Re: Smiltnieks,Klawins, 1860-1880, Bauska

Klawins (or in contemporary Latvian - Klavins with commas beneath the l and the n and a small v above the s [these are diacritics that alter the sound of the letters])is the diminutive of maple.The word for miller in Latvian is dzirnavnieks.The name Smiltnieks is in 2 parts.The word smiltis or smilts means sand.The suffix *nieks indicates an association between the person (in the masculine) and the first part of the word, usually either by residence (e.g., a male from Liepaja is decribed as a liepajnieks just as in English someone from London is referred to as a Londoner) or by trade (e.g., dzirnavas means mill, therefore a dzirnavnieks is a miller).