Coming to Terms with a Dorky Name

Posted by Jeff Linden Tree

It’s not easy having a dorky name.  I mean, there’s no way that Lipshaw fits on the back of a sports jersey.  I feel better today, however, even though it came at the expense of being mocked by my son, who told me he had already told me this. 

Where do all the “Lip” names come from?  Lipson, Lipski, Lipciowa, Lipsey, Lipschitz, Lipstein, Lipinski.  It turns out that “lipa” is Slavic for linden or lime tree, and is the root of all of these related surnames and place names, like Leipzig and historic town of Liebeschitz in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic).

I feel better now.   But I still envy Mike Madison.