Mulatto probably comes from "mulato", Spanish for 'of mixed blood'. Didn't slaves take the surnames of the family that 'owned' them? Also, let's face it, folks, the male plantation owners had sexual 'relations' with the African women they owned and the offspring of those unions produced children who used their father's surname. There is, however, another explanation. In the 1700s, 'whites' marrying Indians had children who were referred to as, for instance, "quadroon", which meant they had 1/4th degree of Indian blood. Angelyn ------ Original Message ----- From: AhSweet1@aol.com Sent: Thu, Aug 29, 2002 7:49pm To: <CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST-L@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [CHOCTAW-SE] question I have no idea of where 'Mulatto' came from. I was just surprised when I read the census(1860(I think)) in Mississippi and found neighbors to my ancestors(Trahern) with the same name but it said they were black. Now some in Alabama with other ancestor's name(DeLoach) says they are 'M'. ==== CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST Mailing List ==== Got a PROBLEM?? Got a GRIPE?? Just wanna' WHINE?? Don't post it to the list. Write to me, the listowner, at CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST-admin@rootsweb.com