Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What’s The Story Behind the Younghusbands’ Surname?


When they were younger, Azkals star players Phil Younghusband and James Younghusband were often teased about their surname.

"It could have originated from England or New Zealand. I am not sure about the details of our surname's origin though we've heard different stories," Phil says during the sidelines of the one-day VSO Bahaginan Expo.

The football sibling were named "ambassadors of volunteering," having started the Younghusband Football Academy to teach kids about football and develop values through the sport.

"As kids people used to laugh at us or make fun of us. It (our surname) used to make us sad but now it's a good conversation icebreaker," adds Phil.

A quick Web search shows little information about the origin of the surname Younghusband. Data available online include census records and the number of families carrying the name.

According to Onegreatfamily.com, one family with the surname Younghusband was recorded pre-1500s; the surname was carried by 129 families in the 1700s. However, only 61 families were recorded in 1800s and only 28 since 1900s.

Citing compiled records by the US Federal Census, there were at least six families carrying the surname Younghusband in 1920, who resided in the states of Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois.

A search on Familysearch.org shows a certain James Younghusband was included in the US Social Security Death Index on April 1929.

In the United Kingdom, as with other places, surnames were generally derived either from the father's first name, based on the locality or residence (such as "Cliff" taken from someone who lives near a stiff hill), occupation (such as "Wagner" for wagon maker) and nicknames such as "Armstrong" for someone who has strong arms, according to an article by Kathi Reid.

In local dialect, Younghusband is literally translated to "batang asawa" but the brothers both denied getting married soon.

"We cannot say now (when we will settle down) but it depends also when our mom says okay," says James, who admits he has a girlfriend who is also football player.

He adds that people people often use their surname as a conversation piece. Some have called them, "Young-handsome."

Nonetheless, the brothers are happy about their surname's strong recall.

"It's a name that sticks in your head and we are very proud of it. We will continue to honor that name by having a good reputation, How we conduct ourselves, according to our mom, is very important," says Phil.

Their father's name is Philip James Younghusband, so technically Phil is the "junior." Their grandmother decided to name the other one James also after their dad's name.

The brothers plan to spend their month-long break from football in the country. For the summer, Phil says he plans to listen to more OPM or Filipino songs.

"We are proud of our name and we want to continue to have a good image and that is important as role models to the youth," he says.





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Mildred Patricia Baena