Are you defined by your family name and by your origin?

How important are these in the modern society?





How important are these for you?





Where are you from? And your parents?





What can you tell me about your family and what made you the person you are now?








Thank you for sharing your life with me!:)

Are you defined by your family name and by your origin?
I actually do believe it is important that I honour my family name, though that is largely because of the associated history and nobility of that name (which I am obviously not going to reveal in this hostile zoo). If it "defines" me it is entirely by choice. I don't feel responsible for the actions of my forebears, up to and including my immediate family. I am an individual, a free agent, and I adhere to my own code of ethics and honour. I answer to none but myself, which means I answer to the person who is for me by far the most critical, difficult and hard to please. I would have it no other way.





When you ask how important family names are in modern society I'm not really sure how to answer. Clearly, surnames have meaning for some people while others couldn't care less. I imagine a great deal of this concerns the family name itself. Some names refer to professions. Others to locations. Still others to character traits, descriptions, even colours. Just as there are myriad first names with all sorts of meanings, there are even more last names with all sorts of complex meanings and backgrounds. Everyone is different, as is everyone's perception of their own identity. This is a surprisingly complex area.





I was born and raised in the United States to a British father (English, Scottish and Irish bloodlines) and an American mother (German and Irish bloodlines). I am a dual national, holding both US %26amp; UK passports. I have family and friends on both sides of the pond, as well as in farther flung places (Canada, Australia and Japan, to name a few). I come from a large family (3 brothers and 2 sisters) and we are pretty close knit despite being very different people in many ways. The person I am today is more a reflection of my educational and life experiences than anything like having a role model or strong parental influence. I could even argue that my innate personality and core values were already formed at birth. I have always known and understood myself better than anyone or anything else in this world. This is likely why only I am truly capable of kicking my own *** when needed. ;-)





Thanks for sharing something of your own family history, Moon. You've quite the pedigree and are much more international than I can claim to be. Cheers!
Reply:Thank you for asking (and for the BA), Moon. Take care. Report Abuse

Reply:You're welcome,Mac,always!!:):)





Take care you,too! Report Abuse

Reply:I am only defined as who I am, and how I treat other people. I'm lucky to know my family's history, but it doesn't define me in the least. The only reason that I think it's important, is to respect the hardships that my ancestors went through, and take example from their lives. One of my best friends is adopted. He has no idea where he came from, but he is still a great person.
Reply:You are defined by who you are and nothing more!
Reply:no, we are now americans, it is not important that we used to be poor white trash in some other country.
Reply:I sure as heck hope not, because they're a buncha NUTZ!
Reply:yes my origin are very important to me,it defines who i am and what role i will play in this world.most of my people originate here from turtle island so i am very connected to this place,it is very interesting and also very good that you know your roots,many people here do not.
Reply:My family name honestly means nothing to me. I never knew my father, and I don't really know anything about my ancestry, so I think none of it truly matters in regards to who I am today. I do think it would be very interesting to do some research into who my ancestors were, and where they came from though. :) Nice question, Moon!! :)
Reply:yes
Reply:No I am not defined by my family name and origin.


These are just things people use to judge me before they get to know me. Even people who know me do not know the whole story at times.





I am from New York State. My parents were both from NYC.





My family did not make me into the person I am now. I became what I am inspite them. Some of my family members do not understand my creative personality. Others were more supportive. This is not to say they did not support me or help me along the way. I just clash with some things about my family.





My genealogy is already posted, but not with live people.





I am not a believer that some families or backgrounds are better than others. My mother seem to believe that her background is better than some peoples. I do not have a strong ethnic identity, or religious identity. This is unusual for my area. My father never had a strong ethnic identity since he came from more than one group.





I got into genealogy to find the answers to the mysteries in my families. I put together data to prove or disprove what we know, and then let my family know about it.





My family is getting bored of all the genealogy. I wish I could go back to playing guitar, but it hurts.
Reply:I think is a Combinattion of Both asnwers. For Example..My Father Last name came from France from there they went to Spain...





My Name got Nothing to do with Who I Am..that's My responsability..to live up tp MY expectations, dreams and Ideals...





That a Last Name like Kennedy or Bloomberg helps open doors..of course it can But that's Not Who You are...
Reply:To quote a wise rat, "Do not confuse your origin with your current worth."
Reply:1. I am not defined by my family name or by my origin.


2. In modern society, your name and origin shouldn't be important. It is who you are on the inside that matters.


3. My family name and origin is important to me because of researching my ancestors.


4. I am from Evansville, Indiana. My Dad was from Tell City, Indiana, and my Mom was from Evansville, both are deceased now.


5. Your are pretty nosy, but my family is great except for the sister who wants to control the whole family. My parents made me the way I am.


Your welcome! And why didn't you tell us about your family first. You said to share and you did not. Explain why, please!
Reply:Family influence is more important than family name or origin. In the US, we are culturally an amalgamation of any number of sources, so we are not necesarily influenced by a single "origin." What one's own character becomes (which transcends birth or family) is pretty much up to that person.
Reply:Yes and no. I'm proud to be French, Irish, Spanish and Scottish, but I don't feel that my life revolves around that.
Reply:I hope I'm not DEFINED by my family name, it's Twaddle. Want a laugh, look it up in an English Dictionary. I'm not kidding that's my name.





Family is important and I feel a need to make them pround of me, but they don't control what I do. My heritage is Scottish, English, Irish, French, and First Nations. Because my family has been in Canada so long, we have lost a lot of the old traditions, but have started new ones in the family.





I even have my families crest tattooed on my back, it was a big deal in the extended family that I showed everyone how proud I was to belong to them.
Reply:I am of Anglo-Saxon descent. I do not believe that this defines who I am as my family on both sides has been in America since the 1700's and one member in the1600's. Through all this time we have become very generic. We have lost most traditions over time, saving Christmas and Easter. It is sad. I am envious of the Irish, German,Polish etc who have wonderful traditions that they still keep alive. So, I am not quite sure what defines me. Thank you for the food for thought.