Origin of the Nibbana family name
In the romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare asserts that names really do not matter in that our names do not define us – we define our names. Shakespeare reveals the boundaries of the term by proposing that a rose would smell sweet regardless of what we call it. Although you may or may not agree with Shakespeare, many of us are interested in names and how their origins derived. The term ‘surname’ comes from the medieval French word ‘surnom’ translating as “above-or-over name”. Ancient French legal documents and records differentiated a particular Pierre and a particular Marie from other Pierre’s and Marie’s by inscribing a second name over a first name.
So how did so many different surnames originate?
Hereditary naming practices began in Europe and spread quickly as a need to identify individuals by more than their given names became a necessity. European surnames first occurred between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, becoming firmly established by the sixteenth century. Prior to this time period, particularly during the “Dark Ages” between the fifth and eleventh centuries, people were largely illiterate, lived in rural areas or small villages, and had little need of distinction beyond their given names. As populations grew, the need to identify individuals by surnames became necessary. The acquisition of surnames has been affected by many factors, including social class and structure, cultural tradition, and naming practices in neighboring cultures.
The American surname Nibbana is of acquired ornamental origin. Surnames of acquired ornamental origin were derived from necessity when those without a surname suddenly needed one. A lady-in-waiting for royalty might have had no traditional surname, but would require one if no longer in the service of royalty. In times of political turmoil, a deposed ruler might require a smaller staff, and long-time servants would find themselves among commoners and suddenly in need of a surname. Names were sometimes invented as combinations of other words.
The earliest recorded references to the surname Nibbana can be found in American documents in the 20th century when Charles Daniel Nibbana was a citizen of Baltimore, Maryland. Known as the first family in the world celebrating Nibbana as a family name, the surname was adopted in 1993AD as Charles Daniel Nibbana sought an existence separate from that of his natural father. The etymological origin of the word Nibbana is derived from nirvana, which means “freedom from external reality; heaven, bliss”. The word held such significance and meaning for Charles that it was an obvious choice for a new family name.
