Where does the surname Pook originate from?

What does the Ndebele surname "Aphane" mean or where does it originate from?

• Aphane is a very common surname among the Northern Ndebele of South Africa particularly in the Limpopo Zebediela area.My uncle once said to me he would like to know who is "Aphane"? I asked a few people but no one could tell to my satisfaction. My farther said to me, this is probably a name given to a man whose children were later given his name as a surname. Ok, we are descendants of Aphane but what does the name mean and where does this great man come from?

• Answer:

  The process of finding a persons' origins, in English/European context, involves using documents that find where the specific ancestor comes from. Names are different, since surnames originally evolved from descriptive needs, and linguistics originating in those areas of the world. For example..the word "Baker" is an English word for a person who bakes..but ALSO can be linked to persons of that name..who ORIGINALLY were of that occupation. To find the origin of either your name or your ancestor, involves the same. However, I cannot address if records were kept in South Africa back that far, or if they survive. Since I have no knowledge of tribal history, I cannot tell you to search particular records, to learn WHO was the ancestor who first used this name? As a WORD, again, you would have to find persons who have knowledge of the many languages in various parts of Africa. Here is one resource that might help.. http://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Ndebele/ While there might be some English influence on creating the written language..it does not mean that the pattern or sources of the words themselves is going to be consistent with European definitions or history of words.