Origin
Hill : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill from Middle English hill hell hull ‘hill’ (Old English hyll). Compare Hiller. This surname is also very common among African Americans.2: English: possibly in some cases from the personal name Hille a pet form of some name such as Hilger or Hillary.3: German: from a short form of Hildebrand or any of a variety of other names male and female containing ancient Germanic hild ‘battle’ as the first element.4: Americanized form (translation into English) of Finnish Mäki ‘hill’ or of any of various other names formed with this element (see Maki).5: Americanized form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames.
Aaberg : 1: Norwegian and Danish (also Åberg): habitational name from a place so named meaning ‘(on) the hill by the stream’ from å (old spelling aa) ‘stream small river’ + berg ‘mountain hill’. Compare Aberg 2 and Oberg 1.2: Altered form of Swedish Åberg (see Aberg 1) a cognate of 1 above.
Agg : 1: perhaps from the Middle English personal name Agg(e) Hagg(e) (Old Scandinavian Aggi of uncertain origin) although this is more usually found in N and E England in counties settled by Vikings; see Hagg. Some of the bearers cited here may belong to (2). 2: of uncertain origin. Middle English hagg (Old Scandinavian hǫgg) ‘woodland set aside for cutting’ seems unlikely in SW England for the term is recorded only in northern counties (see Hagg). Old English haga ‘hedge enclosure’ normally becomes Middle English haw not hag and Old English *hagga ‘haw fruit of the hawthorn’ is unlikely to form a simplex place-name or locative surname though it might lie behind Hag Hill in Great Hinton (Wilts) recorded as Hagg Hill 1625 in Place-Names of Wilts p. 142. The loss of initial H- in Agg for Hagg is commonplace in SW dialects.
Ai : 1: Japanese: usually written 阿井 with characters used phonetically. The meaning could be ‘meeting’. In North America it may also be a shortened form of some other name.2: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 艾 referring to ‘Chinese mugwort’ a type of plant used in traditional Chinese medical treatment: (i) perhaps from the second element of Ru Ai (汝艾) the name of an official who lived during the reign of Shao Kang the 6th king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (ii) from the first element of the placename Ai Ling (艾陵) the name of a hill (located in Shandong province) the fief of Ai Kong (艾孔) an official in the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) from the placename Ai (艾) the name of a fief (located in Jiangxi province) which was granted to an official in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iv) adopted as a surname by the Qu Jin (去斤) Qu Ai (去艾) and Ai Jin (艾斤) families from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). (v) from Ai (艾) the name of an ancient state (possibly in present-day Jiangxi province) during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC).3: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 愛 meaning ‘love’ in Chinese: (i) said to be traced back to Ai Xie Wu (愛邪勿) prime minister of the state of Huihu (known as Uyghur Empire or Uyghur Khaganate) who was endowed with the surname Ai (愛) by Emperor Wuzong of Tang (814–846 AD). (ii) a Han Chinese surname for some members of the Aisin Gioro family from the Manchu ethnic group known as the royal family of the Qing dynasty (1616 – 1911 AD). (iii) a surname from minority ethnic groups in Taiwan.
Almodovar : Spanish (Almodóvar) and Portuguese (Almodôvar): habitational name from any of the places called Almodóvar in the provinces of Ciudad Real and Córdoba and near Cuenca Spain or from Almodôvar Portugal. These are named with Arabic al-mudawwar ‘the round the circular’ referring to a hill fort or other topographic feature.
Anfield : English:: 1: habitational name probably from Anfield in Walton on the Hill (Lancashire) which is recorded as Hongfield in 1642 and Annfield in 1786. The second element of the placename is Middle English feld ‘field’; the first element is uncertain.2: alternatively perhaps a variant of Hanford.
Aram : 1: from Averham (Notts) which is recorded as Aigrun in 1086 Ægrum in about 1180 Earom in 1276 Agheram in 1277 Aram in 1280 and Averam in 1316. The etymology of the place-name is uncertain. It may derive from Latin augurium Medieval Latin *agurium ‘omen’ with reference to the well-known phenomenon called the eagre a tidal bore on the river Trent. 2: from one or more of the places in Yorks with names derived from Old Scandinavian *ǽrgum ‘at the shielings’ (dative plural of *ǽrgi ‘shieling pasture’) such as Arram in Atwick Argam in Hunmanby and Arram in Leconfield (all ER Yorks) Airyholme in Hovingham Airy Hill in Whitby Airy Holme in Great Ayton and Eryholme (all NR Yorks) which are recorded as Erghum Ergom and similar in medieval documents.
Arbery : from one or more of the numerous places with names derived from Old English eorð-burg ‘earthwork’ such as Arbury in Chilvers Coton (Warwicks) which is recorded as Erthbyre in 1259 Harborough Banks in Lapworth (also Warwicks) recorded as Erdbyr' in 1220 Arbury Camp in Chesterton (Cambs) recorded as Erthburg' in 1302–38 Arbury in Winwick (Lancs) recorded as Erthbury in 1246 and Arbury Banks in Ashwell (Herts) recorded as Erbourwe in 1313. Probable examples for which medieval evidence has not come to light include Arbury Hill Camp in Badby and Arbury Banks in Chipping Warden (both Northants). Compare Yarborough which has the same ultimate origin.
