"More than half of the surnames are derived from the Christian or fore-name of the father," [1] and based on a total of 3,253,800 people, nearly 18 in every 100 persons was known by one of these fifty surnames. Some of the most common or popular last names in the 1800s included Robinson, Clark, and Smith. Love you, My maiden surname is Williams. What are the most popular last names in the UK? This event is $12. This is true in some cases but not all. And you get to tell the story of Jean-Louiss life in slavery and also in freedom. Both comments and pings are currently closed. In 1800, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were able to escape their terrible life of enslavement and were able to help other slaves trapped in a world of forced labour and grant them freedom once again due to the Underground Railroads that helped him, his partner Anna Murray Douglas and many other fugitives sneak away from the horrible However, the enslaved occasionally had surnames, which became normal leading up to and after emancipation as a mark of assimilation into free society. -Thich Nhat Hanh, evolve theme by Theme4PressPowered by WordPress, Maryland Genealogical Society Holiday Luncheon, December 2017-2, Washington FHC Annual Conference, May 2011, Baltimore Family History Conference, October 2017-2, International Black Genealogy Summit, September 2016-2, Carroll County Genealogical Society Dinner, June 2018, Baltimore Family History Conference, October 2017, Reginald Lewis Museum, September 2011-2.jpg, Maryland State Archives Family History Festival, October 2014-2, Central Maryland AAHGS Meeting, March 2013, Robyn, Vonda, Andrea and Glenn, NGS Conf., May 2014, Maryland Genealogical Society Holiday Luncheon, December 2017-1, Howard Comm. The resources Im getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable. He took his last enslaver surname. Bernacki: Teatr; Mamontowicz-ojek: Szkoa Tyzenhauza s. 53, 54, 70, 86-89, 92; Wierzbicka: Sze studiw; Muzyka 1969 nr 2 (J. Prosnak). But the bureau also compiled lists of the fastest-growing surnames in the United States and these include Zhang, Li, Ali, Liu, and Khan - a testament to the wonderful diversity of our nation. PDF Slave Names in Colonial South Carolina - Latin American Studies 400 Catchy Slave Names That You Will Like - Worth Start One of my grandfathers in Africa was called Jeaceo, and so I decided to be Jackson. My hat goes off to you and your passionate efforts. In the 1930s, ex-slave Martin Jackson explained why he chose his last name after Emancipation: The master's name was usually adopted by a slave after he was set free. However, research byLisa D. Cook and colleagueshas revealed evidence of racialized names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the. The battle was long and hard-fought, with pro-slavery campaigners arguing that the slave trade was important for the British economy and claiming that enslaved Africans were happy and well-treated. These cookies do not store any personal information. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), born into slavery in Maryland and escaped to the Northeast in 1838, where he became an internationally renowned abolitionist writer, speaker, and diplomat. Most common last names names: 1-1000 | 1001-2000 | 2001-3000 | 3001-4000 | 4001-5000 FamilySearch Centers. The surname issue really presents huge challenges for those of us doign this research, but you soulnd as though you are making headway. Louisiana, U.S., Slave Manumission Records, 1719-1820. I first wrote about this in this 2009 post: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2009/09/calvin-r-yarborough-where-it-all-began.html, And,then, more recently in 2013, here: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2013/11/many-rivers-to-cross-my-priscilla.html. Through a video-based activity, students examine Americas struggle for a stronger democracy during Reconstruction and today. Thanks for writing this post! The idea was for the children to enter the inhumane system of slavery protected by a sense of Selfhood and history. One name you find frequently used was Freeman or Freedmen to declare their new freedom. Best of luck to you, Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Surname origins reveal a complex history of slavery in The Bahamas Corbin Corbin has an Old English origin. 140+ Victorian Baby Names | Names from the 1800s | Peanut Location the owner of ones ancestor is crucial for an African American genealogist to trace his family before 1870. Women tended to have two names, and slaves often just had one. Q. In the late 1830s, Nathaniel Terry of Todd County, Kentucky died leaving a plantation of fifty slaves. Trinidad and Tobago. One thing we should keep in mind is that the practice of referring to enslaved people by a given name only was a part of the attempt of the system of slavery to dehumanize them..to other them. On Anglican (Church of England) baptisms records the child legally and officially is documented with the surname of the mother if she and the father were not married. A small number of creoles in Louisiana also acquired surnames derived from ethnic identities in Senegal. 