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
Who’s famous in your family
A Reader’s Digest Guide to tracing your ancestry