Origin
Breton : French Breton (mainly Finistère) and English (of Norman origin): ethnic name for a Breton from Old French breton oblique case of bret (see Bret). Compare Lebreton see also English Brett.
Adam : 1: English Scottish German French Walloon Breton Dutch Flemish Romanian Polish Czech Slovak Slovenian Croatian and Assyrian/Chaldean; Hungarian (Ádám): from the Biblical personal name Adam which was borne according to Genesis by the first man. It is the generic Hebrew term for ‘man’ which is probably a derivative of Hebrew adama ‘earth’ (compare the classical Greek legend that Zeus fashioned the first human beings from earth). Adam was very popular as a personal name among non-Jews throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Jews however did not use this personal name except in recent times under Polish and English influence.2: Spanish: variant of Adán ‘Adam’ (see Adan).3: Muslim: from the personal name Ādam Arabic variant of Adam. Compare Adem.4: American shortened form of Scottish and Irish McAdam and also of cognates from other languages (see examples 5 below and at Adams).5: American shortened (and altered) form of Armenian Atamian or Adamian.
Allain : 1: Breton and French: from the Old Breton personal name Alan (Old French Alain); see Allen. In France the personal name is spelled Alain and this is also a less common variant of the surname (see Alain).2: English: variant of Allen a cognate of 1 above.
Allen : 1: English and Scottish: from the Middle English Old French personal name Alain Alein (Old Breton Alan) from a Celtic personal name of great antiquity and obscurity. In England the personal name is now usually spelled Alan the surname Allen; in Scotland the surname is more often Allan. From 1139 it was common in Scotland where the surname also derives from Gaelic Ailéne Ailín from ail ‘rock’. The present-day frequency of the surname Allen in England and Ireland is partly accounted for by the popularity of the personal name among Breton followers of William the Conqueror by whom it was imported first to Britain and then to Ireland. Saint Alan(us) was a 5th-century bishop of Quimper who was a cult figure in medieval Brittany. Another Saint Al(l)an was a Cornish or Breton saint of the 6th century to whom a church in Cornwall is dedicated.2: English: occasionally perhaps from the rare Middle English femaje personal name Aline (Old French Adaline Aaline) a pet form of ancient Germanic names in Adal- especially Adalheidis (see Allis).3: French: variant of Allain a cognate of 1 above and in North America (also) an altered form of this.
Allio : 1: Italian: from the Old Tuscan personal name Allius which is apparently based on Latin allium ‘garlic’. This surname is also found in southern France.2: In some cases possibly also Breton (mainly Morbihan): variant of Alliou from an Old Breton personal name composed of the root all- ‘to feed to raise’ + the suffix -iou.
Andre : 1: French Breton and West Indian (mainly Haiti) (André); Walloon (mainly André): from the personal name André Andre an equivalent of Andreas.2: German: from a variant of the personal name Andreas.
Arcouette : Variant of Arquette a surname of Breton origin.
Armel : 1: Americanized form of German Ermel.2: Breton: from the Old Breton personal name Arthmael composed of the elements arth ‘bear’ (in a transferred sense ‘soldier’) + mael ‘prince’ Latinized as Armagilus. This was the name of a Christian saint (5th century) who was the subject of a local cult in Brittany.3: Jewish (from Ukraine): artificial name from Yiddish dialect (h)arml ‘hermine’.
Arquette : Altered form of Breton Arcouet: habitational name from Argoat the name of the inland part of Brittany France or from any of several places in Brittany so named. The surname Arcouet is very rare in Brittany; it is found mainly in Charente-Maritime in western France. Compare Arcouette and Arquitt.
Arquitt : Variant of Arquette a surname of Breton origin.
Arvie : African American: probably an altered form of French or Breton Hervé (see Herve). It is concentrated in LA in TX.
Balay : 1: Altered form of English Bailey.2: French: habitational name from any of various minor places so named.3: Breton: from the old personal name Balay borne by a Breton saint and preserved e.g. in the placename Ploubalay.4: Indian (Gujarat): from the name of a Bhatia subgroup of unexplained etymology.
Bale : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived by the outer wall of a castle Middle English bailli baile from Old French bail(le) ‘enclosure’ (see Bailey 3).2: Breton (Balé): variant of Balay.3: French: unexplained.4: Americanized form of German Boehl or of some other similar (like-sounding) surname.
Baron : 1: French English Dutch Polish Czech Romanian and Croatian; Breton (also Le Baron): from Old French barun baron Middle English barun baroun Middle Dutch baroen Polish Czech Romanian and dialectal Croatian baron ‘baron’ (i.e. a nobleman ranking below an earl and above a knight) a title of nobility which was in England also awarded to certain freemen of the cities of London and York and of the Cinque Ports. As a surname it is unlikely to be a status name denoting a person of rank. Generally it referred to service in a baronial household or was acquired as a nickname by a peasant who had ideas above his station or applied to a man showing characteristics of a nobleman. See also 3 and 4 below compare Barron and Lebaron.2: French: habitational name from (Le) Baron the name of several places in various parts of France. Compare Lebaron.3: German: status name for a freeman or baron from barūn ‘imperial or church official’ a loanword in Middle High German from Old French (see 1 above).4: Spanish (Barón): nickname from the title barón ‘baron’ applied as a nickname or as an occupational name for a member of the household of a baron (see 1 above); or from an old personal name of the same origin in the sense ‘free man’ (compare 3 above).5: Italian (Veneto): variant of Barone.6: Czech (also Baroň): from a pet form of the personal name Bartoloměj (see Bartholomew).7: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Bearáin (see Barnes 3).8: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): artificial name meaning ‘baron’ from German Polish or Russian (see 1 above). In Israel the surname is often interpreted by folk etymology as being from Bar-On ‘son of strength’.
