Date: 07/03/2002 2:24:33 AM Central Daylight Time
Most of the present letter is thanks
to the input of our correspondents and
efforts made on our behalf.
Contents:
1. America and the Holy Land by Moshe
Davis
2. James = Jacob the most most popular
name in the USA!
3. Most popular US female names
4. Swedish Names
5. 50 Most Common American Surnames
6. 50 commonest and rarest British
Surnames
7. Genetic Studies Confusing
8. Sinclair?
9. Brit-Am Meeting in Jerusalem
1.
America and the Holy Land
by Moshe Davis
Vol. 4 of With Eyes toward Zion. Westport,
Conn.: Praeger, 1995. 193 pp. $55
Middle East Quarterly
June 1995
Americans have for two centuries had
a special tie to the Holy Land, and
Davis , professor emeritus of American
Jewish History and Institutions at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
has devoted much of his career to
illuminating this connection.
The somewhat casually written volume
under review includes such interesting
facts as: In 1788, during the Constitutional
Convention, the Hartford
Courant published a letter from a reader
who argued that the president of
the United States should not also be
commander-in-chief, on the grounds
that "should he hereafter be a Jew,
our dear posterity may be ordered to
rebuild Jerusalem." In contrast, the
first Zionist declaration by an
American politician came in 1819, when
John Adams wrote, "I really wish the
Jews again in Judea an independent
nation." Emma Lazarus, author of the
inscription on the Statue of Liberty
and of the lines about "Give me your
tired, your poor," also believed that
Jews would find their haven in Eretz
Yisra'el. Mark Twain wrote of American
pilgrims to the Holy Land that "they
could no more write dispassionately
and impartially about it than they
could about their own wives and children."
Nearly four hundred villages,
towns, and cities in the United States
have names from the Jewish Bible,
ranging from the twenty-seven incidences
of Salem to the whole
pseudo-biblical geography around Salt
Lake City.
Davis argues that these many signs point
to an attitude of considerable
political importance: "helping the
Jews in Eretz Israel not only conformed
to the spirit of America but enhanced
it."
2. James = Jacob the most most popular
name in the USA!
In Chapter Six of Joseph we spoke about
the significance of the name Jacob
and its derivatives in the USA.
The section is repeated below.
One of the points we mentioned was
that the name "James" is a form of Jacob.
Another fact of interest in this connection
that we have just become aware
of is that the name "James" is
the most popular male personal name in the USA.
The most popular male personal names
in their order of preference are:
1. James 11. Christopher
21. Ronald
2. John 12. Daniel
22. Anthony
3. Robert 13. Paul
23. Kevin
4. Michael 14. Mark
24. Jason
5.William 15. Donald
25. Jeff
6. David 16. George
7. Richard 17. Kenneth
8. Charles 18. Steven
9. Joseph 19. Edward
10. Thomas 20. Brian
Maybe someone can find a Brit-Am connection
(if there is one) to the other
names?
We are also interested in lists of
the most frequent names from Australia,
New Zealand, and most European nations.
source: http://www.lifesmith.com/comnames.html
Extract from "Joseph" chapter six:
Jacob and Yankee
Jacob was the original name of the
forefather of Israel. The name means
“heel” in Hebrew but can also connote
“overtake”, “trickery”, and “humility”.
Isaiah 49:6 referring to the Lost Ten
Tribes: "You should be my servant to
raise up the tribes of Jacob and to
restore the preserved of Israel; I will
give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end
of the earth”.
The term “Union Jack” is applied
to the flag of Britain. The expression
is understandable as meaning “Covenant
of Jacob”. The origin of the
expression is due to James-I who united
the thrones of England and Scotland
that had previously been divided and
separate nations. Tim Phillips pointed
out that: James Stewart I/VI of England
and Scotland is called "Iacobus"
(i.e. Jacob) on the coins minted featuring
his likeness of the time. One,
at least, features the four-letters
representing the Hebrew name of God
(Tetragramatton) and the words "You
alone I fear" in Latin. The name James
comes from Jacob. “James” evolved from
a Latin “Jacomus” which is an
altered form of Jacobus or Jacob. The
British flag is called the “Union
Jack” meaning the confederation or
covenant of Jacob.
