Coming to America (Name)

Just by looking at a name people can come to the conclusion to whether something interesting stands behind it, when in reality every name someway or another has something unique to it. John Muirhead Weber may not sound very interesting, but some of the history behind it is. In my family “Weber” has not been in the United States for a very long time but it is interesting how it did get here.

At only about one hundred-fifty years in the U.S. and originally VonWeber, the name Weber is from Germany. My family was either royalty or thieves. My great grandfather, Victor Nicholas Weber, was the first Weber in my family to come to the United States. He was born in Germany and when he was 16 years old he migrated to Minneapolis Minnesota to become a telegrapher. After working in Minneapolis for 2 years he transferred to Deer Lodge Montana where he met Dorothy Robere who was originally from Canada.

Both at the age of nineteen, Victor Nicholas Weber and Dorothy Robere got married. They had 4 kids and my grandfather, Robert Weber, was the eldest son. My grandparents Robert Weber and Doris Weber, who also were from Montana, had one child, Richard Weber, who is my dad. My dad has had three sons to carry on the name. The rest of the Weber family are still living in Helena Montana. My first name, John, also comes from my dad’s side of the family. I was named after my grandfather’s youngest brother John. He died in the Vietnam War in an airplane accident, which is kind of weird because there is a newspaper article talking about how John Weber died. One of my dad’s cousins was also named John, and when he was only thirty-five years old he died of heroine overdose, but he had nothing to do with why I was named.

My middle name, Muirhead, comes from my mom’s side of the family. Muirhead is her maiden name and it is Scottish. My great great grandparents on my mom’s side were from Northern Scotland and were from the Muirhead Clan. Muirhead Whiskey is very popular in Scotland and my family is related to the Muirhead family that started it. My mom’s side of the family is somehow related to John Alden, who was on the Mayflower. It’s not positive, but we think he was the first one of our family to come to the United States.

There is some pretty interesting history about my name and how it got the United States, even though just by looking at it, it doesn’t look very interesting. “Weber” hasn’t been in the United States for very long, but the name is quickly getting larger. A name isn’t a part of your life that comes and goes, it is something that is given to you at birth and stay with you even after you pass, so with that every person name is unique no matter how it appears.