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My surname has a confused history / origin. Some sources have claimed that it was a Hungarian count 'Living' who left Magyar-land to settle in some god-forsaken village in Scotland, in the 12th-something century. Somehow, I've never found that very convincing. I suspect Hungarian counts of the time were smarter than that : )
Not long ago, I found a much more plausible story, beginning with 'Loefing', "son of Leaf", which eventually became 'Lyfing'. From there, 'tonn', or farm, was added, to identify the Lyfing's farm = Lyfingstonn. The spelling has changed, over time, but, all things said, I'm happier with the idea of being the offspring of farmers than of counts. So, Loefing I became.
As for online / offline persona aspect, working freelance I find myself with little spare time to create an online personality, limiting my contributions to occasional [hopefully substantive] ideas or images.
Meanwhile, it's time to celebrate, again.
Very good new year to all. Happy celebrations!
One of the Anglo-Saxon English king Edmund Ironside's sons, named Edward the Atheling (a descriptor inherited as surname by his son), was sent to a relative, the then Queen of the Kiev Rus, who sent him further to her in-law relative in Hungary, where Edward married. This Edward with family later returned to England, and after the Norman conquest, the family fled to Scotland, where daughter Margaret became King Malcom's wife, and later the patron saint of Scotland.
BTW considering the number of generations, almost certainly every farmer and nobleman from 1080 with descendants today was your ancestor. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Well, no doubt Hungarian - Scottish intermarriage was real, but I do have doubts about the specific stories that have been woven about the Hungarian origins of my surname. It'd be lovely, but my guess is that "we" were probably just a lot of Scottish farmers. : )
Of course, as you indicate, geneology is a species of mythology, but I accept myth, in this case, to the extent that it enables me to embrace mythical farming, as opposed to mythical courtly, origins.
Only because I like the conclusion.
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