Login Forgot . Percy is an adorable old name that is finally shedding its pampered Little Lord Fauntleroy image in this new era of boys with soft yet traditionally, Titus, once seen as a slightly forbidding Roman, New Testament, and Shakespearean name, was brought back to contemporary life in the USA by the TV series, French surname from place name Perci-en-Auge, Latin, meaning unknown, possibly "title of honour". Claudia Bautista,Santa Monica, Calif. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. A. 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. For example, I know of one Louisiana family whose surname of Poulard evolved from a ancestor of the Poular nation(aka Fulani). By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Emphasizes the giving and repeated use of names as a performative act of domination. Enslaved people resisted in ways large and small. No superior alternative has yet been found." 2019 (cited under the Anglophone Caribbean) includes a good general introduction to slave naming. I was only three years old when she died. Label vector designed by Ibrandify - Freepik.com, https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2014.174.8?destination=/explore/collection/search%3Fedan_q%3Denslaved%26edan_fq%255B0%255D%3Dobject_type%253A%2522Photographs%2522. Slave surnames | Vita Brevis I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. But if Romeo and Venus are now deemed baby-appropriate, why not Apollo? I love how you have documented the history of your own surname. Archambeau. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. 3. Since those are the countries from which many of America's original settlers came, it's hardly surprising. Thank you for your comment, Thank you for commenting, and continued luck to you in your research. A. I was first called by that name in the family of Col. Morrow in whose service I was in Louisville, Ky., just after the war. Currently, the most popular Black last name in America is Williams, with a total count of 774,920 people who have the surname. The first published African-American poet & author Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! 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. Enslaved women were raped, creating children with white fathers who in most cases did not claim them and even sold them away. One thing for sure, historians are always expanding our knowledge on this topic.BTW, I am a big fan of your website and your work in the field! In the. In 1850, Ward. You can read about this in the following two posts on my blog. The, 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. It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. At her death when Thomas was ten, he was sold to Solomon Cobbs who lived nearby. Thank you so much for your kind words. Enslaved people often transferred such names to later generations in modified form or relied on African naming traditions, such as "day names" or names reflecting the order of birth among siblings. Isaiah derives from the Hebrew Yeshayahu, containing the elements. James: (M) (Latin origin) means "heel" or "supplanter". The new surnames, usually not taken from a former slave owner, included: Williams, Jones, Johnson, Smith, Jackson, Thomas, Brown, Walker, Davis, Green, Robinson, Scott, Harris, Turner, and Anderson. 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. Accueil > > Avr > 18 > Uncategorized > common last names for slaves in the 1800s. 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. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher. This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. Former slaves often used surnames names of historical figures such as Washington, Jefferson or Jackson. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. 63 Italian Last Names That Are *Chef's Kiss* Bellissimo! - Scary Mommy In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. 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 . Thank you as always, your posts are so helpful. 2. One frequently occurring name is Rolle. Where did you get the maiden name of Smith from? Robinson: A patronymic of the name Robin. He decided that he didnt want to be known as Cap Sherrod and that he would vote and marry under his choice of names. We had to register as someone, so we could be citizens. by John C. Inscoe, 2006; Revised May 2022 by NC Government & Heritage Library. 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. A. . Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts South Atlantic Creole Archipelagos Slavery's reach is still with us, and part of the gift of doing African-American genealogy is recovering the stories of those caught in its grasp who could not in their own time leave their own witness.". Students learn about President Andrew Johnson and the Congressional Republican's conflicting visions of how to rebuild the nation after the Civil War. The names that were brought together to form "Geffery" were "Gaufrid" (territory-peace), "Godafrid" (god-peace), and "Galfridus" (song-peace). My full name is Dick Lewis Barnett. U.S. Slavery: Timeline, Figures & Abolition - HISTORY Middle Tennessee, where tobacco, cattle, and grain became the favored crops, held the . Ive taken back reclaimed some of that lost memory, especially that of my enslaved ancestors. Both are excellent researchers and historians. ", "Call it a clan, call it a network, all it a tribe, call it a family. This may reveal your family used the surname of the slave owners wifes family. 