Origin
Green : 1: English: either a nickname for someone who was fond of dressing in this color (Old English grēne) or was young or immature or who had played the part of the ‘Green Man’ in the May Day celebrations or a topographic name for someone who lived near a village green (Middle English grene a transferred use of the color term). This is one of the most common and widespread of English surnames. In North America it has assimilated cognates from other languages notably German Grün (see Gruen) and Dutch Groen; compare 7 below. This surname is also very common among African Americans.2: English: alternatively from a Middle English personal name Grene.3: Irish: adopted for Ó hUainín ‘descendant of Uainín’ a personal name from a pet form of uaine ‘green’ see Honan.4: Irish: adopted for Ó Fathaidh or Ó Fathaigh through erroneous association with faithche ‘lawn’ see Fahey.5: German: habitational name from Green (Rhineland-Palatinate) or Greene (Lower Saxony) or a topographic name from Middle Low Saxon grēn ‘grain sand’ for someone living in a sandy place.6: Danish: habitational name from placenames beginning with Gre(e)n- like Greene Grenbole (compare 5 above).7: Americanized form of Jewish (Ashkenazic) Grün (see Gruen 2) or Grin artificial names meaning ‘green’ in German and Yiddish respectively or a short form of any of numerous compound names with this element.
Adshead : from Adshead Green in Over Alderley (Cheshire). The medieval bearers cited below constitute the earliest evidence for the place-name. The second element is clearly Middle English heved hed ‘head headland hill’ (Old English hēafod) but the first is uncertain.
Adsit : Altered form of English Adsett itself a variant of Adshead: habitational name from Adshead Green in Over Alderley (Cheshire). The second element is clearly Middle English heved hed ‘head headland hill’ (Old English hēafod) but the first is uncertain.
Aley : English (Essex):: 1: perhaps a habitational name from Aley Green in Caddington Bedfordshire (earlier in Hertfordshire) although this placename may be inversely from the surname.2: alternatively perhaps from the Middle English female personal name Ayleve (from an Old English personal name such as Æthelgifu ‘noble’ + gift’).
Anger : 1: German: topographic name for a dweller by a meadow or village green from Middle High German anger ‘grassland field’ or a habitational name from any of several places in Germany and Austria named with this word.2: French and English (of Norman origin): from a variant of the personal name Angier.3: French: variant of Angers.4: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): artificial from German Anger ‘meadow pasture’ (compare 1 above).
Angerer : South German: topographic name for a dweller by a meadow or village green (see Anger) or a habitational name for someone from any of numerous places so named in Bavaria and Austria.
Aoyama : Japanese: written 青山 ‘green mountain’. It is found throughout Japan a country filled with green mountains and in the Ryūkyū Islands. One family lords of Mikawa (now part of Aichi prefecture) is descended from the Fujiwara clan.
Ashmead : English: habitational name from Ashmead Green or Ashmead House in Gloucestershire named from Old English æsc ‘ash’ + mǣd ‘meadow’ or a topographic name with the same meaning.
Baddeley : English: habitational name from Baddeley Green in Staffordshire Baddiley in Cheshire or less plausibly Badley in Suffolk all named with the Old English personal name Bad(d)a + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.
Barling : English (Kent): habitational name from Barling Green Farm in East Sutton Kent Barling in Essex Birling Farm in Eastdean Sussex or Barlings in Lincolnshire. Both the Essex and Lincolnshire examples are named with the Old English personal name Baerla + -ingas ‘the people of’ meaning ‘Baerla's people’.
Barmore : English (Warwickshire): habitational name from a place called Barmore or Barmoor numerous examples of which are found in Derbyshire North Yorkshire and Northumberland as well as the Scottish regions of Angus Galloway and Strathclyde. The modern distribution in Britain however suggests possible derivation from Barnmoor Green in Claverdon Warwickshire or from the lost Barre-Moor in Colton Staffordshire. In Britain the surname is now rare.
Bean : 1: English: nickname for a pleasant person from Middle English bēne ‘friendly amiable’.2: English: metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of beans from Middle English bene ‘bean’ (Old English bēan ‘beans’ a collective singular). The broad bean Vicia faba was a staple food in Europe in the Middle Ages. The green bean Phaseolus vulgaris came from South America and was not introduced to Europe until the late 16th century. The word bene was commonly used to denote something of little worth and occasionally it may have been applied as a nickname for someone considered insignificant.3: English: possibly a habitational or topographic name. Redmonds Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames cites Adam del Bene of Harrogate (1351) as evidence to suggest that in the Harrogate area where the Yorkshire name later proliferated it may have been derived from a place where beans grew.4: English: perhaps a variant of Benn. Compare Benney.5: Scottish and Irish: shortened Anglicized form of the patronymic Mac B(h)eathain ‘son of Beathán’ from the Gaelic personal name Beathán a diminutive of beatha ‘life’ see McBain. In Ireland Bean is also found also a shortened form of Ó Beachain see Behan.6: Americanized form (translation into English) of German Bohne or an altered form of Biehn. See also Bihn.7: Americanized form (mistranslation into English) of French Lefebvre. As the vocabulary word fèvre ‘smith’ was replaced by forgeron in modern French the meaning of the old word for a smith became opaque and the surname was reinterpreted as if it were La fève from fève ‘bean’.