<In A.D. 1194,
Richard I of England introduced the Cross of St. George as
the standard of England, and this remained
the national flag until the
union with Scotland. In 1603, King
James VI of Scotland became James I of
England, as a result of which the first
Union Jack was formed in 1606 by
the addition of the Cross of St. Andrew
which formed the background of the
new flag. The name “Union Jack” came
from King James, whose name is
“Jacobus” in Latin, and “Jacob” in
Hebrew. Then in 1801 there was formed
the more familiar Union Jack by the
addition of the Cross of St. Patrick,
sandwiched in between the flags of
Scotland and England. Thus the formation
of the Union Jack as the result of
the progressive merging of the
inhabitants of the British Isles under
one throne, the throne of David. The
completed Union Jack thus symbolizes
the RE-UNION OF JACOB. >
Brit-Am supporter, Dempsey Bruton reported:
English/Latin/Hebrew names are equivalent.
“Webster’s” says:
James…Jacomus, later form of Jacobus
See JACOB.
Jacob…lit., seizing by the heel of
(cf. Gen. 25:26) ]] 1 a masculine name:
dim. Jake, Jack; var.James; equiv.
Fr. Jacques, It. Giacomo 2 Bible: a son
of Isaac, twin brother of Esau, and
the father of the founders of the
twelve tribes of Israel: also called
Israel: Gen. 25:24-34
Jaco-beian…Jacobus. L form of the name
of James I (see JACK)
Dempsey Bruton continues: <The Dictionary
confirms that the names James,
Jacobus, Jacob, and Jack, are all equivalents.
All this leads to some very
interesting conclusions:
<The first British king to unite
England and Scotland (both are Israelite
peoples of Jacob) into one kingdom
was King James (King Jacob). His very
name means Jacob and he unified the
people of Jacob in the British Isles.
Is this mere coincidence?
<Also King James authorized the
translation of the Bible into English and
it is called the King James (Jacob)
Version. This version of the Bible has
been used for centuries as the main
Bible version of the English-speaking
people. Remember also that Jacob is
another name for the patriarch Israel.
Thus the King James Bible could also
rightly be called the King Jacob or
King Israel Bible. The main point here
is that the K.J.V. of the Bible of
the English-speaking people bears the
very name Jacob (Israel) through its
English equivalent name “James”. Is
this also a mere coincidence?
Dempsey goes on: <Another startling
fact is that the first permanent
English settlement in America was Jamestown,
Virginia, named after King
James. This could rightly be called
Jacobtown, Virginia, since James equals
Jacob. It could rightly also be called
Israeltown, Virginia, since both
Jacob and Israel are two names for
the same man. Thus the name Jacob,
Israel, James is branded on America
from its very first settlement.
<Another interesting point that
I have heard before and will mention here
is this: During the American Civil
War (1861-1865) Menasseh was divided
into Menasseh of the Northern States
and Menasseh of the southern
states at war with each other. The
first battle between these two halves
of Menasseh was fought at a place called
Manasses, Virginia. Could this
also be another coincidence?
<In Summary, the first king to unify
the people of Jacob in the British
Isles had a name that meant Jacob.
He authorized the KJ Bible which has
been the mainstay of the English speaking
people of Jacob for centuries and
whose name King James Bible means King
Jacob Bible. Thus, through the king
and the Bible, the name Jacob (Israel)
is branded on our people. America’s
first permanent English town has the
name Jacob (/Israel) branded on it via
the name James. >
YANK
Another point is concerned with the
nickname “Yank” meaning American. This
nickname is of uncertain origin. Some
say it derives from the name of a Red
Indian tribe, others say it was an
Amerindian way of pronouncing, “Angle”
or “English”. Whatever the origins
of the name the fact remains that in the
Hebrew that was used by most of the
Jews in Europe “Yank” was a shortened
form of the name Jacob. A famous Hebrew
book is known as “Ayin Yaacov” or
“Spring of Jacob.” It consists of a
collection of legendary sources in the
Talmud. Amongst Jews of European origin
“Ayin Yaacov” is frequently
pronounced as “Ayin Yancov.” The East
European and Yiddish pronounciation
of Jacob was “Yancov”. “Yank” is short
for “Yancov” or “Jacob”.