Arredondo : Spanish: habitational name from a place in Cantabria named Arredondo possibly from redondo ‘round’ because of the roundish shape of the hill on which it stands. Compare Aredondo and Arrendondo.
Arrow : English: habitational name from Arrow in Warwickshire or Arrowe in Cheshire. The first takes its name from the Arrow river a Celtic or pre-Celtic term meaning ‘stream’; the second recorded c. 1245 as Arwe is from Old Norse erg ‘shieling’. Perhaps sometimes from Harrow on the Hill in Middlesex and therefore a variant of Harrow with loss of initial H-.
Arunachalam : Indian (mainly Tamil Nadu): from a personal name common in the Deccan Plateau ultimately derived from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘hill of intense fire’ referring to the hill of Tiruvannamalai (revered by devotees of Shiva) in Tamil Nadu. Hindu mythology has it that the hill is a physical manifestation of the god Shiva who appeared as a linga (pillar) of fire to intervene in a battle for supremacy between Lords Brahma and Vishnu. — Note: Since South Indians traditionally do not have hereditary surnames this name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.
Aryal : Nepali: name found among Bahuns (i.e. hill Brahmins of the Indo-Aryan Pahari people) derived from Arya the self designation of the ancient speakers of the Indo-Iranian languages.
Ashington : 1: from Ashington (Lincs Northumb Sussex). The Northumb place-name is from Old English æscen ‘ash-grown’ + denu ‘valley’. The Sussex name is from the Old English given name Æsc + -inga- indicating a connection between the family or followers of the person named and the place + tūn ‘farm village’ so ‘farm of those connected with Æsc’. The name in Lincs has not yet been explained. 2: perhaps sometimes from Ashingdon (Essex) but there is no clear evidence for continuity from the Middle Ages. The place-name recorded as Assandun in 1016 is from Old English assa ‘ass’ or a given name of the same form in the genitive case with -n + dūn hill. 3: possibly a variant of Ashenden in Kent contexts.
Astle : 1: English: habitational name from a place in Cheshire called Astle from Old English ēast ‘east’ + hyll ‘hill’. There may also have been some confusion with Asthall and Astley. Or occasionally this may be a topographic name denoting residence on an ‘east hill’ (from Middle English ast + hill or hull) i.e. a hill to the east of a settlement.2: English: perhaps also a habitational name from Astwell Northamptonshire from Old English ēast ‘east’ + wielle ‘spring’.3: English: habitational name from Asthall Oxfordshire from Old English ēast ‘east’ + halh ‘nook’.4: English: variant of Astill from the Middle English personal name Astill a shortened form of Norman French Ansketill (Old Norse Ásketill); see Astin.5: English: possibly also from the Middle English personal name Astwulf (Old English Ēastwulf composed of the elements ēast ‘east’ + wulf ‘wolf’).6: In some cases also an Americanized form of South German Astl or Astel: probably a nickname for a crude person from Middle High German ast ‘branch bough knot’.
Atherton : 1: English: habitational name from a place near Manchester named Atherton from the Old English personal name Æthelhere + Old English tūn ‘settlement’.2: English: habitational name from Hatherton Staffordshire from Old English haguthorn + dūn ‘the hill where hawthorn grows’.3: English (East Anglia): topographic name from Middle English at ther doune ‘(dweller) on the hill’ (Old English æt thǣre dūne). Through confusion of -don and -ton Attherdoune was altered to Atherton Adderton and Atterton.4: English: variant of Atterton a habitational name from Atterton in Witherley Leicestershire possibly derived from the Old English personal name Æthelred or Ēadred + tūn ‘farmstead’.
Athill : from Middle English atte hill ‘(dweller) at the hill’ (Old English hyll).
Atnip : English: perhaps from Middle English atte knappe (from Old English cnæpp ‘hill’ or ‘summit’) a topographic name for someone who lived at the top of a hill.
Back : 1: English (Devon Kent Sussex and Norfolk): from the Middle English personal name Bakke (Old English Bacca). It is of uncertain origin but may have been a byname in the same sense as 3.2: English: nickname from Middle English bakke ‘bat’ of uncertain application perhaps a nickname for a person with poor eyesight from the expression ‘blind as a bat’.3: English: from Middle English bakke ‘back’ (Old English bæc) hence a nickname for someone with a hunched back or some other noticeable peculiarity of the back or spine or a topographic name for someone who lived on a hill or ridge or at the rear of a settlement.4: Americanized form of German Bach 1 2 or 6.5: German (Bäck): variant of Beck.6: North German and Dutch: from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch back ‘trough tub bin’ hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or used such artefacts.7: Dutch and North German: perhaps also a derivative of baa(c)k ‘pig; bacon ham’ hence a nickname for a butcher or a pig farmer.8: Dutch: topographic name for someone who lived at the back of somewhere such as a village a main street or a manor house from a phrase such as van de back or from Bak- ‘back’ as a bound form.9: Dutch: from the medieval personal name Ba(c)k(e) which could be a short form of several ancient Germanic personal names beginning with Bald- ‘bold’ Bade- ‘envoy’ or Bag- ‘up in arms’.10: Dutch: in some cases also a derivative of Backer ‘baker and perhaps also a nickname for someone with a hunched back as in the English name in 3 above.11: Swedish (Bäck): topographic or ornamental name from bäck ‘small stream or brook’ or a habitational name from a place called Bäck or from a placename containing the word bäck. Compare Beck.12: Swedish: variant of Backe.13: Americanized form of Norwegian Bakk (see Bakke).
