Get your name in Crusader Kings II!

[Rabid Bogling]

Adshead is a fairly dull name. It's either taken from the Cheshire hamlet of Adswood or simply means "head of an adze". The attempts of some to link it to Saint Patrick - based on a nickname in the fenian cycle - or Insular christianity as a whole are easily dismissed. It's first written mention comes from the late sixteenth century, in a largely protestant neck of the woods several hundred years after Latin monastic practices replaced Celtic ones. But my grandfather would feel afronted if I didn't mention his maternal ancestors; the Boothes, Bowers, and Boswells. Petty industrialists and landholders. As such, I hereby conjure House Botherell. A Middle English perversion of the Norman de Baudreville. Alternative spellings; Botherbill, Bathewell, and Bovril.

My grandfather's name was William, a well groomed chap with a passion for yeast-based spreads. Probably.

 

[LongVin]

Longobardi

Italian.

Longobardi's are first mentioned in Tacitus' Germania where they are a tribe of Germans(also spelt Langobards and meaning long beards) surrounded on all sides by enemies who they refuse to pay tribute to despite being outnumbered. Known for being fierce warriors they received the name of their tribe from Odin himself. Refusing to pay tribute to a much larger tribe they prayed to Frigg for guidance who told them to have their women tie their hair in front of their faces and march with the men to inflate their ranks. Their enemies, the Vandals prayed to Odin for victory and was told that whoever he saw first on the field of battle would have the victory. When the two armies came to the field Odin asked Frigg "Who are these long-beards?" To which Frigg answered "My lord, thou hast given them the name, now give them also the victory." Hence forth they were known as the Longbeards or latinized as Longobardi/Langobardi and Italianized as Lombardi.

Over the centuries they migrated further south coming to what is modern day Austria. During this time the Longobardis had the distinction of being the old tribe to defeat the Hunnish warriors in open combat. Eventually they were hired by the Eastern Roman Empire to serve as mercenaries where they were betrayed by the Romans and not given the land promised to them. In response they swept into Italy destroying everything in their path and establish the Lombard Kingdom and the Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento.

Known for their ruthlessness one monk even wrote in a manuscript before being forced to flee "Longobardorum invidia non explicit musica,” which is translated as “This treatise on music was not finished because of the evil deeds of the Longobards,” and were viewed as "Huns with Blonde hair and western eyes."

They ruled in the north till Charlemagne responsed to the Pope's desperate call for aid from encroaching Longobardi's came and destroyed the Kingdom of Lombardy. However, in the south they ruled for several more centuries.

Today, the name Longobardi as well as meaning the literal translation "Long beard" also denotes one who is a fierce warrior.

 

[GooSquirrel]

The Humphreys

From Humfred (anglo-saxon) means house-peace

The Humphreys were an Anglo-Saxon family who supported Duke William the Conqueror and the Normans. They were granted a good portion of land in Norman England. They built many castles and expaned their territory and power within england rapidly under Norman rule. After the Plantagenets took power, much of their territory was taken because they attempted to rebel against the new rulers. They lost greatly and lots of their members went into exile after they were shamed in battle against the new Rulers of England. Many of them moved to Germany and France and some of them into Ireland. Some of them took power in small vassal states of the larger nations in Europe. Some groups of the Humphreys ended up becoming so powerful that they threatened their overlords enough to be forced out of power. When the Protestant Reformation began, They were one of the first families to convert to the new faith. Some of the Humphrey groups joined together after that to unify their power and allied themselves with the rising power of Prussia and other protestant nations. Their lands became part of Prussia during some wars. Many humphreys headed for America during this time to see if they could create their own kingdom in the "new" continent free of other countries. They ended up joining the british colonies though. Over the years in the US a few humphreys were pretty powerfull, some even Senators. The Humphreys became very spread out, members being in almost all parts of europe and today America.

They were a very ambitious family who just had a lot of bad luck in their conquest past their original success. If they had better family heads, they could have become the most dominant family in Europe! If they were in the game they would most likely have a small amount of territory in England and be allied to Normandy. Another possibility would be that they could be spread out throughout german, french, and English territories, with the main branch being located in England or Germany. Depending on their Location their first names could change because of language. they could also be a vassal of the Normans or smoething. just wanted to give some ideas. you could also make a combination of any of these. I really hope you chose my family name. it has a long history.

Most of the story above is fictoinal but the name did come from Welsh or english ancestry, with German and french influences.

