Origin
Cook : 1: English: occupational name for a cook a seller of cooked meats or a keeper of an eating house from Middle English cok coke cook couk cuk(e) (Old English cōc) ‘cook’ or ‘seller of cooked foods’. See also Kew.2: Irish and Scottish: usually identical in origin with the English name (see 1 above) but in some cases a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cúg ‘son of Hugo’ (see McCook).3: Americanized form (translation into English) of various European surnames meaning ‘cook’ such as German and Jewish Koch Dutch Kook Polish Kucharz and Kucharczyk Slovenian and Croatian Kuhar North German Kuk.4: Americanized form of Slovenian Croatian and Polish Kuk.5: Americanized form (mistranslation into English) of French Lécuyer ‘squire’ (see Lecuyer).6: Americanized form of Korean and especially Chinese (Cantonese) Kuk 5-9 or of its variant Kook 3-6.
Biscocho : Hispanic (Philippines): metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook from Spanish biscocho ‘sponge cake’.
Bors : 1: German (also Börs) and Dutch: from a short form of the medieval personal name Liborius (see Liborio) the name of the patron saint of the city of Paderborn in Germany.2: Dutch: patronymic genitivized with -s from the personal name Bor(re) from an ancient Germanic name based on the element bern ‘bear’.3: Dutch: from Middle Dutch bors ‘bear’ a topographic or habitational name referring to a house named In de Bors (‘In the Bear’).4: Hungarian: from the old personal name Bors.5: Hungarian: from bors ‘pepper hot spice’ hence probably a metonymic occupational name for a spice merchant or a cook.
Brader : 1: German (also Bräder) and Dutch: from the ancient Germanic personal name Brado.2: German (also Bräder) and Dutch: occupational name for a cook from an agent derivative of Middle Low German and Dutch brāden ‘to fry to cook’.3: English (Lincolnshire): occupational name for a braid maker from an agent derivative of Middle English brayden ‘to braid plait’ (Old English breʒdan).
Bradle : Americanized form of South German Bradl: metonymic occupational name for a cook from Middle High German brāte ‘roast’.
Brasier : 1: English (southeastern): variant of Brazier.2: French: occupational name for a cook from an agent derivative of braise ‘embers’.
Caparas : Filipino: from Kapampangan paras ‘spicy’ + a Hispanicized form of the associative prefix ka- perhaps an nickname for a cook.
Cassata : Italian (southern): from cassata denoting a sweet cake made with cheese and candied fruit (from a derivative of Latin caseus ‘cheese’) hence a metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook or perhaps a nickname for someone with a sweet nature.
Coak : variant of Cook or Cock. Compare Margret Cook 1574 Margret Coak 1582 in IGI (Pocklington ER Yorks); Richard Cock 1734 Richard Coak 1736 in IGI (Saint Ervan Cornwall).
Cock : 1: from Middle English cok ‘cook’ a possible variant of Cook if shortening of the vowel of Old English cōc ‘cook’ occurred before it developed to Middle English coke couk cook. In examples of Coc and Cok below the vowel may be short or long so they could alternatively be cited under Cook.from Middle English cok (Old English and Old French coc) ‘male bird cock’ (especially the male of the domestic fowl) perhaps used humorously of a leader or chief man in a social group though this sense is not recorded before the 16th century in OED. Some of the following early bearers may alternatively belong under other senses below. 2: occasionally from the Old French and Middle English personal name Cok of uncertain etymology but possibly derived from the word in (1 ii). Compare the diminutive form Cocklin of French origin. There seems to have been an Old English personal name *Cocc(a) which may also have contributed to the Middle English name; compare Cocking. For potential early bearers of the surname see examples without the definite article in (1) above. 3: from Middle English cok (Old English cocc) ‘hillock’ denoting someone who lived by a hillock or mound.from Middle English cok cok(k)e ‘ship's boat’ and so perhaps used for a boatman. Compare Barge.for someone who lived or worked at a house or inn known as ‘The Cock’ from a sign depicting a haycock or mound a boat or a cock bird (see the senses above).
