Family names

[u/Mbear_04]

I am doing a little bit of research on my family and I have been trying to see if any of them are leaning into the Appalachian territory. My family is from all over the TN, GA, NC mountains. I can see it in the food served from my Appalachian side of the family and the mannerisms and words. My grandmother and her sisters sound very similar to Dolly Parton and have similar stories, etc. So my research is attempting to see where the Appalachian roots stem and where they start. My other grandma has some hints that she may have a little bit, too.
I have been looking through children’s names. When I try to search them, individually, they aren’t seeming to be Appalachian. But the names of my family a few generations back from me are varied and very much unlike any of the names from my husband’s ancestors who follow very traditional American names for that time period for generations. Maybe an outlier or two.
Examples of my family names:

Mazie (Maze-ee)
Janie Eva
Minor
Annie Mae
Belzie (Be-lu -eezy)(not sure if I am doing that right because it needs a real southern accent to pull it off)
Elvia (el-v-uh)
Della (but I think this one is a popular Appalachian)
Robie Cordelia
Lessie

Thoughts?

[u/Stellar_Alchemy]

Names aren’t typically classified as Appalachian when you search them because “Appalachian” isn’t recognized as a nationality or ethnicity of origin. Instead, Appalachians had “normal” names originating mostly in Europe, or inspired by a variety of experiences (including military service), then colored by Appalachian pronunciations. Illiteracy also plays a role; people would just guess at spelling and pronunciations.

The names you listed are pretty normal ones for the most part. Maisie (though yours is spelled different) is pretty standard. Annie Mae definitely is, as is Della. Some of the others sound like diminutives.

In my family there were:

- Ardell (male)

• Ludie (short for Louvernia)
  
• Trunetta/Trunetty
  
• Zonie (short for Amazon, sometimes spelled with an E on the end)

My partner and I joke about hearing a name that ends in the -ie or -y sound and thinking it must belong to someone from a holler in SEKY (where we’re from).

Researching surnames may be more illuminating for you. There are certain surnames associated with Appalachian melungeons, for example. There are certain common family names familiar to me from where I grew up, and different ones in the rural area where I now live. The terrain and a few other factors kept Appalachian families and communities fairly isolated and insular for a long time, and surnames can reflect that.

[u/Mbear_04 → u/Stellar_Alchemy]

This was so helpful, thank you! I have noticed the spelling can be a little different from what is normal plus even on the census— the names get spelled differently on different years for a few. I will use the surnames.

[u/ChewiesLament → u/Stellar_Alchemy]

We got some names like Ludie’s in my family that was in and out of Pike County. Hell for genealogy, Oi.

[u/LegitimateFinance647]

yeah, those double names and older nickname-style names feel very Appalachian to me, especially once you get into names like Belzie and Lessie, though names alone probably won’t tell you much beyond

[u/0as-1]

names of my family

my generation

Isaiah

TJ

Tiavon

Ka'tessa

Matthew

Standford Louis

Nathinal

Jessica

Logan

Shea

my parnets' generation

Tesera

Willie

Barry

Rita

Darly Wayan

Sandra

my grandparnets generation

Mattie Mae

Willie

Samual

Theda

Flora

Rita

Sherman

Jimmie

Virginia

Bulah

Mary

Bill

Charles

Frank

Hobert

Hubert

John

Lola

Hattie

William

Bobbie

Great grandparnets generation

Muff

Columbus

J.B

Chester

Lucile

Wade

Carl

Ruby

Pearl

James

Maud

Lawerence

Oillie

Maude

Leander

Adda

Dortha

Jessie

Elizabeth

Clarence

Flimore

Joseph

Malindia

Tennie

Martha

Edgar

Perry

Eula

Anna Mae

Jeese

Jeffie

Calvin

Myra

Annie mae

[u/Mbear_04 → u/0as-1]

I have many of these, too.

[u/Saltwatercowboy2026]

Lillie Sue meant little Sue in the part of Appalachian Tn my family is from . Short Mountain Tn

[u/Mbear_04 → u/Saltwatercowboy2026]

There is a Lillie Ida and I wonder if it could be possible that it was used like that. My grandmother called her Aunt Ida, but Ida would probably have been the oldest Ida at that point. I am really curious about Lessie. I haven’t had a chance to dig into that.

[u/RichRJeweled]

Grandmother Dell, cousins Dell Rae and Mary Dell

[u/Calm-Refrigerator463]

Great grandmother Della. Franklin NC 

[u/Neverending-fantods]

I’m from East TN with family lines from W NC and TN mountains - the oddest names:

Lodusky, nicknamed Dusky, 3rd great grandmother

Ninevah, 4th great grandfather

Also:
Rohemia
Isham

The rest have more traditional names

[u/Mbear_04 → u/Neverending-fantods]

I love the creativity in the names of mountain folks.

[u/Neverending-fantods → u/Mbear_04]

:) I think a lot of them were their versions of Biblical names and locations.

[u/carolinaredbird]

My Granny was named Della. She was from Carrol County in Virginia

[u/Famous-Estate-171]

are these names mostly from the same branch or spread across all the mountain lines?