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Given names & surnames: Origins, meanings and naming patterns

In the thirteenth century almost one third of the men in England were called John, Richard or William.  New surnames continued to be formed long after 1400 and immigrants brought in new ones.  At first the identifying surnames were changed or dropped at will but eventually they began to stick and get passed on.

So trades, nicknames, locations and fathers’ names became fixed surnames, but not always.  Sometimes a person would take the name of their feudal lord or in the case of the Highland Scots, adopt the surname used by the clan to whom they’d given their allegiance.

Our last names date back hundreds of years.  Most of our ancestors would have been illiterate, so how were these names recorded?  In those days the parish clerks, usually the only people who could read and write, recorded every happening and event.  The spelling of a person’s surname could change from one clerk to another because the clerks wrote what they heard and an illiterate person would know no different.

Occupation - Crafts and trades common during medieval times, e.g. Miller, Smith, Sawyer.

Place - Based on where a person lived or hailed from, e.g. Hill, Norris.

Nickname - Physical features or dispositions, e.g. Sterne, Wise.

Acquired ornamental - Names invented out of need, often a combination of words, e.g. Stockton.

Patronymic - Names that identify the father.

Soon after the Crusades in Europe, many people began to feel the need for family names, which would identify them more distinctly than the names they then bore.  The nobles who had joined the Crusades were aware of the value of surnames and were first to adopt them, usually from the name of the lands they owned.  The people who remained behind soon did the same.  These were not hereditary surnames as yet, but more of an identification by which one could be recorded and differentiated from his fellow workers and neighbours.

In addition, clerks and clergy, the educated class among the people when registering deeds, payments of fines, or other transactions, might identify one vassal from another by recording some descriptive word, nickname, or personal characteristic.  The vassal didn’t know that the clerk had given him this name, nor did he much care.  And if another occasion arose whereby the same vassal might be entered onto record by another clerk, he more than likely would receive an altogether different descriptive name.  And he probably wouldn’t know about that either, nor for that matter would any of his fellows.

A name in these formative years was generally a Christian name.  This was sufficient to identify most of the people in a town or village because they existed in what was essentially a close-knit tribal relationship.  A man either gave service by training and fighting for his lord, or performed the everyday function of his trade for the benefit of the master of the land.

In return for this, he was given a small dwelling and was sustained by the lord of the land.  There was little knowledge of any world beyond the few acres the person worked upon.  Travel to and from villages was unnecessary, and most people never left the manorial confines except to do battle.  A single name was certainly sufficient to one who met few others and didn’t have occasion to encounter strangers.  As the population increased however, the need of some form of descriptive word became necessary to identify one John from another.  In recording the inhabitants of a village, the clerk might add his interpretation of the individual, derogatory or otherwise.  If for example, one John tended the task of preparing the flour into bread and cakes he might have been entered into records as John le Baker.  Another John would be better recognised as living near the hunting grounds so he may have been entered as John Attewood, which later could have mutated to Atwood.  Some had the names of the manor or village where they resided because they were lords of that place and owned it.  Most however, would bear that name not because they owned the manor but because they descended from vassals or freemen who once lived in that village.

Old Irish Surnames
The early Irish used Celtic prefixes such as O’ and Mac in surnames.  Names beginning with O’ (meaning grandfather or ancestor) can be traced back to the 11th century.  Examples are O’Brien, O’Feeney and O’Donovan.  Most families whose surnames began with O’ or Mac were Catholic.  In 1465, Edward IV mandated that the Irish in Dublin and three Irish counties adopt English surnames.  It’s uncertain though, how many people actually did that.  Many English and Scottish sounding names in Ireland may have come into use only after the emigration of Englishmen during the Ulster Plantation of the early 1600’s.  At this time, the English tried to force the Irish to areas west of the river Shannon, and attempted to give their land and property to disloyal Scotsmen (such as those who lost at the Battle of Dunkirk) and to English undertakers (overlords) sent to manage the Irish and the land.  The ploy didn’t work, and many of the English and Scottish eventually became as Irish as the Irish because of intermarriage and the loss of loyalty to the English throne.

English and Welsh Surnames
In the mid-19th century, the 10 most popular surnames in England were: Smith, Jones, Williams, Taylor, Davies, Brown, Thomas, Evans, Roberts and Johnson.  Most parish priests in England and Wales listed parishioners and their occupations in the parish registers.  John Smith the baker was then easily distinguished from John Smith the watchmaker and John Smith the farmer.