Benstead : English (East Anglia and London): habitational name sometimes from Bensted (Kent) or perhaps Bedlested (in Chelsham Surrey) but mostly from the manor of Bensted Green (a place now lost that was in Sandon Essex). The placenames are probably all from Old English byden stede ‘place in a deep valley or hollow’ although the first element of the Kent name may alternatively be Old English bēonet ‘bent (a kind of long coarse grass)’. Alternatively some instances may be from Binsted (Hampshire Sussex) Binstead (Isle of Wight) or Banstead (Surrey) all meaning ‘place where beans grow’ (Old English bēan + stede).
Benton : English:: 1: habitational name from any of numerous places so called especially Benton Green in Berkswell Warwickshire Bentons in Suffolk and Little Benton and Longbenton in Northumberland. The places are named with Old English bēan ‘beans’ (a collective singular) or beonet ‘bent grass’ + tūn ‘enclosure settlement’.2: in Yorkshire and possibly also Staffordshire a variant of Bentham.
Berrington : English: habitational name from Berrington (Shropshire) or Berrington Green in Tenbury (Worcestershire). The Shropshire placename is from Old English byrig the dative case form of burg ‘earthwork fort stronghold’ + tūn ‘village’. The Worcestershire placename may have the same origin.
Bethwaite : from Beathwaite Green (Westm). The place-name may be for Old Norse býjar- thveit ‘clearing belonging to the village’.
Bidwell : English: habitational name from Bedwell (Essex Hertfordshire) Bedlar's Green (Essex) Bidwell (Bedfordshire Northamptonshire Devon Somerset) or Biddles Farm (Buckinghamshire) all of which were named as ‘the spring or stream in a shallow valley’ from Old English bydewelle (composed of the elements byde(n) ‘tub’ + well(a) ‘spring stream’).
Bohn : 1: German: from a short form of the personal name Urban or Alban altered by folk etymology as if from the German word Bohn ‘bean’.2: German: metonymic occupational name for a grower of beans from Middle High German Middle Low German bōne ‘bean’. Beans were a staple food in the Middle Ages especially the broad bean Vicia faba. The green bean Phaseolus vulgaris was not introduced from South America until the late 16th century.3: English variant of Boon.
Borlase : from Borlase in the adjacent parishes of Saint Wenn and Saint Columb Major (Pydar hundred Cornwall) consisting of three farms with the affixes Lower Middle (alias Burgess from the surname of a 14th-century owner) and Higher (alias Borlasevath from a 14th-century family called Margh). The place-name is derived from Cornish bor ‘swelling protuberance’ + Cornish glas ‘green blue grey’ presumably referring to a green hillock.
Bourchier : 1: perhaps from Boursières in Haute-Saône. The name was early confused with other surnames especially through loss of /r/ before /s/ and /ʃ/ and may survive in Bouchier Bowcher Bowser and Boozer. The surname gave rise to a number of minor place-names in Essex: Bourchier's alias Bouchier's Hall in Aldham Bourchier's Hall in Messing; Bouchier's Grange in Great Coggeshall Bouchiers Chapel in Tollesbury Boarstye Fm and Bowser's Hall in Rivenhall (Essex) and Boose's Green in Colne Engayne. 2: perhaps a variant of Burchard or else Burcher (see Bircher). Compare Bouchier and Boucher which may be other forms of the same name.
Bovingdon : English: habitational name from Bovingdon Green (Buckinghamshire) or Bovingdon (Hertfordshire) which are named with the Old English personal name Bōfa in the genitive form with -n or the connective -ing- + tūn ‘farm village’. Compare Bovington.
Bradner : English (Gloucestershire): habitational name from Bradnor Green in Herefordshire so named with Old English brād ‘broad’ (dative -an) + ōra ‘hill slope’. This surname is now rare in Britain.
Branfield : 1: from Bramfield (Herts Suffolk). Both place-names end in feld ‘open land’. The Herts name may have Old English brand ‘fire’ or a form related in meaning perhaps indicating land cleared by burning; the Suffolk name has brōm ‘broom’. 2: occasionally perhaps from Brafield on the Green (Northants) whose name contains feld as in (1) preceded perhaps by Old English brægen ‘brain crown of the head’ used as a transferred topographical term or by a pre-English district name of uncertain origin. Compare Brayfield. Post-medieval bearers may alternatively belong at (1). 3: if not from (1) or (2) above by migration possibly an altered form of Branford.
Brink : 1: North German; Danish and Swedish (of German origin): topographic name for someone who lived by a pasture or green from Middle Low German brinc ‘hill edge slope grazing land’ especially a raised meadow in low-lying marshland. Swedish name is ornamental.2: Dutch: topographic name for someone who lived by the brink which is in the central and east Netherlands the name of the common area in the centre of the village the village square. Compare Vandenbrink.
