[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Topsnik-Howard krushel

[Otto]

Evening Howard,

We must still wait for the Yiddish and Slavic definition of 'Tops',  
if any, before we reach a speculative conclusion.

An approach to the word "Tops" in Germanic-based languages.
Old Norse 'toppr'-tuft of hair, Old Frisian 'top'-"tuft, Old Dutch  
'topp', Dutch 'top', Old High German 'zopf' "tuft of hair"

The Prussians had an open door treaty with the Dutch, allowing travel  
between the two countries.  Dutch, including Dutch Mennonites,  
emigrated to the Prussian Provinces, then on to the Ukraine and Volga  
region, Russia.

Tops (plural) could well be Dutch.  Dutch in the Ukraine could well  
be Mennonite.
Dutch 'Tops', with a Slavic 'nik' suffix added, "Topsnik" could refer  
to a barber or a weaver.
. . . Maybe.  We must wait and see.
This is a discovery process and many knowledgeable people are out there.

==============================
On surnames:
I agree with Jerry Frank, a distinction must be made between Hebrew  
Bible names that Christians used and still use, and the German  
surnames that European Rabbi-led Jews assumed. It is legal and  
honorable on both sides of the fence to do so.  We use their names,  
they use ours. We like each other.

The mistake occurs when one attempts to use a surname (in reality, no  
more than a sound) to establish ethnic identity.  A breeding line  
must be established  to prove out genetic relationship. It is  
referred to as "following the paper trail"  and present day we add  
"matching DNA markers".We could now name it the 'Y-Trail' or the  
'Mitochondria Links'  Gene-alogy is about genes and who we are, not  
what we choose to identify with.  After 200 years of breeding,  
genetic relationship with the past is about bred out, and the surname  
only remains as a 'hook' to hang family history on.

Richard O. Schienke
. . .  Otto

                      " The Zen moment..." wk. of March 5, 2006
                      ________________________________
                         "Remove what isn't... What is remains."