This week, I'm reading these books:
"What's In A Canadian Name? The Origins And Meanings of Canadian Surnames", by Bill Casselman, (Toronto: McArthur & Company, 2000
and
"Chasing The Chinook: On The Trail Of Canadian Words and Culture", by Wayne Grady, (Toronto, Viking, part of Penguin Group, 1998)
Grady's book, so far, is a good read with lots of interesting asides about Canada &, although Casselman's book includes a lot of information about surnames that must be available elsewhere, he does it with a Canadian 'Who's Who' twist.
The scientist & astronaut Roberta Lynn Bondar's surname, for instance, he says is a Slavic word for a cooper---a barrel, cask or tub maker. It seems much easier to remember the meanings, done this way.
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