Brinkhurst : from the place now known as Brinkhurst Furze (Wisborough Green Sussex). The place-name is from the Old English male given name Brynca + hyrst ‘wooded hill’.
Brovold : Norwegian: habitational name from any of various farms named Brovold Brovoll or Bruvoll from bru ‘bridge’ + voll ‘meadow green field’.
Brownley : 1: Scottish: variant of Brownlee.2: English: habitational name from Brownley Green in Beausale (Warwickshire) named with Old English brūn ‘brown’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.
Burbrink : German: topographic name for someone who lived by a pasture or green (see Brink) with the first element Middle Low German būr ‘small dwelling or building’ (see Bauer).
Burrow : English:: 1: topographic name for someone who lived by a castle or manor house or in a town especially a chartered town or borough (Middle English burgh Old English burg ‘fortified place borough manor’) or a habitational name for someone who came from a place so named because it was a fortified town or near an ancient fort such as Burrow (Leicestershire Lancashire) Burrough Green (Cambridgeshire) Brough (numerous counties) and Peterborough (Northamptonshire); see also Burgh.2: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill or near a mound (Middle English bergh Old English beorg) or a habitational name for someone who came from a place so named such as Burrow (Devon Somerset). Middle English bergh became throughly confused with burgh in 1 above. Compare Burrough.
Bushnell : English: habitational name from Bushnells Green in Bucklebury (Berkshire) early recorded as Bushenell or Busshendhill.
Byers : 1: Scottish (Borders) and English (Cumberland and Durham): topographic name for someone who lived by a cattleshed Middle English byre or a habitational name from any of several places called with Old English b̄re ‘cattleshed’ for example Byers Green in County Durham or Byres near Edinburgh.2: English: variant of Byer with either an original plural or a post-medieval excrescent -s.3: English: variant of Byas.4: Americanized form of German and Dutch Beyers or Bayer or of some other similar (like-sounding) surname. Compare Bayers and Byars.
Byne : 1: from a lost settlement known as Byne perhaps denoting a place where woodbine or honeysuckle grew from Middle English bind ‘clinging plant’. There was one in West Grinstead (Sussex) whose name survives in Bines Farm and Bines Gate in West Grinstead and Bines Green in neighbouring Ashurst. Some of the following post-medieval early bearers may alternatively belong under (2). 2: variant of Binn in either sense.
Caldwell : 1: English Scottish and northern Irish: habitational name from any of several places in England and Scotland variously spelled that are named with Old English ceald ‘cold’ + well(a) ‘spring stream’. Caldwell in North Yorkshire is one major source of the surname; Caldwell in Renfrewshire in Scotland another. Possibly also from Caldwell (Warwickshire) Caldwall (Worcestershire) Cauldwell (Bedfordshire Derbyshire Nottinghamshire) Caudle Green (Gloucestershire) Caudle Ditch or Cawdle Fen (Cambridgeshire) Chadwell (Essex Hertfordshire Leicestershire Wiltshire) Chardwell (Essex) or Chardle Ditch (Cambridgeshire early recorded as Kadewelle).2: Irish: when not the English surname this is an Anglicized form of Ó Fuarghuis or Ó hUarghusa ‘descendant of (F)uarghus’ a personal name whose literal sense ‘cold’ + ‘choice’ was reinterpreted as coming from fuaruisce ‘cold water’.
Casewell : from one or more of several places in Staffs called Cres(s)well formerly also called Carsewell and Kersewell. It is a compound of Old English cærse ‘(water)cress’ + Old English wælle ‘a spring’; see Cresswell. Candidates include Cresswell near Dilhorne Creswell Green near Lichfield a lost place called Cresswell near Tettenhall and Creswell near Stafford. The latter is recorded as Karsewell and Kersewell in 1203 and as Keyeswell in the late 13th century. The full Middle English form survives in the modern surname spellings Careswell and Carswell in Staffs and neighbouring Shrops while loss of /r/ before /s/ which is common in Middle and early Modern English has given rise to modern Cas(e)well and Casewall. Loss of /w/ has produced Cas(e)all Caysall and Keysell as additional variants.
Cassingham : English: habitational name from Kensham Green in Benenden (Kent).
Cattini : probably from Latin cattinus ‘of a cat’ denoting someone with yellowish green eyes.
Chatham : 1: English (West Midlands and Lancashire): variant of Cheetham.2: English: habitational name from Chatham in Kent or possibly from Chatham Green in Essex both named from Celtic cēd ‘wood’ (modern Welsh coed) + Old English hām ‘homestead’.
Clench : from one or more of the various places with names deriving from Old English *clenc ‘lump mass; hill; elevated land in a fen’ such as Clinch Green in Northiam (Sussex) Clench in Milton Lilborne and Clinghill (recorded as le Clynche in 1409) in Bromham (both Wilts).
