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ArchivesRe: Does anyone know meaning of Tomeika?
in reply to a message by Bryan
Hey Bryan,
I've got a theory on this one. Perhaps in the '50's and later US servicemen (probably Black) stationed in Japan heard a girl's name that sounded good (or may have known the girl) and brought the name home into their own culture after their tour of duty.
The Japanese name is "Tamiko", which means something like "child of the people" (-ko=child, a common girl's name element in Japan). Once here, the -o became an -a and the spelling changed 15 different ways over the years.
If someone can show me evidence of a non-Japanese female in pre-1946 US with a name like "Tomeika" or "Tamika" I'll say "never mind", but meanwhile I think this theory may have legs.
I've got a theory on this one. Perhaps in the '50's and later US servicemen (probably Black) stationed in Japan heard a girl's name that sounded good (or may have known the girl) and brought the name home into their own culture after their tour of duty.
The Japanese name is "Tamiko", which means something like "child of the people" (-ko=child, a common girl's name element in Japan). Once here, the -o became an -a and the spelling changed 15 different ways over the years.
If someone can show me evidence of a non-Japanese female in pre-1946 US with a name like "Tomeika" or "Tamika" I'll say "never mind", but meanwhile I think this theory may have legs.
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