How interesting would it be to find an eponym legacy in your family?
An eponym is a person, place, or thing for which something is named for or believed to be named. For example Henry Louis “Lou” or “Buster” Gehrig is the eponym for ALS or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
There are many medical related eponyms. They tend to be easier to remember and less scary than a technical term. Often they get associated with an event, such as 9-11 or Columbine. 99% invisible offers a great podcast that gives more information on the topic.
Eponym Legacy and Family History
I wish I had a great family story to share on this topic. I haven’t discovered one… yet… but I do have a few favorites I’d like to share.
I’m endlessly fascinated by history and the origin of things. Maybe Shakespeare said it best when he wrote (and I’m paraphrasing) would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?
History tells us that the United States of America took it’s name from a cartographer who drew up some of the first maps of the new world. Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512). When Martin Waldseemüller created a world map in 1507, he named the new continent “America” after Vespucci. But what would history be without a little intrigue. Author, Rodney Broome’s book Terra Incognita – The True Story of How America Got its Name argues that America was actually named after a wealthy overseas trader named Richard Amerike.
Have you ever used the word boycott? The Eponym is Charles C. Boycott. He was an Irish land agent for an absentee landlord. When the landlord refused to uphold the the Irish land reforms during the 1880s he was shunned and denied access to servants, postal services and even stores.
I have a few “mavericks” in my life. Did you know the name given to our favorite non-conformists came from Samuel Augustus Maverick. He was an American cattle man who decided he wasn’t going to brand any of his cows. Whenever anyone picked up a stray, they new they were ‘Maverick’s’.
You never know what you’re going to discover when you dig into your family tree. Words are always evolving and we are always finding new ways to define them.
Good luck on your journeys.
Blueskies,
Tami