Throw Your Name In The Hat

[Shelby Stokes]

Okay, I am wondering if there is a way to tell, by name alone, if a person is or their family roots are from DR? I ask this due to my research into my family's history and I have yet to receive any acknowledgement as to my family name. My Grandfather did not know his Grandfather. Could there be name changes that are prominent to the culture as a whole or would most families make sure that the name never is lost?

As an attachment to this: What would be everyone's thoughts to this. It is an idea out of my head.

When realizing all of the ills that face the average person in DR, why can't those Dominicans that are living in affleunt countries band together and create a fund that would allow for the upliftment of the people back HOME? I am sure that the benefits would greatly outweigh the headaches of logistics or concern of fraud.

Once again, your thoughts on this. Thank you.

By the way, all my friends do think that I am crazy

Shelby Stokes

[NALs]

Okay, I am wondering if there is a way to tell, by name alone, if a person is or their family roots are from DR?

By name I assume you mean surname or last name.

In any case, there is really no way of connecting to the DR any heritage based on name alone for the following simple reason:

The vast majority of last names in this country originated either in Spain, France, Italy, Lebanon, Syria, Japan (especially in the Colonia Japoneza in Constanza), and other places of the world.

Couple this with the fact that other Latin American countries have a similar concoction of surnames, its hard to trace anything to any single Latin American country based on surname only.

Most last names in the DR originated in Spain, regardless of the racial composition of the person.

I ask this due to my research into my family's history and I have yet to receive any acknowledgement as to my family name. My Grandfather did not know his Grandfather. Could there be name changes that are prominent to the culture as a whole or would most families make sure that the name never is lost?

As with anywhere, name changes are very possible. Maybe, one letter is changed (ie. an "i" might change to a "y" in any given surname and vice-versa).

However, the most likely event is a split in the family some time in the past when one family member moved to one region of the DR and another moved to another region and they never met ever again. This could explain the same last names popping in different regions with completely different people who have never met.

Also, there might be some long lost Dominican family extentions into Cuba and Puerto Rico since many Dominican families were split when many fled to either of those islands during times of civil strifes and foreign invasions, etc.

When realizing all of the ills that face the average person in DR, why can't those Dominicans that are living in affleunt countries band together and create a fund that would allow for the upliftment of the people back HOME? I am sure that the benefits would greatly outweigh the headaches of logistics or concern of fraud.

My opinion on this is because the DR has become an individualistic society as oppose to a collective society. In other words, when a Dominican speaks of goals and well being, usually they are talking about their personal goals and well being and not necessarily that of the entire community as a whole.

Contrast this with other places (primarily in Asia) where people there tend to describe the goals and well being of the community over their own personal goals.

The individualistic culture is much more prominent in western countries and countries that were founded on European tradition and law (most of our traditions and laws comes from Spanish and French influence ( for example our laws are based on the Napoleonic Code) and informally touches of Africanism and Tainoism have been blended into the cultural tapestry).

Collective thinking would be a blessing, but don't expect it from Dominican expats. Most of them moved to the United States and to some of the most individualistic societies in Europe as well. If anything, the individualistic culture will be re-enforced.

[Shelby Stokes]

Originally Posted by Nal0whs

By name I assume you mean surname or last name.

In any case, there is really no way of connecting to the DR any heritage based on name alone for the following simple reason:

The vast majority of last names in this country originated either in Spain, France, Italy, Lebanon, Syria, Japan (especially in the Colonia Japoneza in Constanza), and other places of the world.

Couple this with the fact that other Latin American countries have a similar concoction of surnames, its hard to trace anything to any single Latin American country based on surname only.

Most last names in the DR originated in Spain, regardless of the racial composition of the person.


As with anywhere, name changes are very possible. Maybe, one letter is changed (ie. an "i" might change to a "y" in any given surname and vice-versa).

However, the most likely event is a split in the family some time in the past when one family member moved to one region of the DR and another moved to another region and they never met ever again. This could explain the same last names popping in different regions with completely different people who have never met.

Also, there might be some long lost Dominican family extentions into Cuba and Puerto Rico since many Dominican families were split when many fled to either of those islands during times of civil strifes and foreign invasions, etc.


