Switzer?

Question:

Paterson/Switzer?

What country are these names from. I heard that Patterson with two t's is British and one t is Irish. I've also been told there is Irish in my family, but that may be from the Hogan ancestors....

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Beware of coat of arms peddlers.

Anytime a person wants an origin of a name they usually are furnished a link to a coat of arms peddler.

There are no laws in the U. S. regarding heraldry and there are companies that sell them based solely on a surname without documented proof that they are entitled to it. I understand some will do "research" and "link" you go a person granted one.

A person is free to display one if they wish but it is like putting up a picture of a famous person with their surname and claiming him as their ancestor whether they know he is or not.

Not everyone with the same surname comes from the same root.

Now, I looked at Ancestry.Com and most Patterson came from Ireland or England.

However, most Switzers came from Ireland.
There were some from Germany. You have to realize a lot of Germans moved temporarily to England or Ireland before coming to the U. S.

Genealogist do not put much import in the origin of names. People moved around.
Boundaries of countries changed.

Napoleon Bonaparte's nationality was French. He became a French national when the Republic of Genoa gave Corsica to France in payment of a debt. He was born Napoleone Buonaparte to Carlo Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino.
HIs brother Joseph was christened Guiseppe. The family spoke the Corsican dialect of Italian among themselves even after Napoleon became emperor of France.

I had gr gr grandparents and a gr grandfather that came from Warsaw. They had a German name, Altman. Since Poland at the time was divided between Prussia, Russia and Austria, Prussia is listed as their place of origin.

Many Irish came to this country from Liverpool. I understand today Liverpool as a large Irish population.

The Normans invaded England. They originated as Northmen (Scandinavia) and settled on the coastal area of France which today is called Normandy for them. Since dark hair and eyes etc are dominant, by marrying into the local population by the time they invaded England, they were called tall, dark, French speaking Vikings. For several centuries French was the court language of England.

Then the Anglo Normans invaded Ireland. They were forbidden to adapt Irish ways and speak the Irish language. However, many disregarded this and became more Irish than the Irish themselves and they intermarried with the native Irish. So, sometimes when you see an English name from Ireland, it might be someone who is basically of English origin, or it may be someone who is almost all Irish.

I would imagine in England, there are people with Irish names who are more English than they are Irish.

Prince Philip's, Queen Elizabeth's consort,
nationality was Greek. His mother became a Greek Orthodox nun after his father died.
His family name was Battenburg. When he became a British citizen, he took the name of Mountbatten, the same as his uncle.

The best thing to do is trace your roots. Start with your parents and go back each generation. Work on one family line and if you run into a brickwall, set it aside and work on another.

Good Luck!