Origin
Armour : Scottish English and northern Irish: of Norman origin from Anglo-Norman French armurer Old French armurier hence an occupational name for a maker of arms and armor. The collective noun armure denoted offensive weapons as well as the more recently specialized sense of protective gear.
Brownless : for someone who wore braided silken laces (for tying clothing shoes or armour) or a braided silken belt or buckle Middle English broun ‘brown dark shining’ + las les ‘lace cord belt clasp buckle’ especially one made of interwoven strands of silk threads of gold etc. Compare Lace. The surname originated in Romaldkirk parish (NR Yorks) where it had a continuous history into the 19th century. A branch of the family spread north into Durham and Northumb where the name became confused with Scottish Brownlees.
Coffin : English (southwestern England of Norman origin) and French: nickname from Middle English cofin coffin Old French cof(f)in (from Late Latin cophinus Greek kophinos) ‘container basket; coffer chest (for keeping treasures documents armour etc.)’. Early bearers of this as a hereditary surname were of knightly rank. Old French cofin was synonymous with coffer and it may be that Cofin was used to denote a keeper of the (royal) coffer attested in Anglo-Latin cofferarius. Compare Coffer. The modern English word coffin is a specialized development of this term not attested until the 16th century.
Frobisher : from Middle English fourbishour ‘furbisher of armour or weapons’ (Old French forbisseor). Compare Furber.
Gambier : from Old French gambier a Norman and Picard masculine form of Old French jambière ‘leg armour’ perhaps given to someone who wore or made leg armour.
Gordge : from Middle English gorge corge ‘throat’ Old French gorge probably in at least some cases a reduced form of Middle English gorgerer Old French gorg(i)ere an occupational term for a maker of gorgers or gorgets armour for the throat (compare Simon Gorget 1327 in Subsidy Rolls (Cambs)) and possibly also for a maker of cloths or wimples for covering the neck and bosom Middle English gorger.
Kiss : 1: Hungarian: from kis ‘small’ applied as a nickname for a person of small stature. The surname is contrasted with Nagy and was often used also to describe the younger of two bearers of the same personal name. Compare Kis.2: English (of Norman origin): nickname from Anglo-Norman French cuisse ‘thigh’ (from Latin coxa) perhaps denoting a maker of leather armour for the thighs.
Tollett : English (Sussex and Surrey): variant of Tullett apparently a metonymic occupational name for a maker of armor from Middle English tuilet denoting a piece of medieval armor that protects the thigh a diminutive of tuile toile ‘plate of armour covering the front of the thighs’ (Old French tuile teule ‘tile plaque’).
Tullett : perhaps from Middle English *tuilet a diminutive of tuile toile ‘plate of armour covering the front of the thighs’ (Old French tuile teule ‘tile plaque’).
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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
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