Origin
Comes : 1: English: variant of Combs (see Coombs).2: Italian: status name from Latin comes ‘count’.3: Catalan: topographic name from the plural of coma ‘narrow valley ravine’ (from Latin cumba a word of Gaulish origin) or a habitational name from a place called Comes of the same etymology. This surname is also found in southern France (mainly Pyrénées-Orientales).
Aaron : Jewish English Welsh West Indian Guyanese and African (mainly Nigeria): from the Biblical Hebrew personal name Aharon (which was Latinized as Aaron) borne by the first high priest of the Israelites the brother of Moses (Exodus 4:14). Like Moses it is probably of Egyptian origin with a meaning no longer recoverable. In England and Wales the name comes from the occasional adoption of Aaron as a Christian personal name. In south Wales for example where fixed surnames developed much later than in England it was coined independently as a surname in the 17th–19th centuries reflecting the enthusiasm for Old Testament personal names among Nonconformists.
Anna : German (mainly Saarland) French (from Alsace and Lorraine of German origin) Slovak and Hungarian: from the female personal name Anna which comes through Latin and Greek from the Biblical Hebrew name Ḥanna meaning literally ‘grace mercy’ but interpreted as ‘He (God) has favored me (with a child)’. The name is borne in the Bible by the mother of Samuel (1 Samuel 1–28) and there is a tradition (unsupported by Biblical evidence) that it was the name of the mother of the Virgin Mary; this Saint Anne was a popular figure in medieval art and legend.
Babu : 1: Indian (Gujarat Maharashtra and southern states): from Hindi bābū ‘father’ a derivative of Prakrit bappā used as a respectful term of address for a man also as a term of endearment for a male child. In Gujarat and Maharashtra the surname comes from the respectful term of address while among South Indians the term of endearment evolved into a male personal name. — Note: Since South Indians traditionally do not have hereditary surnames the southern Indian name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.2: Assyrian/Chaldean: from the personal name or nickname Bābū (compare 1 above) given to one who bears the same personal name as his grandfather.
Barbara : 1: Italian English and West Indian (Dutch Caribbean); Spanish and Portuguese (Bárbara): from the female personal name Barbara which was borne by a popular Christian saint who according to legend was imprisoned in a tower and later put to death by her own father for refusing to recant her Christian beliefs. The name comes from the feminine form of Latin barbarus Greek barbaros ‘foreign(er)’ (originally an onomatopoeic word formed in imitation of the unintelligible babbling of non-Greeks). As a West Indian surname it reflects the partially mother-oriented name culture of the formerly enslaved people of the West Indies (compare Martina).2: Catalan (Barbarà): variant of Barberà (see Barbera).
Battersby : English: habitational name from a place called Battersby in North Yorkshire (probably the former name of Dunnow in Slaidburn rather than Battersby in Ingleby Greenhow). The placename comes from the genitive case of the Old Norse personal name Bǫthvarr (composed of the elements bathwa ‘battle’ + harjaz ‘warrior’) + Old Norse bȳ ‘settlement’.
Beaumont : English (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of the five places in Normandy or several others elsewhere in France so named. The placename comes from Old French beu bel ‘fair lovely’ + mont ‘hill’. There are also places in England so named under Norman influence in Cumberland Lancashire and Essex the last of which changed its name in the 12th century from Fulepet ‘foul pit’ to Bealmont ‘beautiful hill’; these may also have given rise to the surname. The surname is now widespread throughout England but most common in Yorkshire. Compare Belmont.
Bishop : English: from Middle English bissop biscop Old English bisc(e)op ‘bishop’ which comes via Latin from Greek episkopos ‘overseer’. The Greek word was adopted early in the Christian era as a title for an overseer of a local community of Christians and has yielded cognates in every European language: French évêque Italian vescovo Spanish obispo Russian yepiskop German Bischof etc. The word came to be applied as a surname for a variety of reasons among them a supposed resemblance in bearing or appearance to a bishop and selection as the ‘boy bishop’ on Saint Nicholas's Feast Day. In some instances the surname is from the rare Middle English (Old English) personal name Biscop ‘bishop’. As an Irish surname it is adopted for Mac Giolla Easpaig meaning ‘servant of the bishop’ (see Gillespie). In North America this surname has absorbed by assimilation and translation at least some of continental European cognates e.g. German Bischoff Polish Rusyn Czech and Slovak Biskup Slovenian Škof (see Skoff).
