Where Surnames Come From

(From Bill Bryson’s “Mother Tongue”)

Alan D. DeSantis

No Last Name Needed

• For most of history, there was no need for surnames/last names

• Two “Peters” living in the same town would be given second names to distinguish them

Bureaucracy Changes Everything!

• Two events in England led to the creation and use of last names:– 1)– 2)

• These two pieces of medieval bureaucracy meant

Four Sources

• British surnames (family names) have four main sources: –1)

–2)

–3)

–4)

I. Many were identified by their occupations

I. Occupations• Name Meaning• Archer • Barber• Brewer• Bowman• Bishop • Butcher • Baker• Carpenter • Fletcher • Clark

• Wright –

I. Occupations• Name Meaning• Hall• Forrester• Fuller • Miller • Shepherd • Smith • Taylor• Turner• King

• Bush-

What about Church names?

• Keeping in mind that Catholic priests took pledges of celibacy, how did names like Bishop, Monk, Priest, Pope, or Prior survive?

The Same Throughout Europe

• Tracing non-English names is not so easy, but with a little translation, they too make sense.

II. Others were named for where they lived or a

geographical landmark identified with them

II. Places• Name Meaning• Devon

• Allen

• Atwater

• French

• Lincoln

• Kent

• Preston

II. Places

• Name Meaning• Scott • Underwood• Moore• Wood• Ash or Oak• Walsh • Street or Lane

Why not more Londons?(or Farmers)

• If everyone from London was known as “London,” surnames would be useless

• Consequently, only people who left London were named for the city – “Peter from London” or Peter London

III. Some were named after a distinguishing characteristic

Nicknames• Name Meaning• Armstrong • Boyd• Campbell • Goldwater • Cox• Brown• Kennedy • Morgan • Russell • Whistler • Whitehead

• Tolstoy• Machiavelli• Cicero

IV. Finally, many were identified by their family

relationships

Relations

• Name Meaning• Johnson • Robinson • MacDonald • O'Connor • Thompson• Young• Johansson • Jackson• Brothers

First Names as Last Names

• If you have a first name as a last name, the “son” has probably been dropped.

V. Difficulties in identifying some last names and their origins

A. What About Tracing African American Names?

• Question:– How do African Americans trace their African names?

• Answer:– They can’t! – African slaves were stripped of their surnames

• Last names come from 4 different sources:1)

2)

3)

4)

B. What About Non-English Names?

• All of our accentors were immigrants– Except full-blooded native Americans, of course

• Many (non-English) immigrants’ names were changed & simplified at their Port of Entries– Pfoersching to Pershing– Wistinghausen to Westinghouse– Pappadimitracoupolos to Pappas– Niewhuis to Newhouse– Kuiper to Cooper– Krankheit to Cronkite

C. Creative Spelling of Names• Until the late 1600s, there were no codified rules for

spelling• Spelling was individualized, idiosyncratic, and creative

• Consequently, “Hill” was spelled “Hull,” “Hall,” & “Holl” depending on one’s dialect and pronunciation