Badbury : from Badbury in Chisledon (Wilts) Badbury Rings in Shapwick (Dorset) or Badbury Hill in Great Coxwell (Berks). Badbury is a repeated place-name which may contain the Old English personal name Badda or the Old English ancestor of the word bad + burg ‘fortress earthwork’ in the dative case byrig.
Baglien : Norwegian: habitational name for someone from any of several places called Baklia a compound of bak ‘behind’ and li ‘hillside’ denoting a farm on the shady side of a hill.
Ball : 1: English: from Middle English bal ball(e) ‘ball sphere globe round body’ (Old French balle or Old English beall(a)) a nickname for a short obese person.2: English: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a knoll or rounded hill from the same Middle English word bal(le) as in 1 above but applied topographically.3: English: from a Middle English adjective ball (weak form balle) in the sense ‘bald’ from ball ‘white streak bald place’.4: English: from Balle an Old Norse personal name found in placenames in England. The Scandinavian name may be for ballr ‘dangerous’ in an older sense of ‘brave’ or bǫllr ‘ball’.5: South German: from Middle High German bal ‘ball’ possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a juggler or a habitational name from a place so named in the Rhine area.6: German: from a short form of any of various ancient Germanic personal names formed with the element bald (see Bald).7: Americanized form of Dutch Bal.
Bankhead : Scottish: topographic name for someone who lived at the top or end of a bank or hill (see Bank 5) or habitational name from a place with this origin. There are several minor places in Scotland so called but the most likely source of the surname is one on the border between the parishes of Kilmarnock and Dreghorn in Ayrshire.
Barg : North German:: 1: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill Low German barg. Compare Berg.2: habitational name from any of several places called Barg (Schleswig-Holstein) or Barge (Lower Saxony former Silesia).
Barge : 1: German: habitational name from any of various places so named.2: Dutch: topographic name denoting an inhabitant of a farm or settlement on a hill. Compare Ten Barge.3: English and French: metonymic occupational name for a boatman bargeman or seaman from Middle English Old French barge ‘boat barge’. Compare French Labarge.4: English: variant of Bargh (see Bark 1).5: French: topographic name from Old French barge Old Occitan barga ‘haystack standing in the yard of the farm’.6: Galician and Portuguese: habitational name from a place called A Barxe e.g. in A Coruña province in Spain or A Barge in Viana do Castelo in Portugal.
Bargh : from Barugh (in Darton WR Yorks) Barff Hill (ER Yorks) or Barugh (pronounced barf NR Yorks) or for someone who lived ‘(by the) hill’ Middle English bergh (Old English beorg).
Bark : 1: English: perhaps a variant of Bargh a habitational name from Barugh in Yorkshire Barff Hill in East Yorkshire or Barugh in North Yorkshire (all named with Old English beorh ‘hill’); or a topographic name for someone who lived ‘(by the) hill’ (from Middle English bergh Old English beorh).2: North German and Dutch: topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood from berke ‘birch’ or alternatively for someone who lived on a mountain (see Barg). Compare Berk.3: Dutch: possibly from a pet form of the personal name Barnhard (see Bernhard). Compare Berk.4: Polish: nickname from bark ‘shoulder’.
Bastola : Nepali: name found among Bahuns (i.e. hill Brahmins of the Indo-Aryan Pahari people) of unexplained etymology.
Beacon : English (mainly Kent): either from a Middle English female personal name Bekin a pet form of Beatrice or a habitational name from one or other of the places described by or with names deriving from Middle English beken ‘beacon signal’ (Old English bēacun) for example Beacon Hill in Bishopstone (Sussex) or Beacon End in Stanway (Essex).
Bedser : from an unidentified (perhaps lost) place called Bedesore or Badesore apparently near Bexhill (Sussex). The name is of uncertain origin but appears to end in Old English ōra ‘flat-topped hill with a shoulder-shaped end’.