Bo : 1: Norwegian (Bø): cognate of Bøe (see Boe).2: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 薄 meaning ‘thin’ in Chinese: (i) from Bo (薄) the name of an ancient state (located in the borderline between Henan and Shandong province). (ii) from the placename Bo (薄) the name of a fief (located in the borderline between Henan and Shandong province) granted to an official in the state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) said to be borne by descendants of Bo Yi (薄疑) a famous person in the state of Wey during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (iv) said to be borne by descendants of the Bo Gu (薄姑) family nobles during the Shang dynasty (1600 –1046 BC). (v) adopted as a surname by the Bo Xi (薄奚) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). (vi) traced back to the Qiang minority ethnic groups in ancient northwestern China.3: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 伯 meaning ‘oldest brother’ often used as a personal name with this sense. It comes from the name of Bo Yi (伯益) a famous adviser to Emperor Yao (c. 24th century BC) and Emperor Shun (c. 23rd century BC).4: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 博 meaning ‘vast’ in Chinese: from the placename Bo (博) an ancient city (located in present-day northeastern Liaocheng in Shandong province).5: Burmese: from a title for a military officer and also for someone who distinguished himself in the struggle for independence of Burma used as part of the male name proper. — Note: Since Burmese do not have hereditary surnames this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.6: Vietnamese (Bồ): from the Chinese surname 蒲 see Pu 1.7: Cambodian: written បូរ or បូ corresponding to the Khmer word meaning ‘ribbon; colored headband’.
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.
Buckham : Scottish: habitational name from Buckholm formerly Buckham in Melrose parish Roxburghshire. The placename probably comes from Old English bucca ‘buck; male deer or he-goat’ + hamm ‘land enclosed on three sides by a river’. The place itself is beside Gala Water.
Bury : 1: English (Lancashire): habitational name from Bury in Lancashire (now part of Greater Manchester) or from some other similarly named place. The placename comes from the dative case byrig of Old English burh ‘fortified place’.2: Walloon and French: habitational name from any of several places so named in Wallonia (Belgium) and Oise (France). The placename is from Buriacum the name of a Gallo-Roman estate composed of the personal name Burius + the locative suffix -acum. This surname is also found in the Flemish part of Belgium.3: South German: variant of Buri.4: Polish and Sorbian; Czech (also Burý) and Slovak (also Búry): descriptive nickname from bury burý ‘(dark) gray’.
Calcote : English: habitational name from any of numerous places (in Bedfordshire Berkshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire Northamptonshire Warwickshire and elsewhere) named Caldecote or Caldecott from Old English cald ‘cold’ + cot ‘cottage dwelling’. It has been suggested that in Old English this expression denoted an unattended shelter for wayfarers although in fact some places with this name were of considerable status by 1086 when they appear in Domesday Book. In some instances this and some of the other shortened forms may have arisen from Calcot in Berkshire Collacott(s) in Devon or Calcutt in Wiltshire in all of which the first element apparently comes from the Old English personal name Cola (see Cole 2) or the word col ‘(char)coal’ in which case the meaning would be something like ‘coalshed’.
Canvin : from the ancestor of the Welsh male given name Cynfyn the first element of which comes from the original stem of ci ‘hound’. Compare Ann Cynvin 1722 in IGI (Grosmont Monmouths). Morgan and Morgan report the name in this spelling also from Herefs Cheshire Radnors and Cumb.possibly to be associated with the unexplained eastern England name of Nichs. Convyn 1568 in IGI (Mistley Essex) and Alice Convine 1817 in IGI (Littleport Cambs).
Church : 1: English: topographic name mostly found in southern and midland England for someone who lived near a church or possibly an occupational name for someone who worked at a church such as a verger or sexton from Middle English chirche ‘church’. The word comes from Old English cyrice ultimately from medieval Greek kyrikon for earlier kyriakōn (dōma) ‘(house) of the Lord’ from kyrios ‘lord’. Compare Kirk.2: Americanized form (translation into English) of German Kirch.
Comis : Greek: from medieval Greek komis ‘count’ from Latin comes (see Comito) attested as a surname in the 13th century. However the modern surname is more likely a Hellenisation of the Italian surname Comi which is derived from the same medieval Greek word.
Conde : 1: Spanish and Portuguese: nickname from the title of rank conde ‘count’ a derivative of Latin comes comitis ‘companion’. See Conte.2: English (Shropshire): variant of Cundy a cognate of 3 below or Cound a habitational name from Cound in Shropshire.3: French (Condé): habitational name from any of several places in Normandy and Picardy called Condé a French form of the Gaulish condate ‘junction of rivers’. Compare Candee.4: West African (mainly Guinea; Condé): from the name of the Kondé clan of the Mandinka people of unexplained etymology.
Constable : 1: English (southeastern): occupational name for the law-enforcement officer of a parish from Middle English Old French conestable cunestable from Late Latin comes stabuli ‘officer of the stable’. The title was also borne by various other officials during the Middle Ages including the chief officer of a household or court or a military officer and this may in some cases be the source of the surname.2: Americanized form of Dutch Constapel an occupational name for the chief gunner aboard a ship or in the garrison of a fort.