1754 Excerpts from the Courant for June 22 to 29, 1754 at Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library - contain the names of some "runaway slaves" or indentured servants, and information about them. Baptiste Meaning: derived from the name Bautista; the Spanish form of Baptist Origin: Spanish 3. People of the Atlantic Slave Trade - Database Top 100 Best Names From The 1800s | Kidadl Even worse, during this period, many African Americanssome using surnames for the very first timechanged their surnames once or even several times. Index to "Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863-1865" (NARA Microfilm Publication M1894 - 6 rolls) For more information about the records covered in this index, please contact the History and Genealogy Department. Here, three different former slaves discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. They ran away, fought back, feigned illness, destroyed tools, and clung to their families. Robyn. This event is $25. 7 Famous Slave Revolts - HISTORY Youll often see the word degraded used in the academic references; these were all attempts at degradation. I have found only one very rare example of a slaveholders inventory, that lists the slaves along with their surnames. One thing I envy about the Catholic church is the baptisms available for even the enslaved people there. In my own family history, on my Yarborough side, I believe I have uncovered a pattern that my formerly-enslaved great-grandparents, Calvin and Precilla YARBOROUGH may have used in naming their children. She served that family for a long time, perhaps more clues to her past lie in his family roots. Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. The given name Athena was derived from the city name Athens, which is of uncertain origins. I was only three years old when she died. Abel, et al. My father once told me his grandfather ran away from the Carrington place and changed his name to Williams. I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. Please share, in the comments below, examplesyou have come across of the surnames of enslaved people, especially if it was different from their last slaveholder. Surnames. Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy, "The past is not dead. College Advanced AA Gen. Class, November 2012, Robyn, Aaron, Karen, Katherine and Michael, October 2014, African-American Family History Conference, February 2015, African-American Genealogy Group Conference, October 2016, Central Maryland AAHGS, with Alice Harris, September 2015, Howard Comm. Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Well, Ive gone off on a tangent again;) But thank you again for writing and thank you for the cemetery work (especially trying to include African-Americans you are doing that will be of benefit to others. The link was not copied. Join my mailing list below to receive my posts and get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! Pinckney, Randolph, and Rutledgeappear only incidentally among any list of modern Black peoples names. In the context of The Bahamas, the surname appears to originate with Denys Rolle, an American Loyalist who re-settled on Exuma, one of the so-called Out Islands of The Bahamas, sometime in the mid-1780s. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher. I am awar eof the different naming traditions practiced in that area and I thank you for sharing them here for my readers. 6. The Voice of the Black Community in California, Last Updated on October 14, 2010 by Paulette Brown-Hinds. Slave surnames | Vita Brevis Societies. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries African-American slaves retained Africanisms in their naming practices. This was the case with several others from Wessyngton. One frequently occurring name is Rolle. I belonged to him until emancipation. Places; Login. It was after emancipation on that I went back to work for Col. Morrow and where I got the name Lottie, as already explained. Lastly,emancipation itself often provoked many to choose new surnames, one of the few actual freedoms freedmen had. Of the 972 names of male Slaves recorded between 1619 and 1799 the leading ones were Jack, Tom, Harry, Sam, Will, Caesar, Dick, John, Robin, Frank, Charles, Joe and Prince. The following documents are excerpts from government records in which Dick Barnett and Mollie (Smith) Russell explain when and why they changed their names. My mother's name was Octavia Smith and it was from her that I got it but where the name came from to her I never knew. Spanish areas had male Slave names as Francisco, Pedro, and Antonio; and for females: Maria, Isabella, and Juana. See flier here. Surnames like Chantimel have disappeared, while names like Horsford and Ackie, coming from Antigua (where they are common), or Quarless, Dowden, Chandler, and Dottin from Barbados, have enriched Grenada's family history and cultural identity. Middle Tennessee, where tobacco, cattle, and grain became the favored crops, held the . . Famous name bearers: many King Louis of France, Sandra Bullock's son and actor Louis Partridge. The top 5 most common Hispanic last names from the 1920s are: 1. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. Surnames - Historic UK Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803), a former slave, he enslaved a dozen people himself before becoming a general and a leader of the Haitian Revolution. Former slaves often used surnames names of historical figures such as Washington, Jefferson or Jackson. And again, as a white Southerner whose ancesters were NOT slaveowners, your blog is helping me to understand the real and horrible legacy of the peculiar institution. And even though slave marriages were not legal, many enslaved people followed the practice of the wife taking her husbands surname: My mother was named Mary Bradley and my father was named Hilliard Bradley. Names from the Bible were another common practice, for given and surnames. The name of the tragic mythological Trojan princess who was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but was condemned never to be believed, Cassandra has been used for striking characters in movies and soap operas. In his pension file, my great great grandmother his widow expressed that he chose his former enslaver surname because his father had been enslaved by them, too. You are the continuation of each of these people.". Turner was deeply religious,. Kaplan, Justin, and Anne Bernays. 2. This old French surname has Germanic origin, and means 'noble'. Phone: 314-994-3300, Hours & Locations Comments/Suggestions314-994-3300, Copyright 2023. How did you ever come by the name of "Mollie"? . In 1911, Barnett and Fry's widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. I liked the name better than Octavia, and so I took it with me to Danville, and was never called anything else there than that name. For more details, see the flier here, and you can purchase them here. Enslaved peoplethemselves sometimes chose names denoting weather conditions at the time of their child's birth or some distinctive feature of his or her appearance. Hi Rodney, At her death when Thomas was ten, he was sold to Solomon Cobbs who lived nearby. Who called you by that name and where was it done? But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. Alfred Francis Russell (1817-1884), 10th President of Liberia. "The past is not dead. 18. Many of the graves are unmarked or the markers have been damaged, but many descendents still live around here, so we hope to identify as many of the possible graves as we can. Im jealous;) The common names there (Marie, Louise, etc) would test anyones genealogical skills, so I take my hat off to you. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. Thanks for your comment, No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. I was only three years old when she died. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity. Students learn about President Andrew Johnson and the Congressional Republican's conflicting visions of how to rebuild the nation after the Civil War. In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. South Atlantic Creole A Spanish America After Independence, 1825-1900, Tudor and Stuart Britain in the Wider World, 1485-1685, Warfare, Medicine, and Disease in the Atlantic World. Some scholars of slavery have come to view the names and naming of enslaved people as agauge of many aspects oflife and culture during enslavement and of howcustoms changed over time. BRATHWAITE - This name was derived from a geographic location in the north of England. That is why you will find a lot of families in Louisiana with surnames like Baptiste, Narcisse, Jean-Louis, Nanette-Louise, Rene, Jacques etc Ive come across very few former slaves and fpoc using the surnames of their former owner. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. 120 Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames - MomJunction Slave Names of the 1800's by Emils M - Prezi After Emancipation, many former slaves adopted new names and surnames. Even many given names of ancestors eventually became a surname, such as Todd or William. PDF Lists of Slave owners with names of slaves 781 A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. You can read the introductory maps for a high-level guided explanation, view the timeline and chronology of . Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. Burton, Richard D.E. Names and Naming in Afro-Caribbean Culture. New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 73 (1999): 3558. Thank you, my dear friend, for adding this about enslaved people owned in the Caribbean is really important, as some of the customs were certainly different. If you can identify your ancestor's master, this source will prove of tremendous value to your research. Abebe: The genesis of this Ethiopian name is Amharic, and it means 'flower' or 'blossom'. Political Participation in the Nineteenth Century Atlantic Portugal and Brazile in the Age of Revolutions, Poverty in the Early Modern English Atlantic, Reconstruction, Democracy, and United States Imperialism, Settlement and Region in British America, 1607-1763, Slavery in British and American Literature, Slavery in Dutch America and the West Indies, Slavery in North America, The Growth and Decline of. It comes from the same Greek root as 'ambrosia', the food of the gods, said to confer immortality. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. I belonged to him until emancipation. Many enslaved people were allowed to keep their original African names or names assigned them elsewhere (as reflected by the frequency of Spanish and Portuguese names among the first generation of enslaved people in the Carolinas.) Manifests - Alphabetical by Slave Names Return to Slave Manifests main page Click on each Slave name to view information on that voyage. Just from the detail in your first comment, I knew there was a good chance you were already familiar with those authors. Robyn. Others who wanted no connection to their former owners used surnames like Freeman or Freedman. Brown: A common last name derived from an ancestor's complexion or the color of their hair. Prior to the emancipation of the American slaves in 1863, those African-Americans held in bondage had usually just one or two given names. Introduction. They did so either to take on a surname for the first time, or to replace a name or surname given to them by a former master. Benson, Susan. Q. Nonetheless, this is a situation where two brothers selected different surnames. . Both are excellent researchers and historians. For example, Roll, Jordan,Roll has an entire chapter called The Naming of Cats, discussing slave names and The Slave Community has a very good chapter called The Slave Family. Two other books I like are Been In The Storm So Long by Leon Litwick (pgs 247-248)and Joining PLaces: Slave Neighborhoods in the Old South by Anthony Kaye. Facing History & Ourselves, "Changing Names," last updated May 12, 2020. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. Through DNA matches, I believe I have recently found a brother of my mothers great grandfather. In instances where slaves were sold from their families and they did not retain their previous owners surnames, they named their children for parents, sisters and brothers to keep a connection with their families. Cora: We first fell in love with this short baby girl's name from Downton Abbey, but Cora was already popular in the 1800s, meaning 'maiden' or 'good'. Renate, Slave rebellions | History, Examples, & Facts | Britannica Even tiny steps are huge in someones life. Through a video-based activity, students explore how Radical Reconstruction changed the nature of voting rights and democracy in the South. There are issues, too, about how to interpret the recorded names, which have been classified in different ways depending on researchers interests. . I belonged to him until emancipation. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. Robyn. The population was more than 16 million and the industrial revolution was under way, which debunks any perception of a broadly colonial society. Alfred "Teen" Blackburn (1842-1951), one of the last living survivors of slavery in the United States who had a clear recollection of it. Mary Deborah Petite, "1836 Facts about the Alamo and the Texas War for Independence". I communicate with them on Facebook. . Bradley was the last man owned em. Victorian Surnames in England and Wales - Geri Walton This lively Old Testament nature name (belonging to one of the three beautiful daughters of Job) may be missing from the current US Top 1000 list, but it ranks highly here on Nameberry making it one to watch! Robyn, Unraveling the origins of FPOC and slaves in Francophone Louisiana takes some thinking outside the fact, meticulous research ,familiarity with the local culture, history and a bit of serendipity on your side. -George Burns, "Where does the family start? . Isaiah derives from the Hebrew Yeshayahu, containing the elements. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? I am the identical person who served in the said companies under the name of Lewis Smith. I made up my mind I'd find me a different one. Index by slave owner's name | Surname unknown or illegible Whereas names withAfrican, classical, or other unique origins were popular during enslavement, --- often continuingfrom one generation to the next and creating a distinctive nomenclature unlike that of southern whites -- free black peopleoften used more traditionally Anglicized versions of their first names. The different spellings are due to the non-consistent spelling rules in Norway in the 1700s and 1800s. Following the emancipation of approximately 360,000 enslaved people in North Carolina, changes in African American names became indicative of a new value system and sense of self-identity among freedpeople. The last U.S.census slave schedules were enumerated by County in 1860 and included 393,975 named persons holding 3,950,546 unnamed slaves, or an average of about ten slaves per holder. Many names, whether African derived or English, refer to birth circumstances, including both the ubiquitous day-names, which derive from the West African Akan-Twi language group, and others such as birth order and time of birth (e.g., day of the week, month, or season). Remember me. They are held at The National Archives (Kew, England). I would appreciate any constructive comments on this question, which can be posted to me via my website address above. This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. I think mostly about family separationas a mother now myself, the very idea that my dear child could be sold to who knows where, never to be seen again..just reduces me to tears anytime. 