Beeden : 1: from either Bidon or La Ville-Bidon (Ille-et-Villaine Brittany). The short vowel of Bidon was frequently lowered and lengthened to produce the spellings Beedon and Beeden. Stow Bedon and Kirby Bedon Norfolk were held by John de Bidun in 1212. It is probably the principal source of the surname Beedon in E Anglia and a contributor to Bedden in the Midlands. Some bearers listed below may however belong at (2). 2: from any of various places named with Old English byden ‘vessel for liquids’ in a transferred topographic sense such as ‘tub-shaped hollow’ or ‘narrow steep valley’. These include Benna in Christow Betham in Witheridge and Bidna in Northam (all in Devon) Bidden in Upton Grey (Hants) and Beedon (Berks). Early surname forms with atte are more likely to be topographic alluding not to a settlement but to a local landscape feature named with Middle English biden (western dialect) buden reflexes of the Old English word. Surnames with this etymology will be pronounced /'bɪdən/ or /'bi:den/ as in (1) and some bearers listed below may alternatively belong at (1).from Baydon (Wilts) or Beadon (in Hennock Devon) both possibly ‘berry hill’ from Old English beg + dūn. Alternatively the first element is the Old English female personal name Bēage (related to Old English bēag Middle English bei biʒe bye) ‘ring bracelet torque’. This would explain the 1327 surname de Bigedene in East Meon (Hants) with the not uncommon Middle English substitution of -den for -don in the Wilts place-name. The 1332 example in Lustleigh (adjacent to Hennock) clearly belongs to Beadon and the 1377 and 1381 examples of Beydon in Wilts and Surrey allude to Baydon as may do a number of examples spelled Bidon Bydon Byden etc. pronounced /'baidən/ in Modern English.for someone who lived by the hill from Middle English bi doun (Old English Middle English dūn ‘hill’) as in the 1332 Bishop's Tawton (Devon) example. 3: from Beeding (Sussex) recorded as æt Beadingum (about 880) Bedingges (1073) Beding (1327) and Byding (1330 1362) in Place-Names of Sussex. The place-name denoted ‘the people of Bēada’ from an Old English personal name + the Old English plural suffix -ingas forming folk-names. In the surname the final -ing may sometimes have been reduced to -en but some bearers listed below may belong at other senses. 4: see Beedham probably a major source of the name in the E Midlands.
Belden : 1: English (Norfolk): either a habitational name from Beldon Hill in Manningham Yorkshire or a variant of Baildon a habitational name from Baildon Yorkshire. Compare Beldon the northern English form of this surname.2: Norwegian: habitational name from a farm name in western Norway from bell ‘floor; peat layer’.
Bellingham : English: habitational name from any of the places called Bellingham in Greater London (formerly in Kent) and Northumberland. The former is named with Old English Beringahām ‘homestead (Old English hām) of the followers of Be(o)ra’ a byname meaning ‘bear’; the latter seems to have been originally named as the ‘homestead of the dwellers at the bell’ from Old English belle used in a transferred sense of a bell-shaped hill.
Berg : 1: German and Dutch: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill or mountain from Middle High German berc Middle Dutch berghe. This surname is also found in some other parts of Europe e.g. in France (Alsace and Lorraine) and Poland. Compare Dutch Vandenberg.2: Norwegian and Danish: habitational name from a farmstead named with Old Norse bjarg ‘mountain hill’.3: Swedish: topographic or ornamental name from berg ‘mountain hill’ or a habitational name from a place called Berg or from a placename containing the word berg. The surname which is also found in Finland may also be of German origin (see 1 above).4: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Berg ‘mountain hill’ or a short form of any of the many artificial surnames containing this word as the final element for example Schönberg (see Schoenberg) and Goldberg.5: Germanized form of Sorbian Běrk (see Berk).
Berge : 1: Norwegian and Swedish: variant of Berg from the dative form. As a Norwegian surname this is a habitational name from any of numerous farms so named all over the country.2: German: topographic name for a person by or on a hill from an extended form of Berg (formerly with a preposition with dative case e.g. am Berge).3: French: topographic name for someone who lived on a steep river bank from Old French berge ‘river bank’. Compare Laberge.4: French (Bergé): variant of Berger either French meaning ‘shepherd’ or German. Compare Barga.5: French: variant of Barge ‘boat barge’.6: English: variant of Bergh.7: English: metathesized form of Bridge. The -e- represents the southeastern vowel development in Middle English of Old English /y/ in brycg ‘bridge’ (compare Burge). Compare also Birge.
Bergen : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places called Bergen.2: Dutch and Flemish: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill (see Berg) or a habitational name from any of various places so named (see Van Bergen).3: Swedish (mainly Bergén): ornamental or habitational name formed with the (placename) element berg ‘mountain hill’ + the adjectival suffix -en/-én a derivative of Latin -enius ‘relating to’.
Berges : 1: German (Lower Rhine): topographic name for someone who lived on a hill from a shortened form of Berghaus. Compare Berkes.2: French (Bergès): Gascon variant of Vergès (see Verges).3: Catalan (Bergés): variant of Verges.
Bergh : 1: Scandinavian: variant of Berg.2: Dutch and English: topographic name denoting someone living on or by a hill Middle Dutch berghe Middle English bergh ‘hill’ (Old English beorg). Compare Dutch Berg and Vandenbergh.
Berghaus : German: topographic name denoting a house on a hill a compound of Berg ‘mountain hill’ + Haus ‘house’. Compare Berges.
Berghorst : Dutch (Gelderland): topographic name for someone living on or by a hill with shrubberies (see Berg and Horst).
Bergsma : West Frisian and Dutch: probably a topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill (see Berg).
Berkes : 1: North German: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill shortened from Berg-hūs (Berg ‘mountain hill’ + Low German hūs ‘house’). It is a variant of Berkus or Berges.2: Hungarian: from a pet form of the personal names Bernát or Bertalan Hungarian forms of Bernard and Bartholomew respectively.3: English: variant of Birks.
