An African-American family bears a name variously spelled Eigner, Igner, Ighner, Egner, and perhaps Eighner. This name was derived of a slave trader in South Carolina. The principal investigator of this line once seemed to think the name was originally Eighner. It is not clear whether she has revised this theory entirely. She says the name is pronounced Eye-ge-ner. The family seems to have borne this name since the early Ninteenth century, and perhaps longer.
The family acquired the name from a slave trader. Although the family now has European ancestors, it not clear that any of their European ancestors was the man from whom they got the name.