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. One of the largest sources are the Civil War pension records of the almost 200,000 black men who served in the US Army and Navy. In many cases this is ignored and children use their fathers name! Through a video-based activity, students examine Americas struggle for a stronger democracy during Reconstruction and today. I also have a Slavery and Freedom Collection available for $20. You can also look up Charleston Manifests by Slave Owner These records are also available through the National Archives Catalog (National Archives Identifier 2767350). CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! And please do share posts that interest you. In 2001, I began a process of transcribing names of some of the largest slaveholders and matching the surnames with numbers of African Americans on the 1870 . Thanks for adding your very experienced voice to the conversation. Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. PDF Lists of Slave owners with names of slaves 781 Besides the Morrows, whom else did you live with in Louisville? Aruba Congo Bob D'Sean Latoya Dilsy Lopez Lunah African Emmaline Ebo Mema Milla Kyser Ibo Medwin Oilsay Cupad Viney Centere Minta Zoruba Tyzer Nefar Phiba LaVaughn Congo Bob Ladia Ikbo Abah Medger Bossy Shand Cufee Uri Zulu jenee Sorce Tomm Dedib Slave Names Of The 1800's Cena Billah Quarker Lamoney Minba Geto Tonesia Zulu Jana Brutis 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. Fortunately, the French and Latin were excellent record keepers and the Catholics were obsessed with knowing the kinship of everyone. Over time, East Tennessee, hilly and dominated by small farms, retained the fewest number of slaves. I love to hear from my readers. He took his last enslaver surname. A. Lottie Smith was my name and what they called me before I met Phillip and was married to him. Ref. The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. 3. Melvin, Fernsby, (Old English Origin) Derived from the old English words meaning "fern farmstead". The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Familys Journey to Freedom is proudly powered by WordPress Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). I am awar eof the different naming traditions practiced in that area and I thank you for sharing them here for my readers. -Unknown, "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance!" Most did not want to use their former owners surname, even through about 20% did use the slave owners name. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. All of them are alive in this moment. Therefore, a few of the most common first names of the time such as Mary (rank 815) and Sarah (1010) will appear in the list and surnames which correspond to personal names (e.g. 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. Im jealous;) The common names there (Marie, Louise, etc) would test anyones genealogical skills, so I take my hat off to you. Im very familiar with the work of Gwendolyn Hall and Elizabeth Shown Mills. Places; Login. What are the most popular last names in the UK? But once freed most immediately chose surnames, with or without keeping their accustomed name. They are part of Records of the U.S. Customs Service . Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Surnames. This event is $25. Even worse, during this period, many African Americanssome using surnames for the very first timechanged their surnames once or even several times. It is these single names that have been most often studied. 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. Burton, Richard D.E. Names and Naming in Afro-Caribbean Culture. New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 73 (1999): 3558. . At your request I have finally made available for viewing past popular webinars! In 1870, he is listed as John Washington. Here, three different former slaves discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation. 1. And now that it's been chosen by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, it could take off as their first son's nameKingstonhas. 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. 41. No, I dont know to whom she belonged before she was brought from Virginia to Kentucky. Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames. A favorite of British novelists including Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse, Ambrose has an air of blooming well-being and upper-class erudition. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. | Name Census 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. Isaac evolved from the name Yitzchaq, derived from the Hebrew word, Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. I am the identical person who served in the said companies under the name of Lewis Smith. Phillis Wheatley (May 8, 1753 - December 5, 1784) Source = Wikimedia. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl), adding up to an enthusiastically recommended choice. I focused on surnames but many of these books also discuss first names. Edited by Gabriele vom Bruck and Barbara Bodenhorn, 178199. Just makes me sad for the human spirit that anyone, let alone hundreds of thousands of people could participate in it. 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 Your insight is always welcome and I am glad you shared these posts for other readers to see. All of them are alive in this moment. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif. Slavery. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno might inspire some parents. Runaway ads illustrate how many slaveholders knew the surnames of their slaves. One ancestor was known as Baber Masse, Elizabeth SENET and Elisabeth Leveille in different documents. Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (1974). This happened mostly on large plantations where several individuals had the same first names and a surname was used to distinguish them from one another. . Abel, et al. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one" Just go to my Vimeo page and make your selection. Manifests - Alphabetical by Slave Names Return to Slave Manifests main page Click on each Slave name to view information on that voyage. 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'. I would also recommend Elizabeth Shown Mills various case studies on enslaved people in Louisiana, which you can find at her website at https://www.historicpathways.com/articles.html. When slave owners married, they often received slaves as wedding gifts and inheritances from their wifes family. Recently, I was looking for more information on Wesley Thompson, who was born about 1835 and who was living in Morgan County, Alabama with his wife, Nellie, and five children in 1880. Dick Lewis Barnett and Phillip Fry were African American veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War. The Genealogy Source Table Collection includes 10 blank, editable source tables for death certificates, city directories, obituaries and funeral programs. Popular Last Names in the 1920s Gatsby Flapper Girl 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. Dear Robyn, I was born in Montgomery County, Ala. the child of Phillis Houston, slave of Sol Smith. Finding State Laws About Slaves and Free Blacks, More Suggestions for White Slaveholder Descendants, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2009/09/calvin-r-yarborough-where-it-all-began.html, http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2013/11/many-rivers-to-cross-my-priscilla.html, https://www.historicpathways.com/articles.html, http://whitneyplantation.com/the-louisiana-slave-database.html. Wood were recorded as slave. New surnames were created from a local regions name such as Smithfield the name taken might be Smith or Field. I have been a researcher, writer, and lecturer for over twenty-five years. My mothers name was Octavia Smith and it was from her that I got it but where the name came from to her I never knew. Several of the other slaves were sold to various slave owners. . Once the slaves were freed they found they did need another name besides a given name. 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. Thanks for your comment, . If the former slave had been befriended or assisted in getting established after the Civil War, they might have taken that persons name. Q. 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). 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. Students examine how freed people in the United States sought to define freedom after Emancipation. The most common of 603 names of female Slaves were Bet, Mary, Jane, Hanna, Betty, Sarah, Phillis, Nan, Peg, and Sary. 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. The practice was common until its abolition in 1865 with the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.. For the time being, we are using this as the Slavery Plantation umbrella or portal. 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. An 's' at the end of a personal name also meant 'son of', for example Richards, Stevens, Williams and so on. 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. Caps statement implies that choosing his own surname was a part of exercising his newfound freedom. I did a post sometime ago about Slavery Studies, where I named some of the top books on the subject. This reading contains quoted text not authored by Facing History & Ourselves. There has been disagreement about whether it was slaveholders or the enslaved who gave the recorded names. (Media Note: If you quote a post, please credit me by name, Robyn N. ", "If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. It comes from the same Greek root as 'ambrosia', the food of the gods, said to confer immortality. ", "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you might as well make it dance! 12 Lost American Slangisms From The 1800s : NPR History Dept. : NPR 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. This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. They cut it off from OCTAVIA. Lists Of Most Common Bajan (Barbados) Last Names - Blogger Tags: African American Names, African American Surnames, African Names, Black Surnames, Last Slave Owner, Plantation Owners, plantation slavery, Slave Family, Slave Naming Patterns, slave trade. Both comments and pings are currently closed. . 120 Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames - MomJunction Slave name index - next1000.com If the name is spelled Rodrigues, the name is Portuguese but has the same meaning) 3. I'll illustrate transcribing deeds, show you how to find your county deed records on FamilySearch, and you will receive my PDF Beginner's Guide to Using Deed Records, a $12 value! This causes many researchers to wrongly conclude that enslaved people did not have surnames until after emancipation, which was not the case. . My father would be 105 if he were alive. Enslaved people suffered constant sale, where children were frequently torn away from parents at young ages and spouses were often separated. Baby Name Generator. Bernard Meaning: brave warrior Origin: French 4. 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. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd. Robyn. I just cannot imagine (thankfully) the idea of my name being changed with every new owner, with not having any idea of what my parents surnames were, of having a white father but not being able to have a father/child relationship with himand all the other myriad of circumstances that enslaved people faced. Thanks for writing this post! What were common names for slaves in the 1800s? - Kyoto2.org After emancipation, they all used the Terry surname because their families had been with the white Terry family for generations. 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. Many Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from 'John's son) being the most common. That alone can make if difficult to research an African- American family during those years. I especially recommend Mother, Thy Name is Mystery! I make extensive use of tables for organization, analysis and citation in my research, and they have proven very popular with genealogists. Names of prominent slaveholderse.g. 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. Sabe, Anque, Bumbo, Jobah, Quamana, Taynay, and Yearie) used in the Slave quarters. Use the form below to get in touch with me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. 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.. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Perhaps this caused some Slaves to ask: Am I my new name or am I still my old name? To date there are no book-length studies covering the naming of slaves across the Anglophone Atlantic, but Burton 1999 and Kaplan and Bernays 1997 provide useful entry-level discussions for the Caribbean and mainland United States, respectively. The box for father states unknown in law. Her marriage record states her name is Sarah Charlotte Gale, her father being John Sinclair Gale! I hope you dont mind my sharing those posts. Lori Wilson Picks Up Baton to Remove Slavery Language From Californias Constitution, New Assembly Bill Would Ban Use of Police Canines for Arrests, Crowd Control, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. When I was born my mother was known as Phillis Smith and I took the name of Smith too. 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. Until recently, scholarly consensus was that early African American names did not differ significantly from those of white Americans. The three databases below provide details of 36,000 trans-Atlantic slave voyages, 10,000 intra-American ventures, names and personal information. 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. They were Nelson Nunn and George Nunn and they may have changed their names to Crosby too because they were my fathers children.. Top 100 Southern Surnames or Last Names With Meanings - FirstCry Parenting Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. Trinidad and Tobago Slavery FamilySearch I belonged to him until emancipation. Another common way of distinguishing people would be 'son of', for example Johnson (son of John), Richardson, Wilson, Harrison etc. Special slave censuses were kept in the early 1800s. Most Popular Names. Dorothy, Doris or Dora: Meaning 'gift of God', this Victorian girl's name was popular in the 19th century. Genealogy becomes so much more than just names and dates, it really feels like a true passion indeed. . Slave Names In The Americas - Black Voice News Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803), a former slave, he enslaved a dozen people himself before becoming a general and a leader of the Haitian Revolution. 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. State of residence is Missouri unless otherwise noted. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Black Last Names: 80 Popular & Common African American, African The existence of those surnames in the area would help to verify, but also, you are fortunate to have the important oral history of that name change in the first place, since so many of us dont. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollos romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. 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. 77th U.S. Col Inf and Co. D. U.S. Col H Art under the name Lewis Smith which was the name I wore before the days of slavery were over. 16 Most Famous Female Slaves of African American Origin The resources Im getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable. College, Advanced AA Gen. Class, September 2009, Alice, Robyn and Lajoye, CM AAHGS, September 2017, Robyn and Andrea, NGS Conference, May 2014. The naming of slaves has not been treated in dedicated monographs, but it often figures in general accounts of plantation culture and the practices of enslavement. Tell me the name you were called before you met Phillip Fry? ", "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city;)", "Where does the family start? After emancipation, he became William Smith. Q. So far Ive found no one who can give me any information about how these people assumed the Culbert surname. Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the Atlantic slave trade. Students learn about the period of violence in the South from 1873-1876 and examine its role in influencing elections and ending Republican control of Southern state governments. Allard. Another interesting fact is that Creole surname use also evolved over time and varied from record to record with the same person. In another case Sukey Ann and he 4 children were manumitted by their Ashby owner with only their first names. how the surnames former slaves had were connected to their experiences in slavery.