Origin
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).
Absalom : English and Welsh (mainly southern): from the Old Testament Hebrew personal name Abshalom ‘father of peace’. In the Middle Ages this was occasionally used as a personal name in France from where it was introduced to England after the Norman Conquest. During the 17th century through the influence of the King James Bible and due to the popularity of the Biblical story of Absalom the adored but rebellious son of King David in the King James Bible (II Samuel 13-19) Absalom became the standard vernacular English form of the personal name and hence the source of this surname.
Agnew : 1: Scottish and English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Agneaux in La Manche France. A family called Agnew was granted the hereditary post of sheriff of Galloway by King David II (1329–1371).2: English (of Norman origin): from Anglo-Norman French aignel aignau ‘lamb’ (Old French agneau agnelle).3: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Gnímh ‘descendant of Gníomh’ a byname meaning ‘action’ or ‘activity’. The Ó Gnímhs were hereditary poets to a branch of the O'Neills; in this family the traditional pronunciation is with the stress on the second syllable.4: American shortened and altered form of Greek Anagnostopoulos.
Assaf : 1: Jewish (Israeli): from the Biblical name Asaph ‘he collected/gathered’ borne by a counselor of King David and King Solomon to whom authorship of twelve of the Psalms is attributed (1 Chronicles 16:4–5; Psalms 50 73–83).2: Arabic (mainly Egypt and the Levant): from the personal name Āṣaf of Hebrew origin (see 1 above). As the name of Suleiman's (i.e. Solomon's) grand wazir it came to be used proverbially as a name for any wise counselor. This surname is found among both Muslims and Christians.
Barad : 1: Indian (Gujarat): Brahmin name of unexplained etymology.2: Indian (Punjab): variant of Brar.3: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of the Hebrew patronymic phrase Ben Rabi David ‘son of Rabbi David’.
Butfield : reduced form of Butterfield. Compare Simon Butfield 1656 Simon Butterfield 1721 in IGI (Leighton Buzzard Beds); Sarah Butterfield 1740 Martha Butfield 1742 in IGI (Ivinghoe Bucks); David Butterfield 1769 Joseph Butfield 1780 in IGI (Whitehaven Cumb).
Capey : 1: altered form of Capel of which Capewell was also a variant. Tooth 2 p. 102 cites Margaret Capel (1641) David Capewell (1662) alias Caper (1662) alias Capie (1664) from the parish registers of Norton in the Moors (Staffs). With the 1632 bearer below from Whichford (Warwicks) compare Francis Capill 1667 in IGI (Brailes Warwicks); Brailes is the adjacent parish. 2: perhaps from Cappy (Somme) in Picardy. The lack of medieval spellings with a preposition leaves room for some doubt but the surname is well attested in Picardy for example by Jehane de Capi 1289 in the Arras Nécrologie.
Daborn : denoting ‘child of Daw’ from the Middle English personal name Daw (a pet form of Ralph and occasionally David) + Middle English barn ‘child young man’. Compare Dawes Dawson.
Dakin : English: variant of Dawkin a pet form of the personal name Daw + the diminutive suffix -kin. The name mostly denoted someone known as ‘little or young Ralph’ or perhaps occasionally ‘little or young David’. Ralph was much commoner than David as a personal name in most parts of medieval England. The -kin suffix may have been used to distinguish a son from a father bearing the same personal name.
Dayman : 1: from the Middle English personal name Dayman. It may be from an Old English *Dægmann perhaps a pet form of names in Dæg- ‘day’ or else a transferred use of the word in (ii) similar in usage to Old English Flotmann ‘sailor’ and Glīwmann ‘minstrel’. Alternatively it may be a pet form of the Middle English personal name Day to which the hypocoristic suffix -man has been added. Day is sometimes a short form of David but is also a 14th-century variant of Daw a rhyming pet form of Ralph; compare Gilbertus Dawman 1379 in Poll Tax (Sedgeford Norfolk) and Willelmus Dawman' 1379 in Poll Tax (Humberton WR Yorks). See Day and Daw and for the suffix see Bateman Hickman Human Pateman Potman. Some of the following early bearers may alternatively belong under (2).perhaps for dairyman from Middle English daie ‘man in charge of dairy cattle’ + man ‘servant worker’. The addition of -man seems unnecessary if it synonymous with daie but the definite article in the 1332 example indicates that in this case at least a Middle English noun is the source rather than a personal name.‘servant of a man named Day’. 2: see Diamond. For some possible early bearers see also (1). 3: from Middle English Dame An(n)e ‘Lady Anne’ probably a pet form of Annes (Agnes). Compare Johanne Dameanneys 1381 in Poll Tax (Lechlade Gloucs). The bearer of the surname may have been a son or servant of Lady Anne. Whether this became a hereditary surname is unknown.