Bazil : 1: Altered form of English Basil.2: French Breton and West Indian (mainly Haiti): variant of Bazile. This surname is most common in Haiti.
Bernard : English Scottish French Walloon Breton Dutch German Polish Czech Slovenian West Indian (mainly Haiti) and African (mainly Tanzania): from the personal name Bernard from an ancient Germanic name composed of the elements ber(n) ‘bear’ + hard ‘brave hardy strong’ (see Bernhard). It was borne by several Christian saints including Saint Bernard of Menthon (923–1008) founder of Alpine hospices and patron saint of mountaineers whose cult accounts for the frequency of the name in Alpine regions. The popularity of the personal name was also greatly increased by virtue of its having been borne by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090–1153) founder and abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux. In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed cognates from other languages e.g. Italian Bernardo. Bernard is the second most frequent surname in France. Compare Barnard Benore and Burnor.
Berrian : Altered form of Breton Berrien.
Blaise : 1: French Breton (mainly Finistère) and West Indian (mainly Haiti): from the French personal name Blaise from Latin Blasius. Compare Blaize 1.2: English: variant of Blaize 2 or 3.
Bonno : 1: Altered form of French Bonneau.2: Breton (mainly Morbihan): variant of Bono.
Bono : 1: Italian: from the personal name Bono meaning ‘good’ from the Latin name Bonus which was borne by a minor 3rd-century Christian saint martyred at Rome with eleven companions under the Emperor Vespasian. It was adopted as a personal name partly in his honor and partly because of the transparently well-omened meaning.2: Italian: nickname from bono ‘good’ (from Latin bonus).3: Catalan and Spanish: probably of Italian origin (see above).4: Hungarian (Bonó): from a pet form of the personal name Bonifác (see Boniface).5: French (southeastern): of Italian origin (see above).6: Breton (also Le Bono): habitational name from Le Bono a place in Morbihan Brittany (France).7: Altered form of French Bonneau.
Borne : 1: French: variant of Borgne a nickname for a cross-eyed or one-eyed man from Old French borgne ‘one-eyed’.2: French (southern): topographic name for someone who lived by a spring or stream from Occitan borna ‘spring’ a word of Celtic origin originally denoting a natural cavity.3: Shortened form of French Leborne or Breton Le Borne variants of 1 above formed with the French masculine definite article le (compare Leborgne).4: English: variant of Bourne.5: In some cases perhaps also an American shortened form of Dutch Van den Borne: habitational name for someone from Born in the province of Limburg (Netherlands) or from a place associated with the watercourse of the Borre river in French Flanders.
Bouder : 1: Altered form of German Bauder.2: Breton (mainly Le Bouder): derivative of boudal ‘to blow a horn’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a herald or of the root boud ‘buzzing humming’ hence perhaps a nickname for an annoying person.
Boulerice : Altered form of Breton Bourhis: from bourc'his ‘burgher’ a status name for an inhabitant and (usually) freeman of a fortified town (see Bourg compare Bourgeois).
Bour : 1: French (mainly Lorraine also Nord): from German Bauer or Baur and probably also from Flemish Boer.2: English: variant of Bower.3: In some cases possibly also Breton (mainly Le Bour): nickname for a corpulent man from Old Breton borr ‘corpulent fat’.
Bras : 1: Dutch: from Middle Dutch bras ‘arm’. This was probably a descriptive nickname for someone with some peculiarity of the arm but the word was also used as a measure of length and may also have denoted a surveyor (compare 3 below).2: Spanish; Portuguese (Brás): from a vernacular form of the personal name Blasius popularized through the cult of the 4th-century Christian martyr. Compare Portuguese Braz.3: French: from Old French bras ‘arm’ a term used as a measure of length hence a metonymic occupational name for a surveyor.4: Breton (mainly Le Bras): nickname for a corpulent man from bras ‘big’.5: Polish (Braś): unexplained.
Braye : English (Sussex): from the Middle English female personal name Braye. Its origin is unknown but it might derive from Breton bregh ‘fine brave’.
Brean : 1: English: habitational name from Brean in Somerset. The etymology of the placename is uncertain.2: Irish: variant of Breen or Brain.3: French (Bréan; mainly Eure-et-Loir): variant of Bréand itself probably from Breton Briand or alternatively from Breton Bréhant a habitational name from Brehant (French: Bréhand) a place in Brittany.
Breen : 1: Irish: either a shortened form of McBreen or an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Braoin ‘descendant of Braon’ a byname meaning ‘moisture drop’.2: Norwegian: habitational name from the farm name Bre(d)en from Old Norse breithr ‘wide’ + -en from vin ‘meadow’.3: In some cases also an Americanized form of Breton Briand.
