Lineage help; name meaning

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I was wondering about my family name’s meaning. I was adopted at 3 days old, so I don’t share the blood, but, I thought it might be interesting to find out more about the family name. We are a Slovak people, and we live in the USA. Does any one know of a good way to go about finding information online or who to start with in the world? Thank you!
 
I agree with Irishmom.

You can find a lot out, just by doing a search on your family’s last name.

You don’t even have to go to an ancestry site if you don’t want to, although I do think that that’s a great idea. You can just search it.

I was curious about one of the family names in my own family tree for example, and all that I did was search it.

It was a name that was new to me and unfamiliar to me, and it turns out that it’s Irish, and that is what I found out just by doing a general search for it. 🙂
 
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My name is Slovak. When I google it I get wrong translations and obscure websites that don’t really help me. I’m also not really interested in paying for anything if I don’t have to.
 
Your public library likely knows the contact information for your local genealogy society. These are people who have a passion for genealogy and will be happy to help you.
 
One thing that I have found in being a member of Ancestry off and on over the years, is that it helps to know exactly what kind of information you are looking for. It helps lead you to what or how you would search for it.

If you have a specific family with that name in mind, you might need actual names and dates or places. If you are just looking for the name in general, that is what you will find.

For example. My husband’s last name is Scottish. His family is not Scottish. They had their Italian name changed at some point. If I google his last name, I would most likely find nothing of real value, but I would find that this last name comes from this part of the country or that, and perhaps that they originally came from X. Maybe some historical figures with that name, or family motto stuff.

So, you need to establish what it is you are searching for.
 
My great-great-grandfather was born in Indian Territory some time in the 1870s, but for some reason a lot of things on genealogical websites say he was born in Pennsylvania. It is a very difficult to do stuff like that, Even with DNA…
 
It is, Adam. And I have found that unless it’s written down or you have actual “papers” the recollection of relatives can sometimes be wrong!
 
It doesn’t help that he was adopted. The Census records say he was born in Oklahoma or Indian Territory, but his death certificate says Pennsylvania, keep in mind it was easier to lie about that stuff back then. I did find one very useful thing out with DNA, from my sister, and it’s that my mother has a sister, what a surprise. I have a very rare last name, so rare that no one ever says it right, I can tell you where the name originated but that’s not going to do me any good, since my great great great grandfather on my dad’s side was an orphan.
 
I am having no luck finding where my grandfather came from except Ireland. Then, dead wall. He came here in 1882. Before Ellis Island opened. Lots of men with the same name when searching doesn’t help. But I do have his Naturalization card and it says he came from Ireland and the date.
 
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