Name Origins - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Re: First name Evenshut?

halpark — 2013-05-02 14:47:21Z

I would suggest it could be a surname which someone has decided to use as a first name. One branch of a family I am associated with has men called Cockshutt, Harpur and Bache. If you take a good look they are all surnames which married into the family - with Harpur definitely being the name of a place as well. A closer male relative had the second name Beverley - because the family originally came from Beverley in Yorkshire. A name of some importance to the family, possibly to no one else. Just a suggestion.

Re: Origins of Scottish surnames - CUMMINS, GALLOWAY, BELL

stonejay — 2013-05-02 13:37:10Z

It is my understanding that my ancestors where from Scotland even though I've not yet been able to trace their origins as of yet to date. Would love any clues that might help.

John D Bell (21Sep1808-16Aug1842) son of John Bell and Ann Armstrong married Jane Rockliff (21Apr1808-21Aug1877). Traced to Liverpool, England.

James Cummins (3Aug1794-???) son of Abraham Cummins (5Dec1768-1828) and Seena (10Oct1771-1848) married Charity Roode (7Mar1797-???). James & Charity settled in Oswego, NY. His parents settled Augusta, Grenville/Leeds, Ontario, Canada.

Elizabeth Galloway (1Sep1868-19Oct1937). Was and indenture servant, and settled in Buffalo, NY. No other info known.

If any of these other names are Scottish would love that info also:
Farr, Roode/Rude/Rood, Armstrong, Fell, Rockliff.

Re: Unusual first name: Belena

halpark — 2013-05-02 11:13:26Z

Another stray thought! You say you think she was born in Galway and a date, but no full name. Perhaps it would be worthwhile putting her full name so if anyone ever came across anything that seemed to relate to that, they could tell you?

Re: Unusual first name: Belena

halpark — 2013-05-02 07:25:07Z

As you say people remember clearly hearing the "B" this suggestion is unlikely to be of use, but if it were just written could someone have transcribed an "S" as being "B" - i.e.Selena? Another idea - I once met someone called Serica - the name of the ship her father was sailing on when she was born! People do do funny things with names - but proof is different from fantasy! Good luck anyway, perhaps you will find it somewhere.

Re: Unusual first name: Belena

akb8a — 2013-05-01 23:54:52Z

Thanks for the comment, and it is helpful coming from a "real" Belinda! It seemed to make sense that Belinda was the closest thing to Belena and I've even tried saying it with some kind of accent to see if I could even make Belena SOUND like Belinda. I was hoping to find her birth record in some film that I recently viewed but didn't find anything. I think this may be a mystery I'll never solve.

Re: Unusual first name: Belena

halpark — 2013-04-28 21:56:18Z

Feel I must add a personal comment! Having suffered from having been saddled with the name Belinda I can assure you it is not reasonably frequent. In a long life I have met exactly two other Belindas - and I have been called a lot of things, many of them far from flattering and have never heard a whisper of Belena being a variation of the name. Not saying it wasn't in this case but it would have been very, very unusual.

Re: Origins of Scottish surnames

hampan4 — 2013-04-28 20:04:03Z

If you're still doing look-ups, could you share the surname SCOTT

Re: Tomesch

ntomesch — 2013-04-22 19:01:49Z

Hi,

So I have a little more information. The area of Poland I'm looking at is Lodz and the last name was spelled by an ancestor as Tomeś around the early 1900s. The family spoke both Polish and German. German because I believe they identified themselves as such and Polish because that was the main language being spoken around them. What kind of insight does this provide into the origin of the last name?

Natalie

Re: Mongognia/Mongogna/Mongonia

TNReid — 2013-04-20 02:08:53Z

I have Mangogna ancestry from Italy (Poggioreale I believe). I have seen it sometimes spelled as Mongogna in various records.

'Nappy' nickname - Origin

kellerooni — 2013-04-17 13:40:43Z

The Irish (female) nickname 'Nappy' is usually short for 'Napla' (pronounced 'Nawpla'). Sometimes thought of as shortened versions of 'Penelope' or 'Annabelle'.

It has nothing to do with their hair.

Re: Unusual first name: Belena

akb8a — 2013-04-16 14:28:37Z

Thank you for the response. I believe she was from Galway County but that is an assumption based on the rest of the family. She was born sometime between 1835-1845. I wanted to make sure this wasn't some nickname. For instance, I didn't know for a long time that Delia was a common nickname for Bridget and thought this could be something similar. I also wish I knew why she went through life being called "Belena". I think that it is on her tombstone as well!