Bhattarai : Nepali: name found among Bahuns (i.e. hill Brahmins of the Indo-Aryan Pahari people) based on Sanskrit bhaṭṭa ‘learned one’ (see Bhatt).
Bichler : 1: South German: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill from Bavarian dialect Bichel ‘hill’ a variant of Bühel (see Buehler).2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a seller or binder of books from Yiddish bukh ‘book’ + the agent suffix -ler.
Biegel : South German:: 1: topographic name for someone living on or by a hill from Middle High German bühel ‘hill knoll’.2: topographic name for someone who lived by a curve in a street or river or in a nook from Middle High German biegel ‘nook curve’.
Billinge : from Billinge (Lancs). The place-name is apparently from the locative form of an Old English hill name Billing (compare Billingham).
Billinghurst : English: habitational name from Billingshurst (Sussex). The placename is from Old English billing + hyrst meaning either ‘bill-shaped wooded hill’ or ‘wooded hill of Billa's people’.
Birkby : English: habitational name from Birkby Hill in Thorner (Yorkshire). The placename is recorded as Bretebi in 1086 and is a compound of Old Norse Bretar + bȳ ‘farmstead of the Britons’. Compare Burpee.
Birtles : 1: from Birtles (in Prestbury Cheshire) Birchill Farm (in Hassop Derbys) or possibly Birchills (in Walsall Staffs). The place-names are from the plural of Old English *bircel ‘small birch’ with occasional confusion of the final syllable with Middle English hill hull ‘hill’ and hale ‘corner of land’ (etc.). Pronunciation of /ʧ/ in Birch- has been simplified to /t/ before the following /l/ whence modern Birtles but the -th- spellings in the medieval forms are probably misreadings of -ch-; the letters c and t are commonly indistinguishable in medieval court hand.post-medieval variant of Birtle with excrescent -s. 2: perhaps a post-medieval variant of Birchall + excrescent -s and the sound change from /ʧ/ to /t/ noted in (1) above but Birchall itself could be a variant of Birtles in which case the following bearers belong at (1).
Bista : 1: Slovak and Polish (Upper Silesia): perhaps an adaptation of German Biste which is unexplained.2: Nepali: name found among Chhetris (see Chhetri) and Bahuns (i.e. hill Brahmins of the Indo-Aryan Pahari people) originally denoting a landowner.
Blink : 1: Dutch (also Van den Blink): topographic name from blink ‘blank hill or dune’ or a habitational name for someone from De Blink near Zandvoort (North Holland) and near Rauwerd (Friesland).2: Swedish: nickname or soldier's name apparently from blink ‘gleam flash sight’. This surname is very rare in Sweden.
Bollmann : German:: 1: elaborated derivative of the ancient Germanic personal name Baldo (see Bold 4).2: topographic name for a man who lived on a rounded hill from Middle Low German bol ‘rounded hill’ + man ‘man’ or a habitational name for someone from any of several places called Boll (see Boll). Compare Bolman.
Borg : 1: Norwegian and Danish: habitational name from various farms and other minor places so named from Old Norse borg ‘fortification stronghold’. In some cases the name is topographic often referring to a hill that resembles a fortification rather than an actual fortification.2: Swedish: ornamental name from borg ‘fortified castle’ (compare 1 above) or a habitational name from a place called Borg or from a placename containing the word borg. This surname is also found in Finland.3: North German: habitational name from the common placename Borg a Low German form of Burg.4: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a money lender from Yiddish borg ‘credit’.5: Maltese: from Maltese Arabic borg ‘fortress castle’.
Borger : 1: North German (also Börger) and Dutch: variant of Burger.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Yiddish borger ‘borrower’ or ‘lender’.3: Norwegian and Swedish: habitational name for someone from a place called Borg (see Borg) or a topographic name for someone living by a fortification or near a hill resembling a fortification.
Boustead : English (Cumberland): habitational name from Boustead Hill in Cumberland named with Old English burh-stede ‘fortified place’.
Bowden : 1: English: habitational name from any of several places called Bowden or Bowdon. Bowden in Devon and Derbyshire and Bowdon in Cheshire are named with Old English boga ‘bow’ + dūn ‘hill’ i.e. ‘hill shaped like a bow’; one in Leicestershire (Bugedone in Domesday Book) comes according to Ekwall from the Old English personal name Būga (masculine) or Bucge (feminine) + dūn. There are also Scottish places of this name but there are comparatively few bearers of the surname Bowden north of the border. In England the surname is found most frequently in Lancashire and in the West Country. In Devon and Cornwall there has been some confusion with the Norman personal name Baldwin.2: English: topographic name for someone who lived at the top of a hill from Middle English buve dun ‘above the hill’ (Old English būfan dūne as in the placename Bowden Wiltshire).3: Scottish: habitational name from Bowden in Roxburghshire named from Old English bōthl ‘dwelling-house’ + Old English denu ‘valley’.4: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Buadáin ‘descendant of Buadán’ an Old Irish personal name of uncertain etymology.5: English: variant of Bawden.
