Meanings of English Surnames

Surnames give an intriguing insight into how our ancestors lived, where they lived, and even what they looked like. However over the centuries, names have become corrupted and many variations have developed. The meanings of surnames below are taken from various sources, all believed to be authoritative, but it is difficult to be too sure where a name derives from, except where the history is well documented back into time.

Ackroyd	Old English – ac, ‘oak’, and rod ‘clearing’ so someone who lives in a clearing in the oaks
Adler	From the German word for ‘eagle’. It probably was used as a nickname for someone who was likened to the bird
Archer	A bowman
Armitage	Staffordshire place name – it is derived from ‘hermitage’
Armstrong	Nickname – someone with a strong arm, common on the Scottish borders.
Arundel	Place name, or may be from the Old French arondel meaning ‘a swallow’

Bachelor	From the old French bachelor ‘a young knight’ or ‘novice at arms’
Bannister	From the Old French bannistre, ‘a basket’, hence a basket maker
Baxter	The feminine form of Baker, but was also used for men
Bennett	A corruption of the Latin benedictus, meaning ‘good’ or ‘blessed’ and once a common Christian name
Bentley	From the place name which means ‘clearing of bent grass’
Berkeley	From the place name in Gloucestershire
Best	Originally is referred to someone who was bestial. It may also have been used for someone who kept beasts. Later is could refer to someone given to boasting
Black	Description of hair or complexion

Callandar	From the cloth trade – cloth was calendered by being passed through rollers to smooth it
Champion	Champions were hired to wage battle on another’s behalf to settle a legal dispute
Chapman	From the Old English ceapmann a merchant
Charman	Combination of old French, cart, car or char, and Anglo Saxon man, hence an occupational name, a carter or driver of a cart.
Clark	Originally it referred to someone in holy orders but gradually came to refer to someone who was literate
Clough	From the Old English cloh ‘a ravine’ hence someone who lived by one
Cohen	An ancient Jewish name meaning priest
Collins	Col is a shortened form of Nicholas, Collin is a further diminutive
Constable	Originally from the Latin comes stabuli ‘count of the stables’. The term was applied to the chief officer of a household, the governor of a royal fortress and a parish official.

Delafield	Of the fields – the French form de al, of or from, has been incorporated into the name
Dickson	Son of Richard. Dick being a common diminutive or Richard
Donovan	From the Gaelic donndubhan meaning ‘the dark brown one’, used as a description of hair or complexion
Dormer	‘A sleeper’ or ‘sluggard’ from the Frech dormeur
Douglas	Scottish place name, from the Gaelic dubh glas ‘black water’
Draper	From the trade

Enfield	Place name (Middlesex)
Ewer	Trade name – a servant who carried water to the table for ritual hand washing

Faber	From the latin meaning ‘a smith’. It is a trade name.
Fairfax	From the Old English faeger and feax ‘fairheaded’
Falconer	Someone who keeps or hunts with hawks. It can also derive from someone who operates a crane or windlass from the French faucon ‘crane’
Farmer	Trade name but can also come from the Anglo French fermer, someone who pays a fixed sum for the right to collect taxes and revenue from an estate or manor, hence a bailiff or steward. Can also come from the Norse word for ‘a sailor’.
Farrer	From the Old French ferreor ‘a smith’.
Field	Some who lives in or by fields. It probably originally had the prefix atte, othe or de la meaning ‘of’ or ‘from’.
Fitzgerald	Fitz is an Anglo French prefix meaning ‘son of’. Gerald is a Norman name meaning ‘someone who rules by the spear’.
Fleming	One who comes from Flanders

Gardener	From the trade
Gaunt	It can be a nickname for some tall and angular. It can also be a tradename for someone who makes gloves or gauntlets. Or it can refer to someone from Ghent in Flanders.
Gilbert	An ancient forename.
Glover	A maker or seller of gloves
Graham	This name is believed to derive from the Lincolnshire town of Grantham.
Grieve	Scottish and Northern English name for a governor, bailiff or steward.

Haggard	Nickname – from the Old French hagard, meaning ‘wild’ or ‘untamed’
Haigh	From the Old English haga ‘an enclosure’, hence someone who lives by an enclosure. Also a common place name in Northern England.
Hall	Someone who lives or works at a hall.
Halliday	Someone born on a holy or religious day.
Hicks	A diminutive of Richard.
Hogg	Old English for ‘pig’, hence either one who kept pigs or a nickname for someone likened to a pig.
Hopkins	A diminutive of Hob, itself a pet form of Robert.
Hudson	A diminutive of Hud, itself a pet form of Hugh
Hussey	Either form the Old French hosed ‘someone who wore boots’ or fromt he Old English huswyf ‘mistress of the housefold’.
Hyde	Either a place name or someone who farmed a hide of land (100 acres). May also be derived from the name Ida

Jenkins	Jen is a variation of John, hence a relation of John.
Jarvis	From the Yorkshire place name Jervaulx, pronounced ‘Jarvis’.
Jordan	From the river in the Holy Land. Returning crusaders brought back its water to baptise their children.

Kavanagh	From the Irish St Caoman
Kemp	From Old English cempa ‘a warrior’ or ‘athlete’.
Kendall	From the English placename.
Kerr	From the Old Norse kjarr ‘wet ground’, and means someone who lived by the marsh.
Kirk	Someone who lived near the church.

Lane	Someone who lives in a lane.
Langley	Place name, itslef derived from Old English land leah ‘long wood’ or ‘long clearing’ .
Latimer	From the French Latinier, ‘an intepreter’ or someone who spoke Latin.
Laurie	Contraction of the saint’s name Laurence, Scottish.
Lister	From the Middle English, listere ‘a dyer of cloth’.
Long	Nickname for a tall man.

Mainwaring	Place name – Mesnilwarin, the manor of Warin.
Mason	Tradename
Maurice	From the Latin Mauritius meaning ‘Moor’, hence someone dark in appearance.
Messenger	Trade name
Miller	Trade name

Sources

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