North Carolina Surnames

Funderbark, Barefoot, Hunsucker, Poovey, Formy-Duval …  Not only are these names a little, um, unusual, but they’re also about as Tar Heel as it gets.

Believe me, I know. I’ve been collecting names like these since I can remember. I’ve found them in newspapers, in phone books, in cemeteries, meeting people, driving down the street – you name it. 

And I always check ancestry.com to make sure that these are indeed North Carolina names – that the Old North State leads the nation in Clodfelters, or Bumgarners, or Crumplers.


Barefoot – This one is originally from Barfuss, the German word for “barefoot.” It probably just comes from someone who habitually went around that way. It’s most famous holder is a judge, the wonderfully named Napoleon Barefoot, from the southeast corner of the state.

RIP

Blackwelder – Though this one does have something to do with the word “black,” it has nothing to do with welding. It’s from the German Schwarzwalder, with the first part translated and the second part Anglicized into something totally unrelated.  It actually denotes someone whose ancestors came from the Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, in Germany.

Bumgarner – You may already be familiar with this one – if you’re a baseball fan that is. Madison Bumgarner is a starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, was the 2014 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, and was born and lives in Hickory. The name itself comes from the German Baumgartner, which literally translates as “tree gardener,” and means someone who worked in an orchard.

AKA, Mad Bum

Clodfelter – It seems a bit of a stretch, but Clodfelter ultimately ties back to the Swiss town of Glattfelten. Dan Clodfelter, former mayor of Charlotte, is probably the most famous holder of this name.

Hizzoner

Cloninger – Cloninger is from another town in Germany, this particular one lost in the mists of time. Tony Cloninger, a pitcher from Cherryville is probably the most well-known Cloninger out there. He’s particularly famous for having once hit two grand slams in one game – not something that many batters have done, let alone pitchers.

Crumpler – A bit of a mystery name, we do know at least that this one if English. Its most famous holder is probably Alge Crumpler, Greenville native and former Pro Bowl tight end.

Faircloth – This one is also English, is more typically spelled “Fairclough,” and denotes someone who came from a “beautiful valley.” It’s a fairly well-known North Carolina family, which includes a U.S. senator (Lauch) and a U.S. representative (John). 

Lauch and friend

Formy-Duval – A genuine oddity, this double-barrel name traces back to French nobility. The original Formy-Duval was a physician who fled the French Revolution and ended up in the swamps of southeast North Carolina. His progeny were among the inhabitants of Crusoe Island, an island in Green Swamp that was famous for its isolation.

The good doctor

Funderburk – Possibly my personal favorite, Funderburk is another good German name that got completely butchered by English-speaking neighbors. It was originally Von der Burg, meaning someone who came “from the castle.” David Funderburk was a U.S. representative and the ambassador to Romania. 

Grindstaff – Yet another German surname, Grindstaff probably originated as Frenzhof, the name of a town in Germany. Not totally sure how one turned into the other, but we North Carolinians have always been a creative bunch, right? 

Holshouser – Continuing our German theme, Holshouser began as Holzhauser, which denotes someone who lived in a house made of wood (holz). Jim Holshouser was governor from 1973 to 1977.

Jim wasn't yet 40 when he was sworn in

Honeycutt – Back to England for this one. The name literally means “honey cottage,” and probably means someone who may have been a bee keeper. There is a Honeycutt Park, in Raleigh.

Hunsucker – Here’s another Swiss town. Once again, we’ve lost a little in translation, with the town actually being spelled Hunzicker. Interestingly, there were actually a fair amount of Swiss settlers in the early days of North Carolina. A number of them settled in the New Bern area, naming that town after the city and canton in Switzerland. 

Klutz – Now, that’s unfortunate. It’s much better in German, though, where it means “spring.” Some unfortunately named NC businesses with this name include Klutz Towing (Salisbury), Klutz Lawn Care (Rockwell), and Klutz Building (Concord).

Lineberger – Back to Germany for this one. The name denotes someone who lived in the town of Leinberg, in Bavaria. The Linebergers are a well-known textile family from Gaston County. There is a Lineberger Cancer Research Center named after them at UNC Chapel Hill.

It was also the name of a famous fish camp (now Mr. T's)

Locklear – Locklear is an English name, is usually rendered as Lockyer, and means “locksmith.” It is typically associated with the Lumbee tribe, in the south central part of the state. And, yes, Heather Locklear does trace her name back to North Carolina and the Lumbees.

Luckadoo – Luckadoo is our only Irish name on the list. It was originally McAdoo, and means “black hound.” 

