Howell, Michigan

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  The Zooks, or their ancestors, must have made the westward trek to Michigan from the east, since Zuck is such a common Pennsylvania Dutch name. Since it is the last day of the first month and since we are leaving behind our collection of Z names, let's account for some other Zs in GYC: Zaporozan, Zane, Zamarripa (in honor of all Hispanic Z-names), Zabawa, Zambrano, and the notorious Ziegler. Lakeside Cemetery. [2018]

Somerset, New Jersey

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Zanellato rhymes with gelato, so it must be Italian. The -ato suffix denotes a high rank, so he may have had a medieval knight in his ancestry. But why do all these headstones (Z-names the whole month of January) use forget-me-nots and roses? They should be featuring the zinnia. Cedar Grove Cemetery. [2018]

Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  How literate are you in the language of headstones? On this one, there is not much information, but enough to tie it into the sweep of world history. You may not recognize the national origin of the name Zandieh, but if you are logo-literate, you can figure it out. Just pay attention to the enneagram that attracts more attention than the name. It is a common symbol of the Baha'i faith in which 9 is considered "the sign of perfection." With that in mind, here is someone who may have fled the episodic persecution of Baha'is in their country of origin. What country would that be? Peace Church Cemetery. [2018]

Pensacola, Florida

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Let's face it: When most Europeans came to the Americas, they were illiterate. They knew their names, but they didn't know how to spell them, let alone write them. And, when others (perhaps immigration clerks) wrote them down, they often just sounded them out and chose the letters phonetically. What started as the same name became a family of homonyms: Zeigler, Ziegler, Ziglar, Zigler, and even Seigler and Zieger. Eastern Gate Cemetery. [2017]

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  All Zeiglers are getting ready to celebrate tomorrow: January 26. It is Z-Day, ground zero for anyone with terminal alphbetitis. Why the 26th? Because Z is the 26th letter of the alphabet. Why January? Because "the last shall be first," and January is the first month of the year. If you are a fellow Z, hope you have a happy Z-Day. [2018]

Northfield, Vermont

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Zedick is apparently a Hebrew name, but it is hard to ignore the fact that all Anglophones (except Americans) use "zed" to refer to the letter Z. In the Bible, Adoni-zedeck is is a pre-Israelite king of Jerusalem. In Hebrew, his name means 'righteous lord.' If we lettered days instead of numbering them, January 24 would be January X since X is the 24th letter of the alphabet. Mount Hope Cemetery. [2018]

Onancock, Virginia

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  It's the 23rd day of the month and time to remember yet another Z name: Zember (of South Slavic origin). If we lettered days instead of numbering them, January 23 would be January W since W is the 23rd letter of the alphabet. Do you see where we are going with this? Fairview Lawn Cemetery. [2018]

Louisville, Kentucky

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Here's an Arab name, but a Christian Arab. Did you know that most Arab-Americans are Christians? Only since 1990 have Muslim Arabs become a significant part of the Arab immigration stream to the US. Where would a Christian Arab immigrant likely come from? This family name probably has its origin in Lebanon, which would have been a part of Syria during Ottoman rule. The terminal y or ee sound marks it as typically Syrian. Syrians are fond of ending lots of words in ee, much to the surprise of Arabic speakers from the rest of the world. Evergreen Cemetery. [2016]

Seymour, Indiana

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  What is the name of the letter that begins the family name Zagar? Your answer is probably 'Zee.' But, only Americans call it that. To most of the rest of the world (or, at least the English-speaking world), it is called 'Zed.' If you think of its Greek name, Zed will make sense to you. Remember zeta? The Zagars were originally sawyers in Slovenia. Riverview Cemetery. [2017]

Elk City, Oklahoma

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  It seems so fitting that the Roman censor who dismissed Z from the Latin alphabet had a first name that started with A: Appius Claudius Caecus. You may not have heard of him, but his legacy is legion. His A-name is applied to "the queen of the long roads," the state-of-the-art highway that led from Rome south to Brindisi. It has been called the Appian Way (Via Appia) for over two millennia. As for Zollman: probably German, and originally Bavarian. Fair Lawn Cemetery. [2018]

Darien, Connecticut

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  The expanding Roman Republic, in the first century B.C. finally took over Greece. In other words, the Latin-speaking western Mediterranean had to adjust to the Greek-speaking eastern Mediterranean. By that time, the Z had been dropped by the Romans. With the conquest of Greece, it had to be added back. Why? The sound of zeta in Greek (e.g., zephyr) needed to have a home in Rome. As for Zinna: probably Italian. And guess what: In Italian, the Z is not the the most infrequently used letter; the letter Y, for instance, doesn't even exist!. Spring Grove Cemetery. [2018]

