Who wants to know what there last name means?

[seanliddelow]

Hi fellow IISers

A week ago I went to my local libary and I borrowed a book called
"The Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames". If any one has English ancestry in their last name and they want to know where that name originated from or what it means just post in this thread and I will write back as quickly as I can. The book has 16,000 surnames in it so I may be able to find most.

Sean

[Nesti]

Sure...try the name "Head"...its weird.

[FredSnerd]

Hughes

[seanliddelow]

'Head' means "Dweller by the source of a stream or the head of a valley". The first Heads came from Norfolk, Devonshire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

[seanliddelow]

'Hughes' means "heart,mind". They were originally called 'Hugo' and 'Huwes'. they came from many places in England and the name was popular after the 1066 Norman Conquest.

[Nesti]

Thanks Sean, I'll pass it on.

...There's a shire in WA called "Cockburn"...don't bother with that one tho, you'll be black-banned.
http://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/

:D:lol:

[seanliddelow]

I might not write that one:lol:
Lucky it isnt in their.

[Nesti]

Excuse me!!! It's pronounced co-burn thank you.

[renormalised]

You would be interested in "One Name" studies then. That's taking surnames and studying their derivation. It's a very interesting area of reaearch and you can find out a lot of very interesting things. Ties in a lot with genealogy.

[seanliddelow]

It does sound interesting cause 'Liddelow' is derived from 'Ludlow' which means "Loud-Hill". We were wool farmers for the kings of England.

[renormalised]

If you were a direct descendant of those farmers and they became prominent in the King's service, then your ancestors may have bore arms:D

Here's something which may interest you... Ludlow Family History (http://www.ludlowfamilytree.org/indexli5.html#x6-11000)

[Davros]

Kelly, O'Kelly, O'Cealleigh etc. etc. should mean son of war or something similar.

[seanliddelow]

I think there was Ludlow who served in the army against Napaleon in the 1800s and there was a general in the English Civil war. There are some Ludlows descended from King Edward the 3rd.

[seanliddelow]

'O Kelly' means descendant of Ceallach (war). In Galloway and Isle of man.

[seanliddelow]

Nicholas Ludlow lent the king money?:eyepop: Well, we do have a castle. Im from the Shipton Moyne branch.

[dpastern]

Well darn, won't have my surname in it, since it's not English :(

But I know what it means anyways :P

Dave

[seanliddelow]

Are you Scottish or Irish?

[AstralTraveller]

Rowan? Wheeler?

[FredSnerd]

Thanks Sean. I'll tell me wife. She'll be thrilled.

What about Hardy. Thats the other side of her family

[seanliddelow]

Rowan isnt in there.
But Wheeler means "Wheel-maker, Wheel and Wheelright". They came from Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Surrey.

[dpastern]

A mixture - German, Aboriginal and Irish. Try my mother's maiden name - Carter.

Dave

[DavidU]

Mine means amp maker LOL

[bert]

Soames and Althray?

[seanliddelow]

Hardy means "Bold, Courageous". they are from Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Berkshire.

[seanliddelow]

Soames is from Soham in Cambs, Suffolk
Althray isnt in the book.

[seanliddelow]

Carter means "charioteer" and it is of Scandinavian origin. They are from Huntingdomshire, Northamptonshire and Somerset.

[seanliddelow]

Any more?

[Rhino1980]

Could you tell me if Tuckwell is in there mate? Please tell me I'm not from a long line of bed-makers lol
Cheers

[seanliddelow]

Sorry, it isnt in there. I doubt it means bedmaker:thumbsup:

[Nesti]

Tuckwell...google search says you come from a lineage of plastic surgeons... :D

[jjjnettie]

Lamb

[seanliddelow]

Lamb is a shortened version of Lambert. They come from Kent, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.:thumbsup:

[mac]

Smith

[Rhino1980]

:lol: Shame I didn't get the brains OR the steady hands for that profession. I'd probably be rollin' round in a Ferrari.

[seanliddelow]

Smith means 'Blacksmith, Smith and Farrier'. They are from Durham, Somerset, Oxfordshire and many other places.

[mac]

Maybe we should all change our surnames to reflect the occupations (or whatever) that we have now. Why should we carry (in our surnames) the job descriptions of our great-great-great-great grandfathers? And how is that relevant to our lives today?

