Regarding the Numidians

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Ave
I was reading an account of the Jugurthine Wars and was startled to see that some Numidians had obviously Carthaginian names like Adherbal and Mastanabal. I'm wondering does that mean Numidians were of Phoenician extraction or that they had simply adopted Carthaginian names in imitation of a "superior" culture?

Imad

[Jona Lendering]

I'm wondering does that mean Numidians were of Phoenician extraction or that they had simply adopted Carthaginian names in imitation of a "superior" culture?

I think that the latter is more plausible.

[The Alexandrian]

I'm quite confident these names were borrowed during interaction with the Carthaginians.

[Justin of the New Yorkii]

The Phoenician written language was very useful for international trade, and spread a lot farther than Punic culture itself. A lot of places in the Iberian peninsula had Phoenician names too. Keep in mind that Punic traders were making the rounds for centuries in these places, making lots of small-scale commercial interactions with people who spoke many different languages, so you can see how a lingua franca would be useful.

A good book for this is "Carthage: A History" by Serge Lancel.