African & Arabic Names & Other "Non-Standard American" Names In George Washington's 1799 Paper That Lists Names Of His Slaves

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series that excerpts a 1799 paper that was written by George Washington, the first President of the United States. That paper lists enslaved Black people who were owned by or otherwise controlled by George Washington.

Part III of this series highlights the names or nicknames from George Washington's 1799 of slaves that I believe are from some traditional West African languages and from the Arabic language.

Part III of this series highlights other names (or nicknames) from that entire George Washington's 1799 paper of enslaved people that might have been considered unusual in 18th century United States.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/names-of-enslaved-black-people-on.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I of this series presents some of the names from a paper listing George Washington's slaves that he wrote in June 1799. [These lists are divided into Part I and Part II only because of blog space considerations.]

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/names-of-enslaved-black-people-on.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I of this series presents some of the names from a paper listing George Washington's slaves that he wrote in June 1799. [These lists are divided into Part I and Part II only because of blog space considerations.]

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The content of this post is presented for historical and onomastic purposes.

I'm most interested in documenting the types of names and nicknames that were used by these Black enslaved people, i.e. names that would be considered "standard" in the United States at that time, and names/nicknames that would be considered unusual during that time, including names that can be traced to West African languages or Arabic.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the government archives for sharing this information online.

RIP all those who are named in these lists.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/list-of-usa-presidents-who-owned-slaves.htmlfor this closely related pancocojams post entitled "List Of USA Presidents Who Owned Slaves & Names I Was Surprised To Find In A 1799 Paper Listing The Names Of George Washington's Slaves."

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[PART III OF THIS PANCOCOJAMS BLOG SERIES]
All of the names in this post are given in alphabetical order within their sub-section and are numbered consecutively within their sub-section.

A. NAMES FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON'S 1799 LIST THAT ARE FROM TRADITIONAL AFRICAN LANGUAGES OR FROM ARABIC
1. Abbay-[given as a female name in that 1799 paper]- perhaps a corrupted form of the Twi (Akan) female name "Yaaba, Yaa- female born on Thursday"

2. Juba [given as a male name]- found in a number of Wet African languages
From https://web.ccsu.edu/afstudy/upd4-3.html
Vol. IV, no. 3 (Summer 1997) Africa Update Archives: “African Languages and Ebonics" by Dr. Katherine Harris, Central Connecticut State University
...", Juba, one of the day names given to a male child along the Guinea coast, was also a nickname given to a girl born on Monday in slave communities to describe "tomboy" (1620s-1800). The name Juba, which was fairly common among African men in the l7th and l8th centuries, was also the name of a region in modern Kenya/Somalia and Sudan."

3. Mink [given as a male name in that paper "Will-Mink"]- "Mink" may be a form of "Mingo", which is derived from "Mandingo"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandingo_people_of_Sierra_Leone
"Mandinka people of Sierra Leone (commonly referred to as the Mandingo, Mandinka or Malinke) is a major ethnic group in Sierra Leone and a branch of the Mandinka people of West Africa"...

4. "Nanny" - from Twi (Ghana/Ivory Coast) name/title "nana".
From http://www.odwirafo.com/nanasom.html
[in] "the Twi language of the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast, Nana is a gender-neutral title representing the highest office in society. It is also a term used to denote Grandmother, Grandfather, Elderess, Elder, venerable Ancestress and venerable Ancestor."

Also, Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-nana-means-in-akan-culture-its-use.html

5. Sambo [given as a male name]
From http://www.answers.com/topic/sambo-3 "Oxford Companion to African American Literature":
"Variants of the name Sambo can be found in several African cultures, including Samba in Bantu; Samb and Samba in Wolof; Sambu in Mandingo; and Sambo in Hausa, Mende, and Vai."

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-origin-meanings-of-word-sambo-means.

