Mood: Lazy ;p
Reading: Anxiety Disorders Discoverable by Blood Test
Currently listening to: Nada
Quote of the day: "A good name, like good will, is got by many actions and lost by one." - Lord Jeffery

Outtakes from a recent conversation i had with Huey Yee (loosely based upon her observation that, yes, my last name is originally Spanish and not French):

Huey: And Pat, I loveeeeee your Spanish name, wahahahahaha (my colleagues thought i was crazy when i laughed out loud reading that, *shakes head*)

Pat: Lol! Glad you liked the name (you didn't give away my secret identity away to your colleagues though right? Unless they're cute... :p)

...but its actually wrong! Rodriguez = Roderick... Roger is actually Rogelio! ;)

So that would be Patricio Rogelio Pinzon (although i think it sounds better with Rodriguez.. might be able to get away with it!) and my brother would be Pablo Mauricio Pinzon.

Cool huh? Think i'll do a blog post on my name tonight! :p

*note to self: get floppy Musketeer-esque hat, open collared floppy shirt, riding boots, a sword, and maybe a small moustache* :p

Huey: Patricio Rogelio Pinzon sounds.... wrong :x Hahahaha... Rogelio is sooooo weird. I'd prefer Rodriguez. Stick to that. Ohhh poor Paulie, Pablo?? Now THAT's bad... Hahahahaha. What's with Mauricio? (his middle name is Maurice? *gasps*) Again, my sympathies to you lot if you ever had to write your name repeatedly due to some punishment dished out by your teachers, hahaha. Prolly the other people that have it worse than you two would be the Yang Berbahagia..........*Huey falls asleep* Tuanku Abdul Mohd...... *narcoleptic again* Rahman bin Salleh or something like that. Haha. (Gawd, i AM evil ;p)

Do a post on your name!!! :D (Yes, the evil genes of Huey are already conspiring... heehee) And yes to the Spanish Zorro-like outfit. Hmmm, somehow you remind me of the cat in Shrek 2 (Puss In Boots, I think he was called...? With the kitty-pity eyes? LOL) Must be all the *mewor* that's been coming from you.... Hmmmmm *Huey sinks into another psychoanalytic session of Pattar & his feline tendencies, very similar to hers....*

So, yes, here's a blog post dedicated to my name and family history... Let it not be said that Patricio Rodriguez Pinzon de Palos does not keep his word! ;p

Ok! First off, for those of you who don't know it, my full name is Patrick Roger Wei-Min PINÇON with a cedille under the 'c' (a special type of accent mark that goes on a "c" when you want the "c" to make a soft, s-like sound, like in the word "garçon." Without la cedille, the word would be "garkon.").

The name is, of course, French and inherited from my father. As such, the correct way of pronouncing my name would be...

*Takes a DEEP breath*

PAH-TREEK, ROH-JAE, PANTS-ON... all done with a French twist to the pronounciation of course!

However, the PINÇON name might be Spanish in origin (which might explain my father and grandfather having dark hair) from the name Pinzon, which has a number of English, French, and Dutch variations such as Pinson.

Another interesting point, for those who are astute enough to have noticed it, is that the aforementioned cedille with the 'c' in my name actually does look very similar to the latinized character for 'z'. Interesting no? ;)

As such, given my roots i decided to find out what it would be in Spanish along with the meaning of each name for me and my brother (through this nifty site as well as this one).

So, from Patrick Roger Pincon, we see the following when its translated into a more Spanish form:

Patrick = Patricio

(from the latin Patricius - which means 'noble' or 'patrician')

Roger = Rogelio

(from the Old German of the same name meaning 'renowned spearman'. Alternatively, it could also be the Late Latin 'Rogelius', possibly derived from 'Rogatus' which means 'request')

And we end up with Patricio Rogelio Pinzon! Although, as Huey Yee mentioned, it does sound better with Rodriguez (literally Roderick) and i think i might get away with it... Anyhow, 'Patricio Rodriguez' was the favoured 'nickname' given to me by my friend Matthew Dobie during my primary school years and he was VERY fond of calling me by it for years to come... (Geez, how did he know my Spanish roots in primary school???) ;p

Lets take a gander:

Roderick = Rodriguez/Rodrigo

(from the Old German name of the same name meaning 'famous power' - from the Germanic elements hrod "fame" and ric "power")

Darn - i really do like this one better! :p

As for my brother, Paul Maurice (Wei-Liang) Pincon would therefore become:

Paul = Pablo

(from the latin name Paulus - which means 'small' or 'humble')

Maurice = Mauricio

(from the latin name Mauricius - which means 'Dark-skinned, Moorish'. Alternatively it could also possibly be an Anglicized form of Muirgheas [Irish, Gaelic] 'seafarer' and ultimately derive from the Phoenician term 'mauharim', meaning 'easterner'. Originally a Roman cognomen 'Mauricius' with the meaning 'the one from Mauritania' or literally, 'the Moor'. Known from Saint Maurice, a Christian Roman soldier from Egypt)

To end up with Pablo Mauricio Pinzon!