3. Most popular US female names
1. Mary11. Lisa21. Michelle
2. Patricia12. Nancy22. Laura
3. Linda13. Karen23. Sarah
4. Barbara14. Betty24. Kimberly
5. Elizabeth15. Helen25. Deborah
6. Jennifer16. Sandra
7. Maria17. Donna
8. Susan18. Carol
9. Margaret19. Ruth
10. Dorothy20. Sharon
4. Swedish Names
From: Orjan Svensson
Subject: Re: "Brit-Am Now"-48
Yair Davidiy:
> 3. Research Requests:
> 1. I am seeking (preferably on the
web) lists of the most frequent surnames
> in Britain, the USA, Australia, NZ,
etc and also in European countries.
>
The most frequent surname in Sweden
is Johansson, meaning Johan's son.
The ultimate origin of the name Johan
should be Hebrew, since it is related
to Johannes etc. More obviously related
to Hebrew are the names
Israelsson, Abrahamsson, Abramsson,
Jakobsson and Isaksson.
In the national Swedish phone book
(from the year 1999 which I have access
to electronically) are listed 1790
persons with surname
Israelsson, 5626 Abrahamsson, 378 Abramsson,
17401 Jakobsson and 8718 persons
with surname Isaksson. Some are listed
together with spouses, so the
real numbers of persons with those
names in Sweden, counting children
etc also are significantly higher.
Danielsson, Josefsson, Davidsson and
Salomonsson are also quite frequent in
Sweden
(my computer program or CD-rom drive
crashed when I tried to investigate
those).
Swedish names ending with "-son" are
originally "farmer's names".
A Swedish surname which may sound somewhat
"Jewish" is Levin.
In Sweden the surname Levin occurs
mostly amongst non-Jewish people.
About 2400 persons with surname Levin
are listed in the Swedish phone book.
Lewen is also a Swedish surname.
Orjan
5. 50 Most Common American Surnames
50 Most Common American Surnames (US
Census 1990)
1. Smith11. Anderson21. Clark31. Wright41.
Mitchell
2. Johnson12. Thomas22. Rodriguez32.
Lopez42. Perez
3. Williams13. Jackson23. Lewis33.
Hill43. Roberts
4. Jones14. White24. Lee34. Scott44.
Turner
5. Brown15. Harris25. Walker35. Green45.
Phillips
6. Davis16. Martin26. Hall36. Adams46.
Campbell
7. Miller17. Thompson27. Allen37. Baker47.
Parker
8. Wilson18. Garcia28. Young38. Gonzalez48.
Evans
9. Moore19. Martinez29. Hernandez39.
Nelson49. Edwards
10. Taylor20. Robinson30. King40. Carter50.
Collins
source: http://www.lifesmith.com/comnames.html
6. 50 commonest and rarest British Surnames
Here is a list of the 50 commonest
and rarest British Surnames. This list
was compiled from an analysis of the
Electoral Rolls. The Associated Town
column shows the most popular location
for particular common name.
50 Commonest Names Numbers in Thousands
Associated Town A-Z Rarest Names
· Smith 515 Lerwick Angelo
· Jones 392 Llandudno
Boulstridge
· Williams 267 Llandudno
Bungard
· Brown 243 Galashiels
Bursnell
· Taylor 236 Oldham Cabrera
· Davies 203 Swansea Chaisty
· Wilson 174 Kilmarnok
Clayworth
· Evans 162 Swansea Denial
· Thomas 145 Swansea Dissanayake
· Johnson 139 Lerwick
Domville
· Roberts 135 Llandudno
Dua
· Walker 125 Wakefield
Edeson
· Wright 124 Norwich Garrott
· Robinson 120 Darlington
Gaspar
· Thompson 119 Newcastle
Gauge
· White 117 Dorchester
Gelson
· Hughes 113 Llandudno
Happer
· Edwards 111 Llandudno
Hawa
· Green 110 Wigan Helling
· Hall 109 Durham Hollingberry
· Wood 106 Huddersfield
Howsham
· Harris 104 Newport Husher
· Lewis 103 Llandrindod
W. Huth
· Martin 102 Harris Khambaita
· Jackson 102 Carlisle
Kinlan
· Clarke 101 Ipswich Le
Feuvre
· Clark 101 Dundee Leatherby
· Turner 100 Wolverhampton
Lowsley
· Hill 95 Dudley Mardling
· Scott 94 Galashiels
Mc Cart
· Cooper 94 Walsall McCalman
· Morris 90 Shrewsbury
McKiddie
· Ward 89 Lincoln McQuillen
· Moore 88 Norwich Meath
· King 86 Colchester Mustow
· Watson 85 Sunderland
Nana
· Baker 83 Taunton Pepall
· Harrison 83 York Perdue
· Morgan 81 Llandrindod
W. Ravensdale
· Patel 81 Harrow Rukin
· Young 80 Galashiels
Selvaratnam
· Allen 78 Leicester Shelsher
· Mitchell 77 Dundee Silsbury
· James 76 Swansea Southway
· Anderson 76 Lerwick
Upadhyad
· Phillips 76 Swansea
Valji
· Lee 74 London (West)
Virji
· Bell 72 Carlisle Wadd
· Parker 71 Derby Weild
· Davis 70 Gloucester
Witte
Total 6.25 Million
Home Page U. Kingdom Surnames
7. Genetic Studies Confusing
From Abstract:
