Amish names (and surnames)
Which names do the Amish use? Dutch names? English names? I've heard they call their language "Pensylvania Dutch" and refer to some names as "English names"... I've searched for lists in the web and they do not go any longer than about 10 male names and 10 female names and 5 surnames or maybe 8...
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As EMB said the Amish use many Biblical names (such as Naomi, Lydia, Esther, Peter, John, etc.) There are also other names that are popular among the Amish that seem odd to me, like Barbie, Sadie and Rosanne. For surnames, you say you've only seen 5 or 8 - I'm sure there are more than that, but I'm always surprised how few there are. The ones that come to mind are King, Miller, Stoltzfus and Yoder. It would be interesting to know what percentage of Amish families have one of these last names! (As a note: I'm in Pennsylvania and I know a few Amish families personally. It may be different for Amish in other parts of the county, like Ohio or Indiana.)
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For instance I haven't found a single female name the Amish may use that starts with a Q... And I've seen very few surnames that start with a T.
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Many Amish I have come in contact with use Biblical names. They use the term "English" to refer to anyone who isn't Amish. They don't necessarily mean English as in the nationality. So while something like Esther is a common name used by the Amish, something like Amy or Kaylee would be considered "English"
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Apologize for the following off topic remark: The Dutch in Pennsylvania Dutch (as well as Dutch as in people from Holland) originally meant any Germanic people (ultimately from Indo-european tewteH, meaning tribe). The Pennsylvania Dutch have little connection with Netherlands as far as I know, so calling their language Dutch (as in "Dutch names") in contexts like this is confusing: using the full form "Pennsylvania Dutch" would disaambiguate.
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I believe Dutch came from Deutsch, the German word for German. It looks and sounds more like Dutch, so the 'English' called them Dutch, and many live in Pennsylvania, at least when the phrase was coined.
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Sorry for the inaccuracy.
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They are called Pennsylvania Dutch- the people who coined the phrase didn't understand their German so thought they are saying Dutch. So you weren't inaccurate- the people who came up with the name were.
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