Just some food for thought... :)

[seanliddelow]

:thumbsup:I just like the historic feel

[picklesrules]

Tilbury?

[lacad01]

Mine's not Anglo but wife's is Hawken...

[Nesti]

Jennifer???!!! Wow, lucky man!

:eyepop:

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Try Hexter. I think it means "put down that sheep"!

[seanliddelow]

Sorry it isnt in there

[seanliddelow]

Is a variant of the word Henry or hawk. They are found in Kent and Devonshire.

[lacad01]

ha ha I am indeed a lucky man but not that Hawken ;)

[Neil]

g,day How about Flaherty or O,Flaherty...its irish , but maybe we got in there some where?

[seanliddelow]

It means descendent of Flaithbheartach.

Update: It means bright ruler

[Neil]

That,s interesting,I realise being brief is nessasary here ,maybe you could email me with further info or leads to relevant source, Thanks.

[Chillie]

I'm part Pom, part Scottish, Part Irish.

My last name is Blake.

Please, no M.A.S.H. jokes! I've heard them all!

[seanliddelow]

Blake is derived from 'Black'. The early Blacks are found in Somerset, Kent, Hertfordshire, Devonshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire.

[Chillie]

Thanks for that Sean.

Is there an online version of the book so people can look up names for themselves?

[seanliddelow]

I dont know if there is an online version but there may be.

[matt]

Watson?

[MrB]

Hi Sean, great thread mate.
Please check Williams and Huey.

I think Williams is short for Williamson which means "Son of William", but then where did William come from? lol


Here's one classic that is not pronounced differently... Innaloo ;)



Yeah great. Cheers for that. :rolleyes:

Simon Retailer

[Craig.a.c]

Crawford
&
Seaton

[mac]

It has a certain 'ring' to it, don't ya think? :)

[Phil]

Holmes

[seanliddelow]

It means "son of Wat". They came from Yorkshire.

[Jabba]

Thomas :D?

[seanliddelow]

Yes you are write about the Willliamsons they go as far back as 1360 in the Nottingham area. Williams is the Norman form of "Guillaume".

Huey must be a form of the name 'Hugh'. It isnt in the book.

[seanliddelow]

Crawford comes from a town called Crawford in Lanark(?) or Somerset. Or are they thae same town?

Seaton comes from a town called Seaton or "dweller by the plantation or cultivated land".

[AlexN]

Nicholas?

[seanliddelow]

Holmes means "From residence near a piece of flatland in a fen or by a piece of lands partly surrouned by streams". There is also a town called 'Holmes' in Dorset or 'Holne' in Devon.

[seanliddelow]

Before the Norman conquest It meant "Twin" in Aramaic or it was a priest name. After the conquest it was one of the most popular names.

[seanliddelow]

Nicholas means "victory people" in Greek. The name was common so I couldnt find a origin.

[AlexN]

Victory People is good.. :) I don't know if I have any Greek background, however my dad sort of looks a bit greek..

[AstralTraveller]

Dave Dogsbody? Dave S**tkicker? Dave Blameme? Dave Underpaid?? Dave Overstressed?? Dave Needsaholiday??? I think I'll stick to Wheeler.

PS. How about Rankin and Downey?

[seanliddelow]

Rankin is a form of the names "Ranulf" and "Randalf".

Downey means "Dweller by the hilly island".

[seanliddelow]

Bump:rofl:

[AstralTraveller]

Thank you. Is there a meaning given for those names?

[seanliddelow]

Sorry there isnt.

[Lumen Miner]

Pickett

Thanks.

[seanliddelow]

Pickett means "point,pointed objects". They come from Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Buckinghamshire.

[seanliddelow]

Bump:rolleyes:

[DavidU]

Mine is of Danish background. Roots in the Vikings.One moved here during the gold rush in Ballarat in the 1850's.
Any one with my last name is related.An unusual name.

[telemarker]

What dirt can you dig up on Mortimer? :P

[seanliddelow]

Lets see, Mortimer is from Mortemer in Seine-Inferieure ( In North-West France)

[SteveCav]

How about "Cavendish"

[renormalised]

Ah, a familiar family name:D:D

Anyone here who can trace their ancestry back to the Earls and Barons Mortimer??

Here's some info on them...

Earls of March (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_March)

History of the Mortimer Family (http://www.mortimer.co.uk/family/medieval.htm)

[seanliddelow]

Cavendish is from Cavendish in Suffolk

[rat156]

I'd take a vague guess at what Thomson means...

