Family of Origin

Oh my, what a subject!

We could go many places with this post.

Like, why were they so ______________? [You get to fill in the blank]

ZaZ! (Don't ask)

Today we're gonna explore the meaning of your family of origin surname. Could be your father's surname or your mother's maiden name or both.

Wondering why or how I decided on the subject?

A short story to explain: on my way into the garage of the office building this morning one of my colleagues drove in just ahead of me. Let's call him Aaron because that's his name. I'll withhold his surname as a courtesy and out of respect for his privacy. As I nodded 'hello' I wondered what his family's origin was, like, where in Europe did his family originate?

So, after getting setup at my desk (work station) I asked the oracle, otherwise known as Google, this question: what is the origin of the name ____________ [Aaron's surname).

The bots went to work and in a nanosecond the information was returned. OK, that was fascinating and fun to learn about his family's origin. I decided to look up my father's surname. "Oh great oracle, tell me about the name Weissel". What I read made me laugh. From https://www.familysearch.org

South German (Swabia): from the Swabian word for a breeding boar, hence a nickname for someone who kept such an animal or was thought to resemble one in some way. 

I also saw a reference to ferrets on another website.

Really? Boars and ferrets???

Couldn't doctors or lawyers or bankers be anywhere in our background? Too much to ask for apparently.

A while back I researched our family lineage on Ancestry.com and discovered that my great-grandfather fled Germany before World War I and landed in England before coming to the United States in 1900. I'm grateful that he did come here and stayed in New York City with thousands of other people who were looking for a better life.

The reasons they left their homes in the Old World included war, drought, famine and religious persecution, and all had hopes for greater opportunity in the New World.

REF: https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/ellis-island

Your Turn

If you want to learn about your family of origin and the meaning of your family's surname simply ask the oracle. In other words, google it!

And, if you wish to share, I hope you do, feel free to send an email to: [email protected]

Who knows how much we have in common?

Blood and DNA tests, anyone??

Thanks for the read.

 Glenn

Conceived and written by a real human bean.