Misenheimer – Like Lineberger, Misenheimer points to a town in Germany.   Meisenheim is in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the east-central part of the country. NC also features its own town called Misenheimer, the site of Pfeiffer University and roughly halfway between Salisbury and Albemarle.

Overcash – Well, there certainly are a lot of Germans in the Old North State. And we Tar Heels certainly do know how to butcher their names. Overcash was originally Oberkirch, which means “upper church.” It, too, is the name of a town in Germany, this one in Bavaria.

Pickler – Kellie Pickler was a famous contestant on American Idol. Her name is German as well, was originally Pichler, and denotes someone who likes to imbibe. I’m sure the expression of being “pickled” for someone who’s drunk has got to be related.

Poteat – This one is simply a Tar Heel version of the French Petite, meaning “little.” William Poteat, known as “Doctor Billy,” was a president of Wake Forest and leader of the Progressive movement in North Carolina.

Poovey – Our only Welsh name on the list, Poovey actually means “son of Hova.” How can that be? Well, the Welsh for “son of Hova” would be ap Hova. Similar names include Price (ap Rhyss), Pugh (ap Hugh), Perry (ap Harry), and Pritchard (ap Richard). See how that works?

Rivenbark – And back again to Germany. Rivenbark comes from the German Reifenberg. And that is from the town of the same name in Rhineland-Palatinate. A good deal of early settlers in NC came from this region. Celia Rivenbark, a humorist located in Wilmington, has written such book as Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits; You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start in the Morning; and You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl.

Stikeleather – Another butchering of a perfectly fine German name, Stikeleather comes from Steigleder, which denotes someone who made stirrups.

Swicegood – It’s seem only appropriate to finish with another butchering of a perfectly fine old German name. Swicegood is from Schweisgut, which literally means “sweat good,” and was a nickname used for blacksmiths.

More name stuff:

• What's in a presidential name?
• You named your child what?
• Naming Oliver Twist today
• Why so many Smiths?

Olympic Power

Could Olympic medals be an accurate surrogate of world power over time? I’m thinking, in particular, of early successes from traditional powers like France and Britain. I also know the Germans put on a good show when the Nazis came to power. Finally, there’s the arch-rivalry between the US and Soviet Union after WWII, as well as the recent rise of China.

I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? A powerful nation should be able to draw on its resources of people and money and expertise. And Olympic medals would also seem to be something that any nation that’s striving for world leadership would see as an easy way to quantify where they stand with their rivals.

So, let’ see if it’s true …


Methodology

• I focused on what country won the most medals.
• To make sure that representation wasn’t too narrow, I included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. To give credit where credit was due, though, I awarded 3 points for 1st, 2 for 2nd, and 1 for 3rd. Kind of like gold, silver, and bronze.
• I limited this to the summer Olympics. The winter Olympics are just too particular (to countries where it is cold some of the time), but any nation can run, and jump, and swim, right?
• I eliminated any countries that only totaled 3 or more points. I figured you could get that with just one good showing (which is, indeed, what Greece did in 1896).
• I combined East and West Germany.

Results

So, here’s what I came up with:

Discussion

A couple of notes:

• The US has been the dominant nation since the start, reflecting the 20th Century’s common title as the “American Century.”
• In the early years, The US’s main rivals were the traditional powers of Europe – in particular, France and Britain (and Sweden?).
• Europe – having managed to destroy itself in WWI – pretty much stagnated after that.
• The one possible exception here, though, is Germany, which first rose to prominence with the Nazis, then again after WWII, and is now the dominant player in Europe.
• After WWII, Germany was joined by the Soviet Union, reflecting the arch-rivalry between the US and the Evil Empire. Interestingly, that rivalry seems to have never really gone away. 
• Recent developments show Germany joining the other European powers in going stagnant.
• Its place seems to have been taken by China, reflecting its recent growth since turning away from Communism.

So, how will the 2016 Olympics play out? Will China continue its run? Will Russia, with its drug scandals, give up a place to someone else? Will that someone else be Germany? Who else might step in?

People You May Know ...

Ah, LinkedIn. So many people marketing themselves … and without any idea how to do so.

These are real, honest-to-goodness photos people took to “sell their personal brand.” I got them all from simply following the People You May Know feature to end of the Internet. I’m not sure I actually know any of them though. Hey, thanks anyway, LinkedIn.

Needless to say, all these poor people will necessarily have to go anonymous. I have included their job titles (some of which are a hoot in and of themselves).

Marketing Manager (Enough about me – let’s talk about you)

CIU Manager (Hey, have you been working out?)

Non-Functional Test Solutions Manager (mug shot – nice!)

Sr. UX Visual Designer (funny, though – Sprockets does not appear on his resume)

Roots Muse Media Gypsy (No, really, what do you really do?)