Clinch : 1: Irish (Dublin Wexford): from Mac Loingsigh see McGlinchey and Lynch.2: English: habitational name from one or more of the various places with names deriving from Old English clenc ‘lump mass; hill; elevated land in a fen’ such as Clinch Green in Northiam (Sussex) Clench in Milton Lilborne and Clinghill in Bromham (both Wiltshire). Also perhaps a topographic name for someone who lived by such a feature.3: English: possibly also a metonymic occupational name for a maker or fixer of bolts and rivets from Middle English clinch clench ‘door nail secured by riveting or clinching’ from clench(en) ‘to fix firmly’.
Cowden : 1: Scottish: habitational name from Cowden in Dalkeith (Midlothian) and any of several other places in Scotland called Cowden.2: English: habitational name from one or more of the places so named such as Cowden in Mayfield Cowden in Wartling and Cowden Hall in Heathfield (all in Sussex) Cowden (Kent Northumberland and Yorkshire) and Green Cowden in Bakewell (Derbyshire). The surname is more or less restricted to northern England and is also found in northern Ireland where it may be of Scottish origin.
Cowey : 1: English (southeastern): habitational name from Cowey Green in Essex.2: Scottish and northern English: variant of Scottish Cowie found chiefly in County Durham.
Cranmer : English: habitational name from Cranmer Green in Walsham le Willows (Suffolk) and perhaps also from other places similarly named such as Cranmer Hall in Sculthorpe (Norfolk) Cranmore in Shalfleet (Isle of Wight) Cranmer Bottom in Selborne and Cranmore in Aldershot (both Hampshire) and East and West Cranmore (Somerset) all named from Old English cran ‘crane’ + mere ‘lake pool’ or mōr ‘moor marshy ground’. See also Cranmore with which there may have been some confusion.
Creagh : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Craobhach Ó Craobhaigh ‘descendant of Craobhach’ a byname meaning ‘curly(-headed)’ or ‘prolific’ (from craobh ‘branch bough’); see Cray 1. This is an epithet of the O'Neills of Clare one of whose ancestors is said to have carried a green branch into battle.
Cullum : 1: English: habitational name in part from places in Oxfordshire and Berkshire called Culham or from Colham Green in Middlesex. The first is named with an Old English personal name Cūla + hamm ‘river meadow’; the Berkshire name is from Old English cyln ‘kiln’ + Old English hām ‘homestead’ or hamm ‘river meadow’; and the Middlesex name is from the Old English personal name Cola + hamm ‘river meadow’.3: Scottish: possibly a shortened form of McCollum.2: English: variant of Colomb 2.
Dunsdon : from Dunsden Green (Oxon) recorded as Dun(n)esden Dunesdon in 1341.
Elledge : English: perhaps a variant of Illidge a habitational name from Illidge Green in Brereton (Cheshire) which may derive from Middle English iw ‘yew tree’ + lech ‘boggy stream bog’. However there are no extant medieval forms for the placename and it is uncertain if it would have ever given rise to a surname. The medieval surname occurs many miles away in Warwickshire from where it appears to have spread into Shropshire Staffordshire and eventually Cheshire.
Erridge : from Eridge Green in Frant (Sussex).
Fairfax : English: nickname for someone with beautiful long hair from Middle English fair fax ‘beautiful tresses’. This was a common descriptive phrase in Middle English: the alliterative poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight refers to ‘fair fanning fax’ encircling the shoulders of the doughty warrior.
Fortey : from one or more of the numerous minor places so called such as the lost Forty Green in Hanley Castle (Worcs) which is recorded thus in 1789 Forthay in North Nibley (Gloucs) recorded as la Fortheye in 1248 Forty Hill in Enfield (Middx) recorded as Fortyehill Fortye Green in 1610 The Forty in Cricklade (Wilts) recorded as Vorty in 1841 and Forty Green in Epping (Essex) recorded as Forteye in the 13th century. The place-names derive from Old English *forð-ēg ‘island or peninsula which projects (into surrounding marshland or low-lying ground)’ a compound of forð ‘forward’ + ēg ‘island’.
Galford : English: habitational name from Galford in Pipe Green (Staffordshire) or Galford in Lewtrenchard (Devon). The Devon placename is derived from Old English gafol ‘tax toll’ + ford ‘ford’. The surname is now not found in England.
Glasgow : 1: Scottish (Lanarkshire and Midlothian): habitational name from Glasgow the city on the Clyde (first recorded in 1116 as Glasgu) or from either of two minor places with the same name in Aberdeenshire. The etymology of the placename is disputed; it is probably from Welsh glas ‘gray green blue’ + cau ‘hollows’.2: Scottish and Irish (Tyrone and Antrim): altered form of Closkey a shortened and Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Bhloscaidhe ‘son of Bloscadh’ (see McCloskey).3: Irish: variant of English Glasscock which was once common in County Kildare.
Glazebrook : English: habitational name from a place in Cheshire named from the Glaze Brook the stream on which it stands (a British name from Welsh glas ‘gray green blue’) + Old English brōc ‘stream’.