Re: Unusual first name: Belena

ftcorkmdb — 2013-04-16 08:28:50Z

If you would say where (and when) exactly in Ireland your Belena occurred, you might have a better chance of getting your question answered. My educated guess would be that the reasonably frequent Christian name Belinda is meant, if you are talking about Co. Cork. It was used both by Catholics and Protestants in Co. Cork.

Unusual first name: Belena

akb8a — 2013-04-16 01:57:22Z

I have a mystery relative that shows up on censuses, in directories, death record with a first name of "Belena". This was also the name my father remembered her being called. I thought it might be an erroneous version of Belinda but find it odd that it would have perpetuated incorrectly so many times, with plenty of opportunities to correct the mistake. I didn't seem to find many Belindas in my search either. Does anyone know if this is a nickname? Anyone heard of this name?

Re: Orr - Deryaw family

NatashaDeryaw — 2013-04-14 04:43:19Z

Hi, my husbands aunt is Barbara-Jean Deryaw, and I am in contact with her children. feel free to message us.

Re: BAUMERS

CMurgan — 2013-03-31 21:24:25Z

My mother's maiden name is Baumer (German origin). I have always understood that Baumer means 'keeper of the trees'.

First name Evenshut?

ggrannym — 2013-03-16 20:22:30Z

Found a baptism for a Evenshut Fleming 26 Jul 1807 St Peter Bolton. Never seen/heard this first name before. Does anyone recognise it or know of its origins? A Scottish or Irish name perhaps....or is it a name that has been totally misspelt and I've not cottoned on to what it is supposed to be? :/

Re: Littleberry -- first name

kjduckworth — 2013-03-14 22:04:53Z

Final info - according to wikipedia, "Barry" is a common diminutive for Bartholomew. For what its worth, my Littleberry Stovall was the son of a Bartholomew......

now to figure out why I have two Rasberrys in the tree!

Re: Littleberry -- first name

kjduckworth — 2013-03-14 21:57:05Z

A little further detail... there are about 220 Littleberrys in the 1860 US Federal Census, all but a small handful (20?) are in the South. There are only 17 in the 1940 US Federal Census.

Neither of these numbers include common variations: Littlebery, Little Berry, Littelberry, Littlebury, Little B, LB, etc, also shown in the Census(s).

Re: Littleberry -- first name

kjduckworth — 2013-03-14 21:35:23Z

I think one of the earlier replies has it right, its one of those southern examples of using a maternal surname as a given name. Also, seems to be an illustration of name trends - I have two Littleberrys (Littleberries?) in my trees, both from about the same time, in completely unrelated families.

Littleberry Powell 1787 - 1865 (b Virginia, d Kentucky)
Littleberry Stovall 1763 - 1832 (b/d Virginia)

Re: origin of Cea

Ljordanballet — 2013-03-14 12:31:18Z

My great grandmother was a Cea from somewhere near Bari also. I have learned it was a Sephardic Jewish name taken around the time of the Spanish Inquisition. That makes sense why it was Spanish. I have found the name on a couple of Sephardic lists and there was so much Jewish history in southern Italy.

Re: Man's first name Fountain

eiram461 — 2013-03-12 10:07:02Z

My usual language is french
However, looking at very old time, ancient civilizations was practicing good adorations, unless greek adoring man's representations of goods, celtic were adoring nature, like the representation of flowers, limbs, stones and so (this was the major guides for artistic feelings of Celtic. Other way the natural environnement was invitating or disturbing, one of the invitation was water fountain, because of the clearness of fountain, the healths benefit of clear and non polluted water. So Celtic people were used to live close too a fountain and people name was fountain. More later after the Roman greek period, roman accept the JC religions or catholic if you prefer. Catholic preach tried to capture the benefit of fountain by binding a Saint name to the fountain to make it a sacred place and/or pélérinage place.
This is the origine explanation of the name that large population carried.
Best

Re: Stavnicky

bcj22 — 2013-03-10 13:17:45Z

nautius stavnicky ;ooking for any information on that name. i have came in contact with a big trunk with name on it. thank you

The name Greter: the true story

2013-03-07 10:50:17Z

Dear Craders/Greters/Gretters/ etcetera,

It is nice to see that people wonder about the origin of their family names. Since we have overview of the family Greter back to the 13th century, I can tell you about the origin of this name. In the 13th century (I have to look up when exactly), three brothers lived several kilometres south of Schwäbisch Hall (Germany). They were farmers and/or salt makers.
They had something with fish bones, which appear in two of the three coat of arms. In one, there is a hand with crossed fish bones on top of a wall. This is the branch of the family tree I am from. In the other, a male mermaid holds fish bones in his hand. The third used a beaver. This branch went later on to Switzerland.
A fishbone in German is called “Gräte” . Therefore, the family name was originally written as Gräter. This changed into Greter.
There is much more to tell you, is there anything you like to know?