Daymon : English (Cornwall): from a variant of the Middle English personal name Dayman which has a number of explanations. It may be from an Old English Dægmann perhaps a pet form of names in Dæg- ‘day’. Alternatively the name may be a pet form of the Middle English personal name Day to which the hypocoristic suffix -man has been added. Day is sometimes a short form of David but is also a 14th-century variant of Daw a rhyming pet form of Ralph. The name may also be an occupational name for a dairyman from Middle English daie ‘man in charge of dairy cattle’ + man ‘servant worker’ similar in usage to Old English Flotmann ‘sailor’; or an occupational name for a ‘servant of a man named Day’. Daymon is also a variant of Diamond. This form of the surname is now rare in Britain.
Dovener : perhaps a variant of Devonald (from the Welsh personal name Dyfnallt) which has anglicized forms like Davonell Daven(h)all and Davenor. Welsh pronunciation with /ʌ/ is attested in the names of David Dovenallt and Sarah Dovenallt in Census 1841 (Saint Dogwells Pembrokes) where the first part of the name is spelled like the English word dove. In N Wales this may have given rise to an English pronunciation Dovener which first appears in 17th-century Cheshire. Its appearance in NR Yorks by the middle of that century is more surprising and the Yorks name may have a different but unknown origin.
Drawer : from an agent derivative of Middle English drauen ‘to draw pull tug’ (Old English dragan) used to denote someone who draws in any of various senses; compare for example Roger le wirdragher ‘wire drawer’ 1313 in York Freemen's Register Richard le Pakkedrawere ‘(wool)pack carrier’ 1332 in Subsidy Rolls (London); Alan de Wifestow mukdragher ‘muck carter’ or possibly ‘scavenger’ 1340 in York Freemen's Register; Elias Wyndrawer ‘wine drawer’ 1373 in London Pleas; David Tothedrawer ‘tooth drawer’ 1422 in London Pleas.
Eddowes : apparently a variant of Edowe + post-medieval excrescent -s but the origin of Edowe is obscure. It might have arisen from an English misinterpretation of Welsh Beddow as ap Eddow on the model of Welsh surname variations like Evan and Bevan. It occurs only after the medieval period of surname formation: Thomas Edowe 1595 in IGI (Manchester Lancs); Rowland Edow 1603 Jane Eddowe 1605 Richard Edo 1697 in IGI (Nuneaton Warwicks); Jane Edo 1604 William Edoe 1612 in IGI (Mancetter Warwicks); David Edow 1612 in IGI (Chester Cheshire). Variation with -s-forms is rare but includes John Edowes 1609 Elinor Edowe 1613 in IGI (Holborn Middx) Randall Eddow 1626 Richard Eddows 1635 in IGI (Malpas Cheshire) and Ran. Eddow 1652 Roger Eddows 1678 in IGI (Whitchurch Shrops). Potential evidence for variation with Beddow(s) in the same parishes is also difficult to find: Randull Eddowes 1656 John Beddow 1673 Eleanor Beddows 1741 in IGI (Malpas Cheshire); Raphe Edowes 1656 Edward Beddoes 1729 in IGI (Oswestry Shrops). In these instances Eddow(s) always appears earlier than Beddow(s) and the two names may originally have had nothing to do with each other.an alternative possibility is that Edowe was back-formed from Edowes in which case Edowes would be a variant of Edis from the Middle English female personal name Edus. Compare Edusecros about 1301 in Place-Names of Cheshire 1 p. 124 recorded in Macclesfield where (no doubt coincidentally) the surname Eddows appears some 400 years later. For this name in East Anglia and the London area see also Edhouse.
Fisken : from the Middle Dutch personal name Friesekin a pet form of Continental Germanic names beginning in Fris- (‘Frisian’). The first known bearer of the personal name in Scotland was Freskyn of Moray said by Black to have acquired lands in Moray (Murray) from David I after he suppressed an insurrection there in 1130. As a surname Friskin became Firskin by metathesis and subsequently lost the /r/ before the following /s/ hence the modern forms Fisken and Fiskin.
Glean : from Middle English glene glein ‘head of a cereal grain bundle of cereal heads sheaf’ for someone who grew or sold cereals. The surname may have been confused with Glen; compare Mary Glean 1703 Major Glen 1733 in IGI (Candlesby Lincs); David Glean 1729 Mary Glen 1733 in IGI (Horncastle Lincs).
Goulbourne : English (Lancashire): habitational name from Golborne (Lancashire) Golborne David in Handley (Cheshire) or Golborne Bellow in Tattenhall (Cheshire).
Hanmer : 1: Welsh: habitational name from Hanmer (Flintshire) named with the Old English personal name Hagena + Old English mere ‘lake pond’. A daughter of Sir David Hanmer a Welsh judge in the 14th century was married to the Welsh ruler Owen Glendower who led the revolt against Henry IV's rule in Wales.2: English: habitational name from Anmer (Norfolk) from Old English æned ‘duck’ + mere ‘lake pond’.