Conte : 1: Italian: from the title of rank conte ‘count’ from Latin comes genitive comitis ‘companion’. Probably in this sense (and in the Late Latin sense of ‘traveling companion’) it was a medieval personal name. As a title it was no doubt applied ironically as a nickname for someone with airs and graces or simply as a metonymic occupational name for someone in the service of a count. Compare Lo Conte.2: Spanish: variant of Conde ‘count’ (see also 1 above).3: French: variant of Comte 1 ‘count’ (see also 1 above).
Costabile : Italian (southern):: 1: occupational name from medieval Greek kontostablēs ‘chamberlain’ from medieval Latin comes stabuli literally ‘count of the stable’ (see Constable).2: from the southern Italian personal name Costabile from Late Latin Constabilis meaning ‘determined resolute’.
Count : English: nickname from Anglo-Norman French counte ‘count’ (Old French conte from Latin comes comitem); a title of French and Norman nobility ranking as equivalent to English Earl.
Croney : 1: Irish and Scottish: apparently a shortened Anglicized form of an unrecorded Gaelic name Mac Ruanaidh ‘son of Ruanadh’ a personal name from Gaelic ruanaidh ‘strong man champion’. The initial C comes from the final consonant of mac. Compare Rooney.2: English: possibly a variant of Crowner ‘coroner’ once a Sussex name with the final syllable pronounced -ey. Alternatively it might be a variant of Corney with the medial -r- metathesized.
Davidson : 1: Scottish northern English and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the personal name David + -son. As a Jewish name the last element comes from German Sohn ‘son’.2: Irish (Down) and Scottish: adopted for Gaelic Mac Daibhéid ‘son of David’; see McDevitt.3: Americanized form (and a rare Swedish variant) of Swedish Davidsson: patronymic from the personal name David.4: Americanized form of Norwegian Danish and North German Davidsen a cognate of 3 above.
Douthit : English: variant of Douthwaite a habitational name from Dowthwaite in Cumbria or Dowthwaite Hall in North Yorkshire. The first comes from the Old Norse personal name Dúfa + Old Norse thveit ‘clearing’; the second is from the Old Irish personal name Dubhan + Old Norse thveit. The elliptic form of the surname probably reflects the local pronunciation of the placenames.
Drayton : English: habitational name from any of the very numerous places in England named Drayton notably those in Lincolnshire and Hampshire or named with Drayton such as Dry Drayton Fen Drayton in Cambridgeshire or from Dreyton in Devon. The name comes from Old English dræg ‘drag portage slipway’ or ‘sledge’ (a place where boats were dragged across land or where loads had to be dragged uphill or on sledges across wet ground from dragan ‘to draw or drag’) + tūn ‘enclosure settlement’.
Easdale : most probably from Eskdale (Dumfriess) see Eskdale. Variant spellings without -k- are recorded in Dumfriess from an early date.it is theoretically possible but unlikely that this name comes from Easdale (Argyll).
Eborn : English (Middlesex Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire): variant of Eburne itself a possible variant of Hepburn. However the placename Hepburn comes from northeastern England and the H- spellings are a late development which reinforces the suspicion that the name may have a different but unknown derivation.
Edington : English: habitational name from any of the three places called Edington in Northumberland Somerset and Wiltshire or from Eddington Berkshire. Edington in Northumberland arises from Old English Idingtūn from the Old English personal name Ida + ing denoting association + tūn ‘settlement’ (compare Ida). In Somerset the name comes either from the Old English male name Ēadwine or from the feminine Ēadwynn + ing + tūn. Edington (Wiltshire) is from either the Old English personal name Ētha + dūn ‘hill’ or from Old English ēthe ‘uncultivated’ + dūn.
Elston : English:: 2: habitational name from any of several places called Elston (in Nottinghamshire Lancashire and Wiltshire). Elston in Lancashire comes from the Old English female personal name Æthelsige (composed of the elements athel ‘noble’ + sige ‘victory’) + Old English tūn ‘settlement’. Elston in Nottinghamshire is named with the Old Norse personal name Eiláfr (meaning ‘everlasting’) + tūn ‘settlement’ and Elston in Wiltshire is so named from Elias Giffard holder of the manor in the 12th century.1: from the Middle English personal name Elstan (Old English Ealdstān ‘old’ + ‘stone’ or Ealhstān ‘shrine temple’ + ‘stone’). Compare Alston.
Embry : 1: English: habitational name either from Emborough (Somerset) any of the three places called Hembury (Devon) or any of three place called Henbury (Gloucestershire Cheshire Dorset). Emborough is from Old English emn ‘flat-topped’ + beorg ‘mound or hill’ while Henbury in Gloucestershire comes from Old English hēah ‘high’ + burh (dative byrig) ‘fortified place’. Henbury in Chesire has an uncertain first element possibly Old English hæmed ‘community’.2: English (of Norman origin): variant of Emery 1.
