Thursday, February 19, 2015




Nine Last Names of Distinction 
on the Brink of Extinction

Everybody knows them, but who WERE they?
Is your last name Miracle, Tumbler or Villan? If so, you’re a member of a dying breed. Just be happy you’re not a Bread or a Spinster, or you’d be presumed already extinct.


Unusual names have lingered for centuries, but did you know that they can become extinct? Any last name with under 200 “bearers” is endangered, and we’ve found some which have indeed died out. 

Do you have a rare last name on the verge of extinction, or is your last name extremely common? Build a family tree on MyHeritage.com and discover relatives with your last name you never knew existed.

Last names with less than 20 bearers:

 Sallow
Fernsby
Villin (Villan)
Miracle
Dankworth
Relish
MacQuoid
Loughty
Birdwhistle
Berrycloth
Tumbler

Endangered last names with under 200 bearers:

 Ajax
Edevane
Gastrell
Slora

Last names presumed extinct since 2011:

 Bread
MacCaa
Spinster
Pussett, Puscat and Pussmaid
Bythesea and Bytheseashore

So, why are so many names becoming extinct? Names linked to uncommon professions or geographic places are dying out slowly unlike the more popular Smith and Baker. Also, many last names were wiped out during war when young men died in battle taking with them the distinctive last names of their villages and hamlets of origin after which they'd been called.

Many of these were British names which, just like people, have migrated across the shores to America or Australasia, which means the names have moved to a new home. Other last names, like those from Eastern Europe, have become anglicized and are beginning to take over the traditional British names.

Do you have an endangered last name? What would you do to save it from becoming extinct?

See more at: http://articles.myheritage.com/9-last-names-brink-extinction/?lang=EN&utm_source=ppc_Taboola&utm_medium=ppc&tr_brand=1&utm_campaign=US_EN_WEB_ACQ_C&tr_ad_group=A4&tr_device=c&tr_position=All&tr_copy=A4_T1&tr_creative=A4_I1_Family#sthash.jN0c2J4r.dpuf

54 comments:

  1. Frank Leigh Smart said

    Years ago in Newberry, South Carolina I knew a family of German immigrants whose last name was Schitthaus.

    We never could understand why they didn't change it to something less conspicuously foreign and more American sounding like Outhouse -- or better yet Privy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dang those are funny names!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ima Terra Wryste said

      Ain't they though?

      Delete
  3. Frank Leigh Smart said

    And then there was the famous case of Moishe Lipschitz who, when he emigrated to Britain was so embarrassed by the sound of his name when it was said aloud that he changed it to Martin Lipschitz.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Geraldo on the Riviera said

    I once met a man named Walter Dingleberry. He wore it proudly. Apparently, he didn't see the humor in it. Poor schnook!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Barbara Bordello said

    Hey! If you're looking for funny names I don't think anybody could ever beat The Reverend A. Bigby Hynde, who ran for Prothonotary where I used to live a few years back. (FYI: He lost.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Where's the "truth" in a surname anyway? Martin Luther King was the descendant of slaves, not kings. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh truth shmooth. What does it matter as long as you get a chuckle out of it?

      Life is a cabaret, old chum, only a cabaret.

      ... Lucy Bowels

      Delete
  7. This is a very amusing topic. Thank you for providing a nice change of pace.

    - Bea Wilders (no relation to Geert, I'm afraid)

    ReplyDelete
  8. That Ruth Spinster was a fine looking woman. Must've been a real beauty in her day. I winder why she stayed a Spinster?

    Rock Enroller

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  10. How about Octopussy Van Schunkenhazen?

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  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  12. Walter Sickness would have been even worse than the German misspelling

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was a disease upon the nation

      Delete
  13. I have no opinion. I've never been any good at such things, at least that is what my French grandfather always told me.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Vat's so funny?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you haven't gotten it by now, dear, you never will!

      Delete
    2. C'mon over to my place, Miss Galore!

      Delete
  15. Making fun of Asian names not funny! Not funny!

    I speak also for my clumsy friend, Pau Ding Ow, and my noisy uncle, Bang Gong

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You don't know the half of it!

      Delete
    2. Don't forget your great grandfather Yu Mei Dai Soon, a one time Red Guard. And then there was your aunt Fun Ho Ka Ching, a great business woman. And also our uncle To Mein, the restaurant owner.

      Chu Dung Nao

      Delete
    3. Don't forget your old girlfriend, Won Phat Ho

      Delete
  16. interesting article

    I'll have my crack staff look into this and find out what the stink is all about.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Replies
    1. Ancient Chinese Proverb, "Man who go through turnstile sideways going to Bangkok."

      Delete
  18. Oh, how I hated school!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Travis T. Runnamuck said

      From all reports your sister Yura hated it as much as you. Why do you never mention her?

      Delete
  19. Replies
    1. That's what they call the Attorney General down at the bus station men's room.

      Delete
  20. Buster Cherry

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ineita Hardcock

    ReplyDelete
  22. This thread degenerated in a hurry

    ReplyDelete
  23. Major Dick PeckerwoodFebruary 19, 2015 at 7:44 PM

    Not to worry, Mortimer old fellow, a little vulgar humor never hurt anyone, and it lifts morale.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bea Head said

      Gentlemen, I am sure Mr. FreeThinke intended this to be a much-needed diversion from ISIS, Obama and the travails of the Frozen North, but as ALWAYS, participants completely ignored the point and substance of the article he posted, and went off on a tangent of their own.

      No matter what, Vulgarity always seems to hold sway in our culture, doesn't it?

      I guess a part of all of us would like to return to our Romper Room days. (SIGH!)

      Delete
    2. Comments on this thread I dare say fail to rise to the level of romper room conversations.

      Delete
    3. Oh, I don't now, Gandolf, I thought SOME of the contributions were quite brilliant -- even if they were off topic.

      Delete
  24. Back in the day the nuns would refer to all young girls as Miss and all young boys as Master... except for Johnny Bates.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ;-)

      Alas! poor Miss Feier and Miss Deeds were never given that much consideration.

      Delete
  25. I think you may have hit a new low with this one, FT. Just when we think things couldn't possibly get any worse ...

    Frankly, I'm a wee bit disgruntled that no one mentioned MY name, even if I have been away for a long time. How could anyone forget it? I've been wishing I could all my life, if you want to know. It often makes me feel as silly as poor Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear, remember him?


    ---------------------> Katharine Heartburn

    ReplyDelete
  26. In my name
    Hear the scream of thousands
    Of ancient warriors,
    Naked, painted green like the
    Forest they fight for,
    The crash of crude weapons
    Crafted by delicate fingers
    Glimmering like water
    In the hard, cold sun,
    And the shudder of trees
    In sudden, silent anguish
    As the last elfin warrior
    Falls dead among their roots.


    - ORLA, "Etymology" (Mar 2, 2013)

    ReplyDelete

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