The Meaning of Your Name - Understanding the Origins of Names Can Aid in Your Genealogy Research
In the earliest days of human history people rarely needed more than a few grunts or whistles to call each other in times of danger. But as populations grew, sounds were combined and as language evolved, words or complex combinations of sounds were assigned, or assumed, by individuals to be able to not only call each other, but to be able to tell each other apart. After all, every one in an animal skin with long hair probably looked somewhat alike. We needed to be able to lay claim to property and land, our spouses and children. Names were one of the ways we did this, and one of the ways we kept records that ultimately were supposed to help avoid disputes. How confusing it must have been in those very early days. The first Johan or John, thousands of years ago, may have fathered a male child whom he named John. This child may soon have become known as The son of John or John's son. Perhaps even little john. If your surname ends with 'son' as in Johnson, Jackson, Albertson,...