Then thirty years ago, the political situation in Iran showed signs a developing a volatile nature. The leaders of the predominant faith group, members of the Shia branch of Islam, had become restless. They wanted to overthrow the Shah of Iran. That desire would eventually add greater variety to the list of Canadian names.
In the early 1980s, one member of the Jahanpour family was imprisoned for her religious beliefs. She had claimed adherence to the teachings of the Baha’i Faith, a Faith that Muslim leaders refused to recognize as a separate religion. She represented a large circle of Iranians who suffered time in prison for their beliefs. Some even faced a death sentence due to their beliefs.
Such forms of religious persecution are certainly not found in Canada. The people who began the list of Canadian names sought an escape from the forms of religious persecution that used to exist in Europe. While no Canadian harbor contains a Statue of Liberty, many immigrants have chosen to settle in Canada.
The girl with the last name of “Jahanpour” eventually gained release from her cell in the Iranian prison. She first made her way to Los Angeles. There she joined her mother, but there they also witnessed a family tragedy. For that reason, they chose to leave Los Angeles, and they traveled north the country that gave protection and freedom to men and women with Canadian names.
The mother and daughter now have a granddaughter and niece in the United States. Although the two older Jahanpours now live in the U.S., their female relative could well decide at some point to live in Canada. Even if she remains in the U.S., many other Iranians will seek permanent residence in Canada. They will add their name to the growing list of atypical Canadian names.
No doubt, over time the term “Canada names” will loose much of its meaning. No doubt, over time the world will see increasing instances of the intermarriage of citizens from different cultures and different countries. Such intermarriage could eventually lead to the loss of families with “Canada names.”
When that happens, the people of the world might need to rely on historians for assistance with the recall of forgotten facts, such as the origin of family names. Then people would find in the history books examples of the names that are now associated with a particular culture or a particular country.
History books would reveal to future generations a world where a concentration of people with Canadian names once dwelled in a land half a world away from a group of persecuted people. They would explain how those persecuted people had left the land of their birth, journeying from Iran to North America, and then settling in Canada.