Coat of Arms:

 

[napoleonreborn]

Woll
English Branch
Found in Sussex where they held a seat as Lords of the Manor. Saxon influences in English history diminished after Williams conquest of England (Although I suppose that was pretty obvious)The language became French but the surnames survived and in 1296 a French John de Wolle held lands.(EDIT: Count of Surrey,which I know is in the game)

German Branch
First found in Cologne (variant was Wollenmenger) in Mainz around 1280. Other variants sprouted up later. Gernodus Wolnslehner was in Frankonia region in 1278 Heimisch dictus Wollere was in Worrstadt, in Rhine-Hesse area (1318), and others.

Although the English branch held lands and the german name was common(and I'm german) I still really want my name in this game. Also, woll is derived from wool, as much as it pains me to say it. Also, this was also all paraphrased from an online website I cannot remember. I decided to copy it and save it on my computer.

 

[Demoking]

Blouch (pronounced like German 'blau.') I don't know much about my surname, except that it was changed to 'Blouch' from 'Blaugh' after my ancestors came to Pennsylvania from Switzerland. It's not the most noble name there is, but they could probably lead a peasant revolt, or be minor nobles, or some such thing. There also might be some Jewish origins along this line, though this is as yet uncertain.

On my mothers side there's the name Bullard, which has something to do with bulls. And one of them owned a few ships that he used as a business to ferry people back and forth to Jamestown, IIRC. So they were probably at least somewhat well off.

Also on my mother's side there are some Stewarts and O'Neals, but I'm fairly certain that both surnames are already in game.

 

[unmerged(240044)]

Paternal Line:
Clark

English

Minor Nobility in the County of Northumberland at the time of William's invasion. They gained William's favor and were able to rise to become rulers of the entire county. They held this position until, during the hundred years war, they joined forces with the Scottish against the English king. The Scottish were defeated and the family was forced into Exile in Scotland, where they lived on as minor court officials until migrating to the New World in the 16th century.

Maternal Line:
Palazzi

Italian, from the city-state of Lucca

An old and illustrious family that has branches in their home city of Lucca to this day, the Palazzi were a family of politician and bankers that wielded large influence in the city until 1316, when many of them were expelled during Castruccio Castracani's rise to power. Following this, the family moved to Florence and Milan, where they became fairly influential noblemen.

 

[Arathian]

I would love to participate since my last name is part of a byzantine aristocratic dynasty so it would be pretty interesting.....but I am just too paranoid as we are so few from my family that I would be easily trackable :/

 

[lordreaven448]

My last name is Woolcock (no, I'm not joking, it seriously is), Nothing really special abouyt my Family name other than we can't trace it back further thna the 1800's due to my family being Pirates and Criminals (most of whom were sent to Australia). And thsi what I remember from my sister informing me on this (About 4 years ago).

Nothing special about my Family name.......which is why it's perfect for CK II

 

[Tominator2]

Bitterman

No one is sure where it comes from but we think it may have something to do with wine (true for many surnames, I'd bet) as the coat of arms is a bunch of grapes. No noble blood that we know of, but Jean Baptiste Kléber is in the family tree somewhere so we have a tradition of being stabbed while in Egypt going for us.

 

[Haramir]

Bouvret

French

The Bouvret family is of humble origin, they belong to the peasant class in the county of Besançon where they lived during the middle ages. The 18th century had my ancestor decided to travel to the new world to settle in New-France, near Montreal. This family is of great courage and had one brave men dying for the freedom of Québec in Canada in the 1837 rebellion, and another soldier who received the Légion d'Honneur from Napoleon.

 

[Doctor Zoviet]

MacNeil! From the lands of Ulster 36 years before the Normans invaded Angleland, settled on the island of Barra in the south of the Western isles, the MacNeils descend from Niall (Neil) of the Nine Hostages, who became High King of Ireland in 379, who's progeny ruled the island from the 6th to the 10th centuries as high kings. A strong family through history, though they've always been in the background of the Scottish history. Though personally, I want to bring my family from a small backwoods island in the south Western Isles, to the kingship of the Gaelic thrones!

 

[Jak9090]

The "Maltravers" dynasty were small land holders during medieval england, most notable is Baron John Maltravers 1st, whom assasinated Edward II by thrusting a hot iron poker into his anus, after this incident the "Mal" was dropped, as it was regularly used to dishonor the Baron and his family, implying that he was 'Malicious', and from that moment on the Maltravers were simply known as the Matravers.



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[Trystero]

Let me preface my very first post on the Paradox Forums by saying that your games have eaten my life, and I can't wait to pay you on CKII release day for the continued privilege.