Bowler : 1: English (mainly East Midlands): occupational name from an unrecorded Middle English word boler ‘worker at a bole or lead-mining site’ (Middle English bole ‘bowl’) here denoting a round cavity on top of a high hill where lead was smelted.2: English: occupational name from Middle English bollere boler bolour bulour ‘maker or seller of bowls dishes or cups’ (from Old English bolla ‘bowl drinking vessel’ + the agent suffix -er and Old French bole bule ‘bowl’). Medieval bowls were made of wood as well as of earthenware.
Box : English: habitational name from various major and minor places called Box including parishes named Box in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Box Farm in Awre (Gloucestershire) Boxfield Farm in Hertfordshire (recorded as Boxe from 1086 to 1428) and Box Hill in Dorking Surrey all named with Old English Middle English box ‘box-tree’. The surname may sometimes also be purely topographic where the reference is solely to residence by a box-tree not to a farm or hamlet so named.
Boylston : English: habitational name from Boylestone (Derbyshire). The placename is apparently from an Old English placename Bog-hyll ‘bow hill’ i.e. rounded hill in the genitive case with -es + tūn ‘farm village’. This surname is now rare in Britain.
Brechbill : Altered form of Swiss German Brechbühl: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill (Bühl) near a crack or crevice (Brech) or owned by or associated with a man called Brecht. The surname Brechbill is also found in France (Lorraine).
Bree : 1: Cornish: from bre ‘hill’ (Brittonic brigā). The name may be topographic for someone who lived by a hill or a habitational name from a place so named such as Brea in Illogan (Cornwall).2: Irish (Sligo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Breaghaigh ‘descendant of Breagha’ a byname meaning ‘hill dweller’ from brí ‘hill height’ genitive breagh.3: Dutch: nickname for a well-built man from breed ‘broad’. Compare Debree.4: French (mainly northern; Brée): from the feminine form of Bré a nickname for a short man from Old French brief ‘short’.5: American shortened and altered form of an unidentified Jewish Ashkenazic surname.
Breeden : 1: English: habitational name from Bredon in Worcestershire or from Breedon on the Hill in Leicestershire both of which are named from an unattested Celtic word brez ‘hill’ + the tautologous addition of Old English dūn ‘hill’.2: English: variant of Braden 2 or 3.3: Americanized form of German Breden.
Brigden : English: habitational name from Brigden Hill in Ashburnham (Sussex). The placename probably derives from an Old English personal name Brica (genitive Brican) + denn ‘swine pasture’.
Bringhurst : English and Scottish: habitational name from a place in Leicestershire England called Bringhurst. This was named in Old English with Brȳninga + hyrst ‘wooded hill’ i.e. ‘wooded hill on lands associated with someone called Brȳni’. This surname is rare in Britain.
Broadbank : from Middle English brod ‘wide broad’ + bank ‘ridge hill bank’ (Old English brād Old Scandinavian banke). The surname may be topographic for a person who lived at a broad bank or toponymic from a lost or unidentified place so named perhaps in Suffolk.
Bromell : 1: English (Devon): perhaps a habitational name from Broom Hill (Farm) in Broad Clyst (Devon).2: English: in Britain this was formerly a variant of Broomhall where it may now be extinct. It is possible that this variant survives in the US.
Brow : 1: English: either a descriptive nickname for someone with bushy or otherwise distinctive eyebrows from Middle English broue ‘eyebrow eyelid forehead’ (Old English brū) but more likely a topographic name for someone who lived at the brow of a hill from a transferred use of the same word; surnames of the type de la Browe are recorded from the end of the 13th century.2: Altered form of French Brault and also of American French Breaux. Compare Bro and Broe.3: Americanized form of Dutch Brouw: perhaps a nominal variant of Op den Brouw a habitational name for someone living at the ‘Brouw’ a toponym of unclear origin or just a place for beer brewing (Brouw being a shortened form of brouwen ‘to brew’ or brouwer ‘brewer’).
Brownell : English: topographic name for someone who lived ‘(by the) brown hill or corner of land’ from Middle English brun(e) broun(e) + hil ‘hill’ or hale ‘nook corner’ (Old English brūn + hyll or halh) or a habitational name from any of various places so named for example in Yorkshire Cheshire and Staffordshire.
Brownhill : English: habitational name from any of several places called in Old English as brūn hyll ‘brown hill’ or brūn halh ‘brown nook’. As a Yorkshire name it is probably from Brown Hill in Cartworth.
Bucklow : probably from Bucklow Hill (Cheshire). The place-name is from the male given name Bucca (‘buck’) + hlāw ‘mound tumulus’.
Buechele : South German and Swiss German (Büchele):: 1: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill from Middle High German bühel ‘hill mound’ a variant of Buechel and Buehl.2: diminutive of Buch 1 as a topographic as well as a habitational name (from the placename Büchel). Compare Buchele 2 and Beeghly.
Bulter : 1: North German (Bülter): topographic name for someone who lived on a low hill or an area of raised ground from Middle Low German bult(e) bülte ‘hump knoll’ + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.2: English (Shropshire and West Midlands): variant of Boulter.
Bulthuis : Dutch (mainly Groningen): from bult ‘knoll’ + huis ‘house’ hence a topographic name from a house on a low hill.
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.
