The Unwieldy Name of a Ballard Merchant
A local businessman petitions the court to shed his Norwegian patronymic in favor of a simpler moniker.
Severin Christian Zakariasson, a Norwegian living at Ballard, yesterday petitioned the superior court to have his name changed to Severin Z. Watney. The petition sets out that the petitioner has for the past three years been engaged in the mercantile business at Ballard. His father's name was Zakarias Abrahamson, and, according to the customs of Norway, when he became of age he took the Christian name of his father, Zakarias, adding 'son' thereto to form the surname, Zakariasson. He finds the name so odd and unwieldy that he desires to change it to Watney, the name of the town in which he was born and raised, retaining Severin Z. as his Christian name.
“He finds the name so odd and unwieldy that he desires to change it.”
Changing one's name to fit into an anglicized cultural landscape is a story that has repeated across every generation of immigrant Seattleites. While the specific tradition of patronymic surnames remains strong in Nordic cultures today, the pressure to adopt more 'convenient' names in business reflects a century-long struggle for assimilation in the Pacific Northwest.
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