Hittite Names

Hatti

The Hittites ruled what will later be called Syria. The Assyrians knew the area as "Hatti". The Egyptians called them the "Kheta". They were a mighty power from c 1700 - 1190 BC. The Hittite kingdom was a political entity that was composed of many ethnic and linguistic groups. Indo-Europeans entered the area at the end of the third millennium BC and absorbed an earlier people, known as the Hattians. The pre-Indo-European Hattian language died out by c 1750 BC, except for religious use in the cults of some of the gods. The Hittites originally ruled from a city called Kussara and later conquered Kanesh and then Hattush. Hattush or Hattusha eventually became the Hittite capital. The Hittites were absorbed into the Assyrian empire by 700 BC. (1, 2, 3)

Hittite Female Names

Pudukhepa, Puduhepa - Hittite queen (1, 2)

Hittite Male Names

Anittas - Early Hittite king (2)
Arnuwandas - The name of several Hittite kings (2)
Hattusilis, Khattasulis = "Man of Hattusha" - The name of several Hittite kings (1, 2)
Katuzili - Royal Hittite name (2)
Lubarna, Labarnas - Royal Hittite name (2, 3)
Manapa-Tarhunda - A king of a Hittite subregion (4)
Mursilis - The name of several Hittite kings (2)
Mutallu - Royal Hittite name (2)
Muwatallis - Hittite king (2)
Piyamaradu - A renegade Hittite who attacked Wilusa (Troy?)(4)
Sapalulme - Royal Hittite name (2)
Suppiluliuma, Suppiluliumas - The name of several Hittite kings (1, 2)
Telipinus - Hittite king (2)
Tudhaliyas - The name of several Hittite kings (2)

Hittite Deities

Arinna - Sun goddess (3)
Estan - Hattian sun goddess (2)
Hasammeli - Hattian god of smiths (2)
Hebat - Hurrian wife of Teshub, added to the Hittite pantheon at a later date (2, 3)
Ishtanu - A solar god (3)
Istustaya - Hattian goddess of fate (2)
Lelwani - Hattian ruler of the underworld (2)
Papaya - Hattian goddess of fate (2)
Sharruma - Son of Teshub and Hebat (3)
Tarhu, Tarhunnas - Hittite god of weather (2)
Taru - Hattian weather god (2)
Teshub - Hurrian storm god added to the Hittite pantheon at a later date and identified with the Hattian Taru. Teshub became the major Hittite deity (2, 3)
Wurusemu - Hittite sun goddess and wife of Tarhu, although the name is Hattian (2)

Sources:

(1) Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley, New York: Penguin Books, 1995, p. 186, 187, 202.

(2) The Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, ed. Arthur Cotterell, New York: Penguin Books, 1980, 1988.

(3) Cities of the Biblical World: An Introduction to the Archaeology, Geography, and History of Biblical Sites, LaMoine F. DeVries, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.

(4) BBC Science and Nature - Horizon: The Truth of Troy, Questions and Answers

Return to the Ancient Names Galleria

Or Asia

Last Updated June 2004