Greetings, Liane Greter
(from Woerden, The Netherlands)

Re: Cottuli de Cothi

colinfisher68 — 2013-03-03 17:38:30Z

I have looked at your rebels and rouges site and noitce a Norah, father Joe Mac and his wife of your descent. I think your Norah and mine appear to be the me as there are several similarities. In 1911 Norah Mac was living with her Father, Violet, Edward and Cecilia in Dublin. (census South Dock) Norah married Arthur Fish, my Grt Uncle in London in 1930. My tree is public on Ancestry so help yourself. Let me know what you think. Regards Colin Fisher

Re: are we related

fascinecomputers95 — 2013-02-09 07:57:29Z

Yes we are all related and originated from Scotland. Problem being is that due to some differences in early times some sections of the family deny this.

Birkett Hodgson men

rowley3 — 2013-02-07 17:14:44Z

My gggrandmother had a brother Robert Birkett Hodgson,born 1852, Liverpool. Their parents were Robert and Lydia (nee Johnston) Hodgson, married 1843 Liverpool. Lydia was born Whitehaven, Cumberland c.1817. Her husband was a mariner, not found on 1851 census. Widowed Lydia remarried early 1861. Robert Birkett Hodgson had only daughters, but his sibling Henry named a son Cecil Birkett Hodgson (b. 1884). I have recently found reference to James William Birkett Hodgson, Francis Henry Birkett Hodgson and Thomas Edward Birkett Hodgson. Researching these, I find they were brothers, born 1877, 1879 and 1881 in Preston, Lancs., where their father, James Birkett Hodgson (b. 1837, Preston) was a physician. Father James was born in the Preston area and married Jane Gidlow in 1877. I have found James on the 1841 census, the son of yet another James and his wife Catherine. The family was living at Trinity Place, Preston. I can't read the occupation of father James. Can anybody throw any light onto this "Birkett" forename that seems to be bestowed on boys but not girls. I have seen reference to a Birkett/Hodgson marriage on Public family trees, but that marriage is later than these occurrences. I have been unable to find out anything about my ggg-grandfather Robert Hodgson and am hoping that the Birkett name might open up an avenue of research.

How We Got Last Names.

dblari — 2013-02-01 03:31:32Z

http://www.cracked.com/video_18453_the-invention-last-names-...

Man's first name Fountain

matamy1 — 2013-01-23 06:07:10Z

I have three males from two separate families in my tree with the first name Fountain. Two are father and son but one is another family altogether. I cannot find any evidence that these men were named after another family name or surname. All were during the 1800s, one early, two late.

I thought this was such an unusual name so I tried to find out where it came from. No luck in "googling." But surprisingly, when I searched ancestry.com for "Fountain" in census records, there were quite a few Fountains as first names for men in the 1800s and early 1900s.

Where did this name come from, why did it seem to be fairly popular in this era? Anyone else with this first name in their family trees?

Re: tlioraas

halpark — 2013-01-20 18:52:18Z

The double "a" makes me think it might be Scandinavian - the "a" with a little ring over it can be written as "aa". King Haakon of Norway was pronounced more like Hawkon and could be spelt with the "a" with a ring over it (an extra letter in the alphabet, not to be confused with the German umlaut which is a modified vowel). I have a friend named (English fashion!) Braaten, the name is actually Norwegian spelt as explained above and should be pronounced Brawton but she has given up trying to explain. The double "a" also appears in Finnish - absoutely no relation to the Scandinavian languages - so it could have come from there and, to me, sounds more Finnish than anything else. I do not think it is Scottish, i.e. Gaelic. Hope this helps a bit.

Nom De Guerre----"Dit Names"

swmpsngr — 2013-01-20 08:42:44Z

excerpt from Wikipedia

Noms de guerre

In Ancien Régime France, a nom de guerre (a French phrase meaning "war name") would be adopted by each new recruit (or assigned to him by the captain of his company) as he enlisted in the French army. These pseudonyms had an official character and were the predecessor of identification numbers: soldiers were identified by their first names, their family names, and their noms de guerre (e.g. Jean Amarault dit Lafidélité). These pseudonyms were usually related to the soldier's place of origin (e.g. Jean Deslandes dit Champigny, for a soldier coming from a town named Champigny), or to a particular physical or personal trait (e.g. Antoine Bonnet dit Prettaboire, for a soldier prêt à boire, ready to drink). In 1716 a nom de guerre was mandatory for every soldier; officers did not adopt noms de guerre as they considered them derogatory. In daily life, these aliases could replace the real family name.[7]

