My surname is from a English town some ten miles from where I currently live, nowhere near where I'm from.

Kind of ironic, I hate where I live.

Though I take some solace that there is a beautifull village of the same name in Staffordshire. Not too far from Shugborough, which is utterly breathtaking.

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No no and no

Ceri,your having a teacher with the Belbin surname is very interesting because both my parents were school teachers before they went into other professions and my paternal uncle and aunt were teachers,as a matter of fact my aunt was head teacher or principal.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Actually, the nun in your picture is Mother Angelica, who started the Eternal Word Television Network in Alabama, USA. The picture shows her after she had suffered a stroke. She's still living, though retired. A funny, feisty gal.

Ah well GTG, it's gone now. I won't mock a stroke victim. Poor gal.

Thanks mate.
Off to find some other picture of a pirate.

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No no and no

Good morning, everyone!
Ignoring the tone of the first post, I venture to say Traweek has a Dutch ring to it.

Let's see if Brad has the answer!

Nutter

my last name frusterates me...i think either ireland or holland, or scotland, obviously thats where my ancestors are from. its so embarasing i'm not gonna say. i just say "Mcc"

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riley

Hi Nutter: I have an instinct you know something we don't know - or have been able to find out from our internet researches. Care to share?

Full etymology, please.

And be prepared: I'll be asking you about your own surname in due course also.



MacShifter? I venture to say that is certainly not Dutch.

Cheers - C

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Cool! But - no. Just a hunch. And even though I'm generally mightily interested in history, the internet is not helpful on this one. I end up in Scotland. Also, as you already pointed out, names change, and mostly due to phonetical issues. So If a Scotsman pronounces "Trawick" ("Traweeek", at least in my mind he does it that way), standing at the immigration counter on Ellis Island could have changed the way a family spelt their name forever. So we'll just have to wait and see what Brad tells us...

However, I can tell you about my name as requested when we get the chance.

Tot Ziens!

Nutter

My guess is for American Indian ... seriously.

Did we ever get an answer?

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

radio_friendly_unit_shifter wrote:
my last name frusterates me...i think either ireland or holland, or scotland, obviously thats where my ancestors are from. its so embarasing i'm not gonna say. i just say "Mcc"

MacShifter? I venture to say that is certainly not Dutch.

Good one Ceri !! I'm pretty sure mine is English or Mississippian!!

A lot of Russian,Polish and German Jews had their names "Americanized"when they arrived in the U.S. such as Moe,Shemp and Curly Howard-their surname was Horowitz but in a biography of the 3 Stooges Moe said that when the immigration officer asked their surname their father said Horowitz in a thick Russian accent and the officer interpreted it as Howard.The same goes for a friend of mine whose surname is Silverman,the original family name just sounded somewhat like that.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

My last name (which is not Armadillo ) is of English descent, but there isn't anyone in my paternal family who can trace our origins back to anywhere in Great Britain. Supposedly we're Italian (father's maternal grandfather), German (Paternal grand-father), Blackfoot Indian (father's maternal grandmother) and Questionable (unknown). When I look at some of my cousins I can believe the Blackfoot part--they have the hooded eyes, high cheekbones and straight dark hair that fit the stereotype. I got none of that--I got all of my father's "German" and "Questionable" fair skinned/blonde hair/blue eyed genes (I look like a taller version of him).

One theory, which seems to ring true, is the name being assumed somewhere along the way; my dad never talked about his family, outside of his maternal grandparents and his brother. Just recently, he started telling me some stories about his childhood, and some of his relatives (outside of the ones he previously told us about) had, um...unique careers that the forces of law and order did not smile upon.

Our last name just appears out of the mist about four generations back, with no documentation or timeline as to where it came from. The theory is that maybe someone thought it prudent to relocate and change their name to avoid prosecution.

Mom's family is just a bunch of mutts, too. Consequently, I check the box labelled "Other" on governmental forms.

Add to the mix, my wife is Mexican and Pennsylvania Dutch (which is really German), so my daughter is a true Heinz 57.

We just call ourselves "Texans"...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

My last name is Manzoni, I love it and most people can tell it's Italian.

There is a famous Italian writer by the name of Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni, I'm not sure if I am related to him but considering the name I would guess that we had some common distant relative. Also Kind of ironic that his errrr third name is Tommaso and my first name is Tomaz. How this name got to Brazil I do not know but me and my parents have now brought it to the US (although I'm sure it's already been here already)

here's a link to wikipedia on Alessandro Manzoni.

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

Also I believe there is a guy from the Mafia, the Don I believe that was arrested some time ago that was also a Manzoni.

Well, my great grandpa was a guy by the last name of "Fausten," and I think he decided to americanize it when he moved over here from Germany. Thus we became "the Fosters." (possibly one of the most common last names in the US, along with Smith, Brown, etc.)

My grandpa Ike was huge into genealogy, and he traced his lineage way back on both sides, and as it turned out (through my great grandma's side- his mom), we're descendents of one of the pilgrims on the Mayflower. (cool huh?)

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Kid: "Hey Smokey! Where did you get your name?"
Smokey the Bear: "Well..."
(former user jimbo612)

As far as I can tell traweek originates from england

http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Traweek-f ... story.ashx

My last name is Mayeux... can anyone guess what nationality that is ? hint... look at my screen name...

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In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.