Emily : 1: English: habitational name from Emley in Yorkshire Embley in Northumberland or Himley in Staffordshire. The Yorkshire name comes from an Old English male personal name either Ēama or Emma + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. In the Northumberland name the first element is probably Old English elm ‘elm-tree’ while in the Staffordshire name it is Old English hymele ‘hop (plant)’ + lēah.2: English: perhaps from the Middle English female personal name Emily (Old French Emilie Latin Aimilia from the name of a major Roman patrician family). This origin is uncertain as its use as a personal name in medieval England is attested only in the doubtful 1316 spelling and in Chaucer's fictional Emelye in the Knight's Tale an Anglicized form of Emilia in Boccaccio's Teseide.3: Possibly also an Americanized form of South German and Swiss German Emele.
Evaristo : Portuguese and Spanish: from the personal name Evaristo from Latin Evaristus and this from Greek Euarestos ‘agreeable pleasant’; the form Euáristos comes from the influence of áristos ‘the best’.
Exton : English: habitational name from any of several places called Exton (Devon Somerset Rutland and Hampshire). The first and second derive their name from the Celtic river name Exe while the place in Hampshire recorded in 940 as East Seaxnatune comes from Old English Ēastseaxe ‘East Saxons’. The Rutland placename is derived from Old English oxa ‘oxen’. In each case the final element is Old English tūn ‘settlement enclosure’.
Fujino : Japanese: written 藤野 ‘wisteria field’. This form of the name is found mostly in eastern Japan while the pronunciation Tōno comes from western Japan.
Greaves : English:: 1: topographic name from Old English grǣfe ‘brushwood thicket’ or a habitational name from any of the places called with this word. In Yorkshire the name comes from The Greaves in Beeley (Derbyshire) now known as Beeley Hilltop. In Lancashire the name may instead derive from a locality called Greaves in Preston.2: alternatively it may be a variant of Greve with post-medieval excrescent -s or of Graves or Grieves.
Hannum : English (Wiltshire):: 1: habitational name from Old Norse afnám ‘newly enclosed plot taken from common or undeveloped land’ a frequent minor placename in northern counties e.g. Avenham Park in Preston (Lancashire) and Aynhems in Rimington (Yorkshire) sometimes with prosthetic H- as in Haynholme in Draughton (Yorkshire).2: habitational name from Hanham (Gloucestershire) from Old English hānum ‘(at) the stones’ dative plural form of hān ‘stone’. The ending -ham comes by analogy with other placenames with this very common unstressed ending.
Hartley : 1: English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name in northern England mainly from Hartley in Rochdale parish (Lancashire) but also from any of the places called Hartley in Westmorland and the West Yorkshire. In southern England it derives Hartley in Devon Hampshire and Kent and from Hartleigh in Devon. Similar placenames occur in Berkshire Dorset and Northumberland but it is not known if they gave rise to surnames. Most of the placenames derive from Old English heorot ‘hart stag’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ though the Westmorland placename comes from Old English heard ‘hard’ + clā ‘claw tongue of land’ and the Northumberland placename derives from Old English heorot + hlāw ‘mound hill’.2: Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hArtghaile ‘descendant of Artghal’ a personal name composed of the elements Art ‘bear’ or ‘hero’ + gal ‘valor’.
Harvell : English (Dorset): habitational name either from Harefield (Middlesex) or from Harvel near Rochester (Kent). The Middlesex placename derives from Old English here ‘army’ + feld ‘open country’ while the Kent placename comes from Old English heorot ‘hart stag’ + feld. Compare Hairfield.
Harwell : English: habitational name from either of two places called Harwell (Berkshire Nottinghamshire). The Berkshire placename probably derives from an old hill name Hāra (itself from Old English hār ‘gray’) + Old English wella ‘well spring stream’ while the Nottinghamshire placename probably comes from Old English here ‘army’ + wella ‘well spring stream’.
Hawksworth : English: habitational name from either of two places called Hawksworth (Yorkshire Nottinghamshire). The Yorkshire placename derives from the Old English personal name Hafoc (genitive Hafoces) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ while the Nottinghamshire placename probably comes from the Old English personal name Hōc (genitive Hōces) + Old English worth; the form of the placename appears to have been altered under influence from Middle English hauk ‘hawk’. Compare Hawk 3 and Hawksley.
Hemsworth : English (Yorkshire): habitational name from any of the places called Hemsworth (Yorkshire Derbyshire Dorset) but primarily the one in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire placename derives from an Old English personal name Hymel (genitive Hymeles) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ while the Derbyshire placename probably derives from the Old English personal name Hemele (genitive Hemeles) + Old English worth. The Dorset placename comes from an Old English personal name Hemede (genitive Hemedes) + Old English worth.