Cabeza : Spanish: from cabeza ‘head’ (from Late Latin capitia) either a nickname for someone with a big head or a topographic name from any of numerous minor places called with this word which was commonly used to denote a small hill.
Cammack : 1: English (Lincolnshire): habitational name from Cammock in Settle North Yorkshire possibly a Celtic name meaning ‘crooked one’ referring to a lofty hill in a bend of the Ribble river.2: English: perhaps a nickname for a prickly person from Old English cammoc ‘thorny shrub’.3: In some cases possibly also a shortened form of Irish McCammack.
Catterton : English: habitational name from a place in North Yorkshire named Catterton from a Celtic hill name Cadeir (from cadeir ‘chair’) + Old English tūn ‘settlement’. Compare Chatterton.
Celik : 1: Turkish (Çelik): from çelik ‘steel’ applied as an ornamental name a nickname for a very strong man or a metonymic occupational name. This is the fifth most frequent surname in Turkey.2: Bosniak Croatian and Serbian (Čelik): nickname or metonymic occupational name from Bosnian Croatian and Serbian čelik ‘steel’ a word of Turkish origin (see above).3: Slovenian (Čelik): topographic name derived from čelo ‘forehead’ in the sense ‘slope right below the peak of a hill resembling human forehead’ or an old habitational name for someone from a place Čelo named with this word.
Cerro : 1: Spanish: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill or ridge Spanish cerro (from Latin cirrus ‘bristle hair hackles’) or possibly a nickname for someone with a ridge of spiky hair like an animal's hackles. It may also be a habitational name from a place called with this word (in the sense ‘ridge’) as for example El Cerro in Salamanca province.2: Italian: topographic name from cerro ‘turkey oak cerris (Quercus cerris)’.
Chatterton : English: habitational name from Chadderton in Lancashire which is early recorded the form Chaterton possibly from a Celtic hill name Cadeir (from cadeir ‘chair’) + Old English tūn ‘settlement’. Compare Catterton.
Chessell : either from Chesthill a lost place in Moreton Say and Stoke upon Tern (Shrops) or from Chessell Freshwater (IoW). Both place-names are spelled as Chesthull in medieval records but the Shrops name is thought to refer to a hill (Old English hyll) where parish boundaries were disputed (the first element is Old English ceast ‘strife contention’) whereas the IoW name refers to a hill where burial chests or coffins were found (the first element is Old English cest ‘chest’) probably referring to the 6th-century pagan cemetery on Chessell Down.
Chinnock : English (West Country): habitational name from East or West Chinnock in Somerset early recorded as Cinioch. The name is of uncertain origin; according to Mills it may from a derivative of Old English cinu ‘deep valley’ or possibly from an old hill name of Celtic origin.
Churchill : 1: English (Dorset and Somerset): habitational name from any of various places called Churchill for example in Devon Oxfordshire Somerset and Worcestershire. Most were probably originally named with a Celtic element crūg ‘hill’ (which early on was reinterpreted as Old English cyrice ‘church’) to which was added Old English hyll ‘hill’. Alternatively a topographic name denoting someone who lived ‘(on the) church hill’.2: Americanized form (translation into English) of Finnish Kirkkomäki: habitational name from farms situated near a church or a hill named Kirkkomäki from kirkko ‘church’ + mäki ‘hill’. Established as a hereditary surname since the 19th century in Tavastia southern Ostrobothnia and southwestern Finland.
Clegg : 1: English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from a place in Lancashire named Clegg from Old Norse kleggi ‘haystack’ originally the name of a nearby hill. Alternatively a nickname from Middle English clege and Older Scots cleg gleg ‘gadfly horsefly’ (Old Norse kleggi) presumably for an irritating person. The name was taken to Ulster in the early 18th century.2: Manx: variant of Clague which in Lancashire and Cumbria have occasionally been absorbed into Clegg.
Clermont : 1: French and English (Middlesex of Norman and French Huguenot origin): habitational name from any of various places in France called (Le) Clermont from Old French clair cler ‘bright clear’ + mont ‘hill’ i.e. a hill that could be seen a long way off. Compare Clairmont.2: English (Middlesex of Norman and possibly also Huguenot origin): variant of Claremont from the Old French female personal name Claremonde supposedly from ancient Germanic Claremunda a hybrid compound of Latin clarus ‘famous’ + ancient Germanic mund ‘protection’.
Clode : 1: from Clode's Cottages in Northleigh (Devon). The name derives from Middle English cloud ‘mass of rock; hill or cliff’ (Old English clūd). Compare Cloud. 2: occasionally a variant of Clodd.
Cloud : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived near an outcrop or hill from Old English clūd ‘rock’ (only later used to denote vapor formations in the sky) or a habitational name from any of numerous places so named such as Temple Cloud (Somerset) Cloud Bridge (Warwickshire) and Clouds Wood (Hertfordshire).2: Native American: translation into English (and shortening) of a personal name based on a word such as Lakota and Dakota Sioux mahpiya meaning ‘cloud’. Among the Sioux several of their traditional personal names with this element were adopted as surnames (translated into English) e.g. Iron Cloud (see Ironcloud) and Red Cloud (see Redcloud).3: French: from the ancient Germanic personal name Hlodald composed of the elements hlōd ‘famous clear’ + wald ‘rule’ which was borne by a Christian saint and bishop of the 6th century.
