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.

Scroll down...



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!

Surname Saturday ~ The Name Game

The author of the New Dictionary of American Family Names, Elsdon C. Smith writes, "Surnames were most commonly derived from a person's place of residence, his occupation, a prominent physical characterstic, or from a father's given name."

Will that information help you in Round Three of the Name Game?

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

Abt

Chambers

Erdos

Gach

Infelise

Kauppinen

Mavros

Orfevre

Quail

Ryerson

Taddei

Vaher

Xanthopoulos

Zajicek

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

Scroll down...



to see...



the answers...

Abt (German) A member of an abbott's entourage; sometimes the lay abbott of a monastery who inherited his office.

Chambers (English) The officer in charge of the private household of a king or important nobleman; one who worked in the chamber, sometimes the reception room of an important household.

Erdos (Hungarian) Dweller in, or near, the forest or wooded land.

Gach, Gache (Polish) One who is fond of women, a ladies' man.

Infelise (Italian) The poor, wretched, miserable man.

Kauppinen (Finnish) One who kept a shop, a merchant or tradesman.

Mavros (Greek) One with a dark or swarthy complexion.

Orfevre (French) One who made and sold gold articles, a goldsmith.

Quail (Manx) The son of Fhail, Manx form of Paul (small).

Ryerson (Dutch) The son of Ryer or Reijer (rider).

Taddei (Russian) Descendant of Taddei, a Slavic form of Thaddeus (praising God).

Vaher (Estonian) Dweller near a maple tree.

Xanthopoulos (Greek) The son of Ksanthos (blond).

Zajicek (Czech) Dweller at the sign of the hare; one who hunts hares.

Which of your scores was the highest; this time or Round One or Round Two? How many of the names listed above surprised you?

Surname Saturday ~ The Name Game

Ready for Round Two of the Name Game?

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

Bleeker

Driscoll

Fortier

Hofstetter

Jalowiec

Lackey
Nikolich

Palmieri

Raske

Teslenko

Vela

Xander

Zsoldow

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

Scroll down...

to see...

the answers...


Bleeker, Bleecker (Dutch) One who bleaches or whitens cloth, a fuller.

Driscoll (Irish) Grandson of Eidirsceol (interpreter).

Fortier (French) One employed at a fortress; one who made and sold gimlets.

Hofstetter, Hostetter (German, Swiss) One who came from Hofstetten, the name of several villages in Germany and Switzerland.

Jalowiec (Polish, Russian) One who was sterile or barren, dweller on infertile soil.

Lackey, Lackie (English, Irish) One who attended another, a footman; dweller at a stony or rocky place.

Nikolich, Nikolic (Yugoslavian) Son of Nikola, Serbo-Croatian form of Nicholas (people's victory).

Palmieri, Palmiero (Italian) One who carries the palm in religious processions; one who granted or sold indulgences.

Raske, Rask (Swedish) Daring, a soldier name.

Teslenko (Ukranian) The son of the carpenter.

Vela (Spanish) One who took care of sheep, a shepherd; one who came from Vela (raven), in Spain.

Xander, Xanders (Greek) Descendant of Xander, a shortened form of Alexander (helper of mankind).

Zsoldow (Hungarian) One hired for service in the army, a mercenary soldier.

Did you do better in Round One or Round Two? Share a surname you are researching and I'll add them to an upcoming post.

Surname Saturday ~ The Name Game

In the preface to the New Dictionary of American Family Names, Elsdon C. Smith writes, "...Each family carries a distinctive label...allied with its own identity... the family name...  Since it has been...in the possession of the family for generations...it is taken for granted. Now and then one pauses to wonder how that particular family name came to identify one's ancestors."

A former president of the American Name Society, the author has been criticized for his failure to list references, roots, etymological origins, and the early forms from which surnames were derived in the 570 page book.

Despite the lack of depth, I found Smith's Dictionary quite interesting. My purpose for using the book in this venue is to have a little fun exploring the  origins of some family names.

Before you scroll down any further, can you guess the country of origin and the meaning of these surnames?

Affleck

Cole

Estrada

Gruber

I

Khoury

Onesti

Quackenbush

Selsky

Underland

Wegrzyn

Yergey

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

Okay...

now...

scroll down...

Affleck (Scottish) One who came from the barony of Auchinleck, (field of the flat stone), in Ayrshire; or from Affleck, in Angus.

Cole, Coles (English) Descendant of Cole, a pet form of Nicolas (people's victory).

Estrada (Spanish) One who came from Estrada (paved road), in Spain; dweller near a paved road.

Gruber, Grube, Grubman, Grubner (German) Dweller near a mine, ditch or quarry.

I (Chinese) The first Chinese syllable of a Manchu's name, which serves as the family name.

Khoury, Khouri (Arabian) One who performed sacerdotal functions, a priest.

Maison (French) Dweller in the house, usually designating a house of some importance; one who came from Maison, the name of many places in France.

Onesti (Italian) The honorable, honest man.

Quackenbush (German, Dutch) Dweller near the bridge across the bog; or at the swamp where the bushes grew; or in, or near, the swampy wood frequented by frogs.

Selsky (Ukranian) Dweller in the village.

Underland (Norwegian) Dweller on the lower land, a farm name.

Wegrzyn (Polish) One who came from Wegry, i.e., a Hungarian

Yergey (Russian) Descendant of Sergey, Russian form of Sergius (to serve).

So...how'd you do?