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ArchivesLooking for ethnic origin of name-group: Alafare, Reden, Lot, Shadrack, Alford, Etheldred
I am trying to discover the ethnic origin of some people who lived near the division between North and South Carolina in the late 1700s/early 1800s. In the area are families with traditional English names such as William, Elizabeth, and so on, and then there are other families with names like Alafare (f), Reden (m), Shadrack (m), Lot (m), Etheldred (m), Alford (m)
I am guessing that these families came from two different backgrounds and would love to discover what other groups of people used these unusual names.
Can anyone help?
I am guessing that these families came from two different backgrounds and would love to discover what other groups of people used these unusual names.
Can anyone help?
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Replies
Alafare (which is more often spelled Alafair) is the most unusual of these and no one still knows for sure where it came from, though it was established in the American South a couple of centuries ago. However, the best guess now seems to be that it was originally a Romany (gypsy) name. That's still just a guess, however. Here is a link to an earlier thread on this board discussing it:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/3660518
Shadrack and Lot are Old Testament names from the Bible (Shadrack usually being spelled Shadrach in the actual scriptures.) Their use just shows your ancestors were Biblically literate (or were naming sons after other men whose parents were.)
Alford is an English surname from a place name in Aberdeen, Scotland or Cheshire, England. Reden is probably an alternative spelling for Reddan or Redden, an English surname that originally meant "dweller at the clearing." The information on both of these is from A Dictionary of English Surnames by Reaney & Wilson.
Etheldred is an Old English name and the name of a king of England just before the Norman Conquest. Though rare, it certainly turned up as a given name in the American South during the 19th century, probably given by parents who were reading books about medieval history.
Any way, except possibly for Alafare, all of these names have an English origin and there would be no reason to suppose that a family in the Carolinas using them didn't have English ancestry.
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/3660518
Shadrack and Lot are Old Testament names from the Bible (Shadrack usually being spelled Shadrach in the actual scriptures.) Their use just shows your ancestors were Biblically literate (or were naming sons after other men whose parents were.)
Alford is an English surname from a place name in Aberdeen, Scotland or Cheshire, England. Reden is probably an alternative spelling for Reddan or Redden, an English surname that originally meant "dweller at the clearing." The information on both of these is from A Dictionary of English Surnames by Reaney & Wilson.
Etheldred is an Old English name and the name of a king of England just before the Norman Conquest. Though rare, it certainly turned up as a given name in the American South during the 19th century, probably given by parents who were reading books about medieval history.
Any way, except possibly for Alafare, all of these names have an English origin and there would be no reason to suppose that a family in the Carolinas using them didn't have English ancestry.
This message was edited 8/21/2013, 1:43 PM
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I doubt if Alafare is related to those names because it seems to always be female, and those names seems to always be male.
I did just find a discussion on a genealogy site noting that there is now a lot of DNA evidence (as well as historical evidence from banishment records in Scotland and England) that Romanichal (British gypsies) were definitely present in colonial America, especially in Virginia and Maryland, so that makes the idea that Alafair might originally be a Roma name a bit more plausible:
http://dnacommunities.com/cgi-bin/forums/gforum.cgi?post=1697;guest=2973662
I did just find a discussion on a genealogy site noting that there is now a lot of DNA evidence (as well as historical evidence from banishment records in Scotland and England) that Romanichal (British gypsies) were definitely present in colonial America, especially in Virginia and Maryland, so that makes the idea that Alafair might originally be a Roma name a bit more plausible:
http://dnacommunities.com/cgi-bin/forums/gforum.cgi?post=1697;guest=2973662
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Alafare reminds me of Aleferna who is recorded as Prioress of the Hohenholte monastery in Northern Germany in 1237–1240. The name is only partially explained ALA means "all", but the FERNA part is obscure. (see: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleferna )
von Reden is also a german surname belonging to a nobility family stemming from a place called Reden near Hannover (northern germany, again)
von Reden is also a german surname belonging to a nobility family stemming from a place called Reden near Hannover (northern germany, again)
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