Whodunit Wednesday: What’s in a name?

My last name is usually either pronounced incorrectly or written incorrectly. If I say “r-ah-b”, people spell it ROBB. If I say “r-aaa-b”, people write it as RABB. If I spell it out “R-A-A-B” people hear “R-A-B-B”. And I have understood that my experience is not that unique. Many people have difficulty in sharing their name and how it should be spelled. 

My last name is German. It originally comes from the word for ‘raven’ which is why this blog site is called the Raven’s roost (the place where all the ravens sit). The double “a” in the middle is very common in the Dutch language, so the name is often spelled and pronounced correctly here. But then my first name gets the treatment, being uncommon here (and usually only getting one “t” at the end). 

Names can be very important. But the spelling and writing down of names has not always been a thing. Until there is some sort of registration or formal record of names, spelling is really not that important. Even after we have records, misspellings are common and cause all sorts of interesting stories. But keeping good records can help in some things, especially in collecting taxes. 

In the Bible we read about Joseph and Mary having to return to their home town to register for the census. This was held so that taxes could be levied. So, as we have always suspected, taxes have been around as long as death (the other certainty in life). But in the area of Maastricht, it was Napoleon who brought some of this “certainty”. 

Maastricht has always been a strategic city. It is at the crossing of the river Meuse and has always been a fortified city. The Romans first settled here with a barracks and soldiers. The Spanish and the French fought each other constantly in this area (d’Artagnan died here fighting for the French against the Spanish). So it is no surprise that Napoleon also took an interest in the area. 

Of course Napoleon took an interest in the whole of his realm. And he brought a formal administration to the areas he conquered which did not have such. This would make it easier, in the end, to collect taxes. So in Maastricht, where you might have simply had “Peter on the Straight Street” before, you suddenly needed a last name for Peter. All people had to be registered - according to the way Napoleon wanted it done. 

This brought about some very interesting names in Maastricht specifically. You see, the people of Maastricht are rather proud. Maastricht is not much more than a large farming town, but they consider themselves much more. After all, the Romans settled the area. And it is the provincial capital. So they are much more than simply a large farming town. 

This meant that when the French under Napoleon starting forcing people to give last names, some of the people thought it might be funny to “kick against the goads”. They gave silly, strange names. The French had no way of knowing if these were typical local names and registered them. 

The French had the last laugh though. Now, centuries later, there are whole families stuck with a name that some ancestor thought would be a good joke against the French. And the spelling has stuck as well. And the taxes are still owed. 

The French under Napoleon brought some order to administration throughout the area. But with order comes the inevitable red tape and bureaucracy. This has never left (as we all know about red tape and bureaucracy). And in the end it doesn’t really matter if you are called “angry fly” (what became a fairly common name here) or “raven” as long as the government can find you when they want to.