My opinion on this is because the DR has become an individualistic society as oppose to a collective society. In other words, when a Dominican speaks of goals and well being, usually they are talking about their personal goals and well being and not necessarily that of the entire community as a whole.

Contrast this with other places (primarily in Asia) where people there tend to describe the goals and well being of the community over their own personal goals.

The individualistic culture is much more prominent in western countries and countries that were founded on European tradition and law (most of our traditions and laws comes from Spanish and French influence ( for example our laws are based on the Napoleonic Code) and informally touches of Africanism and Tainoism have been blended into the cultural tapestry).

Collective thinking would be a blessing, but don't expect it from Dominican expats. Most of them moved to the United States and to some of the most individualistic societies in Europe as well. If anything, the individualistic culture will be re-enforced.

Thank you for the response and if I can not go any further with the search then it is adquete to know that that is where my heritage, Father's side of my roots, come from. I will be going later this year and hope to form a lasting bond with the country itself.

As far as the thought of mine. I would reserve the right to interject a little faith, about the size of a mustardseed, into the people of DR and those that have people there. I do believe that a day is coming where we will assist all those that need us.

[Chirimoya]

Interesting question you raise, Shelby.

Could there such a thing as an uniquely Dominican surname?

Like some Spanish name that has mutated into a version only known in the DR?

Any remnants of indigenous names, like the ones you get in countries where there is still a real indigenous population?

What about African ones, for that matter?

Maybe the very particular circumstances here means that those mispelled Haitian (French, yeah right) names like 'Dipre' don't occur anywhere else?

What about all those hispanicised versions of Middle Eastern names like Susana, Cury and whatnot?

Is the surname that comes from the Dominican side of your family unusual in any way?

One more thing - Nals is right [checks forehead for fever ] about the prevailing individualism of Dominicans here and abroad. Although there are some organisations of the type you describe, they are not quite big enough to make a major difference.

The only things I can think of are the ambulances one sees, donated by such and such association from a Dominican community in the US to their home town in the DR, and isolated cases like Villa Fundacion (Bani) which have no real economic base of their own but thrive on the donations of individuals abroad to their family members back home combined with an association that sends funds for community projects in the town.

[Tordok]

Originally Posted by Shelby Stokes

Okay, I am wondering if there is a way to tell, by name alone, if a person is or their family roots are from DR? I ask this due to my research into my family's history and I have yet to receive any acknowledgement as to my family name. My Grandfather did not know his Grandfather. Could there be name changes that are prominent to the culture as a whole or would most families make sure that the name never is lost?

As an attachment to this: What would be everyone's thoughts to this. It is an idea out of my head.

When realizing all of the ills that face the average person in DR, why can't those Dominicans that are living in affleunt countries band together and create a fund that would allow for the upliftment of the people back HOME? I am sure that the benefits would greatly outweigh the headaches of logistics or concern of fraud.

Once again, your thoughts on this. Thank you.

By the way, all my friends do think that I am crazy

Shelby Stokes

Shelby,
Nal and Chiri already answered with eloquence re. names. Some surnames are highly associated with the DR, but these are few and far between, since most have an easily traceable origin elsewhere and can be found in many places arounf the globe. Very rarely will a surname be originally or exclusively Dominican.

I don't quite get your 2nd part. From just looking around, there are many venues to allocate funds to the needy in the DR. Just pick your favorite and donate time and/or money.

- Tordok
...oh! .....and no.....you are not crazy.........yet!

[Shelby Stokes]

Originally Posted by Tordok

I don't quite get your 2nd part. From just looking around, there are many venues to allocate funds to the needy in the DR. Just pick your favorite and donate time and/or money.

- Tordok
...oh! .....and no.....you are not crazy.........yet!

Just a expansion on the thought of "All for one and one for all". People are often times talking about how they can help if there were just a place or cause worth the time and effort. If people outside of the DR with ancestry and family there are capable to give assistance why not band together and make sure the things that are needed in the DR get done. No worry for governments, society or the next door neighbor.

That's all I meant.

[DMAO]

It is a very unusual name in DR. I have traced it to Europe. Some tell me it's Spaniard. I have seen some Jaquez in Mexico and the states that border it. Only in DR and Mx have I seen it spelled like that. The other spelling I've found are endinng in s or a c before the q. I used to think it was a variation of the French name Jacques.

Any thoughts on this Dominican last name?