What Your Last Name Means
In This video, we discuss the meaning and origins behind many Western surnames.
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By Dave Lindblom – https://www.flickr.com/photos/8250578@N06/4395753676/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21650743
By Andreas Tille – Own work – see http://fam-tille.de/sparetime.htmlImage with Information in EnglishBild mit Informationen auf Deutsch, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20886
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By Helgi Halldórsson from Reykjavík, Iceland – Viking Arms and Armor, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33778988
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By Juan José González Vega – handed over by the author to the Project, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3156154
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addendum to the Icelandic dottir, you should have used the mothers name, because it would most often be (for example:) The husband and his son, so stefan’s son would be stefanson, and the wife and her daughter, so jordis’s daughter would be Jordisdottir, eventhough Stefan and Jordis are Married and they are the biological parents to both kids
My last name is: KERNS . What origin is this ?
My last name is lyndon (lin-dun) what the fuck would that mean xD
Well done…kruger …maker of krugs..stiens..cups bowls,,, etcetera
Imagine if Joe Biden’s name was Joe President
I always thought my lastname sounded strange and different (it’s ‘Primicias’). Our family is based in the Philippines but we assume it’s a Spanish name. I’ve read that when under Spain, Fiiipinos were forced to pick a Spanish surname during the 1800s to replace their austronesian based names. I’m told the name translates to ‘first fruits’. Any insight would be appreciated and I can share the info with family members.
You started on more , what Morton, I heard it’s really old sure name ,an had meaning lives in marsh . I know we have family in Scotland lots .
Okay, now I need to find out who the original Stephen was.
Nobody knows what my surname means and we can’t trace it back because of so many informal adoptions and splits in the family tree. So it’ll forever be a mystery haha.
What is the origin of the surname Oliver?
Vasquez is Portuguese for Basque. Vazquez is Spanish for Basque.
Wait what about benitez son of benit
My full name would translate to "the angry swordsmith by the black stream
Dickinson?
I know a memer..
My grandfather explained that our name. Schweinfurter
means pig crossing
Schwein =pig
Furter=crossing
And in Germany there’s a narrow spot in a river where they used to move their pigs across
And eventually a large city grew on that spot
Schweinfurt Germany
Most people have only heard of it because in WW2 there was a massive ball bearing plant that the Allies bombed the hell out of.
If it’s said in English it would be pigs ford and means the same thing
What does Vincent my maiden name and Coleman my married name mean?
Well, that was a waste of time. Mostly stating the obvious. When coming to non-English names the pronunciation is totally unintelligible. Practically nothing the other side of the "iron curtain".
Still looking for "Wieligman"…
What does it mean when people have a given name like "Billy Joel" or "Sandra Dennis" as a surname? How about when their name is saint something. Eva Marie Saint or José Santo Domingo? What about when one’s name is the name of a town like Laurent de Rainneville?
What would Nichols, have been?
My last name is conder
Mine Is
DAVIDSON — IT MEANS
SON OF DAVID
IT IS SCOTTISH.
F. G. D.
I still wonder where my last name came from-Jennison
What is the origin and meaning of the surname Byrd?
My one is old Scandinavian and Germanic meaning wolf
Henceforth as to why I prefer cold weather
My last name is Wickham ..hmmm I wonder if that means " Wicked & a ham?" Lol. Or Wicker….but, where does the ham for in?
Some people just have names given to them with no history or relevance, like orphans etc.
Sanderson means "son of Alexander"
Steven Methheadson….
What’s the origin of (white) ?
My last name is Vines and any name with Vin at the beginning is a derivative of Vines. I think it means dominant
What the heck is the French surname Fihue? It’s pronounced fee you
My last name is chantal cattiaux…
My name is Vasquez or Velasquez or older version Velasco
So, been wondering about my last name. Prior?
My real last name is tutencomin
Many English Family names are of French origin and have been transformed! Just one simple example of a common English name: "Carpenter" which comes from the French "Carpentier" which itself comes from the French word for the trade "Charpentier".
Know that almost 50% of the words in the English language come from the French language and that when the Normans invaded England, they had become more French than Vikings contrary to what some think because they were ultra minority and were dissolved among the local population already present for millennia in Normandy, which explains why they became Catholic and totally French-speaking and bore French first and last names.
There are also the French family names which have been transformed a lot like for example the famous Wlat Disney whose real family name of the ancestors was "D’Isigny" Laurel and Hardy (both) or the most famous name in Scotland "Sinclair" whose original is also French and is called "Saint Clair" …
According to experts, it can be estimated that around 60% of English surnames are actually French …
Gravelin doesn’t seem to have anything meaning in French from what I’ve seen.
My last name (cheek) goes bk to Anglo Saxon times in England n apparently it was given because of a wound across the face suffered in battle so he second name became cheek
Pizza Nights?!.
Not sure why our last name should "mean" anything at all to us as it represents a tiny slither of our family and genetic ancestry.
1/2 to the power of generation to be precise,.. parents=1/2, grandparents=1/4, greatgrandparents=1/8
Not a single one of those ancestors excluded from the name-line is less important to our being.
Maybe 10 generations ago one of your ancestors was a smith,… and 1023 weren’t.
Seems silly to seek meaning from such a random and near-homeopathically diluted connection.
Personally all I can say is one of my ancient ancestors was called Neill,… Whoop-de-doo.
Thank you! I often wondered where my last name came from. All I knew was that my grand parents came from the Azorez in Portugal but that was all. My grandparents are Silva and of course, my entire family is Silva.
My parents however, are Lujan. My maternal grandmother, ( never knew our grandfather), was a gipsy woman in the state of Sonora, Mejico. They moved from place to place and featured dance shows and magic. My grandmother left that kind of life and settled in the town of Nogales, Sonora Mejico with family ties to Hermosillo Sonora. The rest of the maternal family lived in Magdalena Sonora. One of my aunties lived in Mexicali Baja California Mejico and my mother, possibly the sweetes woman in the world, beautiful with dark red hair attennded a family party at my aunties house and my father, upon seeing my mom, was done. He fell in love and according to his own words a day didn’t go by without thinking of her. So he went to my aunt’s house and inquired as to her whereabouts and if he could see her.
My aunt arranged a meeting for them and they met. My mom was scheduled to leave for Nogales late the next day and my dad decided to follow her. They continued their romance and after four or five months, my dad had to return to Mexicali because his savings were almost totally depleted and his job was still available for him, so he left. Three months later he returned to Nogales and asked for my mom’s hand in matrimony. My grandmother doña Jesus was happy and so were my mom. Three months later my parents married and my dad brought my mom to live in Mexicali. After their wedding in July 4th, 1951.
S
The son of Gunar Gunnarsson would be Gunnarssonsson
What about Delaney.
Jan Han from Noordstrand
Wait, Simpson, so son of simp??
ok bonkowski
severe? any idea