Heague : variant of Hague itself a variant of Haigh. Compare Isabel Hague 1692 Jonathan Heague 1701 in IGI (Hartshead WR Yorks); David Hague 1723 Thomas Heague 1736 in IGI (Ladykirk Berwicks); Joseph Hague 1784 Joseph Heague 1789 in IGI (Bromsgrove Worcs).
Inkin : variant of Hinkin (see Henkin) with loss of H-. Compare David Hinkin 1849 Mary Inkin 1860 in IGI (Rhymney Monmouths).
Jesse : 1: North German: from a short form of the personal name Jesper a Low German form of Kaspar an equivalent of Casper.2: North German: variant of Jess.3: South German: from a shortened form of the personal name Johannes (see John).4: English: from a pet form of the Middle English personal name Jessup a variant of Joseph. Pronunciation of the English surname as two syllables is the result of confusion of the written form of this name with the Biblical personal name Jesse (meaning ‘gift’ in Hebrew) the name of the father of King David (I Samuel 16).5: French: variant of Gesse from gesse ‘vetchling’ a metonymic occupational name for a grower of vetchling (a kind of edible plant formerly grown for its medicinal properties) or a topographic name for someone living in a place where such plants grew in abundance. This surname is rare in France.
Jonathan : English Welsh and Jewish: from the Biblical name Jonathan meaning ‘God has given’ in Hebrew. In the Bible this is the name of a son of King Saul the close friend of the young David whose friendship persisted even when Saul and David are themselves at loggerheads (1 Samuel 31; 2 Samuel 1:19–26). In Britain the name is often traceable to Wales and within England it seems rarely if ever to be unambiguously Jewish. The name Jonathan is also found among Christians in southern India but 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.
Lymburn : reduced form of Lymburner as apparently illustrated in Elizabeth Lymburner 1749 Anna Lymburn 1754 David Lymburn 1791 in IGI (Stewarton Ayrs).
Megson : ‘son of Megg’ a short form of Margery or Margaret. It is interchangeable with the synonymous Magson as in John Magson 1659 David Megson 1724 in IGI (Luddenden WR Yorks).
Morphey : probably a reduced or altered form of Morfield or Murfield; see Merrifield a name found in various spellings in Cornwall Devon Wilts Hants Sussex Surrey and Kent. This is the perhaps the most likely source of the earliest examples in S and SW England but see (ii) for another source which seems to have arisen from the late 17th century onwards leading to possible confusion between names originally with -field and those originally with -foot. Compare the Stepney and the Saint Giles Cripplegate examples cited below with Susan Morefield 1611 Richard Morefield 1647 David Morfoot 1681 in IGI (Stepney Middx) and Thomas Morefield 1673 in IGI (Saint Giles Cripplegate London) although these could be different family names coinciding in the same parishes. With the Suffolk examples of Morphew etc. compare John Morfull 1547 in IGI (Woodbridge Suffolk).variant of Morfett (see Moorfoot). In Sussex and Kent this is illustrated by Dennis Morefoote 1551 Sarah Morfet 1696 Thomas Morfey 1759 in IGI (Wartling Sussex); Thomas Morfoot 1672 Thomas Morfee 1700 Thomas Morfett 1734 Zabulon Morphey 1745 in IGI (Hastings Sussex); Elizabeth Morfett 1745 Jeremiah Morphett 1758 John Morphey 1798 in IGI (Cranbrook Kent); Thos. Morfew 1747 Thomas Morfet 1755 Thomas Morfey 1750 in IGI (Guestling Sussex). A similar pattern of variation occurs in Norfolk: Walter Morefoote 1626 James Murfee 1687 Alexander Morfee 1701 Mary Morfew 1775 in IGI (Great Yarmouth Norfolk). There is early modern evidence for Murph(e)y as a variant of Morphey but 18th-century bearers listed below could alternatively belong with (iv).improbably from Anglo-Norman French morphé Middle English morphé morfe(e) morfeu morpheu murfue ‘morphea any one of a group of skin diseases characterized by discoloration of the skin and scurfy eruptions’. This is a medical term rather than an item of ordinary vocabulary from which a medieval nickname and surname might naturally have derived and the absence of corresponding medieval surname forms adds to the doubtfulness of such an origin. However the word was still current in early modern England and may have played a part in the alteration of the names in (i) and (ii) to Morphey and Morphew through learnéd folk etymology.see Irish Murphy.
Murray : 1: Scottish: habitational name from Moray in northeastern Scotland which derives from Celtic mori- ‘sea’ + treb- ‘settlement’. The founder of the Scottish house of Murray was a Fleming named Freskin who was granted Strathbrock in West Lothian and Duffus in Moray by David I. The family took its name from the region in the late 12th century.2: Irish and Scottish: shortened form of McMurray.3: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Muireadhaigh ‘descendant of Muireadhach’ a personal name meaning ‘