It's All in the Name
A recent walk through the Spanish Lookout cemetery aroused an interest in Mennonite surnames and the fact that a few “Russian” Mennonite names sound similar to local Belizean names. For example the surname Peters. Yes, there are Creole families with that title who are completely unrelated to any Mennonite whatsoever. Another one is Schmidt or Schmitt; the Belizean version of Smith can be found among many residents of eastern Belize. Then there is Janzen (pronounced YAN’sen) and Braun with the Belizean version being Johnson and Brown. Not to mention Wall and Martens (Amish variation is Martin which is also a Belizean name). So the next time you read the news and see that a Jacob Peters was arrested in Orange Walk or that a David Smith was killed near Spanish Lookout, it does not automatically refer to a Mennonite.
Now just as some names among society in general conjure up images of power, wealth and prestige at the mere mention of them, so it appears that certain names in the Mennonite colonies attest to the same attributes, at least among the local population. I’m sure you’ve heard of Rothschild, Rockefeller, Ferrari. In Spanish Lookout for instance, there is Reimer. Now there’s one name with a lot of power behind it. I mean we’re talking about heavy duty stuff, firmly established financial empires worth tens of millions of dollars. They don’t quite own Spanish Lookout, though… at least not yet. Not too far behind them are the Duecks and Pletts. Somewhere in the middle we find the Thiessens, Kornelsons, and Penner. At the bottom of the ladder we discover a few odd names which seem to have materialized out of… somewhere. Schmidt, Wiebe, Woelke, Schroeder. How do you even pronounce those last 4 names? In Shipyard the elite forces have powerful names such as Elias and Wall.
Then there are those surnames which evidently are unique to a specific region such as Redecop, Krohn, Blatz, and Guenther; so far these names are quite abundant in Old Colony Mennonite circles. Other names appear to be spread out among the length and breadth of the country; Friesen, Klassen, Dyck.
What about Amish names? While we do not have authentic Amish settlements in Belize, we do have “Swiss” Mennonite colonies that closely resemble them such as the Noah Hoover in Springfield which originated from the mid-eastern US and a recently arrived group from Ontario which settled in Upper Barton Creek. Among them you’ll find surnames such as Beiler, Troyer, Lapp, etc. Said names can also be found among the more evangelistic Beachy and Conservative Mennonites who have intermarried with individuals from the Maya, Mestizo and Creole culture.
Lastly we have individuals who have discarded most if not all traces of Mennonitism and become offended when referred to as a Mennonite due to their last name.
It’s not quite all in the name, after all.
A. Mendoza