Beltsville, Maryland

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Do you remember what position Z occupied in the Hebrew alphabet? It was the seventh letter. And, it entered the Roman alphabet at position number seven as well. Then, it was judged to be useless (by Appius Claudius Caecus) and thrown out. It was replaced by the letter G. When Z was added back two centuries later, it was assigned to the end of the queue. As for Ziepolt: probably German and very rare. St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery. [2018]

Somerset, New Jersey

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Z is both the last letter of the modern alphabet and the most infrequently used. To show how low down the totem pole it was: Z was dropped from the Roman alphabet for 200 years, from about 300 BC to 100 BC. The decision was made by a Roman censor (magistrate) named Appius Claudius Caecus. Why? "because it resembles in its expression the teeth of a corpse, that is, in sounding the letter, the lips pulled over the teeth looked much as they would in the rictus of death." As for Zavodnick: probably Russian, and very rare. Cedar Grove Cemetery [2018]

Concord, New Hampshire

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Polish immigrants have contributed so many Z-names to the American cultural landscape. Here is another one: Zukowski, derived from the Polish word for "brave" (maybe). Or, perhaps derived from a place named Zukow or Zuchow. Calvary Cemetery. [2018]

Liberal, Kansas

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  If you want to know more about Zielke, just read yesterday's post. The story is the same, except that Ziel is a short form of the Slavic name Ziloslaw. Look at all the Zs on this memorial! Proud to be a Z in life? or just short-hand for eternal sleep? Liberal Cemetery. [2018]

Melrose, New Mexico

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  The family name Zuhlke in New Mexico probably indicates a migration from the upper Midwest, the destination of so many German migrants during the 19th century as turmoil hit pre-unification Germany. These Germans, however, came from the eastern side of the realm, a zone of Germanic and Slavic mixing. Zulislaw is a popular given name in Poland, and probably the origin of Zuhlke. Melrose Cemetery. [2018]

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Everybody in Las Vegas is a "come-here." That would include folks with the family name Zechter, which is probably a variant of the Biblical Greek name Zacharias. Here is someone who has chosen a quote, probably from one of his role models, Henry R. Luce, to inspire visitors to his niche: "To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life." He may have found that purpose at home, but it appears that he also found his purpose in working for the FBI. Palm Downtown Cemetery. [2016]

Greenville, Ohio

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  It was St. Matthew who wrote that the last shall be first. Perhaps, he had the Hebrew Z-names in mind. But, that would be illogical since Z is only the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Zacharias is the Greek version of the Hebrew Zachariah. Remember him? John the Baptist's father. Biblical names have had exponential power to spread beyond their ethnic niches, sometimes as family names but more often as given names. Greenville Cemetery. [2018]

Osakis, Minnesota

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Zins (and Zinn) are names that denoted tenant farmers in medieval Germany. As of the turn of the 21st century, almost 40 percent of Minnesota's population listed German ancestry on their Census questionnaires. When the Germans, with their Z names, came to the U.S., they changed not only locations, but also pronunciations. In German, initial Zs are pronounced as TS. (not Z). Calvary Cemetery. [2012]

Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Far more common than Zimmer is the family name Zimmerman. In fact, it is the most common Z name in the entire U.S. That must mean there were a lot of carpenters in the "old country." What is just a bit unorthodox about this grave is that the wife is buried to the right of her husband. That is probably not the way they stood facing the altar when they got married. While we are at it, let's acknowledge other Pennsylvania Dutch Z names: Zerbe, for instance. Peace Church Cemetery. [2018]

Amarillo, Texas

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  It is the third day of the new year, so we are ready for our third Z name: Zimmer. It is of German origin and one of the more common Z names. Most Zimmers in the U.S. came via the Pennsylvania migrations, but there is a chance this couple's origins are in the Texas Hill Country, well south of where they are buried. Llano Cemetery. [2018]

Odessa, Delaware

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Here's the second of our Z names for the month of January: Zagybaylo. Say it out loud: Doesn't it seem like a whole poem in a single word? It's a Ukrainian family name (ends with O, often a giveaway) that is exceedingly rare in the U.S. What is even more interesting is that this Ukrainian couple is buried in Odessa, Delaware, a small town obviously named after Odessa in Ukraine, but with almost no connection to the Black Sea port. Drawyers Cemetery. [2018]

Burlington, Vermont

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  It looks like we have all made it across the bridge (see it?) to the new year! And, the first month of the year seems like a good time to commiserate with the last among us: those who have gone through life at the end of the alphabet. Now, they can be first in calendar order, starting with Zweeres. How much lower (in alphabetical order, that is) can you get? Greenwood Cemetery. [2011]