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A couple of years ago a colleague of mine pointed me to the new website/book from Jim Carrey “How Roland rolls”1 and while looking at it I started to think about my name: What does it mean? What is the origin? What are other well-known usages?
Here is what I found out …
- Roland2 was a knight who fought for Charles the Great (also called the father of Europe). His life is the source of legends and his last fight at the Battle of Roncesvalles in 778 was turned into the Song of Roland3.
- In Germany Roland is also famous for the statue on the market place in Bremen4. The name of Roland’s sword is Durendal5.
- Coincidentally (or not) the IC (train) from Bremen to Basel (and back) is called the
IC Roland.
- Roland6 is the name of a Japanese maker of music equipment. The company was founded in 1972 and has 3000 employees. A lot of very famous artists7 use Roland equipment and you can see a lot of Roland keyboards on stage during live concerts. The rumor is that the company was named after the Song of Roland, but apparently the name was just chosen because it was easy to pronounce and stands out easily on trade-shows.
- Roland8 is the name of a company that produces printing machines. It belongs to the MAN Group9. My father used to work for Mabeg10. Mabeg was producing “Bogenanleger” (Sheet-Feeder) and “Querschneider” for Roland printing machines in Offenbach11. I do not know why the founders (Faber & Schleicher) called their first printing machine Roland. It is said, because it is easy to pronounce.
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- Roland Garros12 was an early French aviator and a fighter pilot during World War I. Stade Roland Garros13 is a tennis stadium in Paris, France, which is named after him. The French Open are played there.
- For 80 years Roland Foods14 has provided customers with exceptional gourmet food. I like their anchovies15 and their mustard16.
- Since 1939 the Roland Murten AG17 is baking brezels and other grain based products.
Here are a couple more people18 that I know that are called Roland …
- Roland Emmerich19 (Director)
- Roland Berger20 (Consulting)
- Roland Cox21 (the valiant in Jumper22, played by Samuel L. Jackson23)
- Roland Schitt24 (the mayor of Schitt’s Creek25, played by Chris Elliott26)
- Roland Deschain27 (the last gunslinger to protect the Dark Tower28, played by Idris Elba29)
- Roland Schnir30 (a friend of mine from the IONA days)
- Roland Loew31 (a class-mate from school)
… and now last, but not least …
- Roland32 the wave who’s afraid that, one day, when he hits the beach, his life will be over. But when he gets deep, he’s struck by the notion that he’s not just a wave — he’s the whole big, wide ocean!
I like the last one :).