I wonder if other people take an interest in their family history and their heritage. I guess I'll find out.
I'm not too interested in doing research into my family tree, but I'm sure I'd come to know some interesting things about it. As for my family name, it means 'folk' or 'people'.
I enjoy learning about these things as well and find it fascinating. My surname origin is from Scotland/Northern England and means "christian". My mothers maiden name comes from the same area and means "brightly colored hill".
One I always found interesting was NHL player Paul Kariya. Since he has asian ancestry, and his surname pronunciation is very close to "Korea", I always wondered if there was a connection there. Like perhaps when his family first immigrated to North America maybe they or the immigration official at the time just decided to anglicize their name based on their place of origin (although I believe Paul's family is actually Japanese which puts a bit of a wrench into that idea).
One means scribe or scholar and the other is an English bastardization but in its original language means musician. As a Black person living in a Western country my last name means almost nothing.
As an aside, my second last name is German and some of my paternal ancestors were Native Americans(not many, maybe like 2) and lived near German settlers. Some tribes learned German and still speak it to this day. One of my mom's friends is actually a direct descendant of these Native Americans. Her parents are both Black/NA mixed and speak German fluently. I wish my grandpa were still alive to tell me if his family could speak German. His part of the family was very fair-skinned and he didn't look Black at all and though I have a basic family history it tells little of the actual ethnic origins of that part of the family. A lot of the birth records just say mulatto, colored, or negro. *sigh*
My surname means "fair-haired one" or "laborer," depending on the regions involved.
I haven't done a lot of investigating, because there aren't a lot of records on the Micronesian side, and my Norwegian ancestors arrived in Norway fleeing Ireland in the 1850s. So my family tree is a bit of a mess, which I'm cool with.
My surname ("Bjørnerud") can be divided into two two parts, the first meaning "bear", and the second pretty much meaning "street", only in a rural setting instead of a town or city. It was the name of an old farm.
My last name doesn't really mean anything, it's just a color. Its analogues in other cultures do have meanings, but in my NewfoundScotIrish ancestry it really just means the color green and one who wears it or lives near the village green. It has some thin ties to the Green Man, so there's that.
My surname actually doesn't mean anything. It's the bastardization of an actual last name that we aren't entirely sure of (stupid Ellis Island), although 'Ring' is the closest translation.
I don't think my surname has much meaning to it, but it does help trace my family back to a specific county in Ireland, before we immigrated to the US ~250 years ago.
Some of my other family names are less clear though. One of them was changed at Ellis Island, and another is clearly Scottish or Scotch-Irish but again doesn't have much of a specific meaning (the internet suggests "son of the servant of" and Irish saint, but all that really does is place the name in Northern Ireland at some point after the 7th century).
My surname means" Horn's farm", which is a trio of farms founded by my great-great-great-great-grandfather (they still do exist, though only one of them is still within the family). There is a northeren, eastern and western of them. They laid the foundation of a town, which goes by the same name (Horn's farm) in my native language.
The reason is that on my great-great-great-grandfather's time (notice that it is not the same person as the one who founded the farms, but the son), the state allowed people to change their surname into the name of a location which was important for them and they had a connection to (in this case a trio of farms, owned by three brothers, who had all inherited one each from their dad), due to having too many people in the country with the same name. Because before the name change policy, you were named after your parents. For example if your dad's name was Jens, your surname would be Jensen (meaning son of Jens). Girls took after their mother meaning if your mother's name was Marie, your surname would be Mariesdatter (Daughter of Marie). As some names are more popular than others, this automatically leads to lots of people named the same.
Thus, my surname is the same a town which was founded by my great-great-great-great-grandfather.
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Decks I play:
Legacy:
Pox
Demon Stompy
Black Knights
Modern:
Tainted Shadow
MBC
8 Rack
Casual:
Suicide Black
Old-school Nightmare Effect
EDH:
Anowon, the Ruin Sage
"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
I found out from a relative who happens to be a political appointee that my grandpa's side of the family fled Germany because they took arms against the Kaiser in 1848. They then moved to Texas and lived in socialist towns like Welfare and Utopia.
I don't think my family ever discovered the actual meaning of our surname. We've been told it's from the French word "Soileux" meaning a grower/seller of rye and also that it means something along the lines of farrier or someone who made the soles for shoes? My last name is Soileau, btw.