Cockley : English: habitational name from Cockley Cley (Norfolk) Cockley Hill in Kirkheaton (Yorkshire) or possibly Cookley (Suffolk).
Coll : 1: Scottish and Irish (Donegal): shortened form of McColl.2: English: variant of Cole.3: English: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill from Middle English Old English coll ‘hill’.4: Catalan: topographic name from coll ‘mountain pass’ from Latin collis ‘hill’.5: Americanized form of German Koll or Kohl.
Congdon : 2: Irish (of Norman origin): variant of Condon.1: English (Devon and Cornwall): habitational name from Congdon Shope in North Hill (Cornwall).
Copp : 1: English (Devon): topographic name for someone who lived on the top of a hill from Middle English coppe Old English copp ‘summit’ (a transferred sense of copp ‘head bowl’ cognate with modern English cup). Alternatively a nickname for someone with a peculiarity of the head.2: German: variant of Kopp and in North America (also) an altered form of this.
Cowsill : of uncertain origin; apparently from an unidentified place named with Middle English cou ‘cow’ (as a plural cous) + hil(le) ‘hill’. Cowhill in Rishton (Lancs) shows no forms with medial -s- (see Lancs Place-Names p. 73) and there are no examples of the surname to connect it with Cowshill in Weardale (Durham) or Cows Hill in Hewelsfield (Gloucs).
Craighill : English: habitational name from Craighill in Kingwater or Craggle Hill in Burtholme both in Cumbria. Compare Craghill.
Crete : French (Crête):: 1: nickname for an overproud man from Old French creste ‘crest (of a hill)’ (from Late Latin crista) used with reference to the comb of a rooster.2: habitational name from (La) Crête the name of several places in the northern part of France of the same etymology as 1 above.
Croom : 1: English: nickname from Middle English cromb(e) crome ‘hook crook’ denoting someone who was bent or stooping.2: English: metonymic occupational name for a maker seller or user of hooks from Middle English crome cromb ‘hook crook’ (from Old English crumb ‘bent’ reinforced by an Old French borrowing from an ancient Germanic cognate).3: English: habitational name from Earls Croome Hill Croome or Croome d'Abitot all in Worcestershire or possibly from Croom in East Yorkshire. The place in Worcestershire is named with an old British river name ultimately cognate with the other words mentioned here; compare Welsh crwm ‘crooked winding’. Croom in East Yorkshire is named with Old English crōhum dative plural (used originally after a preposition) of crōh ‘narrow valley’ (a cognate of Old Norse krá ‘corner bend’ and related to the words mentioned in 1 above and 2 above).4: Americanized form of German Krumm or Krum.
Cropp : 1: English (Hampshire): topographic name for someone who lived at the top of a hill from Middle English cropp.2: English (Hampshire): perhaps a nickname from Middle English croppe (Old English croppa) ‘sprout crop’ though the sense of the name is obscure. Compare Cropper.3: Americanized form of German Kropp or Krapp.
Cropton : from Cropton (NR Yorks) which is recorded as Croptune in 1086. The place-name probably derives from Old English crop ‘hill hill top’ + tūn ‘farmstead estate’.
Cucco : Italian: from cucco a word with several dialect meanings including ‘cuckoo rounded hill favorite son’ any one of which could have given rise to the surname or from the Sicilian equivalent cuccu.
Cumpston : English (East Yorkshire): probably a variant of the Scottish habitational name Cumstoun from Cumstoun in Kirkcudbrightshire. There are places in Cumbria named Cumpston Hill and Cumpstone House but both take their names from a family of this name recorded in the area in the 16th century.
Cusden : 1: perhaps a reduced form of Coulsdon from the place of that name in Surrey recorded as Colesdone in 1086 and Culesden in 1255. Coulsdon is apparently identical with a place called Cudredesdone in a deed of 933 and is to be interpreted as ‘the dūn or hill of a man named Cūðrǣd’. Surname spellings such as Codsden and Codsdon may therefore reflect an older alternative pronunciation *Cudesden or *Cude(r)sdon.perhaps from Godstone (Surrey) from which surnames are frequently recorded from the mid-13th century onwards in spellings starting with Cod(d)-; see Place-Names of Surrey p. 317. The place-name meant either ‘Codd's stone or rock’ or ‘Codd's farm or estate’ (Old English Codd or genitival Coddes + Old English stān or tūn). No spellings with -sdon or -sden have been noted for the place-name although such variants would be plausible. 2: possibly from Cuddesdon (Oxon) recorded as Cuþenes dune in 945 and Codesdone in 1086 but no medieval instances of a surname from this place have been found. The place-name denoted the ‘the hill of a man named Cūþwine or *Cūþen’ (both Old English personal names). This name could also account for some examples of the post-medieval Surrey name listed at (1). Substitution of -den for -don is common in English locative names.
Dahal : Nepali and Indian: name found among Bahuns (i.e. hill Brahmins of the Indo-Aryan Pahari people) in Nepal and Gorkhas in India a habitational name for someone from a place called Daha. The placename literally means ‘lake’.
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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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