Origin of a Name
I've been putting together a list of "unusual" names that I see around various towns, on TV, and from various Ancestors of mine. The only problems are that I don't know anything about these names. I've tried looking them up on here, but couldn't find them :/ so I come to this Board in hopes of finding help.I'm asking for the Ethnic Background, Gender, Meaning, and how to Pronounce the names. If you can give more information than I have asked for, that would be marvelous, thank you :)Zallerbach (a road near Saint Louis, Missouri)
Quivira (female Ancestors surname)
Rancour (Ancestors surname)
Werneke (Ancestors surname)
Benassi (Ancestors surname)
Nayarkas (Ancestors surname)
Seifker (Ancestors surname)
Zumbehl (a road near Saint Louis, Missouri)
Vujic (surname to a younger singer in Australia)
Kachru (don't remember where I got this one from, sorry)
Vidgen (surname to a younger singer in Sweden, I believe)
Savaii (it was the latest Red Tribe in Survivor)
Rohr (don't remember where I got this one from either)
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Replies

SAVAII:I guess it originates from Samoa:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savai'i
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KACHRU:Seems to be a Kashmiri Pandit name, derived from the Kashmiri word "Kachur" which means "one having light (brownish) hair." http://kauls.net/surnames/Kachru.htm
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VUJIC:Serbian surname originating from a noun 'Vuk', (meaning: wolf).
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Serbian-Language-3393/surnames.htm
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NAYARKAS:I really don't have a clue. However I can imagine the name could be related to Nayar, a surname from the region of Punjab, India:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayar_clan
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BENASSI:Origin: Italyhttp://www.italygen.com/italiansurnames/keyB.php?pag=108http://www.cognomiitaliani.org/cognomi/cognomi0002en.htmRelated names:
BENASSA
BENASSAI
BENASSI
BENASSINI
BENASSO
BENAZZI
BENAZZO
Probably derived from the medieval Benassai and its modifications or transformations of the medieval name Beme, Italianized form from the Latin nomen Bonus.
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Sorry: Beme = BeneLatin Bonus means "good":http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bonus
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See also this posting on this messageboard:
http://surnames.behindthename.com/bb/sur/4229141
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RANCOUR: altered spelling: Rancourt.Here you find an interesting explanation:
http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Scrancher
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QUIVIRA:The following stories really are worth while reading:http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/q/quivira.htmlhttp://www.kansasgenealogy.com/history/quivera.htmPronounciation: Qui·vir·a  (k-vîr, k-vrä):
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Quivira
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Sorry, that was a dead link. This one's better:(German language):http://www.nomen-online.de/bedeutung/nachname/Rohr-1213.htmlTranslated in English:Surname Rohr
Meaning / origin:
Middle High German. Placename rohr =
Rohr = pipe (zelfstandig naamwoord: tube, pipe, tubing, cane, barrel, reed, reeds, oven, wicker, blowpipe)
Schilfrohr = reed
Röhricht for somebody, who lives at or originates from the reeds.The first existence of the name:
de Ror (about 1288), vomme Rore (about 1328), Ror (about 1373)
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Zumbehl seems to me to be related or an alternate soelling of Zumbühl. This name occurs in Switserland and Germany. Don't know the meaning or exact origin. You can google on that.
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The name Seifker seems to me an alternate spelling of the German name Siefker, which possibly means the old profession of soap-maker.
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Zallerbach seems to me an alternate spelling of the name Zellerbach.This is a German river in Bavaria, Germany Zeller Bach (Memminger Ach). It means: Zeller Creek. More info in German language about the name Zeller you find here: http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/ZellerThere's also a German river in Lower Saxony, Germany: Zellbach (which probably took its name from a monastery named Cella, which was situated at this river in the Middle Ages).
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The name Werneke exists both in the Netherlands and in Germany. It has various alternate spellings: Werneke, Wernicke, Wernecke, Wernigke, Warneck, Wernink, Wernekinck, Weernink, Wernke, Wennink, Warnink, Werning, Wernik.Pronounciation: (/ˈvɛərnɨkə/ or /ˈvɛərnɨki/; German: [ˈvɛʁnɪkə])In German -icke is a diminutive, so Wernicke means "little Werner". The meaning of Werner you can read here: http://www.behindthename.com/name/werner
And in German language here (a lot of info which is too techical and extensive for me to translate in English): http://www.rambow.de/download/Genealogie-Wernicke.pdfIn the North-East of the Netherlands it is an addressname (farmname). Originally the Saxo suffix -ink was a patronym ("belonging to the family of..."). Round the Middle Ages however it lost its patronymic function, and it was used in combination with addresses (farms etc). It might even be the following Wern-farm in Hoogeveen, Drenthe, the Netherlands (photo): http://www.mijnalbum.nl/Album-BLMQ6ZQ6-Foto's-in-Hoogeveen-Foto's-van-Huizen-en-straten.html.
The name Wern is related to the German name Werner. In Dutch language you find more info here:http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nfb/detail_naam.php?info=kenmerk&kenmerk=adresnaam&nfd_naam=Wernekinck&gba_lcnaam=&operator=eq&taal
http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nfb/detail_naam.php?info=component&component=ink&nfd_naam=Wernekinck&gba_lcnaam=&operator=eq&taal=
http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nfb/detail_naam.php?nfd_naam=Wernink&info=aantal%20en%20verspreiding&operator=eq&taal=http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naamstam/is/wern
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