I don't think my family ever discovered the actual meaning of our surname. We've been told it's from the French word "Soileux" meaning a grower/seller of rye and also that it means something along the lines of farrier or someone who made the soles for shoes? My last name is Soileau, btw.
Since you seem to be American, it's very possible your last name got changed at some point. A lot of American families changed their names to fit in better (that 'x' might confuse some people).
i've been told a few things but i'm not sure of the true etymology of my surname. i think that it's just a much more popular name, misspelled at ellis island, but when you type up my name in google i am the first result. we are a very, very small group of people. x.x the not-misspelled one is 'butcher'. i don't really like meat. odd things.
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my mouth is full of winsome lies -
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Not sure if the source I got this from is reliable (internet and all :tongue:), but my name could be an Anglicization of a Welsh-icization (??) of a Norse name meaning "Thor's cauldron," or could be from an Old English word for "drill." It's also the name of an interesting rock formation on the southern coast of England. That, and my surname pretty much doesn't exist outside Newfoundland, which is pretty cool.
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A polite player might call my card choices "interesting." At my budget, "interesting" is the only option.
As a speaker of Gaelige, I suppose I do have some comprehension of Scottish Gaelic. McDonald, which is more a Scottish surname than an Irish one, and its variants have multiple meanings, but the most conservative translation would be son of Donald or Dónal (within the Gàidhealtachd, that would most commonly be Domhnall). This, variably like Donnell, can figuratively and/or literally mean great/highwarrior/chief, world rule(r)/wielder (or power)/might(y), dark stranger, etc.
If you're historically descended from the Scottish Donald clan, you'll be possibly glad and/or disappointed to hear that, although the family held some land, it has been thoroughly thrashed time and again. At least you're not a Gregor, though.
If you're of Niall Noígíallach, you would probably not be a Mac or Mc.
Perhaps this is relevant, but do you (even?) speak any of any form of Gaelic (Gaelige, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) or another Celtic language (i.e., Welsh, Breton and Cornish)?
Some pretty cool family names and, I guess, histories here.
Anyone with any royal or noble blue blood, as indicated by nobiliary particles (e.g., de, von) or titles (e.g., Freiherr, Marquis; not Rev., Fr., Dr.)?
My surname actually doesn't mean anything. It's the bastardization of an actual last name that we aren't entirely sure of (stupid Ellis Island), although 'Ring' is the closest translation.
Any consideration of reverting it to the original name, perhaps to honour your pioneering forebears?
As a speaker of Gaelige, I suppose I do have some comprehension of Scottish Gaelic. McDonald, which is more a Scottish surname than an Irish one, and its variants have multiple meanings, but the most conservative translation would be son of Donald or Dónal (within the Gàidhealtachd, that would most commonly be Domhnall). This, variably like Donnell, can figuratively and/or literally mean great/highwarrior/chief, world rule(r)/wielder (or power)/might(y), dark stranger, etc.
If you're historically descended from the Scottish Donald clan, you'll be possibly glad and/or disappointed to hear that, although the family held some land, it has been thoroughly thrashed time and again. At least you're not a Gregor, though.
If you're of Niall Noígíallach, you would probably not be a Mac or Mc.
Perhaps this is relevant, but do you (even?) speak any of any form of Gaelic (Gaelige, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) or another Celtic language (i.e., Welsh, Breton and Cornish)?
McDonald. And yeah, that's where our ancestors hail from on that side. I am aware that Donald is a variation of the Gaelic Domhnall (ruler of the world) and Mc/Mac means "son of". But no, I don't know any of those languages, though it would probably be pretty cool if I did. Why do you ask?
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
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I'm not too interested in doing research into my family tree, but I'm sure I'd come to know some interesting things about it. As for my family name, it means 'folk' or 'people'.
One I always found interesting was NHL player Paul Kariya. Since he has asian ancestry, and his surname pronunciation is very close to "Korea", I always wondered if there was a connection there. Like perhaps when his family first immigrated to North America maybe they or the immigration official at the time just decided to anglicize their name based on their place of origin (although I believe Paul's family is actually Japanese which puts a bit of a wrench into that idea).