Possibly son of Thomas?

Am I right?

Though of course it's not an English surname at all, that would be Thompson, silly English, have to pee on everything.

Cheers
Stuart

[seanliddelow]

Yes you are rigt about "the son of tom".
It appears to be Scottish.

[alan meehan]

Meehan

[troypiggo]

Piggins - I think it means "tall, dark, handsome one" but if you could just confirm that for me... oh, wait... that was what Troy means. Could you check Piggins again? :)

[seanliddelow]

Sorry, isnt in there:sadeyes:

[seanliddelow]

Piggins isnt in there but "pigg" seems to mean pig.

[troypiggo]

Huh. What'd'ya know - all those primary school bullies were right... haha. No surprises there. Lol. Don't tell my wife. I'm trying to convince her to get her surname changed over to mine. Haha.

[Paddy]

Thanks for a great thread Sean - quite fascinating reading! Has it got Kavanagh?

[telemarker]

I think our family might but not definite. Tell you what, a bloody bunch they were and rather scheming to boot. I would be the black sheep of the family if these qualities are cherrished!

So, that name is familiar you say - how so? Know anything of your roots.

[renormalised]

How so?? Sir Edmund Mortimer (the 3rd Earl of March) and Phillipa Plantagenet (the Duke of Clarence, Lionel of Antwerp's daughter) are my 20th G-Grandparents:D:D. My 19th Great Grandmother is their eldest child, Lady Elizabeth de Mortimer (married to Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy). Elizabeth was also married to Sir Thomas Camoys, and I'm also related to their children as well.

I know quite a lot about my ancestry and who I'm related to:D

[seanliddelow]

No sorry:sadeyes:

[Paddy]

Must be too Irish. Thanks for looking.

[Rainingstar]

Stern and Glanville ?

Thanks

[seanliddelow]

Stern- Means "severe, strict; uncompromising" (No Kidding)
Glanville- From Glanville in Norfolk

[TrevorW]

I know where my name comes from our motto reads

"Non Nobis tantum nati"

[FredSnerd]

U gonna translate for we ignorant folk

[TrevorW]

"we are not born for ourselves alone"

[renormalised]

Try these ones....Riley, Armitage, Chandler, Maude, Beaumont, Whitwell, Bradshaw, Buckley, Bishop, Nettleton, Tempest, Clifford:D:D

[Rainingstar]

Thanks for that,most interesting, I used to work for a dentist who always said"Stern by name and stern by nature", but it's not in the least true.

Lorraine

[AdrianF]

I have a good idea where I come from many moons ago. From France and my surname is a "*******isation" of the French word for keeper of the dogs. My predecessors were keepers of King Louis the 16ths wolf hounds.
Apparently.

Adrian

[seanliddelow]

Ok, time for a hand panadol:thumbsup:

Riley- Is from Riley in Devon or High Riley in Lancashire. It also means 'Dweller at the rye clearing'.
Armitage- Is originated from 'Hermitage'. From Armitage in Staffordshire.
Chandler- Means "Maker or seller of candles".
Maude- Is a form of the name 'Matilda'.
Beaumont- From Beaumont-Le-Roger in Eure (France?).
Whitwell- From Whitwell (Many Areas).
Bradshaw- From Bradshaw in Derby and Lancaster
Buckley- From Buckley in Devon, Sussex and Warwickshire.
Bishop- Means 'Bishop' or one playing as a Bishop.
Nettleton- "Dweller where the nettles grow".
Tempest- "A volent storm".
Clifford- "Dweller at the Ford by the steep bank".

[seanliddelow]

Anyone?

[renormalised]

Tanner, Walsh, Campbell, Drysdale, Avard, Manning, Abbey, Knowlden, Crisford, Longley:D:D

[seanliddelow]

Ok, here it goes (BTW were are you getting these names from?)

Tanner- means 'Tanner'
Walsh- 'Forign, Welsh'
Campbell- 'Wry or crooked mouth'
Drysdale- From Annandale
Avard- Isnt in there
Manning- Isnt in there
Abbey- "Worker at the Abbey"
Knowlden- means Knoll
Crisford- Isnt in there
Longley- Same as Langley which means dweller by the long wood or clearing

[renormalised]

Townley, Sherburne, Stafford, Neville, Clavering, Montgomery, Herries, Bruce, Brome, Hazelbush, Watts, Mott, Nash, Carr, Beauchamp.

