Surnames
by, David Kuchta
What I'm writing today is about our family "Surnames." If you think about it, surnames of families are one sided and very chauvinistic. Of course, this is only my opinion! For those that aren't quite sure what "surnames," are I will explain or the entire article will sound Greek to some. Your family's last name is your "surname." As you know, it is the males name. The surnames of you married gals are excluded as far as last names go! Some of you might be wondering just were and when did these surnames originate. Many names originated from the occupations of the man of the family, or from the area he lived in, certain characteristics of the person, like tall, small, heavy, etc. An example of this would be if your family was Slavic and if you were tall your name could end up as Velky. If you were small it could be Maly. If you were a carpenter or wood worker that name would be incorporated into you surname. My name Kuchta (cook-ta) would refer to cook or kitchen. In Great Britain, many names are derived as "son of," and Germans have a lot of names from the occupations that there fore fathers did. At this point you may be wondering just who gave these people their names. As you may suspect most of the poor or average people centuries ago didn't write. Many were illiterate. So many names were given to the people by the large landowners, who owned most of the land. During those days many of the people were serfs or peasants. As they were given tracts of land to farm for the big landowners they had to keep track of the workers by names. Also, as areas started to tax the people they had to keep track of them. Many Priests probably contributed names to some of their parishioners. These names stuck with the families down through the years. Some people also ended up with names that were a little strange or odd. This was because the person; the town's officials or large landlords who owned all the land wanted to be funny or cute. Yes, we can call this a trifle facetious. But the names stuck with the people.
I myself have traced my father and mother's surname back to the 1700's. This is where the chauvinistic business comes into play. Each generation on my father's side are Kuchta's, but when I trace my mother's side of the family, each generation has a different surname. Going back to the 1700's there could be as many as six or seven different surnames. When you take each generation, your grandmother on your mother or fathers' side, they also had a different surname. This is what makes researching your "family tree," so interesting. But in the same case it can become very mind-boggling! Of course in this day and age with all the divorces and remarriage some children don't have the faintest idea of what is going on. It does blow their minds! When I think of it, I think all women should also carry their name along with the husband's name. My wife's official name should be Theresa Robin Kuchta. It's only fair! Sometimes, ancestors used extra names also. My great-great-great grandfather utilized a double name. At this point I have to surmise why? There could be several reasons. If he married a woman that had a wealthy or famous family, he would incorporate her name with his. In the same instance if he married a women and moved into her father's home he would once again incorporate her fathers name with his name so people knew where he lived. This is also were nicknames came about. Nicknames also differentiated the difference of people having the same first and last names. Also, in the same town you could have many people who had the same surnames, like Smith, Brown or Miller in America. So people would know which Smith, Brown or Miller a person was, he would add or change his name to separate himself from the rest of the people with the same name. In some cases he would just use a nickname.
Doing genealogy research (a family tree) is both fun and exciting. Learning about your ancestors and your past unveils some of the secrets or mystery about your families past. Most young people couldn't care less but as we age, we start to wonder about our past. This is the sad part of doing genealogy too late in life, because as your grandparents die off, a lot of important information about your families past dies with them. This is when genealogy becomes a real challenge. Your children taking their father's name and disregarding the mother's name is wrong. This also shows up with a father naming the male children after himself. We end up with John, Tom or whomever as one, two, three, etc. When talking about any of these family members you have to use nicknames or someone might not know which family member you are referring to. We do have to admit that moms have a lot to do with contributing in making a family. So, I feel why shouldn't her name be right up there with her husbands surname?If you have a family, now is the time to make a "family tree," so that future generations have a better idea of who your family ancestors were. Above all, by tracing back your mother's surnames, you will really be surprised how many family surnames are involved with your past