And, hey, why stop there? Once you throw in the name of our native Spanish family city i can end up with the totally flashy sounding name of Patricio Rodriguez (Rogelio?) Pinzon de Palos!

Mwahaha!

Hrmmm... how about our Romanized names then? I'd be Patricius Rogelius, and my bro would be Paulus Mauricius (sans last names). Woo! Names are FUN! :p

A Brief Family History

From the various snippets that i can remember of the official family history that my grandfather commissioned as well as the power that is Google i gather that the name originally comes from the Normandy region of France - and hey, check it out! We even have a coat of arms!:

The name Pinzon came to England with the ancestors of the Pinzon family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Pinzon family lived in Devonshire. Their name, however, is a reference to MontPincon, in Calvados, in the arrondisement of Lisieieux, Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Spelling variations include: Pinson, Pincon, Pinsent, Pensent, Pensons, Pinsons,Pinser, Pincer, Poinson, Poincon, Pynson, MontPinson, Montpinson, Mountpinzo, Mompresson, Pinsun, Montepinson, Montepesson, Montepinsun and many more.

First found in Devonshire where they were seated anciently as Lords of the Manor. The name originally was the Norman Montpincun or pincun from the barony and castle of that name in Calvados, in the arrondisement of Lisieieux in Normandy. Ralf de Montpincon was the Norman noble dapifer who was granted lands in Devon for his assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: William Pinsen who settled in Virginia in 1623; Joseph Pinson who settled in Virginia in 1663; Roger Pinson settled in Jamaica in 1665; Samuel Pinson settled in Barbados in 1685.

So it looks like the name is originally Norman in nature! And there's a mountain of the same name (MontPincon) up there somewhere along with some ancestral holdings... Anyhow, seems that the next major appearance of the name (in its Pinson/Pinzon variation) appears in Spain during the 1600s and whose line - or so i am told - we are closer to. Ironically, the coat of arms seems to primarily have the national Spanish colours (red and yellow) featuring prominently... is this deliberate i wonder?

Still, please bear in mind that i'm not sure if i'm just merely related to the Pinzons or descended from them in some roundabout way.

Apparently they were a family of wealthy Spanish navigators, sailors and explorers from Palos in Andalusia, three members of which Martin Alonzo, Francisco and Vicente Yanez, were associated with Columbus in the discovery of America. From another site:

"Three Spanish brothers sailed from Palos with Christopher Columbus - Captain Martin Alonzo Pinson owned the ship Pinta and commanded that ship in the Columbus expedition while his brother, Francisco Pinzon, was the pilot on the Pinta. The younger of the three brothers, Captain Vicente Yanes Pinzon, commanded the ship Nina. Later on the sons of these three brothers were employed as navigators by the Spanish, Portuguese, French and English governments. Some settled in these various countries. Other and younger members of the families of these three brothers took up large land grants in the Spanish provinces of Cuba, Texas, Mexico, and Florida and the surname is still numerous in these lands. Of the Pinzons who migrated to England came the Pinsons of Virginia."

Martin Alonzo Pinzon seems to have been a rather dodgy bloke though:

"Spanish navigator and companion of Columbus on his first voyage to the New World, born at Palos de Moguer, 1441; died there at the convent of La Rábida, 1493. Sprung from a family of seamen, he became a hardy sailor and skilful pilot. According to Parkman and other historians, he sailed under Cousin, a navigator from Dieppe, to the eastern coast of Africa, whence they were carried far to the south-west. They there discovered an unknown land and a mighty river.

Returning to Spain, Pinzón became acquainted with Columbus through Fray Juan Perez de Marchina, prior of the convent of La Rábida, and became an enthusiastic promoter of the scheme of the great navigator...