Where am I getting the names from...all names from my family:D:D

[seanliddelow]

Townley- "A dweller by the farm clearing"
Sherburne- From Sherburne or towns with similar spelling.
Stafford- From a town called Stafford or "dweller by the ford marked by staves"
Neville- From a French place called Neville
Clavering- From Clavering in Essex
Montgomery- From Saint-Foy-De-Montgomery or Saint-Germaine-De-Montgomery
Herries- "Rough, Prickly or Shaggy"
Bruce- From the word 'Bruix'
Brome- Same as 'Broom'. "Near a place were Broom grows" (?)
Hazelbush- Not in there
Watts- A form of 'Walter'
Mott- A form of 'Matilda'
Nash- Similar to 'Ash' which means "dweller by the ash tree"
Carr- "Brushwood or wetground"
Beauchamp- From Beauchamp in La Manche

[renormalised]

Broom is a type of grass:D:D

[renormalised]

Broom is also where the nickname "Plantagenet" comes from (yes, it's originally a nickname). "Planta genesta"...latin for "plant grower = farmer". Geoffrey of Anjou ( Count Geoffrey V de Anjou) was nicknamed that because he used to wear a sprig of broom in his lapel. Plantagenet was only later used by his descendants as a surname...I think from Richard III onwards, for memory.

[renormalised]

Here's a few more....Tyndale, Comyn, Delaney, Burt, Scott, Baker, Holland, Metcalfe, Banaster, Dacre, Gilson, Gillot, Lindsay, Multon, Audley, Clare, Bassett, Clinton, Lacy, Fiennes, Longspee:D:D

[fringe_dweller]

i was under the impression that a LOT of surnames were handed out willy nilly, almost half jokingly, by town officials during the beginning of the industrial revolution, as peasant rural folk became urbanised when moving en masse to centres to work in factories, and records had to be kept/made, making many just meaningless? much like some indigenous folk experienced here early on

ok, Jones, Morris, Watt, O'Kane

[Kevnool]

What about the Phlet sisters Pam and Lea Phlet.

There both good reading.

Cheers Kev.

[renormalised]

Surnames started to be used as far back as the 12th Century, but they weren't all that common until about the 14-15th Centuries. There is some evidence of sporadic usage earlier than the 12th, but it's not widely known amongst the general population of the time. Most early surnames were patronymic or toponymic...later on the usage of trades as surnames caught on....such as Cooper, Thatcher, Tanner, Smith etc.

[PCH]

How about...

"Smoketoomuch"

If you're too young Sean, don't worry - some of the others will understand :lol:

[renormalised]

What Paul, you been smokin' too much broom:P:D

[multiweb]

Here's a challenging one "aragnou" :lol:

[fringe_dweller]

ahh so only ruling class toffs had surnames thought so

[renormalised]

Ever traced your ancestry, Marc??

Might find something interesting:D:D

[renormalised]

In general, yes, but there were "average" people with them as well. Although, even a lot of "toffs" didn't have surnames either.

[seanliddelow]

Tyndale- Orginated from 'Tindal'. From the valley of Tyne
Comyn- Not in there
Delaney- Dweller by the wier
Burt- Variant of 'Bright' or 'Bird'
Scott- "A man from Scotland"
Baker- 'Baker':P
Holland- From 'Holland" in Essex, Lancaster and Lincolnshire.
Metcalfe- 'A calf to be fattened up for eating' or 'Prize calf'
Banaster- Not in there
Dacre- From castle,south,west Acre in Norfolk
Gilson- Son of Gil or Giles
Gillot- Not in there
Lindsay- From Lindsay in Lincolnshire
Multon- From a town called Moulton or Molton
Audley- From Audley in Stafordshire
Clare- A deriative of 'Clay'
Bassett- A man of low stature
Clinton- From Glinton in Northhamptonshire
Lacy- Not in there
Fiennes- From Fiennes in Pas De Calais
Longspee- 'Long Sword'

[seanliddelow]

Jones- Means 'John'
Morris- Means 'Maurace'
Watt- 'Walter' or 'Water'
O'Kane- Orignated from 'Cain' (A biblical character)

[fringe_dweller]

ta Sean :thumbsup:

[renormalised]

