Term of the day: surname: family name; a name one shares with members of the same lineage.
Thoughts:
Many people in America have last names they were never meant to have. Back in the day, many immigrants were given more English sounding names when they came into this county and there were the trails and issues of slavery and Asian workers on the railroad and in gold mining. To think that many of the names people have today were forced upon their ancestors makes me wonder why people still use them. The answer isn’t a complicated one though. Generation after generation of using and spreading a common name breeds tradition, loyalty, and connection.
Knowing where and how your last name came about can lead you on a path to discovering your family’s history. Some people will have a much easier go at it than others, but with time and effort, most lineages can be figured out, discovered, and explored.
Name of the day: Lucy.
Breakdown and meaning:
Lucy in generations past has been a common pet name for Lucille, but these days it stands alone. Lucille is derived from either “Lucia” or “Lucyna” with English, Polish, and Italian origins that mean similar things. This next part will sound off-putting, but let me explain.
Both “Lucia” and “Lucyna” are female names derived from “Lucifer” which means “light bearer”. If you know your angelic history, this angel was once the most beautiful and favored of all and a beacon of light, that is before its fall. So in essence, Lucy means “Lucifer” or more acceptingly “light bearer” or “bringer of light”. It is actually a very good name to give a little girl and it has a sweet sound to it.
In my up and coming romance, It’s Like the Full Moon, Lucy is an important character who offers guidance and a bit of comic relief. She’s one of my favorite characters written so far.
Well, that’s it for Day 30. See you tomorrow.
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Go back to the beginning to see all the posts in this series.
Outside of my own personal search throughout the years, basic meanings and definitions of the terms used here can be found at the following websites:http://www.meaning-of-names.com/, Google search http://en.wikipedia.org/, and http://dictionary.reference.com/.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
2 replies on “Day 30- Surname: What’s in a Name? #write31days 2014”
I was just talking to someone today about how Smith and Johnson are common names for Blacks probably because of slavery.
It’s amazing how little people still don’t know about the real history of our nation and the peoples who make it up.