Molecular Biology and Evolution 19:1008-1021
(2002)
© 2002 Society for Molecular Biology
and Evolution
Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon
Mass Migration
British history contains several periods
of major cultural change. It
remains controversial as to how much
these periods coincided with
substantial immigration from continental
Europe, even for those that
occurred most recently. In this study,
we examine genetic data for evidence
of male immigration at particular times
into Central England and North
Wales. To do this, we used 12 biallelic
polymorphisms and six
microsatellite markers to define high-resolution
Y chromosome haplotypes in
a sample of 313 males from seven towns
located along an east-west transect
from East Anglia to North Wales. The
Central English towns were genetically
very similar, whereas the two North
Welsh towns differed significantly both
from each other and from the Central
English towns. When we compared our
data with an additional 177 samples
collected in Friesland and Norway, we
found that the Central English and
Frisian samples were statistically
indistinguishable. Using novel population
genetic models that incorporate
both mass migration and continuous
gene flow, we conclude that these
striking patterns are best explained
by a substantial migration of
Anglo-Saxon Y chromosomes into Central
England (contributing 50%100% to the
gene pool at that time) but not into
North Wales.
a. The towns covered in the sample are
North Walsham, Fakenham, Bourne,
Southwell, Ashbourne, Abergele, and
Llangefni (on Anglesey). Buccal swabs
for DNA testing were taken from 313
males in these towns.
b. DNA samples were also taken from
94 males in Friesland (northern
Netherlands) and 83 males in Norway.
c. "The Central English towns were genetically
very similar, whereas the two
North Welsh towns differed significantly
both from each other and from the
Central English towns. When we compared
our data with an additional 177
samples collected in Friesland and
Norway, we found that the Central English
and Frisian samples were statistically
indistinguishable."
d. "The best explanation for our findings
is that the Anglo-Saxon cultural
transition in Central England coincided
with a mass immigration from the
continent. Such an event would simultaneously
explain both the high Central
English-Frisian affinity and the low
Central English-North Welsh affinity."
Says the BBC web site: The genetics
study :
"supports the idea that Celtic Britain
underwent a form of ethnic
cleansing by Anglo-Saxons invaders
following the Roman withdrawal in the
fifth century." The report goes on
to say that the study suggests "that
between 50% and 100% of the indigenous
population of what was to become
England was wiped out, with Offa's
Dyke acting as a 'genetic barrier'
protecting those on the Welsh side."
It was pointed out (on another forum)
that the above study contradicts
OTHER recent studies that claimed
"the genetic polls were irretrievably
mixed and that 'celtic' genes were
actually the preponderance of all British
people."
see for instance reports associated
with Sykes.
i.e.
The latest report (along with others)
suggests that most of the English
descend from the Anglo-Saxons.
Some previous recent reports that received
high publicity claimed that most
of the English descend from "Celtic"
people who were in Britain prior to
the Anglo-Saxon invasions.
The two claims contradict each other
diametrically and both claim the
latest scientific DNA evidence as their
justification.
These studies can be useful but they
are also confusing and need to be
confirmed by additional evidence.
8. Sinclair?
A friend of mine in Jerusalem found
a genealogical family tree in some old
furniture. She cannot tract the original
owners.
The family tree appears to be have
been drawn up by a professional and was
probably expensive.
It shows the ancestry of the British
family of St. Claire or Sinclair.
It may well have belonged to a tourist
from Britain or the USA.
If the original owner(s) can be traced
we will send them the document.
9. Brit-Am Meeting in Jerusalem
2 Short Lectures by the Heads
of Brit-Am in Israel
at
"Shalshelet" in the Bomb Shelter (Miklat)
in the Car Park of
7 Shmuel HaNagid
at 1700
10-7-02