Coco : 1: Italian: occupational name for a cook a seller of cooked meats or a keeper of an eating house from southern Italian coco ‘cook’ (from Latin cocus coquus). Compare Lo Coco.2: French: apparently a nickname from coco ‘pet darling’.
Cookson : English (Lancashire): from Middle English cok ‘cook’ or the surname Cook + son denoting either ‘son of (the) cook’ or ‘son of (a man called) Cook’. See Cook.
Cox : 1: English: variant of Cocke and Cook with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s.2: Irish (Ulster): mistranslation of Mac Con Coille (‘son of Cú Choille’ a personal name meaning ‘hound of the wood’) as if formed with coileach ‘cock rooster’.3: Dutch and Flemish: genitivized patronymic from the personal name Cock a vernacular short form of Cornelius.4: Dutch: variant of Kok an occupational name for a cook.5: Amerindian (Mexico and Guatemala): Mayan name from a Castilianized form of a term denoting a species of pheasant-like bird.
Cuoco : Italian: occupational name for a cook a seller of cooked meats or a keeper of an eating house from Italian cuoco (from Latin coquus).
Currey : 1: Irish: variant of Curry.2: English: habiational name from Curry in Somerset so named after a stream possibly meaning ‘border river’ (compare Welsh cwr ‘corner border’ or Cornish cor ‘hedge boundary’).3: English (of Norman origin): from Old French curie ‘kitchen’ and probably an occupational name for a cook or kitchen hand.4: Scottish: variant of Currie.
Dou : 1: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 竇 meaning ‘hole’ in ancient Chinese: (i) adopted as a surname by Yue Zhu and Yue Long two sons of Shao Kang the sixth king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). Yue Zhu and Yue Long are said to have adopted Dou (竇) (meaning ‘hole’) as a surname because their pregnant grandmother had escaped from a rebellion through a hole in the wall before giving birth to their father Shao Kang who later recaptured the throne. (ii) traced back to the Dou (竇) family from the Di ethnic group and some other families from the Xianbei ethnic group in ancient China.2: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 豆 denoting an ancient stemmed cup of bowl: (i) traced back to some inhabitants in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) adopted as the surname by the Chi Xiao Dou (赤小豆) and Dou Lu (豆盧) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD).3: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 鈄 referring to a type of ancient vessel for drinking wine: said to be borne by the descendants of the Duke Kang of Qi (died 379 BC) who was ousted from his throne in the state of Qi and sent into exile. It was said that he was forced to use the vessel Dou (鈄) to cook food during his exile and some of his descendants inherited Dou as the surname to memorize this period.4: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 杜 possibly based on its Cantonese pronunciation see Du 1.5: French (southern): unexplained.
Gratton : 1: English (Derbyshire and Staffordshire): habitational name from any of various places so named. Gratton in Derbyshire is from Old English grēat ‘great’ + tūn ‘enclosure settlement’. Gratton in High Bray Devon is probably ‘great hill’ from Old English grēat + dūn. A number of minor places in Devon are named from the dialect word gratton gratten ‘stubble-field’.2: French (mainly Vendée): from gratton a noun derivative of the verb gratter ‘to scrape’ denoting a dish prepared from melted pork goose or duck fat (ham) scraped from the bottom of the pot probably applied as a nickname for a cook.
Hodge : English (Norfolk and Suffolk): from the Middle English personal name Hogge a rhyming pet form of Roger. In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer's cook ‘highte Hogge of Ware’ is invoked ‘Now tell on Roger …’. Since Middle English spellings of the personal name are often impossible to distinguish from the nickname Hog(ge) ‘hog’ some early examples may be variants of Hogg.
Kocher : 1: German (Köcher): from Middle High German kochaere ‘vessel container (for transporting fish) quiver’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of these.2: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a cook from an agent derivative of German kochen ‘to cook’. Compare Koch.3: Americanized form of Czech Kočer (see Kocer).4: Americanized form of Slovenian Kočar or Czech Kočár (see Kochar).5: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from Yiddish kacher ‘drake’.6: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Yiddish kochere ‘poker fork’.
Kochmann : German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a cook a variant of Koch with the addition of Middle High German man German Mann ‘man’.
