Hunting the Little Deers

Welcome to my new blog, "Hunting the Little Deers." The name comes from the Irish surname "Oisin," which translates to "little deer." It translates to English easily enough, but man, the pronunciations and spellings are a bear!

Here's a YouTube video in which actress Saoirse Ronan tries to teach Stephen Colbert how to pronounce Irish words. "Oisin" comes at about 3:06.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwstj9FJHGg

Here's another one. "Oisin" appears at 2:56.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU9w9qLynwE

No wonder there are so many spelling variations! Here are some of the variations I've seen—I'm sure there are lots more:


  • Hushen
  • Hushan
  • Hushin
  • Hushon
  • Hushion
  • Husheon
  • Hushing
  • Hushong
  • Husion
  • Hussion
  • Hutchins
  • Haskings
  • Haskins
  • Hession
  • Hasan
  • Hesian
  • Hussian
  • Heshian
  • Hutcheon
  • Usher
  • Escher
  • Cushin
  • Kashin
  • Hirshon
  • Herschen
  • Hussan
  • Husson
  • Hussam
  • Hushaw

For the longest time my whole family was under the impression that we were the only ones left in the USA. Now come to find out that we are just one branch of many. The likelihood of belonging to our branch of the Oisin family increases if the surname:

  • Has two syllables (occasionally three) with an "sh" or dipthong sound in the middle
  • Has American roots in NJ, PA, or MD, or 
  • Has Canadian roots
  • Arrived in the US/Canada between 1830 to 1860 or so
  • Came from County Connacht or County Galway in Ireland

Bonus points if the first name is a saint's name (they were mostly Catholic) or the occupation is farmer, skilled craftsman, seamstress or weaver. 

Looking forward to more hunting of the little deers. 

In my sites!



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