Godley : English: habitational name found mainly in Yorkshire and Surrey from Godly in Rishworth (Yorkshire) or Godley Bridge in Surrey which was the home of Geoffrey de Godelegh in 1228 and William de Godelegh in 1332. However the place in Surrey may have been named after this family as was Godley's Green in Sussex. Godley was the name of a hundred in Surrey but it was not a settlement and the Surrey and Sussex families may have originated outside the county from Godley in Cheshire for example or from Goodleigh in Uffculme (Devon) both of which are known to have given rise to surnames. These are all named from the Old English byname Gōda meaning ‘good’ + Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’.
Greenbank : English: habitational name from Greenbank in Lancashire or Green Bank in Barnoldswick (Yorkshire) or any of the many other minor places with this name in northern England.
Greenfield : 1: English: habitational name from any of numerous minor places called Greenfield for example in Bedfordshire Lincolnshire Oxfordshire Sussex and Yorkshire from Old English grēne ‘green’ + feld ‘pasture open country’ (see Field).2: English: habitational name from Green Field in Buckden (Yorkshire) recorded as Grenefel ‘green fell or mountain’ in 1190.3: English: variant of Granville.4: Americanized form (translation into English) of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Grünfeld (see Grunfeld) its Jewish cognate Grinfeld and Dutch Groeneveld.
Greengrass : 1: for someone who lived at a green grassy spot from Middle English grene ‘green’ + regional gres ‘grass’ (sometimes from Old Scandinavian gres). 2: part-anglicization of Grün(e)gras or Grönegräs from Low German grön + gras probably acquired as a handout or ornamental name or possibly in some instances as a locative name for someone who lived by a meadow or pastureland.
Greenhead : from Greenhead in Haltwhistle (Northumb) possibly also from Greenhead in Innerleithen (Peebless) or Greenhead (Roxburghs); otherwise topographic for someone who lived ‘(on the) green high ground summit’ from Middle English grene + hed.
Greenhill : 1: English: habitational name from any of various minor places in England named Greenhill usually from Old English grēne ‘green’ + hyll ‘hill’. However Greenhill in Worcestershire is probably named from Old English grīma ‘specter goblin’ + hyll ‘hill’. The name may also have been a topographic name for one who lived ‘(by the) green hill’. Compare Grinnell.2: Americanized form (translation into English) of German or Jewish Grünberg (see Grunberg).
Greenhouse : 1: Welsh: Anglicized form of Welsh Gronow with English genitival -s from the Welsh personal name Goronwy (also found as Gronw and Gronow from Old Welsh Guorgonui).2: English: in Lancashire perhaps a variant of Greenhow with post-medieval excrescent -s.3: English: alternatively a topographic name for someone who lived in a house by a village green from Middle English grene ‘green’ + hous ‘house’. (The term greenhouse was not used to denote a glasshouse for the cultivation of ‘greens’ or sensitive plants until the late 17th century.)4: Jewish (American): translation into English of Ashkenazic Grünhaus an oramental name composed of German grün ‘green’ + Haus ‘house’.
Greenhut : Americanized form of Jewish (Ashkenazic) Grünhut or Gruenhut: topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a green hat from German grün ‘green’ + Hut ‘hat’.
Greening : 1: English (Gloucestershire and Dorset): nickname perhaps from an unrecorded Middle English grening a derivative of grene ‘green’ (Old English grēne) i.e. ‘the green one’ whether physically or metaphorically ‘green’.2: English: alternatively from an unrecorded Middle English personal name Grening a derivative (originally patronymic) of the Middle English personal name Grene. See Green.3: Americanized form of German Grüning a variant of Groening.
Greenland : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived ‘(by the) green meadow’ Middle English grene grein + land or a habitational name from a minor place so named.2: Americanized form (translation into English) of Dutch Groenland and possibly also of German Grönland: habitational name from any of several farmsteads or hamlets so named with the same meaning as 1 above from Dutch groen Low German grön ‘green’ + land ‘land’. The surname Grönland is very rare in Germany.
Greenman : 1: English (Wiltshire): from Middle English grene ‘green’ + man ‘man’ a nickname from the Green Man of folklore or a topographic name for someone who lived by the village green. Compare Green.2: Americanized form (translation into English) of German Grunemann or Grünemann: topographic name for someone who lived by the village green (compare above and Greenland) or a habitational name for someone from any of numerous places called Grüna Grünau or Grüne.
Greenside : English (Yorkshire): from Middle English grene ‘green’ + side ‘side flank’ (Old English grēne sīde) probably a habitational name for someone from a place called with reference to a green hillside. Alternatively perhaps a nickname referring to one who wore green clothes. Compare Ironside Whiteside.
Grimshaw : 1: English (Lancashire): habitational name from either of two places in Lancashire named Grimshaw from the Old Norse personal name Grímr (see Grime) or Old English grīma ‘specter goblin’ + Old English sceaga ‘copse’.2: English: alternatively a habitational name from Green Shaw Head in Beamsley (Yorkshire) or another place similarly named with Middle English grene ‘green’ + shaghe ‘copse’ (Old English grēne + sceaga).