Kock : 1: Dutch (also De Kock) and North German: occupational name for a cook Middle Dutch coc(k) Middle Low German kok. Compare Kok 1. Compare English Cocke.2: South German (Köck): Bavarian variant of Keck.3: In some cases also an Americanized or Germanized form of Slovenian Kok 2.
Kok : 1: Dutch and North German: occupational name for a cook Middle Dutch coc(k) Middle Low German kok. Compare Cok 1 De Kok and Kock 1.2: Slovenian: probably a topographic name from dialect kok ‘hip’ by extension ‘hill hillock’. Compare Kock 3 and Kuk 2.3: Turkish (Kök): ornamental name nickname or topographic name from kök ‘root’ or from any of regional or archaic homonyms meaning e.g. ‘sturdy’ and ‘sky blue’.4: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 谷 see Gu 4.5: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 郝 see Hao 1.6: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 曲 see Qu 1.7: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 郤 see Xi 4.8: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 郭 and 國 possibly based on their Cantonese pronunciations (see Guo 1 and 2).
Koke : North German (also Köke): occupational name for a cook Middle Low German kok; perhaps also a metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook from the dialect word kōke(n) ‘cake’.
Koker : 1: Dutch: from Middle Dutch coker ‘case sheath cover’ perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such articles or for a messenger or official who carried letters or documents in a case.2: Dutch: occupational name for a cook from an agent derivative of coken ‘to cook’.3: Turkish (Köker): ornamental name from kök ‘root’ (compare Kok) + er ‘male’.
Kook : 1: Dutch: occupational name for a baker or cook from a shortened form of koekenbakker ‘pastrycook’.2: Jewish (American): altered form of Kuk.3: Korean: variant of Kuk 5. Compare Cook 6.4: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 鞠 see Ju 1.5: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 谷 see Gu 4.6: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 郤 see Xi 4.
Kuch : German: metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook from German kuchen ‘cake’ or simply a variant of Koch ‘cook’.
Kuchar : 1: Czech (Kuchař) Slovak (mainly Kuchár) and Sorbian: occupational name for a cook from Czech kuchař Slovak kuchár Sorbian kuchar an agent derivative of Middle High German koch ‘cook’. This surname is also found among Rusyns (compare below and Kuhar 2) while the Sorbian surname is found mainly in a Germanized form (see Kucher).2: Americanized form of Polish Kucharz: from kucharz ‘cook’ (see 1 above). The surname Kucharz is also recorded among Rusyns (Lemkos); compare above and below.3: Germanized form of Slovenian and Croatian Kuhar ‘cook’ and a variant transliteration of its Ukrainian and Rusyn cognate Kukhar (see also above).
Kuchenbecker : German: occupational name for a pastry cook from Middle High German kuoche ‘pastry’ + becker bäcker ‘baker’.
Kucher : 1: German: occupational name for a pastry cook from an agent derivative of Middle High German kuoche ‘cake pastry’.2: German: habitational name for someone from Kuchen (Geislingen-Steige) in Württemberg.3: German (Kücher): from an old personal name of uncertain origin.4: Germanized form of Sorbian Kuchar Czech Kuchař Slovak Kuchár Polish Kucharz Slovenian and Croatian Kuhar ‘cook’.5: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kutscher.
Kuchler : South German:: 1: (also Küchler): occupational name for a pastry cook from an agent derivative of Middle High German kuoche ‘cake pastry’ or from Küchle ‘cookie’.2: in Austria an occupational name for someone who worked in a kitchen from Bavarian and Austrian Kuchel ‘kitchen’.
Kuechenmeister : German (Küchenmeister): occupational name for a chief cook Middle High German küchenmeister literally ‘kitchen master’ the person in charge of the kitchen in a great house. Compare Kuchenmeister.
Kuechle : South German (Küchle): metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook from Küchle ‘cookie little cake’ (see Kuchler 1).
Kuhar : 1: Slovenian and Croatian: occupational name for a cook from kuhar a derivative of kuhati ‘to cook’. Compare Cook.2: Americanized form of Slovak Kuchár ‘cook’ (see Kuchar) and of its Ukrainian and Rusyn cognate Kukhar.