Noms de guerre were adopted by members of the French resistance during World War II for security reasons. Such pseudonyms are often adopted by military special forces soldiers, such as members of the SAS and other similar units, resistance fighters, terrorists, and guerrillas. This practice hides their identities and may protect their families from reprisals; it may also be a form of dissociation from domestic life. Some well-known men who adopted noms de guerre include Carlos the Jackal, for Ilich Ramírez Sánchez; Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany; and Subcomandante Marcos, the spokesman of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).[citation needed] During Lehi's underground struggle against the British in Mandatory Palestine, the organization's commander Yitzchak Shamir (later Prime Minister of Israel) adopted the nom de guerre "Michael", in honor of Ireland's Michael Collins. Revolutionaries and resistance leaders, such as Lenin, Trotsky, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan[citation needed], Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, and Josip Broz, often adopted their noms de guerre as their proper names after the struggle. George Grivas, the Greek-Cypriot EOKA militant, adopted the nom de guerre Digenis (Διγενής). In the French Foreign Legion, recruits can adopt a pseudonym to break with their past lives.

Nom de guerre is now ordinary French for a pseudonym - being used in many contexts where a more specific term would be used in English.

Re: Mr. and Mrs. Andreas Anderson Wistrand

kelly_valero — 2013-01-18 05:52:14Z

John P. Wistrand was my great-grandfather. Your story is very close to the stories I have also heard over the years. The name change makes it harder to search for ancestors.

Soache

Soache77 — 2013-01-17 21:27:24Z

Seeking origin information and ethnic information about surname, Soache. How does this surname relate to Cali, Colombia, South America? Is there a Mayan heritage associated with this surname?

THE MEANING OF A SURNAME

SHAULCONCEPCION — 2013-01-16 01:44:56Z

IT IS IMPOSIBLE TO FIND THE MEANING OF A JEWISH LAST NAME!!

Re: Surname origin.

adhc_gray — 2013-01-14 08:30:15Z

At present I am unable to help with the origin of the name Lotcho although they are believed to be of Huguenot descent. I am assisting a friend with her Lotcho family research. Are these people in your tree?
Hazel

Re: Cotovici / Katovich / Katovich

Mohnbauer — 2013-01-09 15:51:51Z

croatian phonbook has 20 hits for KATOVIĆ:
http://imenik.tportal.hr/show?lang=en&action=pretraga
Kotovici does not exist, but KOKOTOVIĆ.

Croatia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia

Re: German equivalent to the name "Barbara"

Mohnbauer — 2013-01-09 13:22:18Z

Bärbel (German)
is only a shortform in german, the "correct" is the same:
also Barbara
names orgin is at greek βάρβαρος, bárbaros „die Fremde/ the foreign“.
The St. Barbara's feast in the liturgy of the Catholic and the Greek Orthodox Church is since the 12th century the 4th December, which is popularly called Barbara-day.
Customs
According to an old tradition at St. Barbara branches of a fruit tree (usually from a cherry tree, an apple tree) or cut of a forsythia and put into the water. This Barbara Branches, in the Alps named Barbara-Tree, will bloom until Christmas Eve, and in the cold and dark winter time bring a little light into the apartment. This goes back to a single train of legend: On the way to the prison Barbara stayed with her robe hanging on a branch. She put the broken branch in a container with water, and he flourished on the very day on which she was sentenced to death.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_von_Nikomedien
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Barbara

Re: Name pronounciation-Golubic,Golobich

Mohnbauer — 2013-01-08 18:15:49Z

all similar as variants from the slavic languages, but also in hungarian is similar.

meaning = dove, pigeon in slavic languages
can have also have been takenas lastname for Pigeon breeders, -dealers. so came about the "occupation". the german variant then was Tauber (Taube = pigeon, dove).
http://www.mzkruscic.com/slike08/golub181108.jpg
http://www.mojaskola.me/files/os-vuk-karadzic-pg/images/golu...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golub

slovenian: Golob
croatian,serbian: Golub
slovakian, czech: Holub
hungarian = Galamb

http://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golobi
http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holub
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holub
http://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golub
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/galamb

Golobic pronunced:
Go like go (the o is not the same like in other!)
lo like in lonley
bic correct the same pronouncing like word bitch ;-)

Re: German equivalent to the name "Barbara"

konniq1 — 2013-01-08 17:55:01Z

http://www.behindthename.com/name/ba12rbel

tlioraas

amyldavis80 — 2012-12-30 16:40:09Z

I came across the name Tlioraas. The person used Thomas most of the time but his son refers to him as Tlioraas. I think it's of scottish origin but i can not find anything to prove this. Any one have any ideas?