All right, here goes:

Cashon -- Family lore states that three brother immigrated to America in the 19th century, each modifying the spelling of his last name so that they would be able to keep tabs on one another: Cashion, Cashin, Cashon. The name(s), as far as we can tell, traces its roots to Ireland and before that to Normans who received dispensations in the Pale. Yes, my family is descended from the proud warriors who sailed across the Channel with William the Conqueror. That, or a bunch of peasants on the Cassian estate decided to adopt the name as a way to attain some modicum of respectability. It's fitting that the family motto is the somewhat desperate-sounding "Ne M'oubliez" ("Don't Forget Me"). The family lore goes on to say that the Cashon off-shoot embraced American freedom by becoming horse thieves.

 

[Andri]

Þingholt, name of the house my grandpa lived in back in 1930s, they were around 10 kids in a small house and their father was a fisherman who died early on leaving my grandgrandmother to raise all of them, but the family name Þingholt has stayed with us even since.

 

[metalinvader665]

Father's side: Piispanen -- Naturally Finnish, "piispa" meaning "bishop" and "-nen" being a pretty common ending in Finland. Probably not much more than a local village priest who had ambition, and people just called him that, or he may have been a particularly pious guy, and it was a joke on others's part. My dad once mentioned how they may have came from Russia at some point, but he wasn't positive. In the Finnish Civil War a few of them emigrated to the United States and settled in New Hampshire, and I'm descended from that group. They can now be found throughout the United States and Finland. I don't know of any famous people bearing that name, though I'd like to be the first. Maybe in the Crusader Kings period they can become a great dynasty of Europe?

Other names in my family tree (with probably more interesting stories) include Summers, Noonan, and Rinehardt, but I'd much prefer my actual surname.

Thanks for this option, can't wait for the game!

 

[Gatkramp]

Pienaar (though I recommend the use of the earlier versions of the name: Pinard, Pinart, du Pinard, Val Pinard, Pina and de Pinard, as well as the other variations in spelling).

It originated from an Old French (with some sources implying a heritage as far back as the Celtic language) word for a small coin. The name evolved from the reference to the coin, and was associated to rich men and traders, mostly in the northern areas of France. Since then, the name still has a minor presence in France (2,176 people in phone book as Pinard and Pinart), Canada (1,413 as Pinard, and 14 as Pienaar) and in South Africa (2,357 as Pienaar, 18 as Pina, and 6 as Pinard). Some recent figures with this family name include multiple international sporting figures (Rugby, Soccer and Polevaulting), artists (including artists and photographers), media figures (including directors, journalists and TV hosts), politicians (in Canada and South Africa) and several senior military officers from WWI and WWII (most notably Dan Pienar).

Unfortunately, this name is very hard (for me personally) to trace back further than the 1600s, though the earliest records of my family shows that this was already a well entrenched family name throughout France by the 1600s. Can't really track down to the first Pinards though, but the fact that they were able to spread to other countries (at least 3 different branches in South Africa, probably several more in Canada) shows that it was an established name, but not a very common one.

Edit: I should probably say that the name is older than it's modern use: cheap wine, which thinking about it probably came from the fact that you paid for cheap wine with small coins... Also, there are multiple coats of arms for the different branches of the family (and a lot of fake ones on the internet), though these are most likely not due to any real noble heritage.

 

[HMAS-Nameless]

Annals of the House Willett

The House of Willett descendes from Counts and Dukes of Flanders. The Willett family be can be traced back to Wileundings, a family that migrated from Saxony to Flanders in the 8th century following Charlemagne's conquest of the pagan lands. Taking on the Francian name of Lothair de Wileund and marrying into the Carolingian royal line the Wileundings found themselves in control of a major barony in the Duchy of Flanders. The Wileundings who soon took on the name of Willé or Willay in some instances. When Baron Butomond de Willé lost the family barony in the break-up of Lotharingia, the Willé found a permanent home in the court of the Duke of Flanders. For many generations the Willé Household served as Marshall and Stewards under the Duke until upon banishment for plotting against the Duke, Jacques Willét found himself in the court of Duke William the Conqueror and followed the Norman Duke across the Channel in his invasion of England. For agreeing to cross the Channel Jacques Willét was granted a barony in Normandy and guarteed land in England once when the conquest was complete. Sir Jacques would soon take on the Saxonized name of Willétt

 

[xGhost4000x]

Loy

My family comes from Germany, I don't have much of a story so I'll just leave it to your imagination I guess. I would love to see them show up in game though!


This is kinda cool, but this website has no credibility: http://www.houseofnames.com/loy-family-crest
If you google map search Loy, germany there is a town or something? not sure what it is
Oh and this: http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Loy-name-meaning.ashx
Oh and this is pretty cool: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loys_of_Gruuthuse

 

[Aodh]

Brock (English)

The name comes from their residence in the area of Broc in Anjou, France. Many migrated to England after the Norman invasion, and records show a Ralph Brock being granted land in the area of Colchester during the early 1100s.

