Popular Names in the Family

Given Names in My Family Tree 

During the Past 200 years

It has been suggested that I create a list of given names belonging to our ancestors.  Below is a list of direct ancestors' given names. Meaning only those ancestors seen on my pedigree chart going back 6-8 generations.  

Middle names are included in the list because many were known only by their middle name, especially the German ancestors.  If several ancestors had the same name, the number next to the name will show how many people had that name.

Female Names: 
Abigail, Ann/Anna(4), Barbara, Basheba(2), Bettie, Caldona, Catherine, Christina, Dorothea(3), Edna, Emeline, Elizabeth(4), Frances, Jane(3), Jemima, Judith, Justine(2), Lebitha, Mabel, Margaret, Maria(3), Martha(2), Mary(6), Maymie, Minnie, Nancy(2), Pearl(2), Phoebe, Rachel, Rebecca, Rhoda, Roenna/Rowena, Ruth, Sarah(6), Susan/Susanna(4), Theodota, Verna.

Male Names: 
Allen, Andrew, Anthony, Balzar, Benjamin, Cason, Charles(2), David, Edgar, Elmer(2), Francis, George(2), Grief, Harrison, Henry, Hezekiah, Jacob, James, Jesse(2), John/Johann(7), Johnson, Leroy, Luke, Marion, Martin(2), Matthew(2), Mathias, Michael(7), Miller, Monroe, Nathan(2), Neal, Phillip(2), Riley, Samuel, Stephen, William(4).

Palindromes

 Palindromes

According to Wikipedia, a palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or sequence of symbols that read the same backwards and forwards.  Some examples of word palindromes are madam, civic, racecar, radar, dad, kayak, noon, rotator, etc.  In Junior High school, I remember an English teacher giving us a timed test to see how many palindromes we could come up within the time limit.

One of my favorite surnames on my family tree is a palindrome: Leffel  

Not only is the Leffel surname a palindrome, it is also an uncommon surname - meaning it's easier to find when searching through records and indexes.  But it's only easier to find if spelled correctly.  I often find Leffel misspelled as Leffle or Loffel. 

Leffel is the surname for one of my four grandparents -- my maternal grandmother, Mabel Edna Leffel.  Mabel's ancestry goes back to Balzar Leffel, who immigrated to America from Germany in 1750.  Balzar Leffel's name on the Ship Passenger List (1750) was Balthasar Loeffel.  Balzar's baptismal record from Ludwigshafen, Bayern, Germany, also records his name as Balthasar Loeffel.  So it appears that the surname was spelled Loeffel in Germany prior to immigrating to America in 1750.  

The Leffel or Loeffel surname means an occupational maker or seller of spoons.  In the middle ages spoons were more commonly carved from wood.  

Once Balzar arrived in America and settled in Pennsylvania, the "o" was omitted from the Loeffel name and his name appeared as "Leffel" in most records such as census, land, and tax records.  The name on his will was Balzer Leffel.  He signed with an "X", meaning he could not read and write in English. 

Balzer Leffel signed his Will with an "X"

 All of Balzar's descendants down to the present time have used the Leffel spelling of the surname.  Balzar and Sybilla Leffel are Grandma Mabel Leffel Baldwin's 4th great-grandparents.  We descend through their son, John Leffel.  Line of descent: Balzar and Sybilla Leffel  > John Leffel > Anthony Leffel > David Miller Leffel > Charles Edgar Leffel > Mabel Leffel. 

Related Posts: 
Balzar and Sybilla Leffel  
Happy German-American Day  
Anthony and Mary Miller Leffel Family 
David Miller Leffel