Here's more....Quincy, Marshall, Brienne, Braose, Devereaux, Mainwaring, Giffard, Talbot, Barry, Carlton, Waddington, Catford, Tong, Rillieston, Hebden:D:D

[seanliddelow]

Quincy- Came from Cuinchy in Pas-De-Calais
Marshall- "One who tends Horses"
Brienne- Not in there
Braose- Not in there
Devereaux- From Evreux in Eure
Mainwaring- From a place named 'Mesnilwarin'
Giffard- "Chubby cheek, bloated"
Talbot- "Potblack"
Barry- Rampart
Carlton- From a town called Carlton
Waddington- From Waddington in Lincolnshire, Surrey and York
Catford- From towns called 'Catford'
Tong- "Tounge"
Rillestion- Not in there
Hebden- From Hebden or Hebden bridge

[renormalised]

I keep coming with names, hey Sean. You must be wondering where I'm dragging them out from:P:D

Here's a few more...Waleton, Columbers, Kellet, Harcourt, Brennan, Tarrant, Keller, Parker, Candos, Brewes, McGrath, McLaren, Ludford, Messenger, Fischer, Ramsdale, Cormac, Ackroyd, Buckley, Yates:D:D

Someone else is also bound to have one of the names I've listed in their family too, so that'll mean they won't have to repeat them:D

[AstralTraveller]

If you can believe Wiki Broom is a bush.

"Brooms are a group of evergreen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen), semi-evergreen, and deciduous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous) shrubs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrub) in the subfamily Faboideae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faboideae) of the legume (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legume) family Fabaceae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabaceae), mainly in the three genera Chamaecytisus, Cytisus and Genista, but also in five other small genera (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus)"

And "it is a major problem species in the cooler and wetter areas of southern Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) and New Zealand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand)" which is how I came to know of it.




Wiki again: "The Plantagenet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Plantagenet) kings used common broom (known as "planta genista" in Latin) as an emblem and took their name from it. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_V,_Count_of_Anjou), father of Henry II of England (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England). Wild broom is still common in dry habitats around Anjou (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjou), France."

[seanliddelow]

I was cleaning my pops farm last week and i noticed this yellow sticks it could be broom

[multiweb]

I have an aunty who's into this. She traced the family tree back to the 1300s. Same place, same valley. We're talking about 100km radius here? Not great travellers... I must be the only one who ever got his a** in the southern hemisphere. :lol: Mind you it's very easy to find me in the phone book. :thumbsup:

[renormalised]

I may have read wrong, but I always thought that Broom was more like a grass than a bush, in habit. In any case...grass or shrub...a broom by any other name will sweep clean:P:P:D:D

That's who Geoffrey was....Henry's father. He was also father to Hamelin, who was Henry's half brother, Geoffrey (Count of Nante), William X Count of Poitou and a couple of others. The whole idea of the "planta genista" was to denote a farmer or ag' worker of some sort. It gave Geoffrey the common touch. He was also known to be a rather jovial type, but he did have a rash temper...something that was passed down through the family some ways. Although he wasn't as bad as his father or grandfather!!.

When Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine (she was 11 years Henry's senior), his father tried to warn him off her, telling him, " I know this woman well as I have already had relations with her", or words to that effect. Didn't stop young Henry!!!:P:D And as they say, the rest is history!!!:D

[renormalised]

Makes for finding rellies pretty easy!!!!:P:D

Lots of families were like that, though. Hardly moving around for hundreds of years. That's also why whole families were vulnerable to disease and could die out. They reckon something like 70-80% of the families that were extant during the period of the Middle Ages have left no living relations. Pretty amazing when you come to think about it, but understandable given the life they led back then.

[multiweb]

My wife's half croatian, half maltese, her grand father is german and my boy's born in France. Nobody understand each other, only at weddings when we're all pi**ed. So the blood is diluted now.:P

Wanna hear something scary? When I was a kid, we'd pack for holidays, get a trailer with the tents, get in the car, drive 100km to a camping ground and stay there for a month. That was the "big summer trip" of the year :lol:. The oldies in my family speak a mix of French and Spanish called 'patois'. All those dialects disapear with the people because most are not written, just spoken. Each Valley has its own. You walk over the hill in another village and it's very likely people don't speak the same patois. :)

[seanliddelow]