 

[Deaghaidh]

The O'Deas were a prominent Dalcassian sept associated for a long time with a district north of Ennis and who once helped to shape the course of events in this part of Thomond. They were descendants of the Clan Ó Deághaidh whose territory comprised a good deal of the present-day Barony of Inchiquin. They were firmly established here from recorded times while the townlands of Dysart O'Dea, Curragh O'Dea and Tully O'Dea lend credence to the extent of their territory and their influence in local affairs.

The O'Deas are mentioned several times in the "Annals of the Four Masters" as the coarb families who administered the termon lands attached to many of the local churches, especially the important monastic settlement at Dysart O'Dea.

They are also known for having supplied several candidates to the local clergy and some bishops to the adjoining dioceses. Among the most notable was Archdeacon Cornelius O'Dea who was consecrated Bishop of Limerick in 1400. Bishop O'Dea was an able administrator with a wide knowledge of Canon Law, and whose mitre and crozier, considered to be fine examples of medieval craftsmanship, is preserved in St. John's Cathedral in Limerick.

In 1568 the Bishop of Kilmacduagh, Conor O'Dea drew up an interesting lease when he bequested the banqueting hall and castle of Dysart to his nephews, Diarmuid Óg and Donnchadh, and the two gardens and round tower to Domhnall O'Dea. He also made an unusual proviso that they were to maintain the peace under guarantee of £100 each and to allow "the great brewing pan" to be used by all the household. (Calendar of Inchiquin MSS. No. 890).

The O'Deas's were for long periods loyal supporters of the O'Briain, Kings of Thomond and in return the head of the clan held much land by agreeemnt with them. In the second half of the 12th century, the O'Deas backed Turlough O'Briain's claim to the high kingship. In the ensuring battle of Moin More (1151) with the men of Connacht and Leinster, the Munstermen lost heavily. Among those who fell were Flaherty O'Dea, head of the clan, many of his kinsmen and supporters, several chieftans and "large numbers of good men." This was the same O'Dea of whom it is said arranged for the orders of the west doorway of Dysart Church to be adorned with a series of sculptured heads in the Romanesque fashion, which are still much admired on stylistic grounds. Over a century later however, against a far more determined enemy in the person of Richard de Clare and his Norman army, the O'Dea, again in alliance with the O'Briain and with strong support from the O'Hehirs and the O'Conors, came out on the winning side. It was Conchobhar O'Dea's correct assessment of the disposition of the Norman forces which, on the morning of the 10 May 1318 were divided into three sections, his subsequent tactics, the courage of his kinsmmen and their supporters which proved to be the turning point in this historic engagement.

The O'Deas will always be remembered for their association with Dysart because of its Early Christian Church and beautifully carved Romanesque doorway, while the nearby round tower adds a further air of antiquity to this historic site. Within the chancel there are memorials to the family, one which reads "This tomb was erected by Michael O'Dea of Dysart, son of Conor Crone O'Dea, in the year of Our Lord 1684. Wherein was intered Joan O'Dea alias Butler, wife of the said Michael O'Dea." They were also responsible for the re-erection of the magnificent High Cross which stands in the nearby field. The inscription on the pedestal states that "This cross was newly repaired by Michael O'Dea, son of Conor Crone O'Dea in the year of 1683."

"Argent a dexter hand lying
fessways couped at the wrist
cuffed indented azure holding
a sword in pale all proper, in
chief two snakes embowed vert."

The most significant event to happen involving the O'Deas was the Battle of Dysert O'Dea. The O'Dea's defended their lands against invasion by the Norman Richard de Clare. The O'Dea clan chieftan Conor lured De Clare into an ambush and is credited with killing the anglo-norman lord personally. A pitched battle ensued in which the hard-pressed O'Dea's were eventually reinforced by O'Connors and O'Brien's, ultimately ending in a total defeat for the Anglo-normans. With de Clare, his son, and most of his men dead his wife burned his seat at castle Bunratty and fled to England with the remains of his household. The English made no further attempts to seize land in the Kingdom of Thomond for the next 200 years.

An article on the battle from the Clan website:
http://www.odeaclan.org/xoops/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=9

There's also an excellent account in Wars of the Irish Kings by David Willis McCullough. That one is taken from a period source and includes a great encounter between de Clare and a banshee.

In game, O'Dea would make a good name for an Irish baron in Thomond, or as a random surname for military or clergy courtiers in western Ireland.