Here in America we have heard so many tales as to why our ancestors changed their last names. One was so silly and it was EVERYONE had to take the name of the former owner EVERYTIME they moved. Will you please enlighten me as to why last names were changed. I had such an ancestor at changed his name and that was because he took a job as a hired hand on a farm and ended up marrying the farmers daughter and his last name was changed from Kotajarvi to Maaninka. I would like to use this information as part of describing what I found while researching my ancestors in Finland.
Thank You
Janice
Name changes
Re: Name changes
I hope someone has a better answer for this from the historical point of view.
In my family these changes have been a common practise and for example one of my ancestor's had four different names in his lifetime due to many movings (many places were destroyed in war). The name we now call surname used to be the name of the farm and people living there was called according to the farm or house they lived in to separate the dozen Anders Anderssons who lived in the same village. Person's name was really the name he was given in babtism (Anders) and patronymes (Andersson) were used to clarify the identity. Name of the farm (Mannila) clarified where he lived. So, this Anders Andersson may have been Ukkola (childhood home) in his childhood and after marriage become Mannila (moving to own farm) and then in his elder days he may have become Savolainen (living with son's family).
This is the case in the coutryside. In towns it was different and there are familynames which have carried though the generations. Another story is that of the surnames of the soldiers...
In my family these changes have been a common practise and for example one of my ancestor's had four different names in his lifetime due to many movings (many places were destroyed in war). The name we now call surname used to be the name of the farm and people living there was called according to the farm or house they lived in to separate the dozen Anders Anderssons who lived in the same village. Person's name was really the name he was given in babtism (Anders) and patronymes (Andersson) were used to clarify the identity. Name of the farm (Mannila) clarified where he lived. So, this Anders Andersson may have been Ukkola (childhood home) in his childhood and after marriage become Mannila (moving to own farm) and then in his elder days he may have become Savolainen (living with son's family).
This is the case in the coutryside. In towns it was different and there are familynames which have carried though the generations. Another story is that of the surnames of the soldiers...
Re: Name changes
Thank you for getting back to me. I wasn't that far off after all. That could explain why some lines come to a dead end. I usually check the hiski records for moving out and moving in but if they remained in the same village/town it would be hard to track them. Any hints on how to find the new name, any searches in Sukihistoria or Digiarkiston? What did you look at when you found your ancestors names?
Janice
Janice
Re: Name changes
The best way to follow them in the communion books. If there are gaps in the books, just use the first name and patronym to search for births/deaths. Granted you still need to find them again with a matching birthdate in a later book to be sure it's the same person. Here's an example of a pair that started of at the husbands home farm and then he became a crofter:
23.2.1807 1.3.1807 Sydänma Nybygg: Matts Henr:son Korkiakoski H:u Regina Joh:sd:r Maria
1.1.1810 6.1.1810 Sydänma B: Matts Korkiakoski Regina Joh:sd:r Johan
22.6.1812 24.6.1812 Jämijerfvi Matts Korkiakoski Regina Johansd:r Anna Caisa
6.5.1815 14.5.1815 Jämijärvi Matts Korkiakoski Regina Johansd:r 33 Johan
17.10.1817 26.10.1817 Sydänma T: Matts Hannula Regina Joh:d:r Ephraim
13.1.1820 16.1.1820 Sydänmaa Hannula T: Matts Henricss: Regina Johansd:r Albertina
6.2.1822 10.2.1822 Jämijärvi Hannula T: Matts Henr:son Regina Mathias
11.11.1824 13.11.1824 Jämijärvi Suurimaa T: Matts Hannula Regina Nicodemus
4.11.1827 5.11.1827 Suurima Matts Henr:s: Hannula Regina Johansd:r Anna Caisa
Notice that the patronym was not always used or it might have been written in incorrectly, so I had to do several searches (or just search for Matts and Regina and then try to guess which was the same pair). Naturally I checked the family in the communion books so that I was certain all children were theirs. In the case of farm hands, the children might have all been born in different houses, so you really need to communion books to make sense of the families.
