What's in a Surname?

Have you ever wondered where your surname comes from? When I look at my family tree and see the various surnames in it, I often wonder how and where they originated.

There was such a small choice of personal names originally that nicknames were used to tell people apart. These nicknames came from shortened versions of the given name or pet names.

Most of these nicknames went on to become the first surnames.

Surnames are a relatively recent historical development. Before the Norman Conquest, people did not have hereditary surnames and were known by their personal name or a nickname. When the population of the British Isles was quite small and there were just small communities of people scattered around, this system worked well.

However, as the population increased, something was needed to distinguish between people of the same given name who lived in the same area. Whereas before there might have been only one man named John in a community, after the population increased, there might have been 2 or 3 men with the same name. Therefore, you might have a John Butcher and a John White living near each other.

Sources for surnames include:

• physical appearance or attributes
• where you lived
• your occupation
• your father’s name

Surnames from these types of sources include the name White, which was my maternal grandfather’s surname. It may have been given to fair haired, fair skinned people; other names referring to physical characteristics include Gough, which comes from the Welsh word “coch”, probably referring to red hair or a ruddy-skinned complexion and the name Short, referring to someone’s lack of height!

The name Swift was given to someone who was quick on their feet; the Anglo-Saxon name Cobbald, meant famous/bold; the name Wood, derived from the word “wudu”, meaning a wood or forest; Cutler, from the old French word “coutelier”, was someone who made swords and knives, introduced into England by the Normans.

Then there were names such as Williams and Wilkins, where a letter “s” was added to the father’s given name. This system was first used in England back in the Middle Ages and was copied by the Welsh later. Even though names such as Williams and Jones are considered Welsh, they were English surnames before the Welsh adopted the practice.

These names were not hereditary surnames but were created out of necessity to distinguish between people who had the same given name.

Ireland was the first European country to use fixed surnames. The first record of a fixed surname was in Co. Galway in the year 916.

In England, the introduction of surnames is usually associated with the arrival of the Normans in the 11th Century. Surnames were first adopted by the nobility and gentry and the practice was gradually adopted by the rest of the population over the next few centuries. Hereditary surnames became the norm in about the 14th century, initially by the nobility and then by the general population. Most English people had surnames by the 1400’s, but some of the Scottish and Welsh populations did not adopt hereditary surnames until the 1700’s or even later.

Of course, in Wales the “patronymic” system had been in use for centuries and continued in some communities until the 17th century. This was the system where the father’s forename was used as the child’s surname. By using this system, the surname changed every generation i.e. John, son of Thomas would be known as John ap Thomas but John’s son Rees would be known as Rees ap John.

The use of the patronymic system of naming had lessened by the later Middle Ages, being gradually replaced by fixed, hereditary surnames. The patronymic system was still used in some areas, especially in rural communities. The areas of Wales that had a stronger English influence stopped using patronymic names earlier, as did people who lived in towns or were wealthy.

Some of the new Welsh surnames still kept the “ap”, but in a reduced form, such as Powell from ap Howell or Bowen from ab Owen.

It’s not always easy to recognise the origin of some surnames in modern times, even if it seems obvious at first. For example, the origin of the name Farmer seems to be pretty straightforward, but even though it is an occupational name, it doesn’t refer to the occupation you’d think! Farmer comes from Middle English and referred to a tax farmer originally. A tax farmer was someone who collected taxes and revenues. It didn’t refer to the owner of cultivated land until about the 17th century.

You’ll often find variations in the spelling of the same surnames. The reason for this is, due to the low level of literacy in the population centuries ago, many people could not write down their own name. It was left to a person in authority or someone with some education, such as a minister or clerk. Each one wrote it down depending on how they heard the name and how they thought the name should be written. This resulted in the variations in the names.

Some of the names in my own family tree have variations in their spelling; some, like Harries/Harris I have mentioned before. Other surnames in my tree that have variations in the spelling are Prickett/Pricket/Prichet; Raymond/Raimund/Raymund; Millward/Milward; Codd/Cod/Code.

There are the usual Welsh associated surnames in my tree, such as Davies, Morgan and Jones, which originate from given names. I also have the names Millward, Prickett, Smith and Raymond in my tree.

The name Millward is an English name, found mostly in the West Midlands. It comes from the Old English word “mylen”, meaning mill and “weard”, meaning guardian. In the West Midlands and the south of England, it was a common term for a miller.

The name Prickett comes from the word “priket”, which meant a second year buck. It was used as a nickname in the Middle Ages.

The name Smith is an occupational surname from Anglo Saxon times. It comes from the Old English term “smip”, which refers to one who works in metal. It is commonly thought that it refers only to the occupation of blacksmith but this is not the case. It refers to people who worked with silver, tin, copper and other metals, as well as blacksmiths.

The name Raymond is of English and French origin, from the Norman personal name Raimund. It is made up of the Germanic words “ragin” meaning advice or counsel and the word “mund” meaning protection.

Some surnames have more than one meaning. The first meaning for the surname Blake is that it is a variation of the name Black, a name probably used as a descriptive name for someone with a dark appearance; the second meaning originates from the Old English word “blac”, meaning wan or fair. Not only two meanings, but meanings that are the complete opposite of each other!

Some surnames are easier to trace as they originate in a particular area and have not spread widely from the area of origin. The names Arkwright and Dymond are two examples of names associated with
certain parts of the country. Arkwrights were makers of arks or chests and were from Lancashire. Dymonds were dairymen and were from Devon.

Obviously, having ancestors with such unusual, regional names is a real bonus when it comes to tracing your family history, but the reality for most of us is that the majority of our family trees are made up of less distinctive, harder to trace names.

Sites used to research surnames in this column:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/surnames_01.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_name

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surname

http://home.ancestry.co.uk/