Groen : 1: Dutch: nickname for someone who habitually dressed in green from Middle Dutch groen ‘green’.2: North German (Grön): variant of Grün (see Gruen). Compare Gron.
Groendyke : Americanized form of Dutch Groendijk: habitational name from a locality of this name meaning ‘the green dike’ (see Van Dijk).
Gruen : 1: German (Grün): from Middle High German grūene ‘green fresh raw’ hence a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in green a topographic name for someone who lived in a green and leafy place or a habitational name for someone from a place called with this word such as Gruna Grunau in Silesia.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic; Grün): artificial name from German grün ‘green’. Compare Grun.
Hammerton : English: habitational name usually from Hammerton Green (Yorkshire) and occasionally perhaps from Hamerton (Huntingdonshire) each of which probably derives from Old English hamor denoting some sort of plant such as hammer-wort + tūn ‘farmstead estate’.
Hanwood : from Hanwood (Shrops) which is recorded as Hanewde in 1086 or Henwood Green in Willesborough (Kent). The Shrops place-name derives from the Old English personal name Hana Old English hana ‘cock’ or hān ‘stone’ + wudu ‘wood’. For the Kent place-name see Henwood.
Haygreen : of uncertain origin. The early spelling Hegrum tells against derivation from Hay Green (near Terrington Saint Clement Norfolk) which may have been named with Middle English hei ‘hay’ or heie ‘fence enclosure’ + grene ‘grassy area’. Association with the place-name may however have influenced its development to Heigreene and similar spellings. Hegrum might derive from the early Middle English personal name Havegrim (Old Scandinavian Hafgrímr a compound of haf ‘sea’ and grímr ‘mask’) attested in Eustacius filius Hauegrim 1202 in Assize Rolls (Lincs). With loss of medial /v/ between the vowels Havegrim would have become later Middle English *Hāgrim early Modern English *Haygrim *He(a)grim with weakly stressed -grim becoming -grum -grin(e) and -green but the absence of any later Middle English evidence makes this explanation doubtful.
Hellam : 1: perhaps from Helham Green in Ware (Herts) though medieval forms of this place-name cannot be found and so it is possible that the place takes its name from the surname. If so the surname may be a variant of Hillam; compare Anne Hellam 1551 John Hillam 1560 in IGI (Thorley Herts). 2: variant of Hallam. Compare John Hellam 1764 Robert Hallam 1770 in IGI (Barnard Castle Durham).
Hellewell : English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name from Holywell Green in Stainland (Yorkshire) a compound of northern Middle English heli ‘holy’ + welle ‘well’. Compare Halliwell and Hollowell.
Homer : 1: English: topographic name for a dweller by a holly bush from Middle English holm (Old English holen) + the agent suffix -er a type of formation characteristic of Hampshire and Sussex. See Holm 2.2: English: habitational name from Holmer (Herefordshire) Holmer Green (Buckinghamshire) or Homer (Devon) or else from other unrecorded placenames formed with Middle English hol(g)h + mere ‘pool by or in the hollow’ (Old English holh + mere).3: American shortened and altered form of Greek Omiros or one of its patronymic derivatives (Omirou which is found mainly in Cyprus Omiridis etc.). This was not only the name of the classical Greek epic poet (classical Greek Homēros) but was also borne by a Christian martyr venerated in the Greek Orthodox Church.4: Slovenian: variant of Homar and in North America probably also an altered form of this.
Homesley : Possibly English: habitational name from a minor place called Holmsleigh Homesleigh (for example Homesleigh Green in Devon) or Holmsley (for example in Hampshire).
Horley : from Horley (Oxon Surrey) or Horley Green Farm in Mayfield (Sussex). The Oxon place-name is recorded as Hornelie in 1086 and probably derives from Old English *horna ‘horn horn-shaped piece of land’ + lēah ‘wood woodland clearing’. The Surrey place-name is recorded as Hornle in 1230 and probably takes its name from Horne in Surrey (see Horne) + Old English lēah. The Sussex place-name derives from Old English horu ‘filth dirt’ + lēah.
Humpage : from Humpage Green a lost place near Eccleshall (Staffs) which is recorded as Huntebache in 1413. The place-name probably derives from Old English hunta ‘huntsman’ + bece bæce ‘stream valley’.
Hurst : 1: English (Lancashire): topographic name for someone who lived near a wood or wooded hill from Middle English hirst(e) herst(e) hurst(e) (Old English hyrst) or a habitational name from any of the places so called such as Hurst Green (in Mitton Lancashire) Hirst (Northumberland) Hurst (Berkshire Kent Warwickshire) Hurstpierpoint (Sussex) or Hirst in Longwood (Yorkshire).2: Irish: re-Anglicized form of de Horsaigh the Gaelicized form of the English habitational name Horsey established in Ireland since the 13th century.3: German and Swiss German (also Hürst): topographic name from Middle High German hurst ‘woodland thicket’; or a habitational name from a place so named in Westphalia.4: Americanized form of German Horst or of some other similar (like-sounding) German surname.