6. Senah and Sina [given as female names]
These names may have come from the Arabic female name "Sena" http://muslimbabynames.hawramani.com/sena/ meaning "glory", "honor", "greatness"

7. Teney [given as female names], probably a form of the female name "Tene": origin West African/meaning given as "Love" https://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/snccdigitalgateway/DS_BookofAfricanNames.pdf

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B. NAMES FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON'S 1799 PAPER THAT ARE UNUSUAL IN THE 21st CENTURY (but may have been common in the 18th century for Black people in the United States and perhaps also for White people in the USA during that time)
1. Gunner [used as a male name in that 1799 paper

2. Hagar [used as a female name],https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagar
"Hagar (Hebrew: הָגָר, Hāḡār, of uncertain origin;[1] Arabic: هَاجَر‎‎ Hājar; Greek: Ἁγάρ, Hagár; Latin: Agar) is a biblical person in the Book of Genesis. She was an Egyptian slave of Sarah,[2] who gave her to Abraham to bear a child. The product of the union was Abraham's firstborn, Ishmael, the progenitor of the Ishmaelites. Various commentators have connected her to the Hagrites, perhaps as their eponymous ancestor.[3][4][5][6]"...

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3. Sukey [used as a female name], also spelled in that paper as "Sucky" and "Sakey"- nickname for the female name "Susan"

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C. OTHER UNUSUAL NAMES/NICKNAMES ON THIS LIST (which may not have been common in the 18th century USA & aren't common in the 21st century USA)
1. Alla [used as a female name in that 1799 paper] - perhaps from "Allah"
2. Barbary [used as a female name in that 1799 paper] - perhaps a variant form of the female name "Barbara" with the popular "y" ending; I doubt that that name referred to the geographic location "The Barbary Coast" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Coast
3. Beck [used as a female name] - a form of the nickname "Becky" [from the female name "Rebecca"]
4. Breechy [used as a male name] - origin?
5. Briney-[used as a female name] - origin?
6. Darcus - [used as a female name] - perhaps a variant form of the Greek name "Dorcus" https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/dorcas/
7. Delphy [used as a female name] probably a nickname for the Latin female name "Delphinia" or the French female name "Delphine"
8. Dolshy [used as a female name] - perhaps a nickname for the Latin female name "Dulce" or "Dulcina" http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Dulcina
9. Elvey [used as a female name] - may be a shortened form of "Elvira"
10. Eneas [used as a male name] - origin?
11. Fendal [used as a male name] -origin?
12. Fomison [used as a female name] - origin?
13. Gunna [used as a male name] - origin?
14. Hellam [used as a male name] - origin?
15. Heuky - [used as a male name] -probably from a nickname for Hercules
16. Israel- [used as a male name]
17. Isrias- [used as a male name] - origin?
18. Leanthe [used as a female name] - perhaps a form of the female name "Leana" http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Leana
19. Letty [used as a female name], probably from the name "Leticia" [in the 21st century, a relatively common form of this name is "Latisha")
20. Levina [used as a female name], probably a variant form of the name "Lavinia"
21. Linney [used as a female name] - origin?
22. Mima [used as a female name] - perhaps a shortened form of the female name "Jemima" https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jemima
23. Myrtilla [used as female name], a variant form of the Greek name "Myrtle
24. Oney [used as a female name] - origin?
25. Paschall [used as a male name]- probably from the word "Paschal" https://www.thefreedictionary.com/paschal meaning "passover", Easter".
26. Phœnix [used as a male name]; refers to the phoenix bird
27. Raison [used as a female name] - origin?
28. Renney [used as a female name] - origin?
29. Sabine [used as a female name]- perhaps referring to "Sabine, Latin Sabinus, plural Sabini, member of an ancient Italic tribe located in the mountainous country east of the Tiber River. They were known for their religious practices and beliefs, and several Roman institutions were said to have derived from them. The story recounted by Plutarch that Romulus, the founder of Rome, invited the Sabines to a feast and then carried off (raped) their women, is legendary."... https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sabine
30. Savary [used as a female name] - origin?
31. Stately [used as a male name]- origin?
32. Urinah [used as a female name] - origin?
33. Viner [used as a female name] - origin?
34. Vinie - [used as a female name], perhaps a form of the female name and place name "Venecia", Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinie_Burrows for information about the African American Broadway actress Vinie Burrows [Born Vinie Harrison November 15, 1924 (age 95)[1]"...
35. W. Muclus [used as a male name] - origin?

