Your family history

dragoriana

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When i went interstate for my 21st birthday there was a display at the local shopping centre where you could look up your surname or that of whoever you want, and get a history of where the name comes from. I did it for my mothers maiden name, as it is her side of the family i am trying to research. My uncle bought the history on a huge poster for me as a gift. I still have it almost 3 years later, and i found they have a website.

http://www.houseofnames.com

On the left hand side there is a search button, enter the surname you want and it gives you a description. You don't have to tell us your surname here if you are worried about privacy but you can tell us any cool things you find out. This is the best bit from mine: First found in Belton, in Lincolnshire where conjecturally they were descended from Gautier d'Aincourt, who was of Royal blood, related to King William's younger brother, a Norman Baron who was granted those lands by William the Conqueror for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D


Oh and did i mention it shows up your coat of arms too?



Enjoy
 

starryeyedtiger

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Weird. It says my last name is English.....yet my family on that side is from Russia
My great grandad was a Russian rabbi in the NY area from what i know about him....he came to the US from Russia and was the first one to gain American citizenship on that side of the family. My great grandma was Polish....she came over around the same time he did and that's where they met. (her family members who stayed behind were killed during WWII
). So as far as i understand...It should be a Russian surname, but then again my last name is weird- no telling
I'm now confused
I'd love to learn more though!
 
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dragoriana

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

Weird. It says my last name is English.....yet my family on that side is from Russia
My great grandad was a Russian rabbi in the NY area from what i know about him....he came to the US from Russia and was the first one to gain American citizenship on that side of the family. My great grandma was Polish....she came over around the same time he did and that's where they met. (her family members who stayed behind were killed during WWII
). So as far as i understand...It should be a Russian surname, but then again my last name is weird- no telling
I'm now confused
I'd love to learn more though!
Hey my grandpa was in the seminary...close enough :p He's Hungarian though


I just wanted some common ground to impress you with



And yes you are weird...i mean, your surname is
 

starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Hey my grandpa was in the seminary...close enough :p He's Hungarian though


I just wanted some common ground to impress you with



And yes you are weird...i mean, your surname is
That's neat!
Lots of "holy people" in our genes huh?


Weird i am
I can't WAIT to get married soon though and FINALLY have a normal last name
I swear i'm counting down the days!
 
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dragoriana

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

That's neat!
Lots of "holy people" in our genes huh?


Weird i am
I can't WAIT to get married soon though and FINALLY have a normal last name
I swear i'm counting down the days!
Lol. I think about the initials. Atm i'm a boring ELB. But when we marry i'll be an ELM tree
 

starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Lol. I think about the initials. Atm i'm a boring ELB. But when we marry i'll be an ELM tree
An Elm tree
how funny!

Mine are LNK at the moment and when i get hitched they'll be LNG!
Nothing too fun there!
 

MoochNNoodles

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

Weird i am
I can't WAIT to get married soon though and FINALLY have a normal last name
I swear i'm counting down the days!
I felt the same way when I was getting married! People used to think my mainden name was my first name and it was soooo annoying!!!

I found the German of my maiden name. It brought up Scottish first, but there was a link for it in German. It said the name was first found in Bohemia and then emerged among one of the notable families of the region during mideval times.
 

natalie_ca

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Don't put too much stock into that site. I ordered a print of that type of information about 20 years ago and have since found out that it's more a novelty item than anything else.

It isn't giving you your family history, only a bit of information on your last name. And not everyone with the same last name has the same common ancestor.

The best way to find out the history of your family is to either do a family tree on your own or hire someone to do it for you.

Also, every family has their own crest, not necessarily the one that is being depicted by them on that site.

My grandfather on my Dad's side was from England, and the family crest that we know of looks nothing like the one that that site is saying it is.

Consider it a "novelty" item and not law.
 

katiemae1277

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my last name wasn't found!!!!!!
sheesh, I knew I had a unique name, but dang


bit of interesting-ness about my last name: if you would ever meet someone with the same last name as me, perhaps spelled a bit differently, in the US or Germany, they are related to me somehow
There is only one "family"
and apparently we are not very prolific


we are found in PA, OH, NC, FL and my half-brother is in TX
 

alleygirl

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I have, in the past, researched and have a pretty extensive family tree. Like others were saying, the above site is basically a novelty. At least half of the names I looked up, did not originate from the country and region they have listed.