On his return home he supported the claims of Columbus, when his opinion was sought by Queen Isabella's advisers concerning the proposed voyage. It was he who paid the one-eighth of the expense demanded from Columbus as his share, and built the three vessels for the voyage. Through his influence also Columbus secured the crews for the transatlantic journey.

Pinzón commanded the "Pinta", and his brother Vicente Yañez the "Niña". On 21 November,
1492, he deserted Columbus off Cuba, hoping to be the first to discover the imaginary island of
Osabeque. He was the first to discover Haiti (Hispaniola), and the river where he landed (now
the Porto Caballo) was long called after him the River of Martin Alonso. He carried off thence
four men and two girls, intending to steal them as slaves, but he was compelled to restore them
to their homes by Columbus, whom he rejoined on the coast of Haiti on 6 January, 1493.

It was during this absence that the flagship was driven ashore, and Columbus compelled to take to the "Niña". In excuse for his conduct, Pinzón afterwards alleged stress of weather. Off the coast of the Azores he again deserted, and set sail with all speed for Spain, hoping to be the first to communicate the news of the discovery.
Driven by a hurricane into the port of Bayonne in Galicia, he sent a letter to the king asking for an audience. The monarch refusing to receive anyone but the admiral, Pinzón sailed for Palos, which he reached on the same day as Columbus (15 March, 1493). Setting out immediately for Madrid to make a fresh attempt to see the king, he was met by a messenger who forbade him to appear at court. Anger and jealousy, added to the privations of the voyage, undermined his health, and led to his death a few months later."

Dastardly! ;p

Then again there's a conspiracy theory surrounding the whole event and Colombus's relationship with Pinzon which involves Franciscan friars, the Church (*pfft* big surprise) and the Monarchy - make of it what you will:

"Columbus killed Martin Alonso Pinzón —- the Captain of the Pinta!!

The Great Admiral of the Ocean Sea wrecked his own ship the Santa Marie!!

Columbus had to sail home with Vicente, the brother of Martin Alonso.

If Vicente Yañez Pinzón could have read the mind of Columbus about his murderous intentions toward his brother Martin, he would have thrown him overboard on the return voyage and that would have been the end of Columbus!!

Etc., etc..."

Interesting times.

On an interesting note, it appears that the Pinzons were originally muslims as well (since Spain was for the better part of a few centuries under Moorish occupation until the Spanish Reconquista). Check this out:

"Columbus had two captains of Muslim origin during his first transatlantic voyage: Martin Alonso Pinzon was the captain of the Pinta, and his brother Vicente Yanex Pinzon was the captain of the Nina. They were wealthy, expert ship outfitters who helped organize the Columbus expedition and repaired the flagship Santa Maria. They did this at their own expense for both commercial and political reasons. The Pinzon family was related to Abuzayan Muhammad III (1362 - 66 CE), the Moroccan sultan of the Marinid dynasty (1196 - 1465 CE)."

Anyhow, so most of the family members tended to be sailors and explorers (just do a quick search on 'Pinzon' - one of the Galapagos islands is also named after them) whilst in more recent years there seems to be a a lot of Pinzons in the IT field (hrmmm... is it genetic then?) whilst there's even a furniture/framing company with my exact same name, cedille and all...

Finally, i managed to stumble across a website dealing with PINÇON family ties in France. Obviously the website's in French but its got a fair amount of historical details in the last two to three centuries and is replete with pictures and interesting facts such as the number of Pinson/Pincon marriage certificates in the village of Hirel between 1636 and 1709 (459 in all!) as well as locations in France bearing the name PINÇON.

Doesn't end there though - my grandmother can trace back her roots to Germany and Luxembourg as well, so who knows how far this goes? :p

But What About the Chinese?

Alas, try as i might, i've found it pretty hard to find the meaning behind my Chinese name and family over the Internet. As far as i can tell, 'Wei-Min' could potentially mean 'For the people' (wow, very Communist no?) or that 'Wei' alone might mean 'great' or 'strength'. I didn't even get a single hit for my brother's 'Wei-Liang'. Heck, i don't even know if there's a hyphen in the pinyin version...

Worst of all, i have no idea what the characters of my Chinese name look like because, after perusing this site, i've discovered that there are about 12 different variations for 'Wei' alone!

Erm... a little help?

Oh, and any information on the history of my Chinese surname - Si (after my mother, Si Hoong Chin) - would be appreciated because Google not much of a help in this regard... (can you say 'Si senor?' *sigh*)