Breeton : 1: variant of Breedon with devoicing of /d/ to /t/. Compare William Breedon 1696 Wm. Breeton 1749 in IGI (Burton Coggles Lincs). 2: variant of Breton. Compare Alice Breton 1562 George Breeton 1605 in IGI (Long Bennington Lincs); Peter Breton 1621 John Breeton 1753 in IGI (Leadenham Lincs).
Brehaut : Breton and French (Bréhaut); Channel Islands: probably an altered form of Breton Berhaut which is from a personal name composed of Old Breton berth ‘handsome bright’ + gualt ‘hair’ or perhaps a habitational name from Berhet in Côtes-d'Armor Brittany with local reinterpretation of the final syllable as haut ‘high’. Alternatively the Breton name Bréhaut may be a habitational name from Le Bréhaut in Côtes-d'Armor. As a French name found mainly in Aisne and Seine-et-Marne Bréhaut is probably also of different non-Breton origin. Compare Burhoe.
Brenot : 1: French: metathesized form of Bernot. Compare Brunot.2: Breton (Finistère): topographic name derived from bré ‘hill’ and aod ‘cliff’. This surname is rare in Brittany.
Breon : 1: Americanized form of French Brion itself in part a cognate of 2 below.2: In some cases possibly also French: altered form of Bréant itself probably an altered form of Breton Bréhant a habitational name from a place so named in Côtes-d'Armor.
Bret : French: ethnic name for a Breton from Old French bret nominative of breton ‘Breton’ (see Breton). See also English Brett.
Brett : 1: English: ethnic name for a Breton from Old French bret nominative of breton ‘Breton’. The Bretons were Celtic-speakers driven from southwestern England to northwestern France in the 6th century AD by Anglo-Saxon invaders; some of them reinvaded England in the 11th century as part of the army of William the Conqueror. In France and among Normans Bretons had a reputation for stupidity and in some cases this name and its variants and cognate may have originated as derogatory nicknames. The English surname is most common in East Anglia where many Bretons settled after the Conquest. In Scotland it may also have denoted a member of one of the Celtic-speaking peoples of Strathclyde who were known as Bryttas or Brettas well into the 13th century.2: German: metonymic occupational name from Middle Low German bret ‘board’ for a sawyer or carpenter or from a shortened compound like Brettschneider Bretthauer.3: French: very rare variant and probably an Americanized form of Bret a cognate of 1 above.
Brettell : 1: from the Old Breton male personal name Brithael. It was adopted into English usage before the Conquest becoming Middle English Bretel Britel and Brutel. Compare Godwine Brytæl 1035 in Tengvik (Dorset).alternatively in some instances from the Middle English personal name *Bretel or *Bertel an unrecorded survival of Old English Beorhtel. 2: alternative pronunciation of Bridle or perhaps Britwell. Some of the post-medieval bearers cited under (1) may belong here.
Briand : Breton (rarely Le Briand): from Old Breton brient ‘privilege prerogative’ (a derivative of bri ‘dignity consideration’) used as a medieval personal name and as a nickname (possibly for a pretentious individual). Compare Briant Brien Breen Brillant and Pontbriand.
Brillant : 1: French Canadian: altered form of Breton Briand (compare 3 below).2: French Canadian: shortened form of Boisbrillant itself an altered form of Boisbriand a byname composed of French bois ‘wood’ + the Breton surname Briand (compare 1 above and 3 below).3: French: altered form of Breton Briant or Briand (compare 1 above) by association with the French verb briller ‘to shine’.4: In some cases possibly also French: from a derivative of Old French bril ‘trap’ possibly applied as a figurative nickname for a cunning man.5: Haitian: probably an ornamental name from French brillant ‘bright’. Alternatively of the same French origin as 3 or 4 above.
Brin : 1: Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Brin the Yiddish name for Brno a city in Moravia.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name; see also Brill.3: French: nickname for a loud or quarrelsome man from Old French brin ‘noise tumult’.4: Altered form of Breton Brien.5: Welsh and English: variant of Bryn from any of the many places called from Welsh bryn ‘hill’.
Britt : 1: English: ethnic name for a Celtic-speaking Briton or a Breton from Middle English brit bret Old French bret (see Brett).2: German: from a vernacular form of the personal name Brixius (see Brice).
Brittle : 1: English (of Breton origin): from the Old Breton male personal name Brithael. It was adopted into English usage before the Norman Conquest becoming Middle English Bretel Britel and Brutel.2: English: alternatively in some instances from the Middle English personal name Bretel or Bertel an unrecorded survival of Old English Beorhtel.3: English: variant of Briddell or Bridwell.
Britton : English (of Norman origin): variant of Breton and ethnic name for a Breton from Old French Breton the oblique case form of Old French Bret; compare Brittain and Brett.
