Surname Saturday ~ The Name Game

Ready to test your name-knowledge? (Names for Round 5 of The Name Game were inspired by the Geneabloggers who attended FGS 2011, friends and coworkers.)

Step right up and try your luck guessing the country of origin and the meanings of these names:

Ackerman

Clark

Eastman

Geiger

Ingsby

Kline

McEntee

Ortega

Quist

Seaver

Uebele

Wolcott

Youngquist

Give yourself one point for each country guessed correctly and another point for each correct meaning.

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to see...



the answers...

Ackerman, Ackermann, Acreman (German/English) One who plowed the lord's land and tended his plow teams.

Clark, Clarke (English) A clergyman, scholar, scribe or recorder. (British pronunciation of clerk.)

Eastman (English) One who came from the east; descendant of Eastmund or Estmunt (east, protection); one who came from the Baltic countries.

Geiger (German) One who played a violin.

Ingsby (Dan., Sw., Nor.) Dweller at Ingi's farm.

Kline (German) Varient of Klein, q.v.

Klein, Kleine (German) The small man; the nice, neat man.

McEntee (Irish) The son of the scholar.

Ortega, Ortego (Spanish) Dweller at the sign of the grouse; one with the charactoristics of a grouse.

Quist (Swedish) Twig.

Seaver, Sever, Seavers (English) One with a grave and austere demeanor.

Uebele, Uebel (German) Descendant of Oppo or Ubo, pet forms of Audoberht (possession, bright).

Wolcott (English) One who came from Woolscott (Wulfsige's cottage), in Warwickshire.

Youngquist (Swedish) Heather, twig.

Hope you enjoyed Round 5 of The Name Game!

Surname Saturday ~ The Name Game

In the New Dictionary of American Family names, author Elsdon C. Smith writes, "After the Crusades, people began, perhaps unconciously, to feel the need of a family name, or at least a name in addition to the simple one that had been possesed from birth. The nobles and upper classes, especially those who went on the Crusades, observed the prestige and practical value of an added name and were quick to take a surname, usually the name of the lands they owned. When the Crusaders returned from the wars, the upper classes who had stayed at home soon followed suit."

Ready to test your name-knowledge? (The names for Round 4 of The Name Game were inspired by the Geneabloggers who attended FGS 2011.)

Step right up and try your luck guessing the country of origin and the meanings of these names:

Bankhead

Doyle

Freda

Higgins

Jerome

Lyons

Niziolek

Pointer

Roach

Tapley

Voorhees

Xanthos

Give yourself one point for each country guessed correctly and another point for each correct meaning.

Scroll down...



to see...



the answers...

Bankhead (Scottish) One who came from Bankhead (end of the ridge), the name of several small places in Scottland.

Doyle (Irish/English) Grandson of Dubhghall (black foreigner); the swarthy stranger or foreigner; one who came from Ouilly (Olius' farm), the name of five places in Normandy.

Freda (Italian) Descendant of Freda, a pet form of Friderico, a variant of Frederick (peace, rule).

Higgins, Higgin, Higginson, Higgens, Higgs (English/Irish) The son of little Higg or Hick, pey forms of Richard (rule, hard); descendant of Uige (knowledge).

Jerome (English) Descendant of Jerome (holy name).

Lyons, Lyon (English/Scottish) Descendant of Leon (lion); dweller at the sign of the lion. Jacob's reference to Judah as a lion (Gen. 49:9) has caused this name to be adopted by many Jews.

Niziolek (Polish) One who was short in stature.

Pointer, Poynter (English) One who made laces for fastening clothes.

Roach (Irish) Dweller at, or near, a rock. See also Roche.

Roche, Roch, Rocher, Rochet (French/English) Dweller near a rock; one who came from Roche (rock) in Cornwall; or from Roche (rock), the name of many places in France.

Tapley (English) One who came from Tapeley (wood where pegs were obtained), in Devonshire.

Voorhees, Voorhies, Voorheis (Dutch) One who lived in front of Hees, the name of four places in Holland.

Xanthos (Greek) The golden, or yellow-haired, man.

Hope you enjoyed this round of The Name Game!

FGS 2011 - The Who

Many thanks to the Board, the members, and the volunteers of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) for a fantastic conference last week! And to the Board, members, and volunteers from the Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS), thank you too! Both organizations worked around the clock to create an awesome event. It absolutely exceeded my expectations!

This is the first of seven posts I'll write about my experience in a "who, what, when, where, why, and how" series (with a bonus at the end).

Nearly 2000 people from 48 states and multiple countries gathered to learn from and be inspired by, a knowledgeable group of instructors on a wide variety of genealogically-related topics.

It might be easy to get lost in a crowd that size, but remember these are genealogists. We excel at making connections!

Seeing Paula Stuart-Warren at the Thursday night Geneabloggers gathering was like old home week. I met Paula last year when she presented at the Anoka County Genealogical Society. Her warmth and passion for family history is unforgettable. Meeting Thomas MacEntee was a treat; he's just as focused and charismatic in person as I imagined from reading his blogs. Then there was Sean Lamb, Randy Seaver and other bloggers ~ neat to finally meet in person.

While at the conference I connected with an Illinois friend I hadn't seen in far too long. I met an 80 year young gentleman who was technically (and socially) blessed. We ate breakfast with knowledgeable sisters and lunch with Salt Lake-savvy cousins. There was a friendly local couple who sprinkled laugh-out-loud ancestral anecdotes throughout dinner. There were people everywhere who had lots in common. In this group alone:

5 of these genealogists live in the area 3 of these genealogists are currently researching

3 of these genealogists started their trees after attending a funeral

2 of these genealogists who had never met are researching the same tiny town in the south

The conference was a networker's dream; so many interesting people with fascinating stories. Such a wealth of family history research experience and expertise waiting to be shared. The connections I made at FGS 2011 made it an experience I can't wait to repeat!

Countdown to FGS 2011

Our trip to Springfield starts the day after tomorrow and ends with a family visit on Grandparents' Day.

I've graduated from counting the hours to counting the minutes. (I stopped counting all the stairs I've climbed to add just one more must-have item to the suitcase.)

Syllabus, handouts, and maps are printed. Charts, trees and documents are organized. Created a list of Find A Grave photo requests for cemeteries we'll pass along the way. Made a list of the geneabloggers (with photos when available) that I want to meet in Springfield.

Clothes are spinning in the dryer. Road trip grocery list is written and waiting by the door. Tomorrow I'll visit the library for audiobooks to entertain us during the 500+ mile trip (and back again).

Now my attention returns to my ancestors. For the rest of the day (with a few tiny exceptions) I will peruse their folders, pictures, and documents. I'll make notes of what I hope to learn in each workshop as it pertains to each person in my family tree.

In a few days I'll be rubbing elbows with nearly 1800 people who are as intrigued by their ancestors as I am by mine. I couldn't be more excited about this trip. This could be my best conference yet!