Surname of the week: ANDERSEN
On April 2, we celebrated Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday and International Children’s Book Day.
In honor of the Danish author and poet, we look at the surname ANDERSEN this week.
It is a patronymic surname from the personal name Anders, a vernacular form of Andreas. From the New Testament, the Greek name Andreas derives from andreios, meaning “manly” and aner, meaning, “man” or “male.”
Andreas was the first of Christ’s disciples. Various forms for this personal name throughout Europe are André (France) and Andrea (Italy).
It also gave rise to the northern Middle English name Andrew, which was absorbed in the surname ANDERSON. St. Andrew was also the patron saint of Scotland, making the surname popular in Scotland, under the spelling ANDERSON.
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Monumental milestones: Remember important moments
We recently experienced a milestone on the MyHeritage Facebook page, and reached over 100,000 fans.
Thank you to all our readers and users for their support. This event got me thinking about monumental milestones, which come in various forms.
These can be an action or event marking a significant change such our first steps, our first memory and the first words we spoke.
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Happy Easter: Will you win the ‘Heritage Hunt’ ?
Easter is here, with all its traditions.
The Easter bunny is a prominent symbol of the holiday, although the furry creature is not mentioned in the Bible.
While the bunny's exact origin is unknown, rabbits are frequently used as a symbol of fertility and new life. According to some, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. They brought the tradition of an egg-laying hare called Osterhase.
The tradition continued with children waking up Easter Sunday morning to find that the Easter Bunny had hidden decorated eggs for them to find.
The Easter Egg Hunt, as it is known today, is a fun family activity where children hunt for the decorated eggs indoors and outdoors to win a prize. Whomever finds the most eggs wins a prize including baskets of candies or chocolates.
At MyHeritage, we wanted to get into the Easter spirit with our own “Heritage Hunt,” an online scavenger hunt, with a chance for you to win a free data subscription. Continue reading "Happy Easter: Will you win the ‘Heritage Hunt’ ?" »
Surname of the week: MURPHY
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day (two weeks ago), we look at Irish heritage for this week's surname, MURPHY, considered the most common surname in Ireland.
Murphy is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Murchadha (descendant of Murchadh’), a personal name composed of muir (sea) + cath (battle or sea-warrior).
Traditionally, Irish surnames are taken from the leaders of tribes or famous warriors, and Murphy may be an example of this from pre-9th-century Ireland, then under Viking rule.
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Competition: Win ‘Labyrinth’ on DVD!
Do you have any secrets passed down through your family's generations?
Labyrinth is the story of two intelligent headstrong heroines, 17-year-old Alaïs Pelletier (Jessica Brown Findlay) from 13th century Carcassonne and modern-day PhD graduate Dr. Alice Tanner (Vanessa Kirby), who experience an adventure that intertwines their lives.
After inheriting a house in the South of France from an aunt she has never met, Alice stumbles upon an 800-year-old archaeological find.
Separated by time, but united in a common destiny, Alice is driven to find out about Alaïs and the past, which leads her through a journey into discovering the stories behind secrets passed down through the generations.
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RootsTech 2013: We’ve arrived!
One of the best things about genealogy conferences is that we get to catch up with our friends.
This year's RootsTech is expected to attract some 5,000 attendees, some 25% more than last year's event. In addition to conference-goers, speakers and exhibitors, many genealogy bloggers are already here. While many are US-based, this year includes bloggers from Australia, UK, France, Spain and elsewhere.
By 7pm Tuesday, I was at the conference hotel, affectionately known as Geneabloggers Central. I knew that many bloggers had arrived early, and had a nice dinner with Randy Seaver, Heather Wilkinson Rojo, saw Dick Eastman, Lisa Louise Cooke, Thomas MacEntee, Lisa Alzo and others.
This morning (Wednesday) was set-up day for the MyHeritage booth.
Click to zoom
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Rootstech 2013: MyHeritage heads to Salt Lake City
MyHeritage is excited to see our old friends and meet new ones at next week’s RootsTech 2013 conference, from March 21-23, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The event brings together genealogy and technology. It's a great place to share and learn from top genealogists and technologists about technology tools to help with your family history research.
MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet will give the keynote speech at 8.30am on Saturday, March 23, in Hall 1. He will unveil MyHeritage breaking news, so don’t miss out!
Gilad will speak alongside David Pogue, personal technology weekly columnist for The New York Times and a monthly columnist for Scientific American.
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Ethnic Foods: Eating around the world
The US is a nation of immigrants. Each group has added its cultural traditions – including delicious food – to the shared multi-ethnic experience. Every family has its favorite dishes from its own unique heritage or a combination of ancestries!
What I really enjoy is how different groups have incorporated their unique dishes into the celebration of US holidays. To use the Thanksgiving holiday as an example, most people feature the golden roasted turkey as a centerpiece, but the stuffing and side dishes will change! Mexican-Americans will add tamales and serve Spanish rice. Persian-Americans will use a rice, nut and fruit stuffing, while side dishes include stews, such as walnut-and-pomegranate, along with rice dishes featuring many green herbs. Italian-Americans will add pasta dishes like lasagna.
March is National Nutrition Month, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) offers ways to “eat right, your way, every day,” with foods from everywhere.
Dietary guidelines, according to a registered dietician in this story, should accommodate food preferences, cultural, ethnic, traditional and personal preferences the many diverse groups in the US. The story lists yummy healthy dishes from many cuisines:
Continue reading "Ethnic Foods: Eating around the world" »
Celebrating: National Women’s History Month
March is National Women’s Month in the United States. It has been observed annually since 1987 to honor women’s contributions to society, history and culture.
American women have achieved many firsts; here are a few:
- The first convention held to advocate women’s rights was at Seneca Falls, New York in 1848.
- In 1869, Wyoming Territory was the first US territory to grant women the right to vote.
- The first woman elected to an American political office was Susanna Salter, mayor of Argonia, Kansas in April 1887.
- Elizabeth Blackwell was the first accredited American female doctor and founded the first medical school for women.
- Edith Wharton became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for her novel - The Age of Innocence - in 1921.
- In 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to successfully fly more than 20 hours across the Atlantic.
"We Can Do It" poster, J. Howard Miller. Image credit: Wikipedia
This year’s theme is “Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination,” which recognizes the contributions and achievements of women in the fields of science, mathematics, technology and engineering.
In honor of International Women's Day next week, we will publish some of our favorite inspirational stories of women in your family tree.
Do you have women in your family who were pioneer inventors? Do you have any stories of women ancestors' contribution to society, culture and innovation? We'd like to hear your stories. Share them in the comments below, or email them to stories@myheritage.com.
New section: Surname of the week
MyHeritage welcomes you to a new weekly blog post, "Surname of the week." We'll discuss the origin, history and other information of one surname in each post.
Surnames first appeared in the Middle Ages as a way to record and document people and for tax purposes. Details included given names, nicknames, parents’ names, occupation and residence. This personal information later became an important part of the history of surnames.
English surnames, as we know them today, began in England as early as the 11th century. However, it was not until the late-17th-century that many families adopted permanent surnames.
Generally speaking, family names fall into the following categories with some examples given:
- Occupation: Smith, Taylor or Miller
- Personal characteristics: Young, Black or White
- Geographic or locations: Hamilton, Bush, Hill, Windsor or Murray
- Patronymics, Matronymics or Ancestral: Stephenson, Richardson or Harris
In honor of American-British Actress Elizabeth Taylor's birthday, we look at TAYLOR this week:
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