Bryant : 1: English (of Norman origin): from the Celtic personal name Brian (from brigo- ‘high’ + the suffix -ant-) with excrescent -t. Breton bearers of this name were among the Normans who invaded England in 1066. They went on to settle in Ireland in the 12th century where the name mingled with the native Irish form Briain (see O'Brien). The latter had also been borrowed as Brján by the Vikings who introduced it independently into northwestern England before the Norman Conquest. This surname is also common among African Americans.2: Breton: very rare variant of Briant (see Briand) and in North America (also) an altered form of this.
Burhoe : Altered form of Brehaut a Channel Islands surname of Breton origin.
Cadarette : Altered form of Breton Cadoret. Compare Cadorette.
Cadeau : Altered form of French or Breton Cadot (see Cadotte).
Cadieux : Breton and French: variant of Breton Cadiou a derivative of kad cad (Old Breton cat) ‘battle’ used as a nickname for a fighter or as a personal name. Compare Kiah.
Cadoret : Breton: from the Old Breton personal name Catuuoret based on cat ‘combat’ and meaning ‘protector in combat’. Compare Cadarette and Cadorette.
Cadorette : Altered form of Breton Cadoret. Compare Cadarette.
Cadotte : Altered form of French or Breton Cadot reflecting the Canadian and American French practice of sounding the final -t. This surname is common among Native Americans (Chippewas) in MI WI and MN.
Cady : 1: English (Suffolk): variant of Caddy.2: Breton and French: probably a variant or an altered form of Breton Cadic a derivative of kad cad (Old Breton cat) ‘battle’ applied as a nickname for a warrior. The surname Cady is found mainly in Maine-et-Loire which borders Brittany; in Brittany itself and elsewhere in France it is rare.3: Perhaps also an Americanized form of German Gäde (see Gade) Göde (see Goede) or Köthe all from the medieval personal name Godo.
Cam : 1: Vietnamese: from the Chinese surname 甘 see Gan 1.2: Vietnamese (Cầm): from the Chinese surname 琴 see Qin 2.3: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Caen in Calvados France early recorded as Cadum and Cadomum (see Cain).4: English: habitational name from one of two places called Cam in Gloucestershire and Yorkshire.5: English: nickname from an unrecorded Middle English cam (perhaps from Welsh cam) ‘crooked bent’ also ‘perverse’. Compare Middle English cammed ‘pug-nosed curved’ probably a derivative of cam.6: Scottish: nickname from Gaelic cam ‘crooked; one-eyed cross-eyed’.7: Breton (mainly Finistère; also Le Cam): nickname for a lame man from cam kamm ‘lame’.
Campion : 1: English (of Norman origin) and French: variant of Champion from the Norman French form campion. A status name for a professional champion or an athlete such as a wrestler or boxer; the name also denoted a ‘warrior hired to do battle in single combat on behalf of others’ (compare Kemp).2: Breton (also Le Campion): cognate of French Champion of Old French origin.
Cap : 1: Polish Slovak Rusyn (from Slovakia and Poland) and Jewish (from Ukraine); Hungarian (Cáp): from Polish and Slovak cap Rusyn and Ukrainian tsap ‘he-goat’ and so probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a goatherd. Compare Czap.2: Czech (Čáp): nickname for a tall or long-legged man from čáp ‘stork’. Compare Chap and Czap.3: Americanized form of Ukrainian and Rusyn Tsap a cognate of 1 above.4: Breton (also Le Cap) and French: from Breton kab and Occitan cap (from Latin caput) ‘head’ or in the metaphorical sense ‘chief’ also ‘promontory’. This may have been a topographic name for someone living on a promontory or headland or a nickname for a stubborn person or for a person with something distinctive about his head or perhaps a status name for a village elder. This surname is found mainly in Finistère in Brittany. Compare Capp.5: English (North Yorkshire): variant of Capp.6: Americanized form of Dutch or German Kap a cognate/variant of German Kapp.
Capp : 1: English: from Middle English cappe ‘cap hat’ (Old English cæppe) hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of caps and hats or a nickname for someone who wore distinctive headgear. Compare Capper.2: Americanized form of German Kapp.3: Breton (Finistère) and French: variant of Cap.
Caron : 1: French and Walloon; Flemish and Dutch (of French origin): metonymic occupational name for a carter or possibly a cartwright from caron a Norman-Picard form of Old French charron ‘carter’ or ‘cartwright’.2: French: from a personal name of Gaulish origin represented in Latin records in the form Caraunus. This name was borne by a 5th-century Breton saint who lived at Chartres and was murdered by robbers; his legend led to its widespread use as a personal name during the Middle Ages. Compare Carron Carrow 2 Coron 1 and Corrow.3: Scottish: habitational name from Carron in Larbert (Stirlingshire).4: Irish: shortened form of McCarron. Compare Carron.
Charter : 1: English: possibly a variant of Chatters.2: Breton (Finistère): variant of French Chartier and in North America probably also an altered form of this. This surname is rare in Brittany.
Colas : 1: French West Indian (mainly Haiti) and Mauritian; Breton (rarely Le Colas); Spanish (Colás): from a short form of the personal name Nicolas Nicolás (see Nicolas and Nicholas). The surname of French and Breton origin was also brought to England by Huguenot refugees.2: English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): variant of Collis (see also Coles).