Patient Access (put a lot of effort into this shot – I can tell)

UX Designer (in a blurry, anonymous kind of way)

Higher Education Technologist, Digital Marketer and Content (and Total Geek to boot)

Co-founder (Of what though? Hmm … Sorry, can’t remember)

Front End Developer (taken at a developer’s conference, no doubt)

Director, Senior Solutions (yo, over here, Mr. Director)

Team Manager, Principal User Experience Designer and Product Owner (okay, now up a little, Mr. Team Manager, Principal User Experience Designer and Product Owner)

User Experience Designer (and wild and crazy guy, I’m sure)

Technical Recruiter (and man about town)

Experienced Change Leader (Stop it! You make my neck hurt!)

UX Content Strategist (and you made me fall off my chair!)

Interaction Design Product Manager (if you must ask)

Graduate Teacher of Record / PhD Student (and an obviously superior person to you)

VP Technology Manager - Application Security Testing (but not too damn happy about it)

Senior AIX System Administrator (and having an absolute ball!)

Contract Consultant for Sales and Recruiting (“Don’t know why I even bother”)

Manager, Global Product Management (“God, why don’t I just kill myself?”)

Senior Web Engineer (and probable serial killer)

Senior Interaction Designer (and pirate???)

CCO, Co-founder (and obviously having a little fun at our expense)

Chief Cloud Architect  

Busboy at Olive Garden (‘nuff said)

Can Bernie Win?

In a word, no.

Hillary’s got this baby pretty wrapped up. And it’s not just the super-delegate thing either. In fact, Hillary’s leading Bern in a number of different ways. Let’s take a look …

Delegates – No big surprise here. We all know that Hillary leads. The actual numbers are 1,812 to 1,521. That’s 54% of all committed delegates so far. Advantage: Hillary

Delegates minus super-delegates – We all probably also know that, if you take the super-delegates away, Hillary is no longer in front. And the numbers for that are 1,264 to 1,475, or just 46% for Clinton. Advantage: Bernie

Super-delegates – Well, it’s not too surprising that Hillary’s killing when it comes to these. In particular, it’s 548 to 46, 92% to 8%. Advantage: Hillary

So, I can certainly see why the Bernie supporters are upset. There are, however, a couple of other ways to look at this.

Popular vote – You’d think this would have to be in Bernie’s favor, right? Well, Clinton’s got a 3 million advantage. She’s leading 13 million to 10 million, or 57% to 43%. That’s the strongest plurality yet. Advantage: Hillary

Electoral college – Well, why don’t we just cut to the chase and see how these two would do if we did this the way they do the actual presidential election? As you probably know, that’s just winner-takes-all for each state. Once again, Hillary’s out in front, 319 to 133. That’s an even stronger plurality, at 71% (and 59% of all states whether they’ve held their primary or not). Advantage: Hillary

Number of states – Just for fun, let’s take a look at how many states each candidate has won. Off the top of my head, my guess would be that this is probably pretty close. Indeed, Hillary is still leading, but at a much more reasonable 55% (or, more specifically, 24 states to 20). Advantage: Hillary

And what those last two tell me is that all Bernie’s really been able to do is cherry-pick some of the smaller states that the Dems have carried easily (Vermont, Colorado, Hawaii) or haven’t had much luck in (Kansas, Nebraska, Utah).

Hillary’s the one who’s taken the big states that matter and that actually will be in play (Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York). She’s also done strongly in the South. Though the South's red tendencies may be too much to overcome, Clinton's popularity with African-Americans might cause at least some states (NC, FL, and VA perhaps) to break blue.

Income Inequality in the Good Ol' USA

Well, we’ve been hearing a lot lately about income equality. Is there a way, though, we can quantify all that? So, it’s not just a bunch of stories and opinions?

Well, yes, there is. It’s called the Gini Coefficient, and it’s basically a number that tells you how equal or unequal a country is based on distribution of income.

I won’t get into all the gory details (though you can find them on good ol' Wikipedia), but essentially the Gini will give you a value of 1 for complete equality (everybody makes the same) and 0 for complete inequality (1 person makes all the money, and nobody else makes nuthin’). It’s something that any serious economist knows all about and takes very seriously.

Now, there are two ways to look at this number …

Historical

Believe it or not, this country was pretty darn equal at one time. Can you guess when? It was actually in the 1950s, the heyday of the middle class. Yup, everyone was working, unemployment was usually under 5%, the CEO of the average company made 25 times more than the average worked at that company (it's over 200 now), the highest tax rate was 90% (it's 40 now), and the Gini bottomed out at just under 39. (Oh, we were also the strongest country in the world and basically paid everyone’s military bill, gave foreign aid all over the place, and managed to fund all sorts of internal improvements and R&D.)

