Does anyone know of anyone with the last name of 'ROMANY" its my great grandmother's maiden name.

Question

I have had little luck tracing it.

Answer 1

Yes, the Gypsies. Your great grandmother's name probably designated that she was a member of the Romani (or Romany) people, more commonly known as the Gypsies. You have a very old and interesting family tree.

Answer 2

http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.c...

has 30 entries.

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/f...

has 143.

Answer 3

I can imagine. Many people have problems, tracing a surname. Why would you trace a surname, to begin with? The one thing that counts, is finding gr grandma's PARENTS.  Just a quick look at the 1920 census shows a number of persons with that name.. they list their birthplaces as Germany, Poland, Russia, and even a few from Puerto Rico.  Your goal is to find a valid document that confirms her birth, and who her parents were. You didn't post what her full name is/was, or where/when she was born.  With that info, she should be findable in the census (assuming she was in the US).

The article above is fascinating. Nothing in that article confirms any connection to your ancestor, since Romany there is intended as a name for a cultural group, not a surname. Tracing a person involves using specific records, while most discussions about surnames are very generic.

you are welcome to email her details to me, and I can see what I can do about finding her in the census, if she was born prior to 1930.