1800s-1850s: Expansion of slavery in the U.S. - NBC News I have done quite a bit of genealogy for my own family, and it was difficult enough, but what you are doing, is incredible work. This is another instance of oral history being a key component in tracing African American ancestry. There are a wide array of sources that provide us with slave surnames, from the slave narratives and interviews, to freedmans bank cards, runaway ads and Southern Claims Commission records. 20 August 2022, 1-3:30 pm [PAST EVENT], Eastern Standard Time: Join me for a two-hour lecture and workshop on Using Deed Records. I was called mostly Lewis Smith till after the war, although I was named Dick Lewis Smith After the War, I was wearing the name Lewis Smith, but I found the negroes were taking the names of their fathers, like the white folks. 782 Lists of Slave owners with names of slaves Tamme, 766 Tom, 766 West, 766 Will, 766 Barker, Nathaniel Harry, 591, 700, 746, 767 Barkley, Barbary Grace, 651 Thanks for commenting and continued luck in your research, He was a planter with 20,000 acres of land in East Florida and was at the forefront of slavery in The . It means 'bought land'. Gerald, however, is a Germanic name meaning ruler) 2. The Complexity of Slave Surnames > Reclaiming Kin Some of these examples come from the wonderful book, Voices of Emancipation: I served [in the War] as Henry Lock, the Lock being my old Massas name but since the War I have taken name of Rollie., [Edward] was owned by Drury Stovall and went by the name of Edward Stovall. On all subsequent census records, he is listed as John Lewis. They were all sold to different owners: Connell, Rose, Johnson, and Hughes respectively. In fact, it's not even past." See footnotes for source information. CLICK HERE TO SAVE YOUR SEAT! Bailey, Word Stories Surrounding African American Slavery. These require Microsoft Word and a Windows platform. Here, our list of notable early African American names. Bernard Meaning: brave warrior Origin: French 4. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? Finding the Slave Who Bore Philomene Daurat. There is also another historian, Gwendolyn Midlo Hall who did work on African ethnicities in Louisiana, you can read more of that here if you havent seen that yet: http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html, Again, I applaud you for doing the research on the history of the areas where your ancestors livedmany researchers dont realize how crucial that understanding is. It means 'clerk' or 'secretary'. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. Surnames Used by African American Slaves - Wessyngton Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names we think is due for a comebackalongside cousins Cora and Dora. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. In small communities where census takers and county officials knew African Americans personally and their previous owners, they often recorded the former slaves with the surnames of their last owners. Table 7. Most Common English Surnames & Meanings - Forebears Enslaved people resisted in ways large and small. The same family may appear with different surnames in the 1870 and 1880 federal census records, and may appear in other records with either, both, or a third surname altogether. Many of these were names of heroesbut not Lincoln. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif. Some of the most common or popular last names in the 1800s included Robinson, Clark, and Smith. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's nameKingstonhas. A great and timely article. 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. | Name Census i have no way to confirm this. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178-199. Benson 2006 is one of the few general discussions of slave names. Robyn, youve done it again! This had a profound impact on the Selfhood of each of the enslaveddisrupting ones presumed Mission in life, as indicated by ones name; shattering the sharing of personal and historical experiences, attitudes, and spirits towards life; and putting in disarray the philosophy of life framework and common sense values by which all Africans lived. Hello Copeland This last name comes from Old Norse origin. Top 100 Southern Surnames or Last Names With Meanings - FirstCry Parenting Q. Q. You can read about this in the following two posts on my blog. Slavery in America was the legal institution of enslaving human beings, mainly Africans and African Americans. I am a farmer. The origins of this last name date back to the pre-medieval period. List of slaves - Wikipedia Until recently, scholarly consensus was that early African American names did not differ significantly from those of white Americans. However, the common practice by slaveholders was to only use the given names of enslaved people in documents such as estate papers, court and deed records.

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