Florence, Fiorella, Fleur, and Flower are translations, but we like Flora best of all. Isaiah derives from the Hebrew Yeshayahu, containing the elements. "The past is not dead. One of the less well known aspects of the history of slavery is how many and how often non-whites owned and traded slaves in early America. 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. For personal use and not for further distribution. For example, I know of one Louisiana family whose surname of Poulard evolved from a ancestor of the Poular nation(aka Fulani). According to the latest search data available, Italian last names and their meanings are searched for nearly, 40,500 times per month. Benson 2006 is one of the few general discussions of slave names. The Genealogy Source Table Collection includes 10 blank, editable source tables for death certificates, city directories, obituaries and funeral programs. Elijah is derived from the Hebrew name Eliyahu, composed of the elements. 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. 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. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. -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. 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. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! Anouilh. 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. The different spellings are due to the non-consistent spelling rules in Norway in the 1700s and 1800s. 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). In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. However the frequent rebellions by . At her death when Thomas was ten, he was sold to Solomon Cobbs who lived nearby. Throughout the colonial period, as many as one-fifth of the enslaved people in North Carolina retained African names; Quash, Cuffee, Mingo, Sambo, Mustapha, and Sukey were among the most common recorded. The majority of these slaves used the surname Lewis instead of Washington. It is certainly possible that Wilsons siblings could have been sold away or owned by others. It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. Farley, (English Origin) Victorian-era last names meaning "fern woodland". Thanks LaBrenda! My maternal grandmother was an Auber. New surnames were created from a local regions name such as Smithfield the name taken might be Smith or Field. On another branch, members of the Griffin family from around Campbell County VA all stuck together and are believed to have kept family bonds & name of their father after Emancipation. So just a few things to be aware of when researching any African-American ancestors. . How lucky you were to find that Freedmans Bank document! Who called you by that name and where was it done? For descendants, I would add the substantial emotional impact of seeing an ancestor's name attached to a dollar value, or being valued in a list with silverware and cattle. I worked for him as nurse for his children, and my full and correct name was OCTAVIA, but the family could not catch on to that long name and called me LOTTIE for short. I was bornthe child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. Former slaves often used surnames names of historical figures such as Washington, Jefferson or Jackson. 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. Famous name bearers: many King Louis of France, Sandra Bullock's son and actor Louis Partridge. [15] Alice Clifton (c. 1772-unknown), as an enslaved teenager, she was a defendant in an infanticide trial in 1787. It comes from the same Greek root as 'ambrosia', the food of the gods, said to confer immortality. 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. In the late 1830s, Nathaniel Terry of Todd County, Kentucky died leaving a plantation of fifty slaves. "While African-American genealogical research in many ways is like all genealogical research, the era of slavery makes the task especially challenging. 17. In fact, it's not even past. Here are an even dozen, pretty much forgotten slanglike words or sayings from the 19th century, rediscovered while delving in the archives and with added guidance from James Maitman's 1891 . This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. The Language of Names. In the 1760s Anglo-American frontiersmen, determined to settle the land, planted slavery firmly within the borders of what would become Tennessee. Allard. You are the continuation of each of these people." Kaplan, Justin, and Anne Bernays. I was only three years old when she died. Here are some common black last names: Jackson Davis Brown Wilson Harris Lewis Clark Walker Hall Thomas Young Allen King Wright Scott Baker Adams Nelson Carter Mitchell Perez Roberts Turner Phillips Campbell Parker Evans Edwards Green Hall Baker Bell Coleman Crawford James Reyes Most Common Black Last Names Facing History & Ourselves, "Changing Names," last updated May 12, 2020. CLARKE - The name comes from 'clerk, a clergyman, a scholar, one who can read and write' and is most prevalent in England, where some 89,337 people are recorded with this surname. Places; Login. I hope this post also helps us to think about how the surnames former slaves had were connected to their experiences in slavery. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Well, I got to thinking about all us slaves that was going to take the name Fitzpatrick. 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. Explore the most common surnames in England. If searching for a slave owner with the same surname of your ancestor fails, check marriage records for the slave owners. Both are excellent researchers and historians. I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. common last names for slaves in the 1800s. -Kendall Hailey, "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. 