black & white people, if you meet someone with your last name of the other race, how do you react?

Question

For example, when you are black and meet a white person with your last name or vice versa.

My last name is far more common for black people than white, and when I meet them, I ask what part of the country their family is from to see if we're related.

A black checker at my grocery store noticed my last name on my club card is the same as hers, and now she calls me cousin.

I wonder if other people think of it the same way or at all.

someone posted this further down, but it's worth mentioning here:

Slaves were given their masters last name and most kept the name after they were freed, so they aren't necessarily my relatives even if we trace back to the same farm.

BUT Thomas Jefferson wasn't the only one who snuck down to the slave row at night. There were a lot of mixed during slavery, so much so that mulattos in New Orleans had a different status between blacks and whites until right before the Civil War.

My last name is not unusual but not common either.

I've probably met less than a dozen white people besides my known relatives with my last name my whole life.

Answer 1

My grandfather was named Raymond Lewis Williams. There was a black man in the same city whose name was Raymond Louis Williams. Both were listed in the phone book as Raymond L. Williams, so the frequently got 'the other one's calls' and so when my Grandpa called him to tell him about a call he'd received for the other man, they became 'good friends' and were friends for the rest of their lives. I LOVE THAT STORY. This is not JUST the same LAST name, but the same first name and even the same middle name just another spelling ... but they said 'they felt like twins' and that is 'the whole story' to me.

Answer 2

I'm black but my great great grandfather was shanghai "abel" peirce. Many people don't know about him but if you google him you'll see that he was the richest man in Texas in the 1800's and perhaps in Texas history. What else most people don't know is that he has black descendants. That's not in the history books. There actually were some exceedingly wealthy irish out west, thus entire sections of Texas with names such as Pierce County or Dawson and Malone, Texas. You show me a rich 19th century Irish cattle rancher and I'll show you African American slave lineage deriving from that.

Answer 3

Well,names in America for blacks come from the slave master who owned their fore parents in most cases,often if a slave had a kid,they would name the kid after the master(sometimes first and last names).In some cases,the master crept into the black female quarters,and did the wild thing and got her pregnant,so,in some cases,you could be related across color lines.peace!

Answer 4

I have a very uncommon last name that orginates from a country that hasn't existed for about 70 years (I wanna say) and everyone I know with my last name is related to me. I'm white and if someone from another race had my last name, heck I'd be dying to find out if in some way we were related! perhaps through marriage?

Answer 5

I don't - but my last name is very common. I tend to brush off any other people with my last name that I meet because it's most likely we aren't related. The idea of a huge multiracial extended family is pretty sweet though. I'd think it was cool.

Answer 6

The slave name thing makes me think that once upon a time my family may have been well off because there are more blacks with my last name as well, but now..... well, my family is dirt poor! lol

Answer 7

I would be interested. Probably be like, "Yo whats up fam! where have U been? tell me about your life!" Family is family, color dont have a bind over family. I wouldnt be surprised if my cousin came from the other side of the world. My last name is Irish, but im black.

Answer 8

I personally have a very uncommon Swedish last name so I would be fairly shocked to see someone of another race with it. I would think it was awesome tho...especially since the only people I have found online with my last name are relatives.

Answer 9

I wouldnt react at all, because it feels half the world carries my paternal surname and the other half my maternal surname.

My ancestors must have had a really "flipping" good time during the discovery of all the "new worlds". On this side we are all caucasians yet have millions of cousins within a wide range of "colours" and variety of cultures!!!!

Answer 10

nope I'd just say "Hey you have a same last name as I do. That's pretty cool." I have a very common last name. In fact it's the most common last name ever. Come on it's not hard to guess. =)