How much confidence do you put in popular notions about where names came from...I mean I'm sure somewhere along the way there were family members who jumped outside tradition and changed names, there were obviously intermarriages between different groups, etcetera. How much confidence can you attach to what you think you now about your family heritage when you don't have family trees that go back before the nineteenth century and all you've got is surnames?
Has anyone ever heard of the McAodh Clan?The origins of the names McKee, Wilson, Jones, and Smith?
Many names OFTEN have an accepted place of origin. I don't judge those whose focus is finding a meaning or origin of a name.. but I do try to explain that it may or MAY NOT have anything to do with their personal heritage. One example I often use is the possibility that someone along the line is adopted, thus the name is meaningless, in terms of heritage. And (as you mention), a LARGE number of names are variations of something else. It isn't always the family members who knowingly or willfully changed them.
Your comment about not having a tree before the nineteenth century intrigues me. It suggests that you have perhaps hit some brick walls, and hope to link one person to an already established ';tree';?? It may be that you might benefit from adjusting thoughts from the ';Wilson'; tree to finding exact details regarding John Wilson, your ancestor, and his history/parents.
A surname, to me, is simply one label or parameter that is used to locate information concerning a PERSON. That does not mean that there are not persons who take one name, and collect all available records (I have done it for one family/name). The irony is that even that name, and all who have it, come from an entirely different original name.
NOT to sound bragging... I started research before the internet was commonly used. It is a great resource.. but people tend to overlook that the same records you find here, existed before computers. Sadly, many fall into the trap of thinking ';if I can't find it online (or someone else hasn't found it), then it does not exist';.
';My name comes from'; is NOT the same as ';I come from'; or ';my ancestor'; comes from. It is a fine line, but very important to success or brick walls, in terms of researching your lineage.The origins of the names McKee, Wilson, Jones, and Smith?
Wilson: Patronymic meaning son of Will (as in William)http://surnames.behindthename.com/php/se
Jones: derived from the name John http://surnames.behindthename.com/php/se
Smith: surname from the occupation meaning a metal worker
MacAodh / McKee is as above. Aodh is Gaelic and means 'fire'. The name Aidan is also derived from it.
I think the study of surnames can be very interesting in at least giving you a hint of your origins and your ancestors occupations etc But yes of course it's not foolproof or comprehensive for the reasons you say.
By the way I would watch the site the person below me gave, it gives some interesting info but I had a look at a couple of my family names and their derivations are wrong.
If you are researching any more I highly recommend behind the surname (the links I gave above). There are some really knowledgeable people on their forums.
its all Scotch//...German to me...first and second world war
migration
We have 16th and 17th century folks who came to the new world who already had names (that some folks have researched further back) but it's still not going to say this family originated exactly [X] %26lt;--- there because even (whoever that was) had parents too, that each came from somewhere. It's really not the end of the line that's important, it's the fun along the journey!
Mc means son and McKee is a variant of McKay. , Wilson means son of Will. Smith is an occupational name..
Jones is a variation of John but can be occupational for joiner.
The same names can crop of in many different countries.
It is no guarantee, especially for families that are no longer close to the ';original'; home country.
Let me give you an example. There are many American Indian families (reputedly full-blooded Indian) with English, Irish, and Scottish names. How did this happen? Because at the time when Native American people came into close contact with the dominant US culture, they were expected/required to have a surname. Sometimes they took the surname of a White friend or neighbor, or perhaps of a White person that they admired. Sometimes they were ';assigned'; a surname by a military officer (this happened to some Indians serving either side during the War Between the States). Sometimes they were assigned a name by a government agent who was putting all Indians of a certain tribe in a roll book.
Some family names were changed when a child was orphaned too far from home of relatives for kinfolk to take them in. They might then be adopted and take on a new family name.
There are numerous stories of immigrants whose names were changed by government authorities after arriving in the USA. While we might expect that would be most common for non-English-speaking immigrants, the fact is that if an immigration officer had a hard time spealling or pronouncing a Celtic name, then it might have been changed on the spot.
Then there are people who changed their names intentionally. Some may have been on the run, either from the law, from creditors, from angry husbands/fathers, etc.
The surname can be a likely clue to family origin, but without supporting evidence I would say it is far from conclusive.
Just click on any of the links I have posted below,
http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults.
http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults.
http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults.
http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults.
licensee=uk24071%26amp;Surname=Smith%26amp;searchT?br>
You will find that all four names have more than one origin just scroll down to see the other information.
Macaodh is Anglicised as Mackay. And that's also the origin of McKee.
The Mc Aodh Clan translates into Mc Hugh. Predominantly Irish north and south. Origins believed to be Scottish.
With regards to Wilson and Mc Kee, the former also applies.
Jones is Welsh, but also a common name in Northern Ireland.
Smith is English, but a lot of Smith's are in Ireland. Smyth is another way of spelling it.
Origin of names was weathered the centuries. I really think you have to go back to the Norman invasion 1000 years ago and trace the origin to this point. I have a really funny surname it is Irish, but has origins to quarrying. If my ancient tribes had won a battle or two it would be in the Smiths and Joneses
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