Re: BOMBACIAN Armenian roots?
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In reply to:
BOMBACIAN Armenian roots?
5/10/00
Hi, Tom,
First, I must say I don't know the answer to your question of whether Bombacian is an Armenian name. I do hope that you are not put off by some of the responses you received -- I'm sure that they were not intended to be as rude as they may sound.
Terzian is right, in my experience: many common Armenian names are of Turkish origin. This is because Armenia was occupied by the Turks for many centuries. My own name, BOYAJIAN, perhaps a stereotypically common "Armenian" name, derives from a Turkish word, boya, meaning dyer or painter. Also, you must know that there are many, many Armenian names. I frequently learn of names I've never heard before. There are so many, I think, because most Armenians (except for the noble families) adopted the use of surnames rather recently (late 1800s, early 1900s). So cousins or even brothers might have taken different surnames based on their different circumstances. Prior to adoping family names, a person was known as "son of"-- "ian" or sometimes "yan" -- his/her father. Krikorian (son of Gregory) is a good example. When we started using family names, one son might decide to keep on using Papa's name and be "Krikorian." But his brother might take his name from the family business and be "Boyajian." A third son might like Papa's nickname "Avak" -- "wise" -- and be Avakian.
One should note, however, that: 1) not all Armenian names end in "ian" 2) not all names that end in "ian" are Armenian -- Trevellian, for example, is British -- and 3) not all Armenians have "Armenian" names -- a large number have adopted names native to their host countries and/or have altered their names to sound more "native."
I think that the best -- maybe only? -- way to discover if you have Armenian roots is to do some solid genealogical digging. Try doing what you can to get back to your Immigrant Ancestor and learn, if possible, where he came from.
I hope that this has been helpful.
Thanks,
Ned
More Replies:
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Re: BOMBACIAN Armenian roots?
8/05/00
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Re: BOMBACIAN Armenian roots?
Ned Boyajian 8/05/00
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Re: BOMBACIAN Armenian roots?
8/05/00
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Re: BOMBACIAN Armenian roots?
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Re: BOMBACIAN Armenian roots?