Now, this was a major contrast to what was going on pre-Depression, when the (mixed metaphor alert) Fat Cats were rolling in the dough and the Gini was over 50. 

What’s really interesting, though, is what happened in the 1980s, when numbers started to rise and rise, advancing to almost pre-Depression levels. 

So, what exactly was going on in those years? Well, you may remember a fellow by the name of Ronald Reagan. As avuncular and charming as he was, he was also the first Republican in almost 60 years who wasn’t essentially a DINO (a Democrat In Name Only). Yup, all the Republicans elected in FDR’s (and the Depression’s) very long shadow basically believed in the same model of government. That means Eisenhower, of course, but also Nixon and Ford too.

Reagan, however, wanted to blow the whole thing up. In that regard, he was essentially as nutso as Barry Goldwater (who ran in ’64) – but somehow managed to win more than his little home state and the Deep South.

And Reagan did (blow the whole thing up, that is). He totally changed the game – so that gummint was the enemy, unregulated capitalism was the hottest thing since the middle of the 19th Century, economic victims deserved their plight, and greed was good. And one of the major effects of all that was for the Gini coefficient to rise by almost a quarter, back to figures similar to those of the Roaring 20’s.

Comparative

Another way to look at this is to compare ourselves to the rest of the world. Yes, I realize we American don’t really like to do that. American exceptionalism is, after all, a storied tradition in this land. Sometimes, though, the exception is on the debit, not the credit, side.

Like, for example, when it comes to the Gini coefficient:

On the plus side, it looks like we’ve got everybody beat directly south of us. Take that, Colombia! And that, Guatemala! At the same time, though, it looks like we’re in the same boat as Argentina and Nicaragua – and Suriname’s got us beat flat. Dang!

Africa’s looking pretty good too – at least south of the equator, that is. It’s a little hard to believe, though, that were losing out to Ghana, and Sudan, and Mali, and Burkina Fasso.

And here’s a call out to China, and Malaysia, and – um, er – Papua-New Guinea. It’s looking, though, like Japan, and South Korea, and even such light weights as Mongolia and Vietnam and Afghanistan have us bested in Asia.

As for Europe? Are you kidding? Canada? Fuggedaboutit. The ANZAC countries? Yeah, right. Heck, even India and Iran and Greece have us beat.

Care to see it in a list? Well then, the World Bank has us coming in at 96, just above Gabon, but just below Qatar. Not a World Bank fan? Well, how about the CIA? They’ve got us at 102.

Ready to give up? I know I am.

Opening Day Scheduling

Ah, Opening Day! The crack of the bat. The roar of the crowd. Games getting canceled because of snow …

Yup, it happens every year, doesn’t it? So far this year, we’ve got games in Cleveland and New York cancelled (for cold, though, not snow). Huh! Who ever saw that coming?

At the Jake

Now, Cleveland I might be able to understand. They were playing the Red Sox, for crying out loud. And, sure enough, the weather was worse in Boston (28 to 30).

But do you know who the Yankees were playing? The Marlins!?!? So, not only was it a balmy 78 in Miami, but the Fish play in a friggin’ dome!

And, while I’m on the subject of domes, did you know that 3 dome teams – Toronto, Seattle, and Houston – start the season on the road? In fact, we’ve even got 2 dome teams (Toronto and Tampa Bay) playing each other. 

To return to Cleveland and NYC, though, did you know that 4 other teams were kind of in the same boat? In particular, I’ve got Pittsburgh at 41 and Cincinnati at 45.

On the other hand, I’ve also got some travelling teams with some pretty nice temperatures:

• San Francisco – 64
• Washington – 65
• Colorado – 73
• Los Angeles – 76 

I’m not so sure about those middle 2, but Los Angeles? Los Angeles?!?! And, just to add insult to injury, would you believe they’re actually playing San Diego?!?! 

Now, none of this is very encouraging, but is there perhaps a way to make all this concrete, to see how bad it actually is?

Yup, those are palm trees

A Better Way

Well, the first thing we’re going to have to do is come up with something to compare all this to. So, our first set of home teams is going to have to be those with domes (or retractable roof):

• Toronto
• Tampa Bay
• Milwaukee
• Seattle
• Arizona
• Houston
• Miami

That’s 7. We only need 8 more.