Hendry : Scottish (central and northeast Scotland) and English: variant of Henry with intrusive d. In Scotland this surname is common in the Ayrshire and Fife districts. In northern Ireland it usually comes from the Scottish variant Hendrie though some examples of the name may be from the Irish name at Henry 3.
Henington : English: habitational name from any of the three places called Hannington (in Hampshire Wiltshire and Northamptonshire). The Hampshire and Northamptonshire placenames derive from the Old English personal name Hana + Old English connective -ing- + tūn ‘farmstead estate’ while the Wiltshire placename probably comes from the Old English personal name Hana (genitive Hanan) or Old English hana ‘cock’ (genitive plural hanena) + dūn ‘hill’.
Hennington : English: habitational name from any of the three places called Hannington (Hampshire Wiltshire and Northamptonshire). The Hampshire and Northamptonshire placenames derive from the Old English personal name Hana + Old English connective -ing- + tūn ‘farmstead estate’ while the Wiltshire placename probably comes from the Old English personal name Hana (genitive Hanan) or Old English hana ‘cock’ (genitive plural hanena) + dūn ‘hill’.
Hepworth : English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name primarily from Hepworth (Yorkshire) or less likely from the place so named in Suffolk. The Yorkshire placename derives from an Old English personal name Heppa + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ while the Suffolk placename comes from Old English hēope ‘rose hip’ or hēopa ‘dog rose bramble’ + worth.
Herridge : English (southern): habitational name from Herridges in Pauntley (Gloucestershire) or Highridge in King's Nympton (Devon). The Gloucestershire placename may derive from Old English (ge)hæg ‘fence enclosure’ + hrycg ‘ridge’ or while the Devon placename comes from an uncertain initial element + Old English hrycg.
Hesley : English: habitational name from Hesley Hall in Harworth (Nottinghamshire) or Hesley Hall in Ecclesfield (Yorkshire). The Nottinghamshire placename derives from Old English hæsel ‘hazel’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ while the Yorkshire placename comes from Old Norse hestr ‘horse stallion’ + Old English lēah.
Hinkson : English: habitational name from Hingston in Bigbury or Hingston Down in Moretonhampstead (both Devon). Hinxton (Cambridgeshire) is a possible alternative source for the surname in eastern England. Hingston in Bigbury derives from Old English hind ‘hind female deer’ + stān ‘stone’ while Hingston Down in Moretonhampstead comes from Old English hengest ‘horse stallion’ + dūn ‘hill’. Hinxton (Cambridgeshire) derives either from Old English hengest or the Old English personal name Hengest + Old English connective -ing- + tūn ‘farmstead estate’.
Holton : 1: English: habitational name from any of various places called Holton such as those in Oxfordshire Suffolk Dorset and Somerset. The Oxfordshire and Somerset placenames derive from Old English halh ‘nook corner of land’ + tūn ‘farmstead estate’ while the Suffolk placename comes from the Old English personal name Hōla + tūn. The Dorset placename derives from Old English hol ‘hole hollow’ or holt ‘wood grove thicket’ + tūn.2: Irish: altered form of O'Haltahan an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hUltacháin ‘descendant of Ultachán’ a diminutive of Ultach ‘Ulsterman’. This is a rare Fermanagh surname sometimes Anglicized as Nolan.
Horrell : English (Devon):: 1: variant of Harrell.2: habitational name from Horrel in Werrington (Devon) or perhaps Horrells in Dunchideock (Devon). Horrel in Werrington derives from Old English horh ‘dirt’ + hol ‘hole hollow’ while Horrells in Dunchideock comes from Old English horh + wella ‘well spring stream’.
Horwood : English: habitational name from Horwood (Buckinghamshire) Horwood (Devon) or Horwood Barton in Frithelstock (Devon) or from some other minor place so named. Horwood (Buckinghamshire) and Horwood Barton (Devon) derive from Old English horh ‘dirt filth’ + wudu ‘wood’ while Horwood Barton (Devon) probably comes from Old English hār ‘gray’ + wudu.
Howe : 1: English: topographic name pronounced to rhyme with hoe who or how from Middle English hoʒe ‘spur of a hill steep ridge or slight rise’. Hoʒe comes from a late variant hōge of the dative case of the Old English root word hōh literally ‘heel (of a person) or hock (of an animal)’ a common placename element. The regular Old English dative singular hō is the source of the placenames Hoo and Hoe and the surname may also be habitational name from a placename consisting of this word for example Hoe (Norfolk) Hoo (Kent) Hooe (Devon Sussex) or either of two places called The Hoo in Great Gaddesden and Saint Paul's Walden (Hertfordshire). Hose (Leicestershire) comes from the plural form of the word (see Howes). Howe may also be from Old Norse haugr ‘mound hill’ for without other evidence this cannot be distinguished from howe ‘spur of a hill’ and is certainly the origin of Howe (Norfolk) and Howe Hill in Kirkburn (East Yorkshire). See also Hough.2: English: variant of Hugh pronounced to rhyme with who or how.3: Americanized form of one or more similar (like-sounding) Jewish surnames.4: Americanized form of Norwegian Hove.5: Irish: variant of Haugh.6: Irish: variant of Hoey.7: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 侯 see Hou 1.8: Chinese: possibly from Cantonese form of the Chinese names 豪 (meaning ‘heroic’) or 浩 (meaning ‘vast’) or 昊 (meaning ‘extensive and limitless’) which were monosyllabic personal names or part of disyllabic personal names of some early Chinese immigrants in the US.