Conan : Breton English and Scottish (of Breton origin): from the Old Breton personal name Conan the name of Breton chiefs kings and of a saint itself from British Celtic Cunagnos a derivative of cuno- ‘hound’. This was one of the Breton names introduced to England at the Norman Conquest in 1066 and was common among tenants of the Richmond fee in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Compare Conant.
Corson : 1: Scottish (Kirkcudbrightshire and Dumfriesshire): variant of Carson.2: English: variant of Curzon or sometimes possibly Corston a habitational name from any of the places called Corston in Shropshire Somerset and Wiltshire or from Coston (Norfolk) earlier recorded as Kareston or Corestone.3: Breton (Côtes-d'Armor): nickname from korson ‘glutton greedy eater’. Compare Courson 3.4: Americanized form of Coursen a surname of Breton (see 3 above and Courson 3) or perhaps French (see Courson 2) or Dutch origin. Compare Courson 1.5: Americanized form of Norwegian Korsen. Compare Korson.
Cosse : 1: Probably an altered form of Breton Le Cossec: metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of spools derived from kos coss ‘reel spool’; or alternatively a nickname from a homonymous word meaning ‘weevil’. This predominantly LA surname (in this sense or perhaps in the sense 2 below) is also found among African Americans.2: French (Cossé): habitational name from Cossé-d'Anjou in Maine-et-Loire Cossé-en-Champagne or Cossé-le-Vivien in Mayenne all of which are named with the Gallo-Roman personal name Cocceius + the locative suffix -acum.3: French: from cosse ‘pod’ probably a nickname or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of peas and similar vegetables. Compare Lacosse 2.4: Dutch and German: variant of Kosse.5: American (shortened and) altered form of an unidentified Greek surname most likely Costas or some other surname beginning with Cost-.
Coty : 1: Altered form of French Côté (see Cote 2).2: French: variant of Costy from Old Norman French costi ‘hill’.3: In some cases possibly also Breton (Finistère; also Le Coty): habitational name from a place called Coty in Brittany (France) from kozh ‘old’ + ti ‘house’. The Breton surname is very rare in France.
Coursen : 1: Probably an altered form under the Dutch influence in the Netherlands or New Netherland of Breton Courson 3 or perhaps French Courson 2.2: Alternatively perhaps an Americanized form of Dutch Korsen or of its variants Corsen and Korssen. Compare Corson 4 and Courson 1.
Courson : 1: Americanized form of Coursen a surname of Breton (see 3 below) or perhaps French (see 2 below) or Dutch origin. Compare Corson 4.2: French: habitational name from either of two places called Courson in Calvados and Essonne named with the Latin personal name Curtius (a derivative of curtus ‘short’) + the locative suffix -onem or from Courson in Yonne named with the same personal name + Gaulish dunum ‘fortress stronghold’.3: Breton (Côtes-d'Armor): variant of Corson 3.
Coz : 1: Spanish (mainly Cantabria): possibly a nickname from coz ‘kick’. Alternatively perhaps a habitational name from El Coz (Asturias).2: Breton (mainly Le Coz): nickname from kôz ‘old’.3: Slovenian (Čož): probably an unflattering nickname from a variant of archaic čuž ‘fool’.
Cron : 1: Scottish (Dumfriesshire and Cumberland): variant of Crone.2: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kron and in North America (also) an altered form of this. The surname Cron is also found in France (Alsace).3: French (western): probably from crone a regional word denoting a water hole hence a nickname for someone who fishes in the water holes.4: French (northern): nickname for a hunchback from Old Picard cron ‘curved bent’.5: Breton (also Le Cron): nickname for a rotund man from kronn ‘round(ed)’.6: Americanized form of Swedish Kron.
Cumming : 1: Scottish (of Norman origin): from the Breton personal name Cumin (Old Breton Cunmin from con- ‘hound’ with an uncertain second element perhaps min ‘edge’ which is found in other Breton personal names). There seems to be no basis for historians' insertion of the preposition de in this surname from the mistaken inference that it was a locative name from Comines in Nord (France).2: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cuimín (or Ó Cuimín) ‘son (or ‘descendant’) of Cuimín’ a personal name formed from a diminutive of cam ‘crooked’. There was a 7th-century abbot of Iona named Cumin. In Scotland this Irish surname became confused with the Norman name (see 1 above).
Daniel : 1: English French Spanish Portuguese German Polish Czech Slovak Romanian Jewish Assyrian/Chaldean West Indian (mainly Haiti) and African (mainly Nigeria and Tanzania); Breton (rarely Le Daniel); Hungarian (Dániel): from the Biblical personal name Daniel Syriac (Assyrian/Chaldean) Dānīʾēl Hungarian Dániel (from Hebrew Daniyyel ‘God is my judge’) borne by a major prophet in the Bible. The chief factor influencing the popularity of the personal name (and hence the frequency of the surname) was undoubtedly the dramatic story in the Book of Daniel recounting the prophet's steadfast adherence to his religious faith despite pressure and persecution from the Mesopotamian kings in whose court he served: Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar and Darius. The name was also borne by a 2nd-century Christian martyr and by a 9th-century hermit the legend of whose lives were popular among Christians during the Middle Ages. Among Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe the name was also popular as being that of a 4th-century Persian martyr who was venerated in the Orthodox Church. In France this surname is most common in Brittany.2: Irish (Tipperary and Waterford): shortened form of McDaniel which is actually a variant of McDonnell from the Gaelic form of Irish Donal (equivalent to Scottish Donald) erroneously associated with the Biblical personal name Daniel. See also O'Donnell.3: Americanized or Germanized form of Slovenian Danijel: from the Biblical personal name Danijel ‘Daniel’ (see 1 above).