23.2.1807 1.3.1807 Sydänma Nybygg: Matts Henr:son Korkiakoski H:u Regina Joh:sd:r Maria
1.1.1810 6.1.1810 Sydänma B: Matts Korkiakoski Regina Joh:sd:r Johan
22.6.1812 24.6.1812 Jämijerfvi Matts Korkiakoski Regina Johansd:r Anna Caisa
6.5.1815 14.5.1815 Jämijärvi Matts Korkiakoski Regina Johansd:r 33 Johan
17.10.1817 26.10.1817 Sydänma T: Matts Hannula Regina Joh:d:r Ephraim
13.1.1820 16.1.1820 Sydänmaa Hannula T: Matts Henricss: Regina Johansd:r Albertina
6.2.1822 10.2.1822 Jämijärvi Hannula T: Matts Henr:son Regina Mathias
11.11.1824 13.11.1824 Jämijärvi Suurimaa T: Matts Hannula Regina Nicodemus
4.11.1827 5.11.1827 Suurima Matts Henr:s: Hannula Regina Johansd:r Anna Caisa
Notice that the patronym was not always used or it might have been written in incorrectly, so I had to do several searches (or just search for Matts and Regina and then try to guess which was the same pair). Naturally I checked the family in the communion books so that I was certain all children were theirs. In the case of farm hands, the children might have all been born in different houses, so you really need to communion books to make sense of the families.
----- Jani Koski -----
Re: Name changes
As Luonski hinted, farm names were not surnames/last names. They were just farm names.
It seems many non-Scandinavians find it difficult to understand that many people simply did not have surnames/last names.
Unfortunately, almost all genealogy programs have a data model that every person has a surname/last name.
To reiterate, a farm name IS NOT a surname/last name.
It seems many non-Scandinavians find it difficult to understand that many people simply did not have surnames/last names.
Unfortunately, almost all genealogy programs have a data model that every person has a surname/last name.
To reiterate, a farm name IS NOT a surname/last name.
Re: Name changes
This is how I understand it. I'll use my ancestors. Mr Maaninka lived in a house on a farm along with other families. Mr Maaninka hired Mr. Kotajarvi as a laborer and he and Mr Maaninka's daughter (Valpuri) got married. Mr. Kotajarvi then changed his name to Kotajarvi-Maaninka and they had children but the children used Maaninka as their last name. Now, Valpuri, died and Mr. Kotajarvi-Maaninka remarried and would no longer be living in the Maaninka house. He was living in a house just off the boundaries of the farm and he and his new wife had a son last name Kotajarvi.
I think I'm starting to understand how it works, although when I find a record that has the same first name and middle name (or the father's name as a 'middle' name) and by all accounts that person is still living in the same area but the 'last name' is different I hesitate to assume it is my ancestor. I'll have to take each name as it comes and study the records I can find.
There is something similar to this in American history. The slaves had no last names. At the end of the Civil War in 1865 the slaves were given their freedom and most of them took their owners last name as theirs. If they had a relative that had been sold and moved to another area they would take the name of their new owners last name. This created the problem of linking family members and still does to this day. And in many cases the new owners gave their newly purchased slave a new first name which made it worse. Difficult to make that decision that 'names may be different but this person is my ancestor'.
Thank you all for your help. I'm still confused, but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Have a nice weekend.
Janice
I think I'm starting to understand how it works, although when I find a record that has the same first name and middle name (or the father's name as a 'middle' name) and by all accounts that person is still living in the same area but the 'last name' is different I hesitate to assume it is my ancestor. I'll have to take each name as it comes and study the records I can find.
