The prefix Fitz- means “bastard son of,” according to my high school English teacher. So… the joke just got funnier, depending on your sense of humour.
I’m not sure I like what this implies about me and my dad having long arms and my supposed granddad being of more standard limb length 🤔
It depended on the time and place. Fitzroy is particularly associated with illegitimate children of the king, but until the 17th century revival of the Fitz prefix, it was mostly just meaning “son of” without any particular inclination towards or against legitimacy. But in the Stuart era it was frequently used for illegitimate children of royalty and nobility.
I think if you’re the son of a gibbon, it doesn’t much matter whether you’re a bastard or not.
Gibbon was actually a pet name form of “Gilbert”.
That’s cool, thanks for the addition. I’m not much of a history guy.
I do find history and etymology very interesting, but I didn’t know any of this. It’s literally all taken from the Wikipedia page for the name Fitz.
I wouldn’t mind being Beth Gibbons’ bastard son.
Tell your mum I’m enjoying the new album.
You hear about that gay Irish couple? Gerald Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzgerald.
I just wanted you to know that not only did your joke amuse me, but I have also forwarded it to several friends who I am almost certain will also enjoy it. Your joy is spreading throughout the world.
But who FitzMichael?
They tailored garments for apes.
‘Gaylord’
Town Jester? Threw the best parties?
Isn’t Gaylord a first name?
I have read random weird news articles about modern people who have it as a last name, I swear.
Mitch Gaylord was an Olympic Gymnast and bad actor, he invented two techniques, namely the Gaylord Flip and the Gaylord Two.
Related to another popular post right now…so what was Bruce Dickinson’s ancestor?
I love my last name, it translates roughly to “those people over there past the tree”
Would have made moving quite an issue for your ancestors, though 😄
Seriously, also I wonder if there are peoples with the same surname that aren’t in my family tree, cause I am sure it’s more of a name of a village than a family. Keeping surnames is so weird though, very weird feudal tradition and honestly I think having a unique last name is more interesting in general. My partner changed her name to something unique she’s the only one with that surname. I kept mine cause I think it’s just so interesting, but part of me wishes I changed it, if not drastically then to the feminine version of the name as the language it’s in is gendered.
One of my life goals is living in a house over a hill where the specific tree from my last name is planted.
My surname translates to the suffering one :(
My full name translates to “strict and serious son of a farmer”, which describes my dad quite well and me not at all 🤦😂
In a different hemisphere than my ancestors, my surname translates to “Go Fuck Yourself”.
Found that out while working in a restaurant staffed by speakers of that language. Thought they were fucking with me but I googled it.
I mean, let’s hope it was containers.
My surname means doctor, yeah don’t be fooled
Well we have a bunch of surnames avter animals where I live. In fact my own one translates to blackbird.
Do you ever get the urge to just start singing in the dead of night?
Not really but my gf keeps asking me why I am sending blackbirds to spy on her.
here in sweden a goodly chunk of surnames are just straight up made up, shit like “nyquist” which even at the time was a hilariously pretentious way to spell “nykvist” and just means “new branch”.
Ha! My surname means “was once a pauper” in a language that has since morphed into another language in which my surname doesn’t mean anything anymore
“I have a very particular set of skills…”