It is interesting
but not very accurate.
 

gailc

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One of Neil's cousins has done extensive research on the family surname.
Its seems others have also as the family is traced back several hundred years.
But it seems with many names spelling variations have occured. An "O" for an "A" for instance. Reading some of the research his family entered NE Wisconsin through Canada starting in France. There were rumors in the search of having an ancestor being of royal descent (a
child) of the Dauphin of France-which BTW has an interesting link to one community very nearby (there is a Lost Dauphin Drive).

I have recently found information on my maternal grandfather some of which I knew.
The family immigrated from Germany (now a part of Poland) to the US.
I have been working on a surprise photo album of wedding pictures of all my aunts and uncles and just got an email that a cousin is sending me a picture of mom's oldest sister's wedding picture-YAY!!!

Unfortunately there is little data on my paternal side of the family. I had a German surname so its just a little bit of info.
 
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dragoriana

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Don't put too much stock into that site. I ordered a print of that type of information about 20 years ago and have since found out that it's more a novelty item than anything else.

It isn't giving you your family history, only a bit of information on your last name. And not everyone with the same last name has the same common ancestor.

The best way to find out the history of your family is to either do a family tree on your own or hire someone to do it for you.

Also, every family has their own crest, not necessarily the one that is being depicted by them on that site.

My grandfather on my Dad's side was from England, and the family crest that we know of looks nothing like the one that that site is saying it is.

Consider it a "novelty" item and not law.
My grandparents are from England, and my grandfather did come from Scottish stock. I do know there is some actual truth to the history.
 

arlyn

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On my mother's side we are a mix of Irish and Cherokee, the Irish ancestors made their way here through England, can't really find a lot before that.
Great, great grandad on my mom's side was a Cherokee half blood, he walked the Trail of Tears and talk English to the children.
My Grandmother was born in Oklahoma Territory.

On my dad's side, not much is known as a the last name was simply one that was chosen while passing through Ellis Island.


My uncle has actually been tracing our genealogy for years.
 

EnzoLeya

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Well it got my last name right, German.

It couldn't find my grandparents name, which is strange because it's a rather popular name, at least around here. It's even on the veterans memorial wall in DC, because I had a great uncle that was killed in Vietnam. It was nice to see his name on the wall.

It also couldn't find my granny's name. She's from Italy.
 

annericebowl

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My last name wasn't found, but another spelling of it was. The coat of arms it showed isn't my family's. My paternal grandfather had our name researched, and it's not the same coat of arms.
 

fwan

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I did my mums surname as my fathers wasn't found, the coat of arms was also false which was ok, maybe it belongs to another family.

Her origin was correct though.

Bf's surname belongs both from Ireland and Scotland, and he keeps saying that his family is Irish so I believe it too.

Anyway I cant wait to get married too, My mums is a Mc, and I really like the surname and luckly bf has a Mc surname too and its nice
 

alleygirl

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Originally Posted by Arlyn

Great, great grandad on my mom's side was a Cherokee half blood, he walked the Trail of Tears and talk English to the children.
My Grandmother was born in Oklahoma Territory.
Do you know which group he was with?? I have a full list for one of the groups (George Hicks detachment).

I have some family that still lives on the land they were given in Indian Territory.
 

alleygirl

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Originally Posted by Bella713

My Family is from Italy and it said the name was from Lancashire England What the Heck...My Dad would have a stroke if he saw that
Maybe someone came from England to Italy wayyyyyy back when? lol
 

annericebowl

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Originally Posted by Bella713

My Family is from Italy and it said the name was from Lancashire England What the Heck...My Dad would have a stroke if he saw that
LOL Same with my dad! My family are originally from Genoa, Italy. When Napolean Bonaparte invaded, they packed their stuff and moved to England, and then fast forward in history, and they made if from England to the States.
 
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