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Question:My great-grandmother was Assyrian and her last name was Namie. I've heard this as a Japanese name but not Assyrian. Perhaps the name was changed at the border. Has anyone heard of Namie as an Assyrian name?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: My great-grandmother was Assyrian and her last name was Namie. I've heard this as a Japanese name but not Assyrian. Perhaps the name was changed at the border. Has anyone heard of Namie as an Assyrian name?

It is indeed very much an Assyrian name.

Antonio Namie 30 Apr 1904 abt 1902 Progreso Syrian
Behara Namie 2 Dec 1902 abt 1900 Havre Syrian
David Namie 30 Apr 1904 abt 1903 Progreso Syrian
Hanna Namie 4 Nov 1908 abt 1884 Marseille, France Syrian
John Namie 31 Oct 1909 abt 1871 Cherbourg, France Syrian
Juan Namie 30 Apr 1904 abt 1901 Progreso Syrian
MacKe Namie 5 Jul 1910 abt 1890 Cherbourg, France Syrian
Maria Namie 30 Apr 1904 abt 1876 Progreso Syrian
Marown Namie 2 Dec 1902 abt 1871 Havre Syrian
Miguel Namie 30 Apr 1904 abt 1901 Progreso Syrian
Selim Namie 12 Feb 1908 abt 1890 Kingston, Jamaica Syrian
Zarify Namie 10 Dec 1901 abt 1872 Boulogne-Sur-Mer Syrian

While the name might be found in many other countries (even Sweden and Lithuania), the fact that your great-grandmother told everyone the family's ethnicity is pretty definitive. The names above are all of the Assyrians who came to the US. If you're descended from one, it would be extremely easy to pick up the trail and find your family's hometown. You only need to request the INS documents (Declaration of Intent and Naturalization Petition) from the National Archives. All came over after 1901, so they all had to file for naturalization using a long, detailed DOI that would fill in all the missing details for you. You can find out more about the process of getting the documents here: http://www.archives.gov

This was the name bestowed upon the children of Mr. and Mrs. Namie.