The Common Name “Jones”

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Nathan Jones. I’m calling from San Diego, California.

Hi, Nathan. Welcome to the show. How can we help you?

Hi, I had a question about my last name. You know, the football season has started, and I started to notice a little bit more that there’s a lot of African-American football players with the same last name, and I wasn’t sure if somewhere along the line there was like an interracial couple or something, but I was wondering how that may have happened.

And the last name is what?

Jones.

Jones.

And that’s your last name as well.

Yeah.

And are you African-American?

No.

Okay.

And do you have any theories on this?

Well, I heard from my history teacher that back in like the early 1800s when there were slaves, African-American slaves, that they were named after their masters.

Yeah, the British last names belonging to African Americans are real obvious evidence of the slavery history of the United States.

It’s true.

Jones, however, is also a super common last name. It has something to do with when Henry VIII made Wales part of England. Everyone started making everything really English, and a lot of the old traditional Welsh names just started disappearing.

And Jones, which means basically son of John, became a really common last name. And then a lot of those Welsh folks came to the United States, and they had large families, and they became prosperous and popular and spread throughout the country.

And still, Jones is like the fourth most common name in the United States.

Wow, I never knew that.

Yeah, it’s like after Smith, Johnson, and Williams. It’s funny because Johnson also means son of John. It’s just a different configuration, different etymological origin.

And Evans is from Welsh.

Yeah.

So the slave history of the United States meant that when slaves were bought or sold, they often took the name of the landholder or the slaveholder. And they often kept those names after they were freed.

Although sometimes they took whatever name they wanted. They may have taken the name of somebody that they respected or a famous leader. Or they may have taken the name of somebody else in the community who agreed to help them and guide them.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

Yeah, so that’s a great question.

Thanks, dude. Really appreciate it.

How old are you, by the way, Nathan?

I’m 12.

12.

Well, it’s a great question for a 12-year-old. Give us a call another time, all right?

All right.

Thank you.

All right.

Take care.

Thanks, Nathan.

Bye-bye.

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