Howick : English: habitational name from Howick Farm in Lodsworth (Sussex) Howick Farm in Rudgwick (Sussex) or less probably Howick (Northumberland). The Sussex placenames derive from Old English hōh ‘heel spur of land’ + wīc ‘dwelling specialized farmstead’ while the Northumberland placename comes from an uncertain first element + Old English wīc.
Howley : 1: English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Howley in Warrington (Lancashire) or Howley in Morley (Yorkshire). The Lancashire name also appears as Hooley and Wholey while the Yorkshire placename comes from Old English hōfe ‘ground ivy’ + lēah.2: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hUallaigh ‘descendant of Uallach’ a personal name or byname from úallach ‘proud boastful’. Compare Houlihan.
Hubby : 1: English (Middlesex): probably a variant of Huby a habitational name from Huby (North Yorkshire) or Huby in Weeton (Yorkshire). The North Yorkshire placename derives from Old English hōh ‘heel spur of land’ + Old Norse bȳ ‘farmstead village’ while the Yorkshire placename comes from the personal name Hugh (see Hugh) + Old Norse bȳ.2: Possibly an altered form of German Hubbe a short form of Hubert. In the US it is found mainly in TX and IN.
Hunton : English: habitational name either from Hunton (North Yorkshire) or from Hunton (Hampshire). The Yorkshire placename derives from the Old English personal name Hūna + Old English tūn ‘farmstead estate’ while the Hampshire placename comes from Old English hund ‘hound’ (genitive plural hunda) + tūn ‘farmstead estate’. There is another place called Hunton in Kent but it is unknown if it produced a surname.
Hurston : English: habitational name from Hurston in Chagford (Devon) Hurston in Whitestone (Devon) or Hurston in Storrington (Sussex). The Chagford placename derives from Old English heorot ‘hart stag’ (genitive heor(o)tes) + tūn ‘farmstead estate’ while the Whitestone placename comes from Old English heorot ‘hart stag’ (genitive heor(o)tes) + thorn ‘thorn tree’. The Storrington placename derives from Old English hyrst ‘hillock copse wooded hill’ + tūn.
Imran : Muslim (mainly the Indian subcontinent): from the Arabic personal name ʿImrān ‘prosperity state of being well-inhabited’. Like Omar it comes from an Arabic root ʿ-m-r with the sense of ‘life growth’. In the Koran this name is borne by the father of Maryam mother of ʿIsa (i.e. Mary mother of Jesus). Compare Omran.
Iwata : Japanese: written 岩田 ‘stony rice paddy’. One family comes from Iwata-mura in Chichibu-gun Musashi (now part of western Tokyo). Another family is descended from the Sugawara family of Chikugo (now part of Saga prefecture).
Kehinde : West African (Nigeria): from the Yoruba personal name Ké̩hìndé a shortened form of kó è̩hìn dé ‘(he or she) who comes last’ a circumstance name traditionally bestowed on the younger of twins.
Kola : 1: Albanian: from Kolë (definite form Kola) a short form of the personal name Nikollë (see Nicholas). This is one of the most common surnames in Albania.2: Polish (Koła): from a pet form of the personal name Mikołaj the Polish form of Nicholas.3: Indian (Madhya Pradesh Odisha Andhra Pradesh): ethnic name from a word that was used as a blanket term for tribes who were originally huntsmen. Possibly the name comes from Mundari kula which means ‘tiger’.4: East African (Kenya): unexplained.
Kutscher : German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a coachman or coach builder from a derivative of the 16th-century Hungarian loanword kocsi ‘coach’ German Kutsche. The German -u- vowel comes from Slavic (Polish kucer). Compare Cutcher.
Leiner : 4: Jewish (western Ashkenazic): name taken by someone who was good at chanting the Pentateuch at public worship in the synagogue or who regularly did so from West Yiddish layner ‘reader’ (a derivative of West Yiddish laynen ‘to read’ which comes ultimately from Latin legere ‘to read’).5: Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a flax grower or merchant from German Lein ‘flax’ + agent suffix -er.1: German: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Leina Leinau.2: German: derivative of Lein 1.3: German: in some cases an occupational name from Middle High German līner ‘rider on a towpath along a ship-canal’.
