Nice work. And it's a very entertaining and thorough list of examples of the phenomena, which is appreciated.Secret Alias wrote:It has been established since Hilgenfeld that Marcion is a diminutive form of Mark
One thing about these names is that they can be both affectionate and derogatory, depending on who is using them. Given the consistency, one might expect that Mark himself accepted the name Marcion, and that it served the needs of his opponents only all too well. (Along with the connection to Pontus, which invariably falls immediately after the introduction of his name.)
On another note, and by way of reminder of something that is important whenever we talk about cases of confused identity or the like... in general... I'd previously discussed the phenomenon of those who have different names in different languages, which aren't necessarily in strict correspondence with each other (like Peter / Pedro or something), which is attested well also and should be kept in mind generally when dealing especially with semitic, Latin, and Greek names.