Scottish Surnames
In Scotland, whoever joined a particular clan, no matter what his position or descent, assumed the surname of his chief.  This was accepted as an act of loyalty.  It did not necessarily follow that all who bear the same surname are descended from a common ancestor.  In Scotland, it was a simple act of loyalty for a new member of a clan to accept the chief’s name.  A new member didn’t necessarily have to be related by blood; he only had to swear allegiance to the clan.  A clan isn’t a family but an alliance of several families and, often, individuals.  Finding many Campbells, Fergusons, MacLeods or Munros in one area doesn’t necessarily indicate blood kinship.  The clans traditionally occupied the Highlands (the hilly areas of Scotland).  The people of the Lowlands gained surnames in ways similar to those of the English (using occupational names and passing names from generation to generation).  You should never assume that one clan member is related to another unless you have documented proof.

Scottish surnames divide themselves into two classes: Highland and Lowland.  In a very few instances they were assumed before the 11th century, and indeed by far the larger proportion, since the 13th century.

They have originated in various ways; are derived from localities: as Maxwell, Nisbet, Ralston; baptismal names: as Anderson, Bennett, Lawrence; trades: as Baxter, Fletcher, Nasmyth; offices: as Bannerman, Grieve, Walker; professions: as Clerk, Freer, Kemp; peculiarities of body and mind: as Fairfax, Laing, May; armorial bearings: as Cross, Heart, Horn; nativity: as Fleming, Inglis, Scott; and from many other sources.

Highland surnames are chiefly patronymics, with various prefixes and additions: as Farquhar, Mackenzie, Robertson; but there are some exceptions, a few being derived from localities: as Lennox, Murray, Boss; a good number from peculiarities: as Cameron, Campbell, Grant; and some from armorial bearings, and offices: as Frazer, Skene, Stewart.

Lowland surnames having been adopted mainly through Norman influence, are most frequently local, such as Carmichael, Ridell, Rutherford; but many are derived from baptismal names: as Dickson, Henderson, Syme; from peculiarities: as Armstrong, Brown, Douglas; from armorial bearings: as Foulis, Heron, Lillie; from office, occupation, and trade: as Baillie, Hunter, Lorimer.

Originally, all surnames had a meaning, but in very many cases this has been lost because of the corruptions in spelling, for their orthography has only been fixed in the last two centuries.  It is therefore, probably impossible to render correctly the origin and signification of all Scottish surnames.

Locality Names
Surnames deriving from a place are probably the oldest and most common. They can be derived from numerous sources - country, town or estate - or from features in the landscape - hill, wood or stream. Many of these names, and their derivation are obvious, other less so. The names Pickering, Bedford, Berkley and Hampshire might have been given to migrants who left those places during the period of surname formation, or they may have been the names of the landowners where the individuals lived.

Features of the landscape gave rise to many surnames. Many people took their name from their farm or hamlet. This was particularly the case in those counties where occupation was scattered, and the Pennines and Devon have more than their share of distinctive names.

Countries give us names such as French, Beamish (Bohemian), Britten, Fleming, Hannay (Hainault), Janeway (Genoese), Lubbock (Lubeck) and Moore (Morocco), among many others. And it's interesting that Blackmore, Morys, Moris, Morris, Morice, Morrice, Maurice, Moorish and Mountmorris are themselves all further forms of Moore.

Nearly every county, town, riding, hundred, wapentake, village, hamlet and even single house, at any date, has given its name. Again, most are obvious, but there are some surprises - such as Bristowe (both Bristol and Burstow in Surrey), and Vyse (Devizes or a dweller on the boundary). Thorpe means a village and there are numerous names derived from the word borough - examples are Boroughs, Bury, Burg, Burke, Bourke, Borrow and Burrowes.

Features of the landscape gave rise to many surnames. There are very many names derived from hill. In addition to Hill and Hills there are: Hull, Athill, Holt, Wold, Noll, Knollys, Knolles, Ness, Thill and Knill. Similarly we have Wood, Woods, Greenwood, Woodman, Woodruffe, Woodcutter and Attwood.

Many names come from rivers and streams: Surtees (on the Tees), Pickersgill (a stream with a pike in it), Hope and Holm (raised land in a fen), Fleet (estuary or stream), Burn and Bourne (a stream) and Sike and Sykes (a marshy stream).

Trees give names such as Leaf, Bark and Root, as well as Stock, Zouch and Curzon which all mean a stem. Then there are Elmes, Hazelthwaite and Maples, and oak alone gives rise to Oakley, Oakerley, Noakes, Oakham, Ockham, and many others, with Cheynes and Chenies coming from the French for oak, un chène.

Occupational Names
Other surnames were formed from a person's job or trade. The three most common English names are Smith, Wright and Taylor. Cook and Turner are also very common.