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D. NAMES IN THAT 1799 PAPER THAT ARE USUALLY CONSIDERED SURNAMES IN THE 21st CENTURY (USA)
1. Anderson [used as a male name in that 1799 paper]
2. Bartley [used as a male name]
3. Burwell [used as a male name]
4. Caesar [used as a male name]
5. Forrester [used as a male name]
4. Gutridge -probably the name "Guthridge"that is now only used as a surname.
5. Hanson [used as a male name]
6. Siller [used as a female name]
7. Simms [used as a male name]
7. Townshend [used as a male name] ; probably aa variant form of the surname "Townsend"
8. Wilson [used as a male name]

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E. COMMON NAMES IN THE 20th/21st CENTURY USA THAT ARE SPELLED DIFFERENTLY IN GEORGE WASHINGTON’S 1799 PAPER
1. Alce [used as a female name in that 1799 paper], This is probably the female name "Alice".
2. Aggy- [used as a female name], This is a nickname for the female name "Agatha"
3. Amie [used as a female name], This is probably the female name "Amy".
4. Chriss [used as male name]
5. Edy [used as a female name; nickname for Edith, spelled "Edie" now
6. Gabl [used as a male name[, probably the name "Gab", a nickname for "Gabriel"
7. Guss- [used as male name], spelled "Gus" now
8. Hanh [used as female name, probably the female name "Hannah".
9. Isbel [used as a female name], probably a form of the female name "Isabelle"/ “Isobel”
10. Johny [used as a male name], spelled "Johnny" now
11. Milley- [used as a female name], spelled “Millie” now (nickname for the female name “Mildred”)
12. Natt [used as a male name], spelled "Nat" now, (nickname for the names "Nathaniel" or "Nathan")
13. Rachell- [used as a female name], spelled "Rachel" now
14. Sall [used as a female name], spelled "Sal" now, a form of the nickname "Sally" for the name "Sarah"
15. Siss [used as a female name], may be a nickname for the female name "Cecilia"; also given as the nickname "Sissy" in the 20th century

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OTHER UNUSUAL NAMES FROM THAT 1799 PAPER
Place names:
1. Dundee-[used as a male name]
2. Richmond-[used as a male name]
3. London [used as a male name]

Other Nouns:
1. Boatswain [used as a male name]
2. Doll [used as a female name], usually given as "Dolly in 20th and in 21st century
3. Emery [given as a male name],
4. Virgin [used as a female name] , probably a variant form of the name "Virginia"

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EXAMPLES OF TWO NAMES GIVEN IN THAT 1799 PAPER
Occupation + Name:
1. Carter Jack
2. Gardr George
3. Smith Natt [blacksmith]?

Name + Physical Description:
1. Kate long -18- daughr of Kate
2. Kate sht-[probably the word "short"]

Physical Description + Name:
1. Long Jack - meaning a tall man ?

Other Description:
1. Slamin Joe - meaning ?

First & Last Name:
1. Tom Davis
2. Betty Davis
3. Sam Kitt

Last Name + First Name:
1. Lears John [also given as Lears' John- That paper mentions a Mr. Lear]
2. Lears Reuben [also given as Lears' Reuben]

Name + Ethnic Group:
1. Will—Mink ]Mink= "Mingo" from "Mandingo"

Location + Name:
1. Bay Suke [Bay Sukey]

Name + Twin [birth] :
1. Sall Twine

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This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series.

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