Kuk : 1: North German: perhaps an occupational name for a pastry cook (compare Kok 1).2: Slovenian: probably a topographic name from dialect kuk ‘hip’ by extension ‘hill hillock’ (compare Kok 2). It may also be a nickname from the homonym kuk ‘insect little worm’.3: Croatian: probably a topographic name of the same meaning as Slovenian name above from kuk ‘hip’.4: Polish: nickname from Old Polish kukać ‘to call to cry out to shout’ or kuk ‘demon evil spirit’. Compare Cook.5: Korean: there are three Chinese characters for this surname used by three different clans. Two of them are very rare; only the Tamyang Kuk clan will be considered here. This is said to have originated in Song China. The clan's founding ancestor Kuk Ryang held a government post during the early 12th century in the Koryŏ period. Kuk Ryang's ancestors are said to have come from Song China. Compare Cook 6 and Kook 3.6: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 鞠 see Ju 1.7: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 谷 see Gu 4.8: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 郤 see Xi 4.9: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 曲 see Qu 1.10: Amerindian (Mexico): Mayan name from a word denoting e.g. ‘squirrel’ (see Kuk) or ‘feather’ by extension also ‘quetzal’.
Laska : 1: Polish and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) (also Łaska): from the Polish word łaska ‘grace favor’ or possibly from a homonym meaning ‘weasel’. As a Polish name this is a nickname; as a Jewish name it is generally artificial.2: Polish: from laska ‘stick walking stick’ a nickname for a tall thin man.3: Czech and Slovak (Láska): nickname or status name based on láska ‘love’ denoting a person who took on some burden such as serfdom ‘out of love’ i.e. voluntarily.4: Czech (Moravian; Laška): from a pet form of the personal name Ladislav (see Lada 1).5: Hungarian: from laska ‘pastry’ probably a metathesized form of Slovak lokša or Ukrainian lóksa hence a metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook. In Hungarian laska also denotes a type of mushroom and in some cases the surname may have arisen as a nickname from this sense.
Lickteig : German: apparently a jocular nickname for a greedy person or a baker from Low German licken ‘to lick’ + teig ‘dough’ like Lickefett ‘lick the fat’ a jocular name for a cook.
Marsters : English: variant of Masters. Marsters is the predominant surname on Palmerston Island Cook Islands South Pacific deriving from a settler and owner reputedly born in Leicestershire.
Mincer : 1: Jewish (from Poland): Polish-influenced variant of Mintzer ‘moneyer’.2: English: perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a butcher a cook or a warrior from a derivative of Middle English mince(n) ‘to mince to cut into small pieces’.
Mistry : Indian (Gujarat and Mumbai): Gujarati name meaning ‘skilled artisan’ from Portuguese mestre ‘master expert’. This word has acquired numerous meanings including ‘carpenter cook mason tailor and teacher’ in the various Indian languages into which it has been borrowed from Portuguese.
Moes : 1: Dutch and North German: nickname or metonymic occupational name for a cook or for someone who grows vegetables from Middle Dutch moes ‘food porridge stewed vegetables’.2: Dutch: shortened form of Moespot a topographic or habitational name referring to a house called Moespot from a word meaning ‘pan for cooking vegetables’.3: Dutch: Limburg variant of Maas.
Monzo : 1: Catalan (Monzó): habitational name from Monzón a place in Huesca province in Aragon named Montsó in Catalan. Compare Monzon.2: Italian (Campania): from a medieval personal name Latinized as Montius or perhaps from an altered form of monsu a respectful term of address for e.g. a cook or barber.
Pate : 1: English and Scottish: from the personal name Pate a pet form of Patrick and in Scotland possibly also of Peter. Compare Paton and Peat.2: English and Scottish: nickname from Middle English pate ‘head skull’ perhaps for a man with a bald head. Compare Head.3: French (Paté): from Old French paté ‘with paws pawed’ (from pate ‘paw’) a nickname applied presumably to a man with large and clumsy hands and feet.4: French (Pâte Pâté): from Old French paste ‘pastry meat dish surrounded by dough’ applied as a metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook.5: Slovenian: perhaps from a short form of the personal name Paternuš an archaic form of Bartolomej (see Bartholomew).6: German: relationship name or nickname (for a trustworthy man) from Middle High German bate pate Middle Low German pade ‘godfather male relative’ from Latin pater ‘father’.7: German: possibly also from the personal name Bado of ancient Germanic origin probably meaning ‘battle fight’.