Dano : 1: Slovak (mainly Daňo) and Czech (Daňo): from a pet form of the personal name Daniel or of any of the Slavic compound personal names formed with the element dan ‘given’ (see Dana).2: Hungarian (Danó): from a pet form of the personal name Dániel Hungarian form of Daniel.3: Breton (mainly Morbihan): from a pet form of the personal name Daniel.4: Assyrian/Chaldean: from a pet form of the personal name Daniel or Dankha.5: Americanized form of French Deneau or Denault.6: Albanian: from a short form of the Muslim personal name Ramadan.7: Filipino (Daño): unexplained.
David : Jewish Welsh Scottish English French Breton Portuguese Czech Croatian and Slovenian; Hungarian (Dávid) Slovak (mainly Dávid): from the Hebrew personal name David (in Hungarian and Slovak spelled Dávid) interpreted as ‘beloved’. The name has been perennially popular among Jews in honor of the Biblical king of this name. His prominence and the vivid narrative of his life contained in the First Book of Samuel led to adoption of the name among Christians in the Middle Ages in various parts of Europe. In Britain the popularity of this as a personal name was increased for two reasons. Firstly by virtue of its being the name of the patron saint of Wales who was abbot-bishop in the 6th century at what became known as Saint David's in Pembrokeshire. There are numerous dedications and placenames honouring the saint in south Wales and it is no coincidence that the modern surname is heavily concentrated there especially in Glamorgan. Secondly the name was borne by two kings of Scotland (David I reigning 1124–53 and David II 1329–71). Its popularity in Russia is largely due to the fact that this was the ecclesiastical name adopted by Saint Gleb (died 1015) one of two sons of Prince Vladimir of Kiev who were martyred for their Christian zeal. In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed cognates from some other languages especially Assyrian/Chaldean Dawid and Arabic Daud (with variants such as Daoud and Dawood).
Denis : 1: French Walloon Breton West Indian (mainly Haiti) German Dutch English and Portuguese; Spanish and Galician (Denís): from the personal name Denis Spanish and Galician Denís from Latin Dionysius ‘(follower) of Dionysos’ (see Dennis). Compare Dennee.2: Ukrainian and Rusyn: variant transliteration of Denys a cognate of 1 above.
Derian : 1: Armenian: patronymic from der ‘lord’ a derivative of classical Armenian tēr. This form of the surname is found mainly in the US; in Armenia it is spelled (transliterated) Teryan.2: Breton (Morbihan): from the Old Breton personal name Dergen.
Dewell : English:: 1: variant of Deaville a nickname from Middle English devel (Old English dēofol) ‘devil Satan’ possibly acquired as a pageant name or as a shortened form of a longer nickname. Compare Devall and Deeble.2: of Breton origin a variant of Joel from the Old Breton personal name Iudhael. The personal name was seemingly reintroduced into Britain from France in the 17th century by Huguenots and was common in Devon and Cornwall and the Breton districts of Yorkshire and the eastern counties.
Dinham : from Dinan (Côtes-du-Nord Brittany) derived from Old Breton din ‘fort’ + the diminutive Old Breton suffix -an. The surname was altered to Dineham as though from an English place-name in -ham.
Dorner : 1: German (also Dörner): habitational name for someone from any of the places called Dorn or Dornau in Bavaria or either of two places called Dorna in Saxony and Thuringia.2: German (also Dörner): northern variant of Turner an occupational name for a watchman someone who manned a tower. This surname is also found in France (Vosges Alsace and Lorraine). Compare Durner.3: Breton (also Le Dorner): occupational name for a thresher derived from dornañ ‘to beat to thresh’.
Dorval : 1: Breton and French: habitational name with fused French preposition d(e) ‘from’ for someone from either of two places called Orval (in Manche and Cher) the one in Manche recorded in Latin as Aurea Vallis ‘Golden Valley’ in 1100. In France this surname is by far most common in Finistère in Brittany.2: West Indian (mainly Haiti): nickname or ornamental name composed of French d'or ‘of gold’ and val ‘valley’. The surname may possibly also be of the same origin as 1 above.
Douget : 1: Altered form of French Doguet: from a diminutive of dogue ‘mastiff’ possibly used as a nickname for a cantankerous individual.2: In some cases possibly also Breton (mainly Le Douget): nickname for a man of respect from the past participle of doujañ ‘to respect’.