Milwaukee - a balmy 38 outside 

So, let’s round things out wiith the home teams with the highest temperatures:

• Texas – 83
• Los Angeles (2 teams) – 76
• Atlanta – 76 
• Oakland – 71 
• San Diego – 69
• Washington – 65
• San Francisco – 64 

Now Let’s Compare

So, there’s a couple of ways we can go about this. We probably first, however, need to eliminate any of the dome games. Temperatures are going to be perfect there, right?

Now, let’s look at the average temperature for those remaining home games.  And that gives us:

• Current – 61
• Better way – 73

That’s 12 whole degrees!

Next, how about if we take a look at the difference between the temperature in the visitor’s city and that in the home team city. I figure, in aggregate, that will give us some feel for how much sense the whole scheme might make. In other words, I think it can give us the best take on whether we’re meeting our overall goal of avoiding colder cities and playing in warmer ones.

• Current – 136
• Better way – 195

That’s a difference of not quite 60 degrees.  Divided over the 9 games that would  actually be played outdoors, that’s a difference of 9 degrees per game.

So, what am I missing? Why am I not in charge of scheduling for Major League Baseball?

It's probably this guy, right?

Those Not So All-American Republican Presidential Candidates

You may know already that Ted Cruz was born in Canada, or that Marco Rubio’s parents were both born in Cuba. What you might not know, though, is the extent that the few final Republican presidential hopefuls all have extensive ties to foreign shores.

So, here’s how I went about it … I looked at each candidate’s parents, grandparents, and spouse(s). I then simply saw what percentage of these were foreign-born. Now, let’s take a look at those rather surprising results.


Jeb Bush (13%)

Yup, even super WASP Jeb Bush makes this list. Note, though, that that’s only through marriage.

Columba Garnica Gallo was born in Mexico. She and her future husband met when Jeb went down there on something of a mission trip when he was at Phillips Andover, his super-WASPy prep school. He was 17 and she was 16 (and spoke no English). They would marry a mere four years later. She would become a naturalized US citizen in 1979.

John Kasich (44%)

Well, here’s one I wasn’t expecting. Kasich seems about as blue-collar, all-American as they get. 

Turns out, however, all four of his grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father’s parents were Czech and his mother’s were Croatian (her maiden name was Vukovich).

Dad, John, Sis, and Mom

Kasich’s been married twice, with both of his wives being native-born Americans.


Marco Rubio (50%)

Marco Rubio is a true first-generation American. And that means that both his parents, as well as all his grandparents were foreign-born – in particular, in Cuba.

His Dad was Marco Rubio Reina and his mom was Oriales Garcia. They came to the US three years before Castro, in 1956. They would both become naturalized citizens in 1975.

Mama y Papa

In 1962, Rubio’s maternal grandfather, Pedro Garcia, came to the US as un “undocumented immigrant,” was all set to be deported, but somehow managed to get off the hook at the last minute and stay.

Marco’s wife, though the daughter of Colombian immigrants, was herself born in Florida.


Ted Cruz (50%)

Ted Cruz is an interesting case. On the one hand, he himself was born in Canada, of a Cuban-born father. (Hey, what is it with all these Cubans?)  On the other hand, though, his mom seems to be pretty all-American.

Ted’s dad, Rafael, is an interesting one as well. Born in Cuba, he originally supported Castro, coming to the US in the late 50s. He was actually a Canadian citizen when Ted was born, becoming a US citizen only in 2005. Bet you didn’t know that Ted’s real first name is Rafael as well.

Ted's wife, Heidi Nelson, sounds about as WASP as they come.


Donald Trump (58%)

Well, well, well … How could it be that immigrant-basher Donald Trump is the least native of all the Republican candidates? 

Well, did you know that his mom is from Scotland? Yup, Mary Anne MacLeod was born on the island of Lewis and Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. I guess that’s where Donald got the red hair and enormous eyebrows from.

She met Donald’s father while on a visit to the Big Apple. Though Donald’s father, Fred, was born in New York, both of his parents were from Germany. Put it all together, and Donald doesn’t have a single grandparent who was native born.

Just to continue the theme, Trump would show a real predilection for marrying outside the US as well. Of his three wives, only one – Marla Maples – was American. His first wife, Ivana Zelníčková, was Czech, and his third and current wife, Melania Knauss, is Slovenian.


Special Note

So, you may be wondering about all the Rand Pauls, Mike Huckabees, and Chris Christies out there. Well, they seem to be pretty boring ancestry-wise. All I could really find was that Rick Santorum dad’s, Aldo, was born in Italy.

On the Democratic side, Hilary’s about as WASPy as it gets.  Bernie Sanders is the only Dem who rivals the Republicans when it comes to a foreign background. With a father and all four grandparents born in either Poland or Russia, he clocks in at 50% – tying Cruz and Rubio, and besting Trump.