Waleton, Not in there
Columbers, "Dove, Pigeon"
Kellet, From Kellet in Lancaster
Harcourt, From Harcourt in Eure
Brennan, "Burn-Hand" A public official who carried out harsh punishment
Tarrant, From Tarrant in Dorset
Keller, "A maker of Caps"
Parker, "One in charge of a park"
Candos, Not in there
Brewes, "A brewer"
McGrath, Not in there
McLaren, Not in there
Ludford, From a town called Ludford
Messenger, " A messenger" :rofl:
Fischer, Fisher?
Ramsdale, Not in there
Cormac, "Son of the chariot"
Ackroyd, "Dweller by the oak clearing"
Buckley, From a town called Buckley
Yates, From Yates in Glos or "Gate-kepper"

[seanliddelow]

I remember a story about a man who traced his ancestry back to a 3000 year old man they dug up called "The cheddar man". He lived about 3 miles from where he was dug up.:thumbsup:

[renormalised]

Sounds like a typical Aussie family....a great mix:D

Blood takes a long time to dilute:D

Looks like your parents were just doing the family thing....go 100km, stop and pitch camp:P:). Wonder what they thought was beyond the pale, so to speak??. "There'd be dragons!!":D

[renormalised]

There was a skeleton of a man found in western Wales that they took DNA from to confirm its age (9700 BP, C14 date). Just as an exercise, they took the DNA from several hundred people in the area, including schoolchildren, and they found that the guy and the living people were related. They shared certain markers on the chromosomes that they managed to find, that pointed to a very long paternity.

[seanliddelow]

Anyone?

[gman]

How about these:-

Little
Beamish
Wood
And just to see if it comes up - Isbister -
What I do know is that Isbister is a variation on a norse name with the "ster" or "stir" meaning from place of and has been in the "Orkney Isles" and Scotland for 700+ years.
You just never know, it might turn up in there somewhere.

[seanliddelow]

Little- Means "Little". From Northhamptonshire or Suffolk. From Old English "Lytel".
Beamish- No in there :sadeyes:
Wood-Means "Frenzied, Wild". From Old English "Wod"
Isbister- Not in there :sadeyes:

[seanliddelow]

Anyone?

[renormalised]

Segrave, Grey/Gray, Radcliffe, Douglas, Mowat, Stewart/Stuart

[seanliddelow]

Segrave- From "Seagrave" in Leicestershire.
Grey/Gray- From Old English- "Grey Haired"
Radcliffe- Means "Red Cliff"
Douglas- From Douglas, Lanarkshire. Means "The black water" in Gaelic.
Mowat- From "Mouat". From a French place called "Montaut". It may mean "Meadow-Ward".
Stewart/Stuart- Scottish, may be related to the Scottish Kings. Many meanings.

[renormalised]

Actually, the name Mowat which is derived from Montalt/Monte Alto (along with Mouat, Maud/Maude/Mawde/Moad and about 100 other derivations) means "high hill". The first person to hold that name in England, by record, was Eustace de Monte Alto, who came over to England with Hugh "Lupus" d'Avranches 1st Earl of Chester, just after the Conquest. He was one of Hugh's officers ("right hand men"). His son Hugh was made a Baron, then it passed to his next son Roger who then passed it onto his brother Ralph (Hugh and Roger were a bit older than Ralph) then it went down the line father to son, except for a couple of times when it went from brother to brother. There were 11 original Barons de Montalt. The present Viscount Hawarden/Baron de Montalt is a direct relative of the original line. I'm also related as well (via my 7th Great Grandmother, Jane Maude). We both trace back to Eustace's G-Grandson Andomar (Aylmer) de Montalt.

[renormalised]

Here's some more...

Berkeley, Badlesmere, Montacute, Chaworth, de Burgh, Montfort, Joinville, Dammartin, Courtenay, Shepherd, Brooks, Wiley, Reed, Hartmann:D:D

[seanliddelow]

Berkeley- From Berkeley in Gloucestershire
Badlesmere- Not in there
Montacute- From Montacute in Somerset
Chaworth- Not in there
De Burgh- From a place called Burgh
Montfort- From a French place called Montfort
Joinville- Not in there
Dammartin- Not in there
Courtenay- From Courtenay in Loiret or Isere
Shepherd- "Shepherd":eyepop:
Brooks- From brook in Kent or Rutland
Wiley- From a town callled Wiley
Reed- From Reed in Hertfordshire
Hartmann- Not in there

[seanliddelow]

Anyone?

