Surnames

[EagleJCS]

Another means of acquiring a surname was being named after the place you're from, the trade you followed or the language you spoke. A former neighbor's family was named after the village of Killin in Scotland - thus, Killinder. Another friend's surname was Miller. I also knew a guy whose last name was Deutsch (pronounced doytch) for someone from Germany or speaking German.

My surname is another case in point - Scott. Some Scott's were actually part of the Border clan/family and eventually got the name as last names became more popular (between the 11th and 16th centuries, according to most sources). Some didn't have a last name at first, but when the family moved out of Scotland, they were referred to as 'xxx, the Scot', which gradually became 'xxx Scot'. As spelling became standardized, the last name gained the second 't' to differentiate the family from the ethnicity.

The chief of Clan Scott is the Duke of Buccleuch, so Buccleuch became a surname for some members of the clan. It's also spelled Buckloo, Buckalew, and there are others as well. There are also the Scotts of Harden (so the surname Harden may mean you're actually a Scott!), the Scotts of Ancrum, the Scotts of Polwarth, etc.

As for my line's origins, we're not sure. As far as I know, the furthest back anyone in the family has been able to trace so far is an Alexander Scott who settled in the Clinch River valley of southwest Virginia about 1774. We don't know where he came from before then.



Genealogy is such a fascinating (and confusing and frustrating) subject.