FM,

I am afraid you are still flattering the average American. I am guessing that Ken Burns has helped, and so did Mel Gibson and Liam Neeson, after a fashion, but in general, I wouldn't count on the average person I meet to know anything at all about American History- and I live in SC where it literally stares you in the face at every turn.

To answer Black Rose's most recent question, I believe thoughtful Americans recognize their different strains of ancestry when they are reminded of them. Most of us have one surname which has persisted- and with it that names' origins. Another folkway of the American South is a tendency to use surnames as middle names, including the practice of naming a second son after the mother's father, with the father's surname tacked onto the end. Little girls are called Mary Heyward or Anne Douglas or Caroline Salley ( A Huguenot surname, originally, not Sally, short for Sarah).

Heritage societies are another reminder. Several of the presidents of my local Saint Andrew's society have Huguenot surnames. I am not a member of the SC Huguenot society, though I know people who are, including some who are also members of the St Andrew's. We are ancestor worshippers here in SC. I have no idea what people do in California or Oregon.

I have a chart that will tell you who my great great grandfathers are ( and their grandfathers). I can recite the names of my great grandfathers and, come to think of it, they were all born here. I believe the person who is looking for a particular ethnic tie will emphasize that one, perhaps ignoring others, or simply not bothering to trace them.

I commend the Wikipedia article on the Scots Irish in America to you. It is fairly detailed and nicely annotated.