Re: OSLING/OSOLING trace in latvia

For a definitive answer you would need to consult either a Latvian historian or a philologist.I don't have the necessary texts at hand.The reason why I strongly suspect that Osoling is a Germanicized version of Ozolins is by analogy with some other names.Up to the early period of Latvian independence, quite a few people modified their Latvian names to make them more acceptable to non-Latvians, particularly to Germans.For example, names that in their proper Latvian form ended with "ins" (with or without diacritics) often had the final "s" dropped.Sometimes this was replaced with a "g".One of Latvia's finance ministers was R. Kalnings.Historically this name started out as Kalninsh, then became Kalning and then Kalnings.I understand that his refusing to drop the "g" (though he did add "s" to give it a more Latvian sound -language regulations and his position perhaps forced this) made him the object of some mild ridicule.I knew a Latvian who used to live in Adelaide whose surname was Mizing.For some reason his family hung on to this form, though the original Latvian surname was Mizins (Mizinsh).My argument is by analogy.Unfortunately modern Latvian history texts are often of little use in following surname changes because authors almost always modernise people's names.