Another origin? Perhaps Berber/Amazigh's of Morrocco
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In reply to:
European Origins of AMAZEEN Surname, early 1600s
Peter Amazeen 4/08/02
A Tunisian mentioned to my brother that the Amazeen name is an old Berber family name.Also, in a separate encounter, a Morrocan mentioned to my father that the Amazeen name was Berber.Another relative encountered an Ethiopian whose last name was Amazeen. This seem to be an interesting coincidence or similarity to names from other cultures.
Curious about the Berber connection, I did a Google search on Berbers and found the Berbers refer to themselves as Amazighs. Berber is a word coined by the Arabs during their conquest of North Africa to describe the Amazighs-- similar to the Normans renaming the aboriginals of western England as the Welsh.As a side note, there is a current linguistic and cultural conflict between Berbers and Arabs in Algeria.
In a book on the history of Newcastle, NH the author conjectures on the origins of the Gundalow, which was used as a river barge in the Piscataqua river during the late 1600s and 1700s. He thought it was a creation of John Amazeen after the "xebecs and feluccas of his own native seas".Xebecs and feluccas are a type of boat used on the Mediterranean, the Nile, and on the Red Sea by the inhabitants of North Africa and the Middle East.
The current sketchy data on the origins of John Amazeen seems to lead to Portugal, Italy, or even Greece.
Perhaps 500, 600, or more years ago the family roots actually lead back to Morrocco, by way of Portugal.
The above discussion is pure conjecture, but might lead to some insights into the origins of the Amazeen surname.
More Replies:
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Re: Another origin? Perhaps Berber/Amazigh's of Morrocco
Roberta Senechal 4/10/10
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message for Charles Amazeen re: William Amazeen
Carol White 12/28/04
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Re: Another origin? Perhaps Berber/Amazigh's of Morrocco
Philip Giuntini 5/13/04
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Re: Another origin? Perhaps Berber/Amazigh's of Morrocco
john dow 6/03/04
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Re: Another origin? Perhaps Berber/Amazigh's of Morrocco