My view is that the general dictionary views of surnames are a mixture of localisms, broad definitions and speculations. Some surnames, such as those obviously involving a profession such as referring to a ‘Black Smith’, for instance, tell us nothing about the origination and location of a particular family but everything about what that vocation involves. This is not uncommon as a similar situation is found with ecclesiastical rank (such as ‘Bishop’, ‘Priest’, or ‘Monk’, etc) and military rank (such as ‘Sergeant’, ‘Marshal’ and ‘Captain’, etc). Other names involve a specific locality within a known geographical area, with those involving particular or outstanding physical characteristics (such as ‘handsome’, ‘Tall’ and ‘Beautiful’, etc), or types of outstanding characteristics (such ‘Trustworthy’, ‘Joyful’ and ‘Love’, etc). Surnames can even involve precious metals (such as ‘Gold’ ‘Silver’ and ‘Steel’, etc) and valuable stones (such as ‘Daimond’, ‘Sapphire’ and ‘Ruby’, etc). There are no set rules for the definition of a surname. Although many ancient surnames in China (which are all over two-thousand years old) are indicative of a specific geographical location – this is not always the case. One ethnic Chinese person I know carries the surname ‘Qiu’ [邱 - Qiu1] (pronounced ‘Yau’ in Cantonese). Over two-thousand five-hundred-years ago, ancestors from her family faithfully served the family of the Sage Scholar known in the West as ‘Confucius’ (born ‘孔丘’ or ‘Kong Qiu’). As a reward, this peasant family was elevated up the social ranks by being granted the surname ‘丘’ (Qiu) - which is the first-name of Confucius denoting ‘small bumps’ he possessed on the top of his head. However, in 1725 CE, the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty took exception to this history decreed that a naming taboo should be placed upon those carrying the name of Confucius, ordering each surname lineage to add the particle ‘阝’ (Yi4) to the right of the ideogram ‘丘’ thus creating the combination of ‘邱’- With ‘阝’ (Yi4) being a contraction of ‘邑‘ (Yi4) - which denotes a ‘town’, ‘district’ or ‘state’, etc. This was carried-out to remove direct association between the lineal descendants of the servants of the House of Confucius and Confucius himself – and instead change that history so as to associate it instead with the far-older personage of Jiang Ziya (姜子牙), a military advisor at the start of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BCE) who would later found the powerful State of Qi (a place Confucius visted). The capital of Qi was a place named Yingqiu (营丘), located in present-day Shandong province. Some of Jiang Ziya’s descendants thus adopted Qiu (丘) as their surname. Many actual descendants of the servants of Confucius today, however, still remember their humble roots in the House of Confucius. As for ‘Wyles’ no one is sure of its exact origins. Dictionaries speculate that there could have been specific places named after local attributes all over the UK – with talk of ‘tricksters’ and ‘hunters of eels’ or a ‘special trap’ for capturing eels! (As in a ‘Wiley’ device)! I suspect that ‘Wyles’ might have many different (and unrelated’) origins and that we must carry-out our own genealogical research. Certainly, my paternal DNA, the known physical history of my family and the area within which they lived bear no resemblance to prevailing name-dictionary theories!
0 Comments
|
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles - Last Male Descendant of the 'Wyles' Family of Duddington! Archives
November 2023
Categories
All
|
- Home
- Wyles family of Duddington Facebook
- Wyles Blog
- Duddington: Etymology
- Duddington Land Survey (1984)
- Statement Of Inclusivity (17.7.2019)
- Wyles Family Tree (1301-2016)
- Origins of the Wyles Family of Kings Cliffe
- Deciphering the Wyles Enigma of Duddington
- Etymology: Wyles Family Name
- Wyles Family Portraits
- Kilmurray Clan (Eire)
- 69th South Lincolnshire Regiment
- Duddington Hoard (1994)
- Duddington Church & Graveyard
- Duddington Videos
- Duddington Digest
- Wyles Family Coat of Arms
- Wyles Family Paternal DNA
- Wyles Family Certificates
- Wyles-Wiles Extra Parish Records Data
- Wyles Marriages
- Northamptonshire Record Cards
- Duddington Militia List – 1777
- Wyles Wills & Marriages (1601-1790)
- Wyles Marriages Cambridgeshire (1618-1830)
- Duddington area: Baptisms (1650-1812)
- Duddington area: Baptisms (1813-1843)
- Duddington area: Marriages (1650-1860)
- Duddington area: Burials (1700-1865)
- Duddington Burials (1735-1966)
- Contact
©opyright: Site design, layout & content (2009) Adrian Peter Chan-Wyles. No part of this site (or information contained herein) may be copied, reproduced, duplicated, or otherwise distributed without prior written agreement
from [email protected].
from [email protected].