Dube : 1: French (Dubé): habitational name with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’ for someone from Le Bé the name of several places in northwestern France. Compare Duba 3 Dubay 1 Dubey 1 Dubie 2 and Duby 2.2: Breton (Dubé also Le Dubé): nickname from dube a term denoting a kind of pigeon.3: North German: variant of Duwe.4: Germanized form of Sorbian Czech Polish and Slovak Duba or Dub ‘oak’.5: Indian (northern states; pronounced as two syllables): Brahmin name from Sanskrit dvivedī ‘one who knows (or has mastered) two Vedas’ from dvi ‘two’ + veda ‘Veda knowledge’. This name is a cognate of Gujarati Dave and sometimes appears in the form Dwivedi.
Duell : 1: South German (Düll): nickname for a stubborn man.2: German (Düll): variant of Dill 2 and 4.3: German (Düll): variant of Thiel. Compare Dull.4: English: variant of Devall 2 a nickname from Middle English devel (Old English dēofol) ‘devil Satan’ possibly acquired as a pageant name or as a shortened form of a longer nickname. Compare Deeble.5: English: of Breton origin a variant of Joel.
Duff : 1: Irish and Scottish: from Gaelic dubh ‘dark black’ used both as a nickname and a personal name. In Scotland it is typically a descriptive epithet for a dark-haired man (compare Dow 1). In Ireland it is usually from Ó Duibh ‘descendant of Dubh’ or Mac Giolla Duibh ‘son of the servant of Dubh’. It is also found as a short form of Duffin and a variant of Duffy. See also McDuff.2: In some cases possibly also a shortened form of Breton Le Duff a cognate of 1 above.
Duke : 1: English: nickname from Middle English duk(ke) duck doke dook ‘duck’ (Old English dūce) either from a perceived resemblance (perhaps a waddling gait) or from association with wild fowling. Compare Duck Drake.2: English: from the Middle English personal name Duk or Duke. In northern England this is usually a pet form of Marmaduke. It may alternatively be a survival of one or more Old English personal names though it is uncertain whether they were still current in the period of surname formation. Old English Ducc(a) is attested in placenames like Duxford (Cambridgeshire) and Duckington (Cheshire) and was perhaps interchangeable with Docc attested in Doxey (Staffordshire) and Doxford (Northumberland). Duke could also represent Old English Deowuc (as in Deuxhill Shropshire). A surname from Marmaduke is on record until at least 1881 and derives from the personal name Marmaduke apparently an Anglo-Norman French pronunciation of Old Irish Maolmaedóc ‘devotee of Maedóc’; see Duckett.3: Americanized form of Polish Duk: nickname from dukać ‘to stammer or falter’.4: Americanized form (translation into English) of French Leduc or Breton Le Duc ‘the duke’.
Dupen : perhaps for someone who lived ‘at the end’ or ‘at the head’ of a particular settlement or topographical feature from Breton pen ‘end head top’ with fused French preposition and definite article du.
Duval : 1: French Walloon Breton (of French origin) and Haitian: topographic name for someone ‘from the valley’ from (Old) French val ‘valley’ (see Val) with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’; or a habitational name for someone from Le Val the name of several places in various parts of France and in Belgium (Wallonia) named with this word. This surname is also established in the Dominican Republic. It is also found England where it is in part of Huguenot origin. Compare Devall Deville and Duvall.2: English: perhaps from a diminutive of the Old English female personal name Dūfe (see Dove 1).
Elias : Spanish (Elías); French (also Élias); Greek Catalan Portuguese English Welsh German Dutch Breton Assyrian/Chaldean and Jewish; Hungarian (Éliás); Czech (Eliáš); Slovak (Eliáš and Eliaš): from a personal name taken from the New Testament Greek form (Ēlias) of Hebrew Eliyahu ‘Jehovah is God’ (Anglicized as Elijah in the Old Testament of the King James Bible). This name was borne by a Biblical prophet but its popularity among Christians in the Middle Ages was largely a result of its adoption by various early saints including a 7th-century bishop of Syracuse and a 9th-century Spanish martyr. In North America this surname has absorbed cognates from other languages e.g. Assyrian/Chaldean Eliya or Elia Croatian and Slovenian Ilijaš or Iljaš. In medieval England the name generally took the form Ellis but in the 18th and 19th centuries Welsh Nonconformists adopted the form Elias as a patronymic.
Elie : French Breton and West Indian (mainly Haiti) (also Élie): from a variant of the French personal name Élias (see Elias).
Elliott : 1: English: from the Middle English Old French personal name Eliot a pet form of the Old Testament name Elijah rendered in Greek as Ēlias and in Old French as Élie + the diminutive suffix -ot; compare Ellis. The name Aylett may in some cases also have been confused with or absorbed into Elliott.2: Scottish: late variant of Elwood.3: Scottish (of Breton origin): perhaps as some members of the Elliott clan believe a Scottish variant of the Breton surname Elleouet a habitational name from one of the hamlets named Allegot in Finistère.
Ely : 1: English: habitational name from Ely a cathedral city on an island in the fens north of Cambridge so named from Old English ǣl ‘eel’ + gē ‘district’.2: English French and Breton (Finistère): from the Middle English Old French personal name Elie Hely (Elijah in the King James Bible); see Ellis and Elias.3: English: variant of Healey.4: German: variant of Eley and in North America probably also an altered form of this.
Eon : Breton: from the personal name Eon (Old Breton Euuon) of unexplained etymology. Compare Heon.
