| Russell Guerrero | 210-999-8406 | rguerrer@trinity.edu |
| What's In A Name? Volunteer Group at Folklife Festival to Offer the Origins of Last Names |
| May 16, 2000 - Did you know that Schwartzenegger, a German name, means black-haired swordsman and that Cruise, an English name, means bold or fierce? The Scottish name Campbell means cleft palate; the English name Kennedy means misshapen head. Cisneros means place of the swan. Brazil, an Irish name, is a shortened version of the Gaelic O Breasil--meaning strife. And from the Hebrew name Yaakov, meaning (probably) Heel, we derived the English names Jacob, James, and Jack; the French Jacques; Italian Giacobo; Spanish Jaime and Diego; German Jakob; Polish Jakub; and the Russian name Yakov.
For the last fourteen years, the Family Name Heritage Booth at the Texas Folklife Festival has been helping thousands of people track down the origins of their family names. This year, once again, 40 researchers and calligraphers from Trinity University will gather around a set of Folklife Festival tables with a dozen colleagues--representing East Texas State University, Southern Methodist University, Texas A & M, Jarvis College, and Navarro Community College. In four days, from June 1 through 4, the researchers will document the origin of the surnames of an expected 4,000 Folklife Festival patrons. The calligraphers will then write the results on printed certificates which are given to the patrons as a gift. The 40-member Trinity contingency includes faculty members, library staff, university-wide clerical and physical plant staff, Trinity alumni, former Trinity employees, and parents of Trinity students. Again this year the Elizabeth Huth Coates Library at Trinity University will loan its collection, now one of the largest in the state, of surname texts for use by the volunteers. Last year the library added a text that compares Spanish, Hispanic-American, and Filipino names; a text that introduces African Muslim names; and one that includes South Asian, Eastern Mediterranean, and Eastern European names. This year two books on Polish names have been included. Visit the Family Name Heritage Booth and all of the other exciting booths and performances at this year's Folklife Festival--a unique Texas blend of adventure intertwined with education. The festival provides fun for the entire family, offering music, food, dance, drama, storytellers, activities, contests, competition, along with Texas cultural information. For more information on the Family Name Heritage Booth, contact Scott Baird, professor of English, at (210) 999-7579 or at (210) 215-2143. |
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Last updated on November 8, 2000 by the Office of Public Relations |