Iden : 1: English: habitational name from Iden Green in Benenden (Kent) recorded as Ydenne c. 1200 or Iden Manor in Staplehurst (Kent) recorded as Idenne in 1313. The placenames derive from Old English īw ‘yew tree’ + denn ‘pasture’.2: English: in Lancashire a variant of Iddon from the Middle English female personal name Ideyn Idon Idony (Old French Idone Latin Idonea ‘suitable’).3: North German: metronymic or patronymic from the personal name Ide 2.4: Swedish (Idén): ornamental name from an unexplained first element + the adjectival suffix -én a derivative of Latin -enius ‘relating to’.
Illidge : English: Staffordshire Lancashire and Cheshire; habitational name from Illidge Green in Brereton Cheshire which probably derives from Middle English iw ‘yew tree’ + lech ‘boggy stream bog’.
Larden : from Larden Green in Faddiley (Cheshire) which is recorded as Lauurthyn in 1348. The place-name derives from Old Scandinavian lágr ‘low’ + Old English worðign ‘enclosure’.
Lashmar : from one or more of the many minor places called Lachemere or Lechemere (‘boggy pool’ in Middle English) such as Latchmere House in Ham (Surrey) Latchmoor Farm in Brockenhurst (Hants) Letchmore Heath in Aldenham and Letchmoor Green in Stevenage (both Herts). In Sussex where the surname is most frequent (appearing in Lashmars Hall in Henfield and Lashmar Wood in Wivelsfield) the place of origin may be represented by Lashmar Road in East Preston which is recorded as Lachemere in 1321 and The Great Lashmars in 1841.
Littlefield : English: habitational name from Littlefield Green in White Waltham Berkshire. The placename derives from Old English lȳtel ‘little’ + feld ‘open country’.
Littley : 1: perhaps from a lost place in Bishop's Nympton named with Old English lȳtel + gehæg ‘little enclosure’. Spellings with -u- reflect a SW dialect pronunciation of Old English ȳ. 2: from either Litley in Cheadle the lost Little Hay in Colton or Little Hay in Shenstone all in Staffs and with the same etymology as the place-name in (1). 3: from Likeley Wood in Wickham Bishops (Essex) which is recorded as Litlehey in 1340 or from any of the other places in Essex such as Littley Green in Great Waltham Littley Wood in Wethersfield and Littleys in Ashdon all of which have the same etymology as that in (1). 4: occasionally perhaps from Middle English litel ‘little’ (Old English lȳtel) + eye ‘eye’ (Old English ēage). Compare Mussey. However no evidence has been found that 1162 Lincs name became an inherited family name.
Litton : English: habitational name from Litton (Derbyshire Dorset Somerset and Yorkshire) Leyton (Essex) or perhaps Liddaton Green in Bentor or Leddon in Welcombe (both Devon). The Derbyshire and Yorkshire placenames probably derive from Old English hlith ‘slope’ + tūn ‘farmstead estate’. The Devon Dorset and Somerset places take their names from rivers named with Old English hlȳde ‘the loud one noisy stream’ + Old English tūn. The Essex place takes its name from the river Lea (of uncertain origin) + Old English tūn.
Lyde : English:: 1: topographic name from Old English hlith hlid Old Norse hlíth ‘slope’ or for someone from a place called with one of these words such as Lythe in North Yorkshire or Lyth in Cumbria.2: habitational name from Lyde in Pipe and Lyde (Herefordshire) or Lyde Green in Pucklechurch (Gloucestershire). Compare Loud 2.3: from a medieval byname derived from Old English līthe ‘mild’ ‘gentle’.
Malham : English (mainly Yorkshire):: 1: habitational name from Malham (Yorkshire) traditionally pronounced [maləm] or [mɔ:m]. The placename appears to derive from malgum a word of uncertain origin and meaning perhaps a dative plural form of Old Norse malgr ‘stony place’ or a dative plural form of Old Norse malr ‘sack bag’ used in the sense ‘pit hollow’.2: alternatively it could be a habitational name from Malham Farm in Wisborough Green (Sussex) which is probably derived from Old English mǣl ‘cross’ + hām ‘village homestead’ or hamm ‘enclosure water meadow’.
Morrall : English (Staffordshire and Warwickshire):: 1: habitational name from a lost place called Morghull situated between Lichfield and Streethay in Staffordshire. The placename may derive from Old English morgen-gifu ‘morning gift land given by a man to his bride on the morning after their marriage’ + halh ‘nook corner of land’.2: habitational name from Murrell Green in Odiham (Hampshire) Moor Hall in Gnosall (Staffordshire) Moor Hall in Aughton by Ormskirk (Lancashire) or numerous other minor places with similar names. Most of the placenames derive from Old English mōr ‘moor’ + halh ‘nook corner of land’ or hall ‘hall’. There may have been some confusion with Morrell.
