The Pappas Family Name
The Pappas Family Name
My last name Pappas means "father" or "priest" as in papa. Greek priests in the Greek Orthodox church were allowed to marry, a pretty sensible decision in my humble opinion. I wish all churches did that. The suffix -opoulos means "son of," so my original name was Papadopoulos or "son of a priest." Apparently, Greek priests had many children because Pappas is the most common Greek name. The suffix was dropped when my grandparents on my father's side came to America.
Their names were James and Olympia. Together they had eleven children, all of them boys. I once asked about the number eleven and an uncle said, "Well, actually, there may have been between eleven and fifteen kids." It is possible my grandmother had some miscarriages. Of the eleven, two died as children. The other nine lived full lives. They were my father and eight uncles. Before the new year, my last uncle died. He was almost ninety-five years old. In his last phone call to me, his final wish was to live just a short time more, so he could reach that age. He missed it by a few days.
My last name Pappas means "father" or "priest" as in papa. Greek priests in the Greek Orthodox church were allowed to marry, a pretty sensible decision in my humble opinion. I wish all churches did that. The suffix -opoulos means "son of," so my original name was Papadopoulos or "son of a priest." Apparently, Greek priests had many children because Pappas is the most common Greek name. The suffix was dropped when my grandparents on my father's side came to America.
Their names were James and Olympia. Together they had eleven children, all of them boys. I once asked about the number eleven and an uncle said, "Well, actually, there may have been between eleven and fifteen kids." It is possible my grandmother had some miscarriages. Of the eleven, two died as children. The other nine lived full lives. They were my father and eight uncles. Before the new year, my last uncle died. He was almost ninety-five years old. In his last phone call to me, his final wish was to live just a short time more, so he could reach that age. He missed it by a few days.
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Poppy
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Jan 09, 2019 02:51PM
Thanks for sharing your family history, Jimmy. There are members of the Pappas family here in NC - probably or maybe related to you!!!
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Not related. Maybe in a far distant past. I have people all around the country ask me if I knew the Pappases somewhere in America. Like I said, it is definitely the most common Greek name.
It's like how people ask me if I'm related to some Nguyens they know, since I'm a Nguyen on my mother's side. I have to explain that 40% of Vietnamese people are Nguyens. On the other hand, if someone knows a Buu or a CongTangTonNu, then they are definitely related to me in some way.I appreciated the story about your uncle. It's nice to know he and his brothers all lived full lives.
I knew many Nguyens in Saigon when I taught there, Jenna.
In 2010, Nguyen was the 38th most common surname in the U.S. I'm taking bets for its 2020 standing, which I'm guessing will be higher :-)
