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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:

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http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/3660518

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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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