7. I love how you have documented the history of your own surname. His slaveholder was named David Humphries. Robyn. Q. The surname Williams occurs roughly 550 times per 100,000 people in the U.S. You can find explanations for each of the table columns below, or use the following links to view more last names for different ancestries. If a surname was needed, the slave owners family name might be used. The names that were brought together to form "Geffery" were "Gaufrid" (territory-peace), "Godafrid" (god-peace), and "Galfridus" (song-peace). It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. This suggests most of those African-Americans probably did come about that name from prior slaveholders (since we know they likely werent from Scotland;):) I think you just have to include all the variations of Culbert to see how that could be the case. This is such a well-written and informative post one that I know will open many eyes to the complexity of slave surnames, as well as many other aspects of the lives of the enslaved. Smithsonian Institution. However, the enslaved occasionally had surnames, which became normal leading up to and after emancipation as a mark of assimilation into free society. The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom, A Thank You Letter from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Plantation Records Key Link to African American Past . They called me "OCK". Accueil > > Avr > 18 > Uncategorized > common last names for slaves in the 1800s. . Hi Pat, Col. Joshua John Ward of Georgetown, South Carolina: 1,130 Known as "King of the Rice Planters," Ward had 1,130 enslaved Blacks on the Brookgreen plantation in South Carolina. I find it interesting that they often used the strange phrase he calls himself in the ads, as if having a given name and a surname was silly: Ran away from the subscriber on the 25th of October, a well set dark mulattoe man named Jem, but calls himself James Ferguson.. Expand or collapse the "in this article" section, Slave Names and Naming in the Anglophone Atlantic, Slave Names on Emancipation and after Slavery, Expand or collapse the "related articles" section, Expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section, African Retailers and Small Artisans in the Atlantic World, Alexander von Humboldt and Transatlantic Studies, Atlantic New Orleans: 18th and 19th Centuries, Black Atlantic in the Age of Revolutions, The, Chinese Indentured Servitude in the Atlantic World, Cities and Urbanization in Portuguese America, Colonial Governance in the Atlantic World, Comparative Indigenous History of the Americas, Criminal Transportation in the Atlantic World, Domestic Production and Consumption in the Atlantic World, Economy and Consumption in the Atlantic World. I am searching for information about a woman named Eliza Ellis, from Versailles KY or that area. This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity. Brutus) and a private name (e.g. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice. Sabe, Anque, Bumbo, Jobah, Quamana, Taynay, and Yearie) used in the Slave quarters. Interestingly, the five most common American surnames as of 2010 haven't changed that much over time and are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, and Jones. All of them are alive in this moment. I worked for him as nurse for his children, and my full and correct name was OCTAVIA, but the family could not catch on to that long name and called me LOTTIE for short. One frequently occurring name is Rolle. Renate, This potential brother had been sold to a local and remained there in SC. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's. Although it is not widely known, some African Americans used surnames before they were emancipated. ", "Families are like fudge; mostly sweet with a few nuts. Are you thinking this woman Eliza Ellis was married to Wash Ellis? James) will have . In 1801, the British government took the first census for Great Britain and Ireland. Also largely unrecorded are the alternative names the enslaved used among themselves, sometimes called country names or basket names; they may also, according to African practice, have had multiple names over a lifetime. Thomas Black Cobbs was owned by a small slave owner Catherine Black. Feel free to contact me directly if you have more questions or need some assistance. As enslavement continued through the 1800s, African American culture included naming practices that were national in scope by the time of emancipation, and intimately related to the slave trade. They ran away, fought back, feigned illness, destroyed tools, and clung to their families. Evidence indicates that many enslaved parents named their children after the first generation or so of family members brought to America. This causes many researchers to wrongly conclude that enslaved people did not have surnames until after emancipation, which was not the case. 44. I truly believe they used surnames of each of their former owners for some of their childrens middle names. And please do share posts that interest you. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Rank. She served that family for a long time, perhaps more clues to her past lie in his family roots. Join my mailing list below to learn about upcoming webinars. 1. Phillis Wheatley (May 8, 1753 - December 5, 1784) Source = Wikimedia. Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the. However, a small change to searching on C?lbert, which accounts for the variations in spelling expands that initial list to 877 enslaved people owned by people with those names. A. In Greek mythology, Athena is the name of the daughter of Zeus who was the goddess of wisdom, warfare, handicrafts, mathematics, and courage, among others. 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 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.) Daniel Odgen, Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts In The Greek and Roman Worlds, p. 119, Laurence Vidal, Los Amantes de Granada, Ed. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. Part of what drives me in this research, I think, is the feeling that I am reclaiming their stories, their names, and their very being, even if what I uncover is just a tiny bit. You are the continuation of each of these people.". Spanish areas had male Slave names as Francisco, Pedro, and Antonio; and for females: Maria, Isabella, and Juana. Numerous historical sources confirm that enslaved people had surnames that they used among themselves and in many cases were known by their slaveholder. Thus, the patronymic surname can be effectively regarded as "keeper of the peace." This phenomenon is not unheard of with African American surnames. In fact, it's not even past." You can find many more examples of the above in my post, The Mind of the Slaveowner. . Thanks for this very thoughtful article. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. The difficulties include using records that provide no surnames, the constant sale and breakup of families, and the lack of identification of fathers. -Winston Churchill, "The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never ever introduce yourself to had life not done it for you." 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. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Names of prominent slaveholderse.g. The highest percentage of African names was found among male slaves in the eighteenth century, when . . You already know the rich historical terrain of FPOC in Louisiana, what terrific grounds for family research. . Wide-ranging survey of naming practices in the (mainly Anglophone) Atlantic world both during and after slavery. A 2nd great grandmother for example was baptised Sarah Charlotte Chase; her mother is recorded as being Ann Lewis Chase. Baby Name Generator. Jackson: This name is a patronymic of Jack. . The first published African-American poet & author Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. Other common surnames included Jones, Matthews, Sinclair, and Bennett, Price, and Gray.. No superior alternative has yet been found." Of course my mother wasnt a Bradley fore she married. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? Brief, but stimulating and thoughtful for students coming new to the subject. If we consider the diverse circumstances that the tragedy of slavery created, we can understand the reasons why. 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. LOTTIE had been the name of the nurse before me and so they just continued that same name. Testimony of Dick Lewis Barnett, May 17, 1911: I am 65 years of age; my post office address is Okmulgee Okla. 1. FamilySearch Centers. -Unknown, "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance!" Mining the Census: Are You Finding Every Clue? My Louisiana Creole ancestors who were free persons of color and former slaves practiced a unique naming tradition I think comes from Latin cultures. . Even many given names of ancestors eventually became a surname, such as Todd or William. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. African Americans were known by these surnames in the slave community and often recorded by slave owners on plantation documents. She was the great patroness-goddess of the city of Athens. Thank you for your comment, 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. Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era. Each is present in your body. A. Mr. Thomas Jefferson of Louisville, bought me when I was three years of age from Mr. Dearing. 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. Ref. Along with records from churches,manumission societies, enslavers, and estate settlements, these documents provide a vast pool of data from which to trace patterns and trends from the colonial period through emancipation. An enslaved child sold away from their parents at a young age to the Deep South would probably have a different sense of naming than enslaved children who were able to grow up in the presence of their parents and extended family. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. I was called by that name all the time I was with the Morrows. Thanks for adding your very experienced voice to the conversation. Best of luck to you, While Smith remains the most common U.S. surname, for the first time, two Hispanic namesGarcia and Rodriguezmade the top 10. In 1911, Barnett and Fry's widow, Mollie, both applied for pensions from the government. My Vimeo ON Demand video page lists six videos you can choose from to watch for 3 months ($15 each): -Finding the Last Slaveowner: Guidance and Case Studies, -Cluster Research: Using Groups of People to Find Your People, -Using Deed Records to Uncover Your Family, -Putting it All Together: Making Sense of All the Research You've Done and, -More Than Just a Name: Incorporating Social and Community History Into Your Research. Thank you for your kind comment and I am glad my post helped some with the complicated reasons behind the surnames enslaved people had. Q. This was the case with several others from Wessyngton. Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. Or, the Slaves were given numbers or classical Greek names. They called me OCK. All of them are alive in this moment. In 1836, William Turbeville died leaving an estate with several slaves who were brothers: Turner, Nelson, Simon, Jordan, and Jacob. Rounding out the Top 40, here are the next 30 most common names among African-Americans and Caribbean people: Taylor (Jayceon Terrel Taylor "The Game") Wilson (Charlie Wilson) Moore (Shemar Moore) White (Barry White) Lewis (Carl Lewis) Walker (Jimmie J. J. Walker) Green (Al Green) Thompson (Kenan Thompson) Washington (Denzel Washington)
common last names for slaves in the 1800s