Fascinating tales behind nationality-bending surnames
SALZBURG, Austria - At first glance many of the surnames of the Red Bull Air Race World Series’ pilots might not seem to match their nationalities. There’s a British pilot with a French name, a Spaniard with a Scottish name, and a Frenchman with a Russian surname. The three Americans in the field have foreign-sounding names – French and German. The Red Bull Air Race has always been a multi-national affair with multi-national teams of workers. Yet here are some fascinating tales behind the nationality-bending pilot surnames:
Paul Bonhomme (GBR) traces his family roots to the south of France. “In the 14th century, the Catholic church had a bit of a bust up,” he said. “And the Bonhommes were a group of priests who scattered far and wide because they didn’t like the way the church was run. They went all over the world; some went to the north of England, some went to Canada. My family’s been in the U.K. for a few hundred years and we consider ourselves English, albeit with a French name.”
Bonhomme, who said he speaks a bit of French and admits he likes the country and its lifestyle (“They’ve got a great attitude towards life”), said having the foreign-sounding name never brought any disadvantages, although he said he did have to be careful to stay out of trouble at school. “The only trouble with a name like Bonhomme is that you’ve got to keep your nose clean,” he said. “If you’re called ‘Dave Smith’, it’s really difficult to make a (bad) name for yourself. With a name like Bonhomme people recognise it instantly.“
Kirby Chambliss (USA) also traces his family name to France. “My great, great grandfather was French,” he said. “My great, great grandmother’s name was Ferguson so she was from Scotland. I don’t know exactly where in France he came from. It was a long time ago. They ended up in Florida and then Texas. He came to America looking for a job, like a lot of people who immigrated over. It was way before me so
I didn’t hear a lot of stories about it when I was growing up.”
Chambliss said he doesn’t speak French and never especially liked the French-sounding name no matter how elegant it may sound. “I didn’t like it because everyone always wants to call me a ‘frog’,” he said.
Mike Mangold (USA) traces his name to Germany. “My father came from Germany after World War Two sometime in the late 1940s. He was a tool and die maker. He went to the University of Cincinnati to get another degree in engineering. I’ve still got a lot of relatives back in Munich and Stuttgart.”
Mangold, who speaks some German, said he never had any disadvantages while growing up with the German-sounding name. “The world is one big community and people move around. The United States is a young country and everyone’s come from somewhere, mostly Europe.”
Hannes Arch (AUT) said his name comes from the Balkans. “I think the name ‘Arch’ is actually from Slovenia or Croatia but it was a long time ago. Many generations of the family have been based in Austria.” Arch said he is happy his name is easily understood in both English and German even though the pronunciation is different in those two languages. “It makes it quite easy for me,” he said. “When people ask me in ‘what’s your name?’ I just say ‘Arch, like an arch’ and they know right away how to spell it. It’s a bit of an unusual name in Austria,” he said before smiling: “It’s good for me because I’m unique too.”
Alejandro Maclean (ESP) said his Scottish name is not as unusual as it seems and that there are many ‘Macleans’ in Spain. “It just proves that we’re living in the 21st century and living in an open world with people from all around and all origins.” Maclean, who also speaks English, said his great grandfather migrated from Scotland to the eastern coast of Spain near Valencia. But he is not sure what his motives were. “That’s a good question but I don’t have a clue. It was probably the good weather and nice women.” He said he sees lots of ‘Macleans’ every time he goes to a polling station to vote. “There’s a lot of them. I’m definitely not the only ‘Maclean’ in Spain.”
Nicholas Ivanoff (FRA) traces his family tree to Russia thanks to a grandfather who jumped off a marooned ship bound for Brazil as it stopped in France for emergency repairs. “My grandfather came to Russia in 1921 when he was 22. He was on a boat headed to Brazil. But the ship had some problems and was going to stop at Marseilles. But it wasn’t even able to reach Marseilles so they made a stop in Corsica. My grandfather and some of the other Russians on board said ‘Hey, it’s not so bad here so we’ll stay here’. After that, he did some different jobs and met my grandmother.”
The grandfather from Moscow and also named Nicholas Ivanoff had been an architect in Russia before being swept up in the turmoil of the Russian Revolution and Civil War. “In France he tried to find jobs that were close to his studies,” he said. “He worked painting the roof of a church and jobs like that.” Ivanoff got to know his Russian grandfather, who was born in 1899 and lived to 101. A quintessential Frenchman, Ivanoff said his is proud to have a Russian surname but regrets not being able to speak much Russian. “I tried to learn it at school but it was very difficult.”
Michael Goulian (USA) said his name comes from Armenia – not France. “My grandfather was Armenian. He came to the United States in the 1920s, just looking for a better life. I actually never got to meet him. But he worked in a shoe-making factory as a laborer in Lowell, Massachusetts. Very cool.” Goulian said while growing up in Massachusetts no one ever dared to tease him about his name. “If they did I’d kick their ass,” he says with a laugh. None of his classmates even knew what Armenia was let alone where it was. “I’m not even sure I even knew where it was as a kid,” he said. “But for sure I know now.”
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