Over on www.stuff.co.nz, Danny Katz wrote a very humorous article for The Age, that gets into what’s in a name.
Here are some excerpts:
Katz is a strange name, it’s a silly name: I’ve had it all my life and it’s caused me nothing but trouble.
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YES, KATZ HAS BEEN A KONSTANTLY KRAZY KATZASTROPHE OF KATZACLYSMIC PROPORTIONS, until just recently when I began dabbling in the fascinating world of genealogy.
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Enough of the library, I now moved on to the internet: I found all kinds of genealogical websites where you can actually view your family’s coats of arms, the heraldic symbol that your ancestors have carried through generations of wars and suffering – then get it printed on to a keychain, a mousepad, and a set of four travelling beer-steins, all for the introductory price of $41.50. Well, turns out, there IS a Katz Coat Of Arms: it’s not a pair of crossed swords, or a mighty silver gauntlet… no the Katz Coat of Arms is a lion, A BRAVE FEARSOME NOBLE WHITE LION, that seems to be holding a dead rat in its mouth. I don’t know why the Katz-family lion is chewing on a rat, but I didn’t care: I HAD A FAMILY SYMBOL AND I FELT A TREMENDOUS SURGE OF HONOUR AND BELONGING even though the lion also seemed to be dancing the Macarena on its hind legs.
I really enjoyed the article. It’s great to be really serious about your genealogy research, but it’s good to step back and have a laugh or two every now and then.