Pennycook : 1: Scottish: habitational name from Penicuik in Midlothian. The placename is from Brittonic (Cumbric) penn ir gog ‘cuckoo summit’ (from pen ‘head summit’ + cog ‘cuckoo’).2: English: occupational name from Middle English peni ‘penny’ (Old English penig) + cok ‘cook’ (Old English cōk) denoting a cook selling meals worth a penny.3: English: perhaps also from a pet form of the rare Middle English personal name Pening + the hypocristic suffix cok.
Pennycuff : Possibly an Americanized form of German Pfannkuch a metonymic occupational name for a cook meaning ‘pancake’.
Petre : 1: English: variant of Peter.2: Americanized form of German Petri.3: Swedish (mainly Petré): shortened form of Petraeus a Latinized patronymic from the personal name Per Pär (see Peter).4: Slovenian: from an old pet form of the personal name Peter.5: Romanian: from the personal name Petre a variant of Petru ‘Peter’.6: French (also Pêtre): variant of Pestre an occupational name for a baker or pastry cook from an agent derivative of Old French pester ‘to knead’. Compare 8 below.7: French: from Petre a regional variant of the personal name Pierre ‘Peter’.8: Altered form of French Pitre a cognate of 6 above.
Pfannenstiel : South German: from Middle High German pfannenstil ‘panhandle’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a pansmith or tinker or for a cook. Bahlow says the word is also recorded as a field name which could have given rise to the surname.
Pierog : Polish: metonymic occupational name for a cook from pieróg a kind of ravioli.
Pitre : 1: French: variant of Pistre itself a variant of Pestre an occupational name for a baker or pastry cook from an agent derivative of Old French pester ‘to knead’. Compare Peat Peet Peete Peets Pete Peters and Petre.2: French: habitational name from Pîtres in Eure.3: Italian (Sicily; Pitrè): possibly of French origin (see 1 above).
Polivka : Czech (Polívka) and Rusyn (from Slovakia): from polívka Rusyn polyvka ‘soup broth stock’ perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a cook. Compare Polifka.
Potthast : North German (North Rhine-Westphalia): metonymic occupational name for a cook from Middle Low German potharst (from pot ‘pot’ + harst ‘roast’) a thick soup or stew made with beef and root vegetables. The word was in common use until around 1850 and is now used locally was replaced by Gulasch.
Przywara : Polish: unflattering nickname from Polish przywara ‘defect shortcoming’. In Polish this word also means ‘left-overs’ or ‘burnt meat’ hence it may have been used as an ironic nickname for a cook.
Redel : 1: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name from Yiddish redl ‘little wheel tool for perforating matzoth’.2: German: from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name composed with hrōd ‘fame renown’ as the first element.3: North German: occupational name for a cook from Middle Low German rēdel ‘cooked food’.4: Possibly an altered form of German Rödel (see Roedel).
Rice : 1: Welsh: Anglicized pronunciation of one of the most common Welsh personal names Rhys from a form originally meaning ‘rash impetuous’ also spelled Rys and Re(e)s. See also Reese with which it is interchangeable as a result of different Anglicized forms of the Welsh vowel y and also compare Preece and Price. Initial R- in Welsh is voiceless and often spelled Rh- but in English R- is voiced as in the Anglicized surnames Rees and Rice. Welsh y is a short back vowel /ɪ/. In the medieval period the English approximation of this vowel was either /i/ or /e/ lengthened to /i:/ and /e:/. Subsequent sound changes in English produced the alternative pronunciations represented in Rees Preece and Rice Price. The name has also been established in Ireland from an early date.2: English: either a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a thicket (Middle English ris rice ris from Old English hrīs Old Norse hrís) or a habitational name for someone who came from a place called with this word such as Rise (East Yorkshire).3: English: perhaps a nickname from Middle English Rys(e) and Re(e)s which when without a preposition could derive from one or other of several Old French and Middle English words including Anglo-Norman French ris ‘laughter smile’ Middle English ris res ‘stem stalk’ in origin the same word as in 2 above and Middle English ris rise rice res Old French ris riz ‘rice’ perhaps a nickname for a rice dealer or a cook.4: Americanized form of German Reis.
