This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Doxtator
If Sean is correct about the ending -tator, the name might mean "Daughter of a Doxie".

Doxies are sprites that look like Pixies. I think in some Celtic stories, they are horse-like in shape and can change shape into strange humans with horse-ears, but I may be confusing them with Nixies or Kelpies.

On the other hand, the name could be from the same root as the Old English word "Dohter", meaning daughter. Often times surnames pick up strange elaborations over the years, so it can be hard to tell.
vote up1vote down

Replies

I don't understand. The first Doxtator is a historic person, we know he was a '(semi-)native' American Indian living in New York in the early 18th century. Or do you think it's a made-up story then, on the page I linked to? It is not often that we know so much about the first person EVER to have a name as we do in this case.
vote up1vote down
PS I don't mean its not worth it to try and find a different origin, only that you're going about it the wrong way in this case. It's not much use to find combinations of gaelic words or whatever, no matter how much they resemble 'doxtator', because the first Doxtator is most unlikely ever to have heard of them. Instead it's enough to show there was even a single person living in the area at the time with a name that SOUNDS like doxtator (Nobody says he actually knew ODatsheckta!).
Kind Regards :)
vote up1vote down