitk.]

From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
Date: Nov 14, 2005, 18:24 UTC
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0511141005590.3263@g5.osdl.org>
In-Reply-To: <cda58cb80511140355q1add0ba5n@mail.gmail.com>

On Mon, 14 Nov 2005, Franck wrote:

> 
> oops, sorry Andreas for that ! I use to spelling this name without 's'
> that's why I did the mistake I think.

In Finland and Sweden Andrea without the "s" is a girls name, while Andreas with the "s" (or André without "-as") is a boy.

It's not even very rare. "Andrea" was the 84th most popular female name in Sweden in 2000.

It can be confusing, since in Italy (and, I think, southern Germany and much of Eastern Europe), "Andrea" is a boy, and in fact, the name originally comes from the Greek meaning "man".

In the rest of the world, Andrea seems to mostly female, but it probably depends on where the cultural influences come from.

So leaving off the "s" can be very strange to the recipient.

			Linus