Once upon a StollerStory - The Stoller Surname
How many corruptions of our time-honored family name can you recount? I, for one, have experienced many.
The most common mistake is to refer to us as STROLLERS instead of STOLLERS. I mean, do we go around everywhere pushing strollers or something? We could also be the STOLLER STROLLERS if we like to stroll or the STROLLING STOLLERS if we like to sing.
People always seem to think I'm related to LEN STOLLER, owner of a car dealership in another city. I tell them I'm not related but they persist in asking. Help me out if you know of a LEN STOLLER family connection. My friend, Sue Roufberg, added that she went to school with LEN STOLLER's son (see last issue). Actually, I believe he pronounces his name STOLLER with an "OH" but spells it "STOLER" from the advertisements for his car dealership. In any case, I've been noticing more LEN STOLLER dealership inscriptions on backs of cars.
Or, there is the occasional punster who asks which women I have stolen. (STEVEN STOLE HER - get it?)
I've always thought STOLLERS should always have first names beginning with ST. Steven Stoller. Isn't there a nice flow to it? This reminds me of second grade when the kids decided to add another ST word where I was called STupid STeven SToller. I actually think I was pretty smart, but STupendous just wasn't as funny. There were five Stevens in my second grade class: Steven Benjamin was the only classmate taller than me but I probably have him beat now at six feet eight inches. Steven Seifer who enjoyed picking on girls. I don't remember the other three but STeven SToller sounded the best. So, remember the ST rule.
Then, there are the people who call me STAHLER with an AHHH like you're at the dentist. I must always correct them -- STOHLER with an OH sound, not STAHLER!!
There are always those English majors who say I'M(!) the one mispronouncing the name. They educate me that since the name in question has two Ls, correct grammer dictates that it should be pronounced STAHLER. Sue Roufberg's husband, Lew, suggested how to counter those English majors who claim I am mispronouncing the STOLLER name. He contends that pronouncing STOLLER with a long "O" is fine since STROLLER is also pronounced with an OH, rather than an AH.
If we trace the STOLLERS back to Russia, we will likely find a STOLLER, who, as a carpenter, knew the profession as well as his last name. I wonder if the skill of carpentry comes naturally to all STOLLERS? I, for one, am not equipped with this unique skill.
My wife, Vered, says that STOLLER is pleasant and easy to pronounce. Of course she's biased. Anything is better than her maiden name of Pfefferkorn. (P as in Peter, F as in Freddy...and so on)
On a more serious note, I dug up an old January 1986 computer printout from the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv. I'll let it speak for itself:
STOLLER -- This name is derived from the Ukrainian and Russian word "Stolyan", which means a cabinet maker or carpenter.
Names denoting occupation and trade are extremely common among most peoples, not excepting the Jewish people. Ashkenazi Jews, in particular, seem to have used this source for creating family names, especially from the 19th Century when laws were passed in Europe forcing all Jews to assume fixed family names which, until then, they had not deemed necessary. The haste in which such laws had to be enforced may explain why many not only used the name of the trade, but also the tools used within the trade.
Whatever the reasons, the wide range of Jewish family names coming from their occupations uniquely illustrates both the variety of trades they were occupied in and the areas where they greatly dominated.
So, be sure to wear your last name proudly and with honor. Long live the STOLLERS
Comments to Webmaster: Steven T. Stoller
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Last modified: 03/17/97 12:15 AM -0500