Names and Where They Came From

It is interesting to recall about communication and how we refer to something or someone.  That is what is meant by names.  How these Towns, Streets, Families and Personal Names are know as, is referring to it by “A Name”.

Town and Street Names

The family had immigrated from a Eureopean town across the waters and brought with them the name of their town where they had come from.  An example is Cambridge, Massachusetts (a close suburb city of Boston, Massachusetts) which was the named by the first settlers who arrived in this country in the 1600′s.  They were from the town in England which was Cambridge, England.  That town in Cambridge, England was named Cambridge because it contained a Bridge over the River Cam.  Still another town was named Newport, Rhode Island and that was a brand new port on this side of the Atlantic.  It wa a great shipping port in the early days of the colonies.  Street names are also very interesting.  ”Concord Road” was the road to Concord.  Once the traveler reached the designation of the Concord town line, he would cross the line into the town of Concord and then the name of the road would change to the next town he was traveling to.  This may have been the Town of Sudbury (next town over from Concord) and the same road he was traveling on now switched over to Sudbury Road i.e. the road to Sudbury so now the traveler was on the exact same road but there was a name change — now called “Sudbury Road”.  Also street names designated where one was in the town such as Front Street (where the front of the town was) i.e. the main street  Some old towns also had  the names Main Street (down town where the library and town hall was located) or Middle Road (the middle of the town) and road’s name told one where they were.  The Old Boston Post Road (which today still holds that name but is also Route #20).  It was the road where the stagecoach traveled and the mail was carried.  It is a very long road covering miles and miles in Massachusetts from one town and to the next.

Family Names and Individual Names

The family up there yonder was known as the Hill family.  Charlie and Betty Hill got their name as that was the geographical location of the little shack where they raised thierr family up on the hill.  They got their identity from being known as the family up on the hill.  Another family might have been the Johnsons.  He was the son of John and raised his family over there on his Papa’s farm.   Still another family was the Butcher family.  The father was the Butcher in town so his family was known by the trade of father.  Individual Names are also interesting!!  My name is Mary-Louise and I was named for my mother’s middle name and she recieved her middle name from her father’s close two sisters – one was Mary and the other Louise.  Putting them together he named my mother after each of them and then years later I took on their name.  I feel a special heritage and connection to them.

Where does your names descend from??  Individual Names, Family Names Street names,  Town Names, State Names  – what is their history??  Interesting to find out!!!