Kara Menck

Professor Lynn Raymond

UWRT 1104-002

22 February 2017

Origin of My Name

Just the idea of names is so interesting to me. It may seem obvious, but its something

everyone has and something that tells some sort of story whether the person knows it or not. I

decided to do some research on my name starting with Kara. It is derived from the Italian Cara

which is Latin Carus meaning dear. (Kara Name Meaning) My mothers side of the family

is Irish/Czechoslovakian so they translate it as friend. (Kara Name Meaning) My middle

name is Anne which is a cognate of the Hebrew Hannah which is from hannh. (Anne Name

Meaning) It takes its meaning from Hannah which means gracious. (Anne Name Meaning)

I was curious about why my parents named me Kara Anne and wondered why I had never really

asked before. My mother told me Kara Anne sounds like her maiden name Kerrigan. The

surname Kerrigan is of Irish origin and is an Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic O'Ciaragain,

descendant of Ciarogan. (Last name: Kerrigan.) The Irish culture has an interesting way of

using names to indicate family ties and relationships. Traditionally, Irish family names are taken

from the heads of tribes, revered elders, or some illustrious warrior, and are usually prefixed by

"Mac", son of, or "O", denoting "grandson, male descendant of". (Last name: Kerrigan.) The

(O)Kerrigan surname belonged to the ancient population group of Hy Fiachrach, and were

located in the Connacht counties if Mayo, Sligo, and Roscommon. (Last name: Kerrigan.) This

information struck me because my grandfathers father was from County Mayo. My mother also

added that I was named Kara because Menck sounded better with a name that ended in a. The
surname Menck has a German origin and is a variant of Menk. (Menck Family History.) While

looking at the origin I found the name distribution of Menck families in the U.S. has a large

population on Nebraska. I dont know a lot but I do know I have distant relatives of my

grandfather, who went to the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Seeing the real

numbers of people with the surname Menck that live in Nebraska that I could be related to

instead of just hearing about it from my dad and grandmother made me even more curious as to

what I can find out about my family name and roots.

Works Cited

"Anne Name Meaning & Origin." Baby Name Wizard. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

"Kara Name Meaning & Origin." Baby Name Wizard. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

"Last name: Kerrigan." The Internet Surname Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

"Menck Family History." Menck Name Meaning & Menck Family History at Ancestry.com.

N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.