Last Names That Reveal Pirate Ancestry

Publish date: 2024-05-02

The last names listed as particularly pirate-y by the British historical preservation organization English Heritage are as follows:

There's Morgan, as in Henry Morgan, the early-days pirate captain and midrange rum namesake. "Teach" also makes the list, referring to Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, the legendary buccaneer and famously ambitious ladies' man rumored to have had 14 wives.

You might also be a Rackham or a Bonny. Calico Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny were the sea-faring Bonnie and Clyde of their era, with Jack taking Anne onto his crew despite superstitions about the bad luck that a woman's presence brought to a ship. They had at least one child, and Bonny managed avoid an execution before disappearing from the pages of history, possibly dropping more bouncing bundles of salty dogs along the way. Mary Read was along for the ride, and while she died in prison in 1721, it's not known whether she produced any heirs, and her last name could also be a sign of freebooters in your family's past. Finally, you might be one of Kidd's kids, a descendent of the Scotsman William Kidd, executed in England for his piratical misdeeds in 1701.

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