The surname JACOBSEN is of Danish origin, a baptismal name meaning 'the son of Jakob', the Scandinavian form of Jacob (may god protect, the supplanter). The name is sometimes rendered as JACOBI. The English surname of JACOB may to taken to be an English name with both Hebrew, Dutch and German associations. During the Middle Ages surnames were becoming commonplace, however, the modern structured system of hereditary surnames had not yet evolved. People, therefore, adopted the first name of their father as a family name in order to distinguish themselves from those who bore the same personal name. The Dutch language is most closely related to Low German, and its surnames have been influenced both by German and French naming practices. The preposition 'van' is found especially with habitation names, and the 'de' mainly with nicknames. Early records of the name in England, mention Thomas Jacoby of the County of Cambridgeshire in 1273. Jacobus de Broxton was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Bryan Sergeant and Avis Jacobs were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1789. Since the dawn of civilisation the need to communicate has been a prime drive of all higher mankind. A notable member of the name was John Jacob (1812-1858) a British military officer in India, where he had the name 'ag Kanghur' changed to Jacobbas in 1851 in his honour. Another noteworthy person of the name was Violet JACOB (1863-1946) the Scottish poet and novelist. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Rietstaps Armorial General. Registered in Danmark.Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God. However much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. Among the humbler classes of European society, and especially among illiterate people, individuals were willing to accept the mistakes of officials, clerks and priests as officially bestowing a new version of their surname, just as they had meekly accepted the surname they had been born with. In North America, the linguistic problems confronting immigration officials at Ellis Island in the 19th century were legendary as a prolific source of Anglicization. |
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