[Outbackmanyep]

Hancock??

[renormalised]

Here's some more....

Spencer/Despencer, Washington, Churchill, Fisher, Robinson, Ward, Delaware (de la Warr), Stonor, Seymour, Roosevelt, Banastre, Hitchen, Goaler, Gambrill, Swain, Kennedy, Sonter, Coulthart, Sevil, Rooney, Garrihy, Westaway, Ransley, Payne, Morley, Callcott, Chipperfield, Gore

:D:D

[seanliddelow]

A form of the word 'Hann'.
They are found in Shropshire and Yorkshire.

Hope this helped.

[seanliddelow]

Spencer- "Dispencer of provisions" A Butler or Steward
Washington- From 'Washington' in Durham or Sussex
Churchill- From a town called 'Churchill' or one who lives on a church-hill
Fisher- "Dweller by the enclousure of catching fish"
Robinson- Son of Robin
Ward- A 'Beacon' or "Watching, guarding"
Delaware- "Dweller by the Wier"
Stonor- From 'Stonor' in Oxford
Seymour- From 'Seamer' in Yorkshire
Roosevelt- Isnt in There
Banastre- Isnt in There
Hitchen- From "Hitchin" in Hertfordshire
Goaler- Isnt in There
Gambrill- Isnt in There
Swain- means "Swan"
Kennedy- "Ugly head" (No Kidding)
Sonter- isnt in There
Coulthart- Not in there although propbably is related to "Colt"
Sevil- From "Sainville" or "Saunville"
Rooney- Isnt in There
Garrihy- isnt in There
Westaway- Dweller to the West?
Ransley- From an unidentified place in West Riding
Payne- Means 'Pain'
Morley- From a place called "Morley"
Callcott- means "Cold-Huts"
Chipperfield- From "Chipperfield" in "Hertfordshire"
Gore- "A dweller by a triangular piece of land"

Are some of these celebrity names?

[renormalised]

No, but they're all names from my family tree. Some of them are of very famous people...not celebrities as such but very prominent people.

[seanliddelow]

Anyone else?

[peterl]

Hi Sean,
Can you look up name "LANGDOWN"
My dad moved from Dorset in England to Aus when he was 3 years old.
thanks

Peter Langdown
peterl

[seanliddelow]

It originated from "Longden".
From Langdon in Dorset.

[Satchmo]

My surname "Suchting" translates closest to `addiction' in German, which certainly describes so many things in my life :)

[gel]

not to complex ,surname = little

[seanliddelow]

From Old English word 'Lytel'

The early littles could be found in Northamptonshire and Suffolk.

[Matt Wastell]

My science teacher would say 'waste with two l's'

I think he is in an asylum now - pity!

[seanliddelow]

Wastell is originated from the Old French word "Wastel".
This means "A cake or bread made of the finest flour".

[Matt Wastell]

The finest flour hey - I would expect nothing but!

[FredSnerd]

Hey Sean.

This might be interesting. A few years ago I was travelling in Venice and I noticed that a common surname there was Bevilacqua, which translated literally into English is Drinkwater. (Bevi = Drink, Lacqua = Water). So I got to thinking. Did the Bevilacquas migrate from Italy to England or the Drinkwaters migrate from England to Italy.

So I guess what I'm asking is what does your book say about the origins of the name Drinkwater.

Regards

Claude

[GrahamL]

While i know my mothers side

http://www.rampantscotland.com/famous/blfamflora.htm
my grandfather born Late 1880's who nearlly went the 100 years
could recite the family tree by name and probably met a few of the older generations I guess.

My fathers Layt .. cant really get any idea ,,the best I can do is that possibly this surname was abbreaviated (french maybe) after a sentance was served .. though I can"t find records I did get a phone call from a dediacted researcher once who mentioned this was fairly common in our early days in that if you did the time or were pardoned
a name change removed a little of the stigma of a convict past .

[seanliddelow]

Yes, it does. It applys to a man so poor he was unable to drink ale, even though it costed Four gallons a penny. It was used ironically for tavern keepers. The name may have came from England.

[seanliddelow]

It isnt in there, although it may have came from a town called Layton or Leyton.

[FredSnerd]

Yeah I think that suggests the name came from England. Now to be sure we need to find the equivalent Italian version of that book and see where it gets us. Hmmmmm

Regards