Sarah A. Zubar( Jubar/Jubair/Jubare) of Ferrisburgh, Vermont

1lildaisy — 2012-12-27 12:11:49Z

Can someone tell me this name origin?
Searching for the Zubar( Jubar/Jubair/Jubare) family of Vermont that took Sarah Ann or Susan/Suzanne Zubar of Ferrisburgh, Vermont.Her death record states-Sarah Ann Ruston( or possibly Preston) born in Charlotte,Vermont and died Oct. 1887 in North Ferrisburgh, Vermont. Married Abraham Ploof.

Their children all of Ferrisburgh, Vermont were:
Lavina Ploof b.Dec.1859
Mary Ploof b.August 1861??
Amelia Ploof b. August 1861 married George Lennert
Edwin Ploof
Annette Ploof
Sarah A. Ploof
Joseph "Thurlow" Ploof b. 1874?? married Nellie Louise King
Sylvester Ploof married Ellen Frances Shappy

Attached are a few documents about Sarah plus, Sarah as a young girl.

Re: Is the surname "Yetzer" Jewish?

KlymchukCindy — 2012-12-20 16:20:25Z

Hello, I am researching my family who lived in Pennsylvania with the name of Yetzer. My great grandfather's obit states he came to US around 1855 from Longnau or it was spelled in the obit Longnow. Am wondering if you might have any tips as to how to research church records in Longnau? My family is Catholic as well. THank you, Cynthia

Cotovici / Katovich / Katovich

rbpasker — 2012-12-19 19:20:03Z

this was my grandmother's maiden name. She was born in Eastern Europe in 1905, moved to Cuba in the early 1920s, and the US in the early 50s.

I have authoritative records using all three of these spellings in english, spanish (they emigrated to Cuba), and yiddish, from her and her siblings.

can anyone provide any insight into the origins of this name?

thanks

Re: Forman Origins

8300 — 2012-12-17 01:43:04Z

Interesting, were they always in that region? Do you know anything about them before the 1900s? If you have reached a paper trail roadblock do you have any male Formans that could have their dna tested?

Origins of Zadwick

thecure7 — 2012-12-16 22:30:47Z

I know that whn my family immigrated the name was changed to Zadwick. I am really needing help on ways to find out what the original might have been. They immigrated from Russia, Lithuania, Poland, and Czechoslovakia around 1900-1901 and they were Jewish. I have been told by family they came in through Ellis Island but the name searches for Zadwick bring up nothing. Any help or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Forman Origins

JoanForman|MA1917758 — 2012-12-14 06:41:51Z

My Formans/Furmans came from Mohilev-Podilsky, Ukraine, and Bessarabia, Moldova/Romania in the early 1900s. They were Jewish immigrants that settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Forman Origins

8300 — 2012-12-13 02:54:51Z

Any stories where the Forman's came from. English, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic tribes, etc? Did they come to England before the Norman Conquest?

Re: Finding out my roots and family name?(Eliano)

chrishomar — 2012-12-12 01:48:14Z

i saw your info online about wanting a history of your last name, is Gary and Ronald of e 55th street brooklyn your brothers

Re: Byrdic Surname

happicaro — 2012-12-10 06:13:28Z

The Byrdic family of South Carolina originated from Russia.

ARE YOU A MOCCO?

geronimo07 — 2012-12-06 07:11:59Z

From the 19th through the 20th centuries, individuals with the surname Newball, were called Mocco. From the 2nd half of the 1800's onwards it was perceived as an innocuous term. In a sense it was sometimes treated as a badge specific to Newballs. Not a bad thing.

After careful scrutiny my perception has changed. I believe the term was born out of negativity and its a dubious distinction. Some of us know what it meant, but didn't focus. My question now is why was the term applied only to Newballs?

Conjecture based on oral tradition, and what for lack of a better name, I call parallel history I have arrived at a tentative theorethical conclusion. I need other points of view particularly from Newballs in the archipelago who may provide a different perspective based on oral history or other sources to which they may have had access.

I am strongly inclined to believe that the term is connected to our english slave owning ancestor. Any information you can provide will be helpful.

my grandma

houtzbrittany — 2012-12-01 00:23:43Z

i am the grand daugther of dorothy ann bycyzynski....i want to know about my ancestry...