Mapa : 1: Hispanic (Philippines) and Portuguese: nickname from Spanish and Portuguese mapa ‘map’ or from its old meaning ‘place where something comes from’.2: Indian (Gujarat): from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘measure’ referring to the occupation of measuring corn in earlier times.
Matsukawa : Japanese: written 松川 ‘pine tree river’. More frequent in western Japan the original surname comes from a village in Iwaki (now Fukushima-ken).
McCary : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Fhearadhaigh ‘son of Fearadhach’ a personal name meaning ‘manly’. The f is silent and the C comes from the final consonant of mac. Compare McGarry from Mag Fhearadhaigh.
McIndeor : from Mac an Deoraidh ‘son of the stranger’ or ‘pilgrim’ (Gaelic deoradh ‘pilgrim’; 'custodian of a saint's relic') pronounced /makən'dʒori:/ or from a form omitting the definite article an as in McJury whence the variants Majury McGeorge. The association with the personal name George comes late. Compare Dewar and Doran.
Mizutani : Japanese: written 水谷 ‘water valley’. Found in Okinawa and the eastern seaboard the surname comes from a village in Iwaki (now Fukushima-ken). Some descend from the Ashikaga. It is often pronounced Mizuya in eastern Japan.
Nagashima : Japanese: written 長島 or 永島 ‘long island’; both are found in eastern Japan. The surname comes from a placename in Shimotsuke (now Tochigi-ken).
Nares : 2: English (of Norman origin): from Anglo-Norman French neir ‘black’ with the post-medieval addition of excrescent -s.1: Spanish: short form of Henares a topographic name from the name of a tributary of the river Jarama which begins in Guadalajara and runs through this province and Madrid. It is part of several places names such as Alcalá de Henares. The name comes from henar ‘hayfield’.
Narita : Japanese: written 成田 ‘become’ and ‘rice paddy’. Found in northeastern Japan the surname comes from a village in Shimōsa (now Chiba prefecture) which is now the location of Narita International Airport. Some bearers descend from the northern Fujiwara others from the Seiwa Genji.
Newnam : English: habitational name of the same etymology as Newham. The middle -n- comes from the oblique case nīwan originally used after a preposition. There are places called Newnham in Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Gloucestershire Hampshire Hertfordshire Kent Northamptonshire Oxfordshire Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
Numa : 1: French West Indian (mainly Haiti) and Mauritian: from the personal name Numa borne by the legendary second king of Rome successor of Romulus. This surname is rare in France. In the US it is mainly of Haitian origin.2: Japanese: written 沼 ‘marsh’. It is an ancient name but not common in Japan. It comes from the tiny island of Nushima near Awaji Island.
Okimoto : Japanese: written 沖本 ‘(one who comes) from the open sea’. It is mainly found in western Japan.
Patalano : Italian: perhaps an altered form of Catalano. This surname comes from the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples.
Patel : Indian (Gujarat Maharashtra Karnataka): status name meaning ‘village headman’ pəṭel in Gujarati and Marathi paṭēla in Kannada. It comes ultimately from Sanskrit paṭṭakila ‘tenant of royal land’. It is the most common surname among Indians immigrants to the US.
Pluckrose : from Middle English plukken‘to pull’ + rose ‘rose’. Compare John Pullerose 1296 in Subsidy Rolls (Sussex) and William Pullerose 1301 in Subsidy Rolls (Yorks). According to Patronymica Britannica the medieval practice of holding lands by the annual rent of a rose survived into the 19th century: ‘A friend of mine holds a landed property on the borders of Ashdown Forest Sussex part of the Duchy of Lancaster by one red rose. On the front of a farm-house belonging to him is a large rose tree to which the reeve of the manor periodically comes and either plucking or pulling a flower sticks it into his button-hole and walks off.’
Ruddell : 1: English: habitational name from Ruddle in Newnham (Gloucestershire) or Rudhall in Ross (Herefordshire). The Gloucestershire placename may derive from Old English hrēod ‘reed’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ though an error due to confusion with the Gloucestershire placename Rodley may mean that the second element comes from Old English hyll ‘hill’. The Herefordshire placename derives from Old English halh ‘nook corner of land’ with an uncertain first element perhaps the Old English plant-name rūde ‘rue’ or Middle English rud ‘marigold’.2: English: nickname from a diminutive of Middle English rud(de) ‘red’. Compare Rudd.3: English and Irish (Armagh): variant of Riddell.4: Probably also an altered form of German Rüdel (see Rudel).
