Originally Posted By: BranShea
Originally Posted By: Faldage
The -ster suffix in English came down from Old English -estre. Perhaps it was somewhat different in Dutch. There are also place names and characteristics. The ancestral Joe Church may have lived near the church and Jim Brown was dark complected.
Never thought of all these possibilities. Funny, I find no 'Church' Googling for names , but lots of 'Churchyard' (Kerkhof), 'Churchyards' or van Churchyard. Also lots of Brown (Bruin) and The Brown/ or Browns. Historically we are of light complexion.


Brown may refer to hair color rather than complexion.

Re: Googling for names -- Google may not be the best search engine for finding names. Looking through a directory might give you more significant results.

Last edited by Bill Palmer; 08/24/2011 6:34 AM.