WURMiraclesRWU
UBRCruel ControlRBU
If you're having fun, I'm not.
But Kaison is a name I derived from the German word Kaiser, which means emperor.
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/trading-post/details/805-w-underground-sea-h-revised-lands
As an aside, my second last name is German and some of my paternal ancestors were Native Americans(not many, maybe like 2) and lived near German settlers. Some tribes learned German and still speak it to this day. One of my mom's friends is actually a direct descendant of these Native Americans. Her parents are both Black/NA mixed and speak German fluently. I wish my grandpa were still alive to tell me if his family could speak German. His part of the family was very fair-skinned and he didn't look Black at all and though I have a basic family history it tells little of the actual ethnic origins of that part of the family. A lot of the birth records just say mulatto, colored, or negro. *sigh*
I haven't done a lot of investigating, because there aren't a lot of records on the Micronesian side, and my Norwegian ancestors arrived in Norway fleeing Ireland in the 1850s. So my family tree is a bit of a mess, which I'm cool with.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Some of my other family names are less clear though. One of them was changed at Ellis Island, and another is clearly Scottish or Scotch-Irish but again doesn't have much of a specific meaning (the internet suggests "son of the servant of" and Irish saint, but all that really does is place the name in Northern Ireland at some point after the 7th century).
EDH:
UBGThe MimeoplasmUBG
The reason is that on my great-great-great-grandfather's time (notice that it is not the same person as the one who founded the farms, but the son), the state allowed people to change their surname into the name of a location which was important for them and they had a connection to (in this case a trio of farms, owned by three brothers, who had all inherited one each from their dad), due to having too many people in the country with the same name. Because before the name change policy, you were named after your parents. For example if your dad's name was Jens, your surname would be Jensen (meaning son of Jens). Girls took after their mother meaning if your mother's name was Marie, your surname would be Mariesdatter (Daughter of Marie). As some names are more popular than others, this automatically leads to lots of people named the same.
Thus, my surname is the same a town which was founded by my great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Decks I play:
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Politics runs in my blood, apparently
My middle name means tiller of the soil or farmer.
My last name means crossing, crossroads, toll gate.
So I am a farmer at the crossroads with a spear. It's weird having all 3 names being first names.
Since you seem to be American, it's very possible your last name got changed at some point. A lot of American families changed their names to fit in better (that 'x' might confuse some people).
EDH:
UBGThe MimeoplasmUBG
Awesome avatar provided by Krashbot @ [Epic Graphics].
The second one, in fact
Anyway, I found a more accurate translation for the "rud" part of my surname - hamlet. So I guess my last name would translate as "bear hamlet".
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
No bs.
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
As a speaker of Gaelige, I suppose I do have some comprehension of Scottish Gaelic. McDonald, which is more a Scottish surname than an Irish one, and its variants have multiple meanings, but the most conservative translation would be son of Donald or Dónal (within the Gàidhealtachd, that would most commonly be Domhnall). This, variably like Donnell, can figuratively and/or literally mean great/high warrior/chief, world rule(r)/wielder (or power)/might(y), dark stranger, etc.
If you're historically descended from the Scottish Donald clan, you'll be possibly glad and/or disappointed to hear that, although the family held some land, it has been thoroughly thrashed time and again. At least you're not a Gregor, though.
If you're of Niall Noígíallach, you would probably not be a Mac or Mc.
Perhaps this is relevant, but do you (even?) speak any of any form of Gaelic (Gaelige, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) or another Celtic language (i.e., Welsh, Breton and Cornish)?
Schmidt is classic.
Some pretty cool family names and, I guess, histories here.
Anyone with any royal or noble blue blood, as indicated by nobiliary particles (e.g., de, von) or titles (e.g., Freiherr, Marquis; not Rev., Fr., Dr.)?
Any consideration of reverting it to the original name, perhaps to honour your pioneering forebears?
Well, we don't even know what the original actually was, although we have suspicions.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
McDonald. And yeah, that's where our ancestors hail from on that side. I am aware that Donald is a variation of the Gaelic Domhnall (ruler of the world) and Mc/Mac means "son of". But no, I don't know any of those languages, though it would probably be pretty cool if I did. Why do you ask?
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player