A name ending in -man or -er can usually imply a trade, as in Chapman (shopkeeper), and obvious occupation names are Goldsmith, Nailor, Potman, Belringer, Hornblower, Fiddler, Brewer, Piper, Baker and so forth. Among the less obvious are Latimer (interpreter), Leech (physician), Barker (tanner), Jenner (engineer), Milner (miller rather than milliner), Lorimer (bridle and bit maker), Pargiter, Pargetter and Dauber (plasterer), Bannister (bath keeper), and Crowther and Crowder (stringed instrument player).

The rarer occupational names are sometimes restricted in their distribution, as are other names that possibly originated with only one or two families. For example, the Arkwrights (makers of arks or chests) are from Lancashire, the Crappers (croppers) and Frobishers (furbishers or cleaners of armour) are from Yorkshire, and the Dymonds (dairymen) are from Devon. On the other hand, some distinctive names were influenced by more prolific occupational names, and names that started out as Goldsmith, Combsmith or Smithson may have become simply Smith.

Occupational names will differ in frequency in certain areas for several reasons. The geography of a district may favour one or more specific industries such as stone-masonry, thatching or fishing and the distribution of Mason, Thatcher and Fisher will reflect this. Thatcher also gives rise to Thacker, Thackery, Thackwray, and also Reed and Reader.

The more prolific 12th- to 14th-century building skills are represented by Wright, Slater, Leadbeater, Carpenter and Plummer. With no real brick industry during this period the surname Brick or Bricker does not exist - Brickman derives from the Norse 'brigg' meaning bridge.

Similarly with names derived from military occupations, there are no names from firearms, only those derived from the weaponry and occupations around in these early centuries. Such names include Knight, Squire, Archer, Bowman, Fletcher (arrow maker), Pike and the ubiquitous Smith.

The arts gave us Painter, Fiddler, Harper, Piper and Player. And from the church we have Pope, Bishop, Monk and Abbott. However, these are most likely to have been nicknames rather than actual occupations, as with King. Or possibly they originated from performers in the Mystery or other religious plays.

Nicknames
Sometimes a nickname became a hereditary surname. Names such as Fox, from the crafty animal, or White, perhaps from the hair or complexion, are widespread. However, the pronounced regional distribution of names such as Nice in Essex or Wildgoose in Derbyshire suggests single family origins. In some cases, nicknames are from Norman-French words, such as Papillon (dainty or inconsistent, from butterfly) or Foljambe (deformed leg).

Names deriving from plants and animals are almost certainly nicknames - such as Catt, Sparrow and Oak - but may also be location names or even occupations. But most nicknames come from colour, complexion or form - names such as Armstrong and Strongitharm, Heavyside, Quickly, Slowman, Smallman, Fairfax and Blunt (fair-haired).

Other examples of nicknames derive from personal or moral qualities, for example Good, Goodchild, Thoroughgood, Allgood, Toogood and Goodenough. Other examples are Joly, Jolibois and Joliffe, or Kennard (royal-brave). And some - such as Puttock (greedy) or Coe (jackdaw) - show contempt or ridicule.

The surname Blake may seem fairly straightforward but there are two derivations. Firstly as a variation of Black, a descriptive name for someone of dark appearance, and secondly originating as the Old English word, blac meaning wan or fair - two completely opposite meanings. In Wiltshire, the surname Black is not a common one, greatly outnumbered by Blake.

Baptism Names
Many baptismal or Christian names have become surnames without any change.  A son may have acquired his surname by adding -s or -son to his father's name. The first method was favoured in the south of England and in the western border counties (where the practice was later copied by the Welsh), while the second was preferred in the northern half of England and lowland Scotland, and was a late development. Occasionally, -son was added to a mother's names, as in Mallinson and Tillotson - both from Matilda.  The son of William might therefore end up with the surname Williams or Williamson.

The small pool of personal names meant that pet forms and shortened versions were commonly used, and that many of these nicknames became surnames. Some were rhyming forms, such as Dobson, Hobson and Robson (based on the pet form of Robert). Others were pet forms with -kin, -cock or -ot added.

The son of William might therefore end up with the surname Williams or Williamson, but other possibilities include Will, Willett, Wills, Willis, Willimott, Wilkins, Wilkinson, Wilcox or Wilcockson.  Other baptismal or personal names may have been extended to become a form of nickname, for example Littlejohn, Micklejohn (largest/eldest-John), Prettejohn (handsome John), Applejohn (orchard John) and Brownjohn.

In Wales the 'patronymic' system of taking the father's forename as the child's surname, therefore a change at each generation, continued in some communities until the 17th century.  Evan Griffith could be the son of Griffith Rhys, who was himself the son of Rhys Howell - this being written as Evan ap Griffith ap Rhys ap Howell.  'Ap' meaning 'son of,' just as with Up-, O'-, Fitz-, Witz- and Sky-.

Over time, names such as Ap Rhys, Ap Howell and Ap Richard could become liaised to become Preece or Price, Powell and Pritchard.