I thought it would be neat to list some interesting facts about Hungary, Hungarian culture, and Hungarian people for this blog entry. Some of these may surprise you!
1. Some famous celebrities that are of Hungarian descent are Drew Barrymore, Adrien Brody, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mariska Hargitay, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Paul Newman, Calvin Klein, Harry Houdini, John Kerry, Gene Simmons, and many more famous or well-known actors, filmmakers, sports players, scientists, writers/editors/journalists, artists, musicians/composers, politicians, etc. (Wikipedia)
2. According to babynamefacts.com, the top 10 most popular names for boys in 2008 were: Bence, Máté, Levente, Daniel, Balázs, Adam, Peter, Milan, and Tamás. The top girls names were: Anna, Hanna, Boglárka, Jazmin, Nora, Réka, Lili, Zsófia, Petra, Viktoria, and Luca.
3. According to the web site, “Behind the Name,” the top ten most common Hungarian Surnames are: Nagy, Kovács, Tóth, Szabó, Horváth, Varga, Kiss, Molnár, Németh, and Farkas.
3. Hungary was founded in the year 896, making it one of the oldest countries in Europe. It was founded even before France and Germany were!
4. According to Lifestyle Lounge, “As per EU statistics, Hungary has the highest death rate by cancer in Europe and also the highest female suicide rate.”
5. Some things invented by Hungarians are the Rubik’s Cube, the ballpoint pen, the theory of the hydrogen bomb, the noiseless match, and the krypton electric bulb.
6. As shown in my previous blog entry, thermal spas and public baths are important to Hungarian culture. “Hungary has one of the most important thermal spring cultures in the entire Europe,” with a total of 1,500 spas and 450 public baths! These spas and baths are typically beautifully adorned with Greek, Turkish, and Roman architecture.
7. For the Summer Olympics, Hungary has won the sixth highest number of gold medals. This is out of 211 nations!
8. Hungary has received a total of 448 medals all together!
9. According to Eupedia, Hungary was once part of the Celtic world, and then the Roman Empire. When the Huns settled in the area after the fall of the Roman Empire, they gave Hungary it’s name, deriving from their own name.
10. The Magyar language springs from the language that was spoken by the Huns. It isn’t an Indo-European language, and the only two languages that are somewhat similar and related to the Hungarian language are Finnish and Estonian.
11. There are about 15 million Hungarian speakers and 1/3 of them live outside of the country! The majority of this 1/3 lives in Romania.
12. Eupedia also mentions, “Despite the country’s name and it’s language, DNA tests have revealed that central Asian genes represent only a tiny percentage of the Hungarian population.”
13. Hungary has a very long tradition of classical music. It is commonly combined with folkloric elements.
14. A total of thirteen Hungarians have received a Nobel Prize. This is more than China, Japan, Australia, India, and Spain!
The Rubik’s Cube: a popular toy/game!:
A public bath building in Budapest:
Work’s Cited:
Behind the Name: Most Common Surnames in Hungary. Behind the Name: the Etymology and History of Surnames. http://surnames.behindthename.com/top/lists/100hus2006.php
Eupedia : Hungary Guide – Interesting facts about Hungary. Eupedia : Your Guide to Europe in English. http://www.eupedia.com/hungary/trivia.shtml
Interesting Facts About Hungary – Fun Facts About Hungary. Lifestyle Lounge – Online Lifestyle Magazine. http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about- hungary-1550.html
List of Hungarian Americans – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hungarian_America
Most popular baby names in Hungary – compiled by BabyNameFacts.com. http://www.babynamefacts.com/popularnames/countries.php?country=HNY
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