Saley : 1: English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): variant of Sawley probably a habitational name from Sawley (Yorkshire) near Clitheroe in Lancashire since it was in this area that the modern name chiefly ramified. However Sawley near Ripon (Yorkshire) and Sawley (Derbyshire) also gave rise to surnames in the medieval period. The Yorkshire placenames derive from Old English salh ‘willow sallow’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ while the Derbyshire placename comes from Old English salh + hlāw ‘mound hill’. Compare Sall.2: French (northern): variant of Salley.3: Americanized form of Slovenian Šalej: from a pet form of the old personal name Šalamon (see Salamon) or a nickname from šaliti se ‘to joke to jest’. It is formed with the dialect diminutive suffix -ej.
Scifo : Italian (Sicily): habitational name from a place called Scifo in Ragusa province. The placename itself comes from the Sicilian word scifu ‘trough’.
Sheffield : English: habitational name principally from Sheffield (Yorkshire) but perhaps also from Sheffield Bottom in Burghfield (Berkshire) or Sheffield Park in Fletching (Sussex). The Yorkshire place takes its name from the river Sheaf itself from Old English scēath ‘boundary’ + Old English feld ‘open country’ while the Berkshire placename derives from Old English scēo ‘shelter’ + feld. The Sussex placename comes from Old English scēap ‘sheep’ + feld.
Sheldon : English: habitational name in most cases from Sheldon in Derbyshire but sometimes from Sheldon in Warwickshire or Devon or from Sheldon in Chippenham (Wiltshire). The Derbyshire place recorded in Domesday Book as Scelhadun probably takes its name from Old English scelf ‘rock ledge shelf’ + the placename Haddon itself from Old English hǣth ‘heath’ + dūn ‘hill’. The Warwickshire and Wiltshire placenames probably derive from Old English scelf + dūn while the Devon placename probably comes from Old English scelf + denu ‘valley’.
Shuttleworth : English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name mostly from one or other of three places called Shuttleworth in Lancashire though occasionally from Shuttleworth now Littleworth in Rossington (Yorkshire) or Shuttlewood in Bolsover (Derbyshire). The Lancashire and Yorkshire placenames derive from Old English scyt(t)els ‘bolt bar’ probably also meaning ‘something that can be barred or bolted’ + worth ‘enclosure’ while the Derbyshire placename comes from Old English scyt(t)els + wudu ‘wood’.
Sibson : English:: 1: habitational name from Sibson (Leicestershire) also known as Sibstone or Sipson in Harmondsworth (Middlesex). The Leicestershire placename probably derives from the Old English personal-name Sigeberht (genitive Sigeberhtes) + Old English dūn ‘hill’ while the Middlesex placename probably comes from the Old English personal name Sibwine (genitive Sibwines) + Old English tūn. Influence from (and confusion with) Middle English Sibbeson ‘Sibyl's son’ (see below) also seems likely.2: metronymic from Middle English Sibb a pet form of the female personal name Sibyl + -son. Compare Sibley.
Simpson : 1: Scottish (Lanarkshire) and English: patronymic from the Middle English and Older Scots personal name Sim(m) Sime (see Sim) + -son.2: English: occasionally a variant of Sumsion with unrounding of the vowel before the nasal consonant a dialect feature of southwestern England.3: English: habitational name from any of the three places called Simpson or one called Zemson all in Devon. The one in Holsworthy parish derives from an uncertain first element + Old English tūn ‘farmstead estate’ while the one in Diptford comes from the Old English personal name Sigewine (genitive Sigewines) + Old English tūn. Both the one in Torbryan and Zempson in Dean Prior probably also have the same origin as the Diptford placename.
Skeen : 1: Scottish: habitational name from Skene (Aberdeenshire). A theory once popular with the Skene family is that the name derives from Gaelic sgian ‘knife’ but this has no foundation since early bearers of the name indicate that it comes from a placename. Another candidate is Gaelic sceathan ‘thorn bush’.2: Irish: variant of Skehan.
Smerdon : English (Devon): habitational name predominantly from Smeardon Down in Petertavy (Devon) though perhaps occasionally also from Smarden (Kent). The Devon placename derives from Old English smeoru ‘fat grease’ (probably used in allusion to rich pasturage) + dūn ‘hill’ while the Kent placename comes from Old English smeoru ‘fat grease’ + denn ‘pasture’.
Varney : English: of Norman origin a habitational name from a French place called Vernay probably chiefly Saint-Paul-de-Vernay (Calvados). The placename comes from a derivative of Gaulish verno- ‘alder’ + the locative suffix -acum.
Zahir : Muslim:: 1: from a personal name based on Arabic ẓāhir ‘knowing’ or ‘clear evident’. However the popularity of this name comes at least in part from the epithet of the famous Sultan of Egypt Baybars al-Malik al-Ẓāhir and in that collocation ẓāhir is generally glossed as ‘victorious’ (al-Ẓāhir ‘the victorious king’). Compare Zaher Dahir and Daher.2: from a personal name based on Arabic zāhir ‘bright radiant blooming’.3: from a personal name based on Arabic ẓahīr ‘helper supporter’. Compare Zaheer.
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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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