There is something similar to this in American history. The slaves had no last names. At the end of the Civil War in 1865 the slaves were given their freedom and most of them took their owners last name as theirs. If they had a relative that had been sold and moved to another area they would take the name of their new owners last name. This created the problem of linking family members and still does to this day. And in many cases the new owners gave their newly purchased slave a new first name which made it worse. Difficult to make that decision that 'names may be different but this person is my ancestor'.
Thank you all for your help. I'm still confused, but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Have a nice weekend.
Janice
Re: Name changes
I am happy to hear you are beginning to understand. Finland was an agricultural society until quite late and surnames were not considered necessary for the majority ( = the working class). There is an article about Finnish names in Wikipedia which seems okay:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_name
To this I would also like to add that people were not called Mr/Mrs/Miss unless they were other than the working class and would have a surname.
I know this seems difficult. Myself I have used communion books as the best way to follow when people move (as did someone above mention also). The combination of name, patronyme and date of birth usually are the keys to keep on track but the books were written by hand so mistakes occur sometimes. Families used to keep together so a group of people with same names and same ages (if not the dates of birth) usually are the same family. If the family appears in another farm or village about the same time they disappear from another they most likely are the same people. If there is a reference in the communion books from where they came or where they go it is the best proof there is if no registers exist for the movings (which is often the case in rural areas).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_name
To this I would also like to add that people were not called Mr/Mrs/Miss unless they were other than the working class and would have a surname.
I know this seems difficult. Myself I have used communion books as the best way to follow when people move (as did someone above mention also). The combination of name, patronyme and date of birth usually are the keys to keep on track but the books were written by hand so mistakes occur sometimes. Families used to keep together so a group of people with same names and same ages (if not the dates of birth) usually are the same family. If the family appears in another farm or village about the same time they disappear from another they most likely are the same people. If there is a reference in the communion books from where they came or where they go it is the best proof there is if no registers exist for the movings (which is often the case in rural areas).
Re: Name changes
Thank you, Luonski for your reply. I think I can get used to relying on the Communion Books for guidance but I'll have to work a little harder to accept someone with another name
I just came across what I thought was a duplicate record. In the 1700's a couple had 2 sons, they married and had children and then their individual lineages were created. The sons were Lauri and Heikki. 100 YEARS LATER 1800 a direct descendant of Lauri married a direct descendant of Heikki and their children created the generations that would become me. I guess the old saying is true, what goes around comes around.
Enjoy the weekend.
Janice
I just came across what I thought was a duplicate record. In the 1700's a couple had 2 sons, they married and had children and then their individual lineages were created. The sons were Lauri and Heikki. 100 YEARS LATER 1800 a direct descendant of Lauri married a direct descendant of Heikki and their children created the generations that would become me. I guess the old saying is true, what goes around comes around.
Enjoy the weekend.
Janice
Re: Name changes
No. Maaninka was not his (last) name. It was the name of the farm he lived. Farm names are not last names/surames. "Kotajarvi" is not a Finnish word, it is nonsene.Katie kirjoitti:This is how I understand it. I'll use my ancestors. Mr Maaninka lived in a house on a farm along with other families. Mr Maaninka hired Mr. Kotajarvi as a laborer and he and
Re: Name changes
Kotajärvi is Finnish, but it is not a name of a person but could be that of a place. Järvi is lake, and kota is conical hut in the fashion of teepee. The Sami people lived in kota.Kimpula kirjoitti: "Kotajarvi" is not a Finnish word, it is nonsene.
Re: Name changes
You are right, "Kotajärvi" is Finnish, but I was writing about "Kotajarvi" which is not a Finnish word, it is nonsene.timotk kirjoitti:Kotajärvi is Finnish, but it is not a name of a person but could be that of a place. Järvi is lake, and kota is conical hut in the fashion of teepee. The Sami people lived in kota.Kimpula kirjoitti: "Kotajarvi" is not a Finnish word, it is nonsene.
Re: Name changes
Thank you for your interest, I understand what you are trying to say. We can close this request now.
Janice
Janice