It is my understanding (& I may be wrong) that an Indian child had more then 1 name (indian) as they grew up....they were named at birth by an Uncle (I think, I know its on the mom's side), then as they enter each stage.....like hit puberty they "earn" another, etc. but as i said.....I may be wrong & I can't recall who shared this & it was years ago All Indians were being hunted down ----- Original Message ----- From: "BARBARA GORDON-LANTTO" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 28, 2012 6:42 PM Subject: Re: [CherokeeGene] Cherokee Heritage > Native names given at Birth never change. But a Cherokee may have several > "English" names at various time slots. At puberty a boy ususally lived > with an Uncle, brother to the mother or clan mother's, and may take that > last name as part of the household.. It was for the boy's traditional > warrior training. The idea was to confuse the government. > > Cherokee and other tribes were being hunted down like a poor animal.(1700- > 1800's) > > BARB