[IntinyBut]

Most Chinese people know their ancestral totem based on their family name. For example, my family name is Song(宋) which is a combination of "Precious or Holy"(top part of the character) and "Wood"(bottom part of the character) indicating that going back over 6000 years ago the Song Clan's totem was symbolized by "Holy Wood."

Another example would be the popular name Zhang(å¼*) which can be broken down into "Long"(left side of the character) and "Bow"(right side of the character) and legend has it that the family totem was a bow and clan can be associated with archers going back 5 or 6 thousand years ago.

I was wonder if people of other ethnicities know what their ancestral clan and still know what their totem symbol is? or is this more of an East Asian specific thing because our emphasis on ancestral worship for back for many millennia.

[inofindy]

Interesting thread.

Mine is actually the wild boar. My last name is Celtic in origin and my ancestors believed they were descendants of the god Diarmuid, who was killed by a wild boar, hence that is the totem.

[viagracheapest]

Mine is actually the wild boar.

Do you know that from the meaning of your name? Does it go back as far as neolithic times?

[nicegirlflor]

Do you know that from the meaning of your name? Does it go back as far as neolithic times?

I edited my post. Well actually my name is more Celto-Germanic than Celtic. It's has the Germanic "son of" characteristic. My ancestors who bore this name were apparently Germanics who assimiliated into Celtic culture and got absorbed my a prominent clan who believed themselves to be descendants of Diarmuid.

[immewaycypef]

greek names do have meanings, both ancient ones and christian ones (not jewish based ones, greek surnames also have meanings but we don't have totems.

[MattJargin]

Wolf!
Sometimes - White Tiger.

[krek-sikUp]

Hirsch(germ) - Deer(eng) - Briedis(latv);
ZÄ«le(latv) - Acorn(eng);