What’s In A Name? Non-British Surnames
Introduction:
Modern American society is known for its ethnic diversity, and this, of course, is reflected in a wide variety of surnames. In this activity, students will learn about the origins and meanings of surnames commonly used in the United States that derive from non-British cultures.
Guiding Questions:
What characteristics do non-British surnames have in common with British ones?
What are some of the differences?
Learning Objectives:
Students will learn some of the common characteristics of surnames around the world.
Students will also learn some of the unique characteristics of surnames in different countries.
Instructional Plan:
- Access The Origins and Meaning of Names available through the Internet Public Library and scroll down to The Origins of Surnames Around the World (Most non-British surnames fall into the categories of patronymic, descriptive, locative, and occupational.) What are some of the differences? (Chinese names have only one syllable; many Greek names have a religious connection; recently created Hebrew names tend to be descriptive; all Italian surnames end in a vowel; most Japanese names are locative; and so on.)
Student Activity:
- Have the students, working in pairs, find five examples of surnames and
their meanings representing each culture group indicated on the chart (Non-British
Surnames) also available in pdf format. For this task, they should
consult the following links available through Internet
Public Library:
1.Chinese
surnames: |
1. name:
2. name:
3. name:
4. name:
5. name: |
1. meaning:
2. meaning:
3. meaning:
4. meaning:
5. meaning: |
2.
French surnames: |
1. name:
2. name:
3. name:
4. name:
5. name: |
1. meaning:
2. meaning:
3. meaning:
4. meaning:
5. meaning: |
3.
German surnames: |
1. name:
2. name:
3. name:
4. name:
5. name: |
1. meaning:
2. meaning:
3. meaning:
4. meaning:
5. meaning: |
4.
Greek surnames: |
1. name:
2. name:
3. name:
4. name:
5. name: |
1. meaning:
2. meaning:
3. meaning:
4. meaning:
5. meaning: |
5.
Hebrew surnames: |
1. name:
2. name:
3. name:
4. name:
5. name: |
1. meaning:
2. meaning:
3. meaning:
4. meaning:
5. meaning: |
6.
Hispanic surnames: |
1. name:
2. name:
3. name:
4. name:
5. name: |
1. meaning:
2. meaning:
3. meaning:
4. meaning:
5. meaning: |
Assessment:
- After the charts have been filled in, call upon students to share some of the names they have found, as well as their meanings. When each of the seven cultures is mentioned for the first time, have the student tell something about the origin of surnames in that culture.
Selected EDSITEment Websites
Standards Alignment
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