Moston : 1: from Moston (Lancs) Moston Green (Cheshire) Moston in Stanton upon Hine Heath (Shrops) or Moston by Chester (Cheshire) which is recorded as Morsetona in 1150 and Moston from the 13th century. Moston by Chester may take its name from Old English *mōr-set ‘place for animals on the moor’ (mōr ‘moor’ + (ge)set ‘place for animals stable fold’) + tūn ‘farmstead estate’ or perhaps *mōr-setum dative plural of *mōr-set. The other place-names derive from Old English mos ‘moss bog’ + tūn. There has probably been some confusion with (2). 2: see Mostyn.
Norden : 1: Swedish (also Nordén): ornamental name formed with nord ‘north’ + the adjectival suffix -én/-en a derivative of Latin -enius ‘relating to’. Compare Nordin.2: North German East Frisian and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of several places so called in Schleswig-Holstein East Frisia and former East Prussia. The German surname may have arisen as a topographic name from a field so named because of its northerly aspect.3: English: habitational name from Norton Green in Stockbury Kent. The placename derives from Old English north ‘northern north’ + denn ‘woodland pasture’. Alternatively from Norden in West Alvington Devon (from Old English north + dūn ‘north(ern) hill’) or from one or more of several minor places in Devon called Northdown (in Bideford Merton Throwleigh and Thorverton) all named with Middle English bi northe doune ‘(place) to the north of the hill’. Alternatively a variant of Norton.4: English: variant of Northen or Northern.
Nussey : from Nussey Green in Appletreewick (WR Yorks). The etymology of the place-name is unknown.
Olmstead : English: habitational name from Olmstead Green in Cambridgeshire.
Paley : 1: English (mainly Yorkshire): from a lost or unidentified place in Lancashire or Yorkshire apparently named with Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’ as the final element. Compare Paley Green in Giggleswick (Yorkshire) where the surname is recorded in 1379 but this may have been named from the surname.2: English: perhaps from a presumed Middle English male personal name Palli (Old Danish Palli from páll ‘pole’).4: Jewish (from Belarus) Belorussian and Ukrainian: occupational name for a distiller derived from an East Slavic word meaning ‘to burn’ (Russian palit Ukrainian palyty).3: English: sometimes a variant of Pawley.
Perrington : English (Devon): variant of Berrington a habitational name from Berrington Green in Worcestershire or Berrington in Shropshire with devoiced initial consonant. This form of the surname is rare in Britain and Ireland.
Picco : Italian: from the personal name Picco of ancient Germanic origin (Latinized as Picchius) originally a nickname derived from a root meaning ‘sharp’ ‘pointed’. The nickname had various senses related to pointed or peaked objects or features and even the green woodpecker (compare Pike). Possibly also a topographic name from picco ‘peak summit’.
Picknell : English: habitational name from Picknill Green in Bexhill (Sussex) which is recorded as Pigglinde in the 13th century. The placename derives from an Old English personal name Pīca + Old English glind ‘enclosure’.
Puplett : from Middle English popelot a double diminutive of Anglo-Norman French puppe poppe ‘doll’ (Old French poupee ‘doll girl’) and probably having the same sense as Middle English popet ‘young or small person’ (usually but not necessarily female). Compare Alicia Pouppe 1379 in Poll Tax (Ashton Green Sussex) and Willelmus Pupet 1191 in Pipe Rolls.
Riberdy : Altered form of French Reberdy itself a variant or an altered form of Reverdy: from reverdi a past participle of the verb reverdir ‘to turn green again’ applied as a topographic name or perhaps as a nickname (in the sense ‘to look or feel younger’). The surname Reberdy is no longer found in France.
Roth : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a person with red hair from Middle High German rōt German rot ‘red’. As a Jewish name it is at least in part artificial: its frequency as a Jewish surname is disproportionate to the number of Jews who one may reasonably assume were red-headed during the period of surname adoption. This form of the German surname (especially in this sense and in the sense 2 below) is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine) where it is most common and in some other European countries e.g. Czechia and Croatia.2: German and English (Middlesex): topographic name for someone who lived on land that had been cleared from Old High German rod Middle English roth(e) (Old English roth) ‘clearing’. In England the name may also be a habitational name from any of the places like Rothend in Ashdon (Essex) Roe End in Markyate (Hertfordshire) Roe Green in Hatfield (Hertfordshire) or Roe Green in Sandon (Hertfordshire).3: German: from a short form of any of various ancient Germanic personal names with the first element hrōd ‘renown’. Compare Rode 1 Ross 4.4: German: habitational name from any of numerous places so named. See also Rott.5: German (Röth): habitational name from any of several places so named in Schleswig-Holstein Baden-Württemberg.
Rowney : 1: from any of various places called Rowney including Rowney Green in Alvechurch (Worcs) Rowney Wood in Debden (Essex) Rowney in Little Munden (Herts) or Rowney in Sawbridgeworth (Herts). The place-names mean ‘(at the) rough enclosure’ from Old English rūh ‘rough’ (dative rūgan) + (ge)hæg ‘enclosure’. 2: from Ó Ruanaidh see Rooney.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
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