Rohlik : Czech (Rohlík): from rohlík ‘croissant’ a metonymic occupational name for a baker or pastry cook.
Saucier : French: occupational name from Old French saussier a term denoting a cook who specialized in making sauces. Compare Sochia and Socia.
Schaum : German: nickname either for a cook or an empty talker from Middle High German Middle Low German schūm ‘froth foam’.
Schleef : North German: metonymic occupational name from Middle Low German slef ‘large wooden spoon (made and used by peasants)’ for the maker of these spoons or a cook which later came to mean ‘coarse fellow rube’.
Schmude : North German: from Middle Low German smūden ‘to roast’ a nickname either for a cook or for someone feeling hot.
Schumm : 1: East German: habitational name from Schumm a place in Upper Saxony; or in some cases a shortened form of Schumann.2: German: nickname or occupational name from Middle High German Middle Low German schūm ‘foam metal slack’ perhaps for a cook or a metal smelter.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Schum.
Sopp : 1: English: nickname from Middle English soppe ‘piece of bread dipped or soaked in wine water milk etc.’ also ‘soup with croutons of toasted bread’ and therefore a name either for someone with a partiality for sops or for a cook or perhaps short for Middle English milkesoppe ‘milksop coward’.2: English: perhaps from an unrecorded Middle English personal name Soppe (Old English Soppa from soppa ‘sop (as in 1 above) sponge’).3: English: perhaps a nickname from Middle English sope (Old English sāpe) with shortening of the vowel given to someone who made or used soap. Compare Soper.4: German: metonymic occupational name for a cook from Middle High German soppe suppe ‘soup stock meal’.
Supple : 1: Irish (Munster): shortened Anglicized form of Suipéal the Gaelicized form of the Norman topographic name de la Chapelle which was taken to Ireland in the 12th century and became established in the counties of Limerick and Cork.2: German (Süpple): metonymic occupational name for a cook from Middle High German suppe(līn) ‘soup stock meal’.
Tripodi : Italian (Calabria and Sicily): from Calabrian tripodi tripodu Sicilian tripoddu from medieval Greek tripodion ‘tripod trivet’ possibly a metonymic occupational name for a cook or for a maker of trivets.
Voges : 1: North German: possibly a patronymic from Vogt.2: South German: from Middle High German vogesser a metonymic occupational name from voche(n)ze (from Late Latin focatia ‘kind of cake white bread’) for a pastry cook or confectioner.
Weck : German:: 1: from Middle High German wecke ‘(wedge-shaped) pastry hard roll’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a pastry cook.2: from Waccho a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with an initial element related to Old High German wachēn ‘to wake’.
Wecker : German:: 1: occupational name for a pastry cook from an agent derivative of Middle High German wecke ‘(wedge-shaped) pastry hard roll’.2: variant of Weck 2.
Weller : 1: English (Surrey Sussex and Kent): topographic name for someone who lived by a spring stream or man-made well from Middle English weller willer an agent derivative of Middle English welle (in southern England) and wille (in south western England) from Old English wella well(e) wiella wielle willa wyll(a) wylle. This type of name a topographic term + -er is particularly typical of Sussex and its neigbouring counties.2: English: occupational name for someone who casts metal or who boils salt from Middle English weller willer a derivative with -er of Old English wellan wiellan ‘to boil’. Compare 5 below.3: North German: variant of Welle cognate with 1 above.4: German: from an agent derivative of Middle High German wëllen ‘to roll revolve or smear’ hence an occupational name for example for someone who made wattle and daub walls. See Welle 2.5: German: from Middle High German wëllen ‘to cause to boil or simmer’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a smelter cook or the like.6: German: from Middle High German wëlle ‘roll bale’ hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who sold cloth or wool for example.
More
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
Subject to the Terms and Conditions of Ancestry