When and Why did White Americans Stop Using these last names? (presidents, cities)
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That's interesting about the most popular white surnames. I can honestly say that in twenty years of living in Texas, I dont think Ive ever met anyone (white or otherwise) with the surname of Yoder or Schmitt. Like other posters have pointed out, these are German names, perhaps they didnt move to Texas in great numbers.
Texas was settled by many many German immigrants while it was a country. My Scottish great-great grandfather worked for Prince Solms and Muesebach settling New Braunfels and married a German immigrant. Surely you’ve heard of Octoberfest in Fredericksburg and Wurstfest in New Braunfels. In the 40s a lot children living just outside San Antonio still spoke German and English. My mom didn’t want to go to school because she only spoke English and everyone else was speaking German outside of class, and this was after WWI. A lot of German names in the US were changed during WWI. My maiden name is extremely German but my father’s family didn’t seem to feel the need to change it here in Texas. Williams of German descent were most likely Wilhelms early last century. They settled mostly in the Hill Country north of San Antonio. We have Boerne, Bulverde, Schertz and Greune besides New Braunfels all right outside SA. In town there are tons of German street names, Huebner, Wurzbach, Bluemel (now mispronounced as blue mel which drove my mom crazy because she knew the “Blumul” family). Between the Spanish and German names listening to GPS is pretty comical down here.
I agree the German names listed are not common in Texas but I’ve known many with other German names and a few that don’t sound German but are. Grew up by a family named Jung, dad was 100% German and I have a cousin by marriage with an Arabic sounding name that is actually a very German surname so it can be deceiving.
I've been curious about this phenomenon here in the United States. In my opinion, the last names below tend to almost always be people who are African American:
Washington
Jackson
Jefferson
I have a friend who is British, white and has the last name of Jackson. Living here in the States, he has said how people are often shocked to see that he is white after seeing his last name. I'm just wondering when did white people stop using these last names? When did they become African American only? Especially since the most famous people with those last names are the founding fathers who were all white. I'm not originally from the US but have lived here for two decades, so perhaps there is some history behind this that I'm not aware of.
I doubt that white people "stopped" using those last names.
I think it's likelier that freed slaves who were in a position to choose last names, instead of being saddled with the names of their owners, chose names of presidents, perhaps because they felt those names conferred dignity, and the proportion of people with those last names just changed as more black people adopted them.
White, multigenerational Americans from the South...tend to be of English, Scottish and Welsh extraction with some exceptions like Acadian/Francophones in Louisiana and some Czechs & Poles in Texas. When you go up north, there's a mix of Eastern/Central/Southern European names along with Scandinavian names in the Upper Midwest. There were more waves of immigrants up north so you'll see clusters of German and Scandinavian-descended folks and then perhaps some Irish last names because of the Potato Famine.........and then a lot of Jewish folks of German, Russian and Polish extraction (many of whom anglicized their names). Mark Cuban comes from Russian Jewish stock (Cubinsky, I think) and his grandfather or great-grandfather changed their last name. Same thing with Kirk Douglas (Issur Danielovitch Demsky).
White Americans in the South were more likely to already be of English or at least Anglophone descent and probably felt less pressure or reasons to change their names. Over time, people get married to others outside of their immediate culture. My wife's maiden name is English. Her father is mostly English and German while her mom is mostly Irish. Their whole family is a mix of Irish, German, Italian, Polish and a little bit of French.
I'm Black with a high degree of West/Central African ancestry (87%). My father's last name is Irish. It's not uncommon but it's definitely not a "typical" black name like Jefferson, Jackson, Jenkins, Williams etc. His last name definitely came from our ancestors slave owners and wasn't a name we gave ourselves....not really the name someone would randomly choose like Freeman or Lincoln.
My mom's name is an old Scottish clan name. Also....not a name someone would randomly give themselves post-Slavery. The European blood I do have (only 10%) probably comes from a combo of England, Ireland, Scotland and/or Wales based on DNA testing...though that's the case with most Black Americans.
Texas was settled by many many German immigrants while it was a country. My Scottish great-great grandfather worked for Prince Solms and Muesebach settling New Braunfels and married a German immigrant. Surely you’ve heard of Octoberfest in Fredericksburg and Wurstfest in New Braunfels. In the 40s a lot children living just outside San Antonio still spoke German and English. My mom didn’t want to go to school because she only spoke English and everyone else was speaking German outside of class, and this was after WWI. A lot of German names in the US were changed during WWI. My maiden name is extremely German but my father’s family didn’t seem to feel the need to change it here in Texas. Williams of German descent were most likely Wilhelms early last century. They settled mostly in the Hill Country north of San Antonio. We have Boerne, Bulverde, Schertz and Greune besides New Braunfels all right outside SA. In town there are tons of German street names, Huebner, Wurzbach, Bluemel (now mispronounced as blue mel which drove my mom crazy because she knew the “Blumul” family). Between the Spanish and German names listening to GPS is pretty comical down here.
I agree the German names listed are not common in Texas but I’ve known many with other German names and a few that don’t sound German but are. Grew up by a family named Jung, dad was 100% German and I have a cousin by marriage with an Arabic sounding name that is actually a very German surname so it can be deceiving.
Don't forget Luckenbach!
German ancestry is probably more common here than in other Southern states but less common than in the Plains and Midwest.
Places like Chicago and NYC likely have mostly Jewish people with the central and eastern Euro names while the heartland is comprised of Christian central/eastern Euro folks.
I've been curious about this phenomenon here in the United States. In my opinion, the last names below tend to almost always be people who are African American:
Washington
Jackson
Jefferson
I have a friend who is British, white and has the last name of Jackson. Living here in the States, he has said how people are often shocked to see that he is white after seeing his last name. I'm just wondering when did white people stop using these last names? When did they become African American only? Especially since the most famous people with those last names are the founding fathers who were all white. I'm not originally from the US but have lived here for two decades, so perhaps there is some history behind this that I'm not aware of.
What? Nobody changes last names unless a) they've gotten married or b) they're trying to escape past notoriety. And B is a really small sampling.
I'm Black with a high degree of West/Central African ancestry (87%). My father's last name is Irish. It's not uncommon but it's definitely not a "typical" black name like Jefferson, Jackson, Jenkins, Williams etc. His last name definitely came from our ancestors slave owners and wasn't a name we gave ourselves....not really the name someone would randomly choose like Freeman or Lincoln.
My mom's name is an old Scottish clan name. Also....not a name someone would randomly give themselves post-Slavery. The European blood I do have (only 10%) probably comes from a combo of England, Ireland, Scotland and/or Wales based on DNA testing...though that's the case with most Black Americans.
FWIW, and I'm ignorant on the subject, I thought it wasn't uncommon for the newly emancipated to chose names in reference to a geography. IE, in the Carolinas, a LOT of places have sottish Clan names. And all over, a lot of places were named for people.
German ancestry is probably more common here than in other Southern states but less common than in the Plains and Midwest.
Places like Chicago and NYC likely have mostly Jewish people with the central and eastern Euro names while the heartland is comprised of Christian central/eastern Euro folks.
Huh? Jewish people are only 2.4% of the entire USA population and only 12% of New York City's population, which is probably the highest concentration in the country, so "mostly" is kind of a stretch. 12% is not mostly.
I'm fifth generation in New Jersey, of mostly Dutch descent. NJ, like NYC, was settled by the DUTCH, not by Eastern Europeans. Nieuw Amsterdam was the original name of the city, remember? However, my father's paternal line came from England, so my own last name is a common English name that you know.
While the original Dutch presence still survives in place names around the NY metro area and upstate New York, later immigrants such as Irish and Italian brought in the predominant surnames and ethnicities that people typically think of when they think of NYC, followed by the surge of Spanish-speaking people from the islands and Central/South America. Of course, that's changing now with the influx of immigrants from Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Also, let's not forget the 26% of New Yorkers who are Black.
Most common surnames in New York City:
1) Smith 114,166
2) Brown 72,320
3) Williams 71,973
4) Johnson 68,760
5) Miller 54,856
6) Jones 53,878
7) Rodriguez 53,820
8) Lee 49,088
9) Davis 42,852
10) Rivera 38,486
11) Thomas 37,114
12) Wilson 32,484
13) Gonzalez 31,747
14) White 30,555
15) Martinez 30,544
16) Garcia 30,468
17) Perez 29,522
18) Martin 29,288
19) Lopez 29,197
20) Lewis 29,117"
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12% is not mostly.
