Before the letter J was invented, my last name was spelled with an "i"

Did you know that the letter J wasn't invented until the 1500s? I was tracing my family name as far back in time as I could go following my Patriarchal line and I discovered it changed over time.

Before the letter "J" was invented, it was spelled with the letter "i". That is why the letter J is pronounced so differently across different languages. Sometimes it sounds like G, sometimes like Y, sometimes like i, sometimes H, sometimes Z, and sometimes Zh.

There is a river in Germany called Jossa after my ancestors (or them after it) and the name of that river changed over time like this:

Now - Jossa
year 1358 – iozza
1359 – iazza
1376 – iazza
1391 – iosza
1326 – iaaza
1213 – iazzaha / Jazaha
1239 – iazahe
1240 – iaza

One researcher said it might have been a derivative of the name Isaiah - as in the prophet from the bible. If it turns out I am related to him it will make a lot of sense because there are some magical, intuitive and brilliant people in my family tree.

My ancestors were also called Jesaja, Jaszo, Jossi, von Jossi, von Jossa and von Jaszo. There are towns and castles named after us under the name Jossa. That area is surrounded by forests - the forests where Brothers Grimm gathered and wrote their fairy tales. Sounds magical, doesn't it?

Ancestry is endlessly fascinating.