Even : 1: Breton: from the personal name Even Old Breton Euuen which is either derived from Welsh Ewein (see Ewen) and hence ultimately from Latin Eugenius or possibly from Gaulish Esugenus which is from the name of god Esus.2: German: metronymic from the female personal name Eva (see Eve).3: German and East Frisian: variant of Ewen.4: Dutch (also Van Even): topographic name from Middle Dutch even(e) ‘black oats’.5: Possibly also an altered form of Welsh Evan.
Ewen : 1: Scottish and English: from the Scottish personal name Ewen an Anglicized form of Gaelic Eòghan (Old Irish Eógan) sometimes rendered into Latin as Eugenius from Greek eugenēs ‘well-born’. The Gaelic name however means ‘born of the yew-tree’ (Old Irish eó). See McEwen.2: English and Welsh: from the Old and Anglo-Norman French personal name Iwain Breton Iven Even a borrowing of Welsh Owain Ewein Ywein ultimately derived from Latin Eugenius ‘well born’ (compare Owen). In Herefordshire and Lincolnshire the personal name was borne by men of Breton descent. Its medieval popularity may have been enhanced by the heroic figure of Ywain in the 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth who subsequently appeared as one of King Arthur's knights in Arthurian romances. The character derived from a 6th-century historical person Owain mab Urien.3: German and East Frisian: patronymic from Evo a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with ēwe ‘law contract’ later ‘marriage’.4: Jewish (Israeli): from Hebrew even ‘stone’ a translation of the surname Stein or any of its compounds.
Floch : 1: German: variant of Flach.2: Breton (mainly Finistère; Floc'h): nickname or status name from floc'h a term denoting a page or a young servant.
Flott : 1: North German: probably a short form of for example Flottmann a topographic name for someone who lived at a shallow crossing or ford from Middle Low German vlōt ‘shallow’.2: North German: from an Old Saxon personal name formed with flōd ‘flood’.3: Altered form of American French Flot 1 and possibly also of the same French or Breton surname (see Flot 2 and 3). Altered ending reflects the Canadian and American French practice of sounding the final -t. Compare Flotte.
Flotte : 1: Altered form of American French Flot 1 and possibly also of the same French or Breton surname (see Flot 2 and 3). Altered ending reflects the Canadian and American French practice of sounding the final -t. Compare Flott.2: In some cases possibly also French (Flotté): topographic name derived from the Old French verb floter ‘to irrigate’.3: In some cases possibly also French: habitational name from a place called (La) Flotte.
Forsha : Variant of Foshay a surname of Breton origin.
Forshay : Variant of Foshay a surname of Breton origin.
Forshee : Variant of Foshay a surname of Breton origin.
Forshey : Variant of Foshay a surname of Breton origin.
Foshay : Americanized form of Breton (mainly Côtes-d'Armor) Le Faucheur: occupational name from French faucheur ‘mower reaper’ with the French masculine definite article le probably used as a translation into French of the Breton cognates such as Le Falher from falc'her a word which is like the French one ultimately derived from Latin falx ‘sickle scythe’. Compare Forsha Forshay Forshee and Forshey.
Frances : 1: English (of Norman origin): variant of Francis.2: Spanish (Francés) and Portuguese (Francês); French (southern) and Catalan (Francès): from an ethnic name meaning ‘Frenchman’ (see Francis).3: Breton (Francès): from an altered form of the French personal name François (see Francois).
Galarneau : French: variant of Galerneau (and in North America an altered form of this) a topographic name from a diminutive of Old French galerne ‘northwest wind’ (from Breton gwalarn) denoting a domain exposed to the northwest wind. The surname Galarneau is very rare in France while the surname Galerneau is found mainly in Vendée. Compare Galorneau and Garno.
Gall : 1: Scottish Welsh and Irish: nickname from Celtic gall ‘foreigner stranger’ a word found in Irish Gaelic and Breton. In the Scottish Highlands the Gaelic term gall was applied to people from the English-speaking lowlands and to Scandinavians; in Ireland the same term was applied to settlers who arrived from Wales and England in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 12th century. This surname is also found at an early date in Lincolnshire where it apparently has a Breton origin (compare 4 below and Legall) having been introduced by Breton followers of the Norman Conquerors.2: English (of Norman origin): variant of Gale.3: French German Danish Polish and Czech; Slovak (mainly Gáll); Hungarian (Gáll): from the Latin personal name Gallus originally a Roman surname meaning ‘Gaul’ or ‘rooster’ (see Gallo 2). The name was widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages in central Europe largelly due to the cult of a 7th-century Irish monk and missionary Saint Gall whose name Latinized as Gallus is presumably of Celtic origin (see 1 above). Among other things Saint Gall established a Christian settlement to the south of Lake Constance which became the monastery later known as St. Gallen. The Latin(ized) name Gallus was taken into Czech as Havel into Polish as Gaweł (see Gawel) into Slovak and Hungarian as Gál (see Gal) and into Slovenian and Croatian as Gal.4: Breton (mainly Finistère; mainly Le Gall): cognate of 1 above; see Legall. It may however also be a cognate of 3 above especially when not formed with the French masculine definite article le.
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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
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