A Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltár évkönyve 20. 1993 (Debrecen, 1993)

Zoltai Lajos munkáiból - Sípos Ferenc: A Sípos családnév kialakulása

THE EMERGENCE OF FAMILY NAME „SlPOS' (THAT MEANS „WHISTLER”)

Ferenc Sipos.

Whitles:

The man of palaeolithic age patched whistles from bones of birds and mammalians. The archeological findings fammiliarizes us with different types of whistles, although we don’t know what was the battle-whistle used by the light cavalry like. Its function was similar to the bugle or trumpet: the soldiers assembled, launched attacks, retreated for its call and possibly it has some role even in guiding of the camp life (reveille) tattoo, lunch, alarm).

Whistlers:

The whistlers were soldiers of light cavalry who transmitted the orders to the fighting units by blowing the calls on battlewihstles. Spreading of heavy cavalry caused decline of the trade of whistle making; buglers and trumpeters appeared together with armour knights. The whistlers outsteded from the royal army tried to pick up a living in the private armies of noblemen. Those who had no success with it swelled the large number of wandering musicians since they could play light music and dance-songs as well by their whistles!

People called „Sípos” (Whistler):

The name of Sípos (Whistler) appeared at the firs time in 1138. Nevertheless this is a name of single element and can’t be considered as a family name; it wasn’t even lasting, the children didn’t take on their father’s name. The homonymy lasted until the first part of the thirteenth century. The circumscriptions used later are neither real family names, they are only distinctive names. The family names developed by turning the distinctive names into heritable names; those people got „Sípos” (Whistler) as a family name who at the end of the fourteenth and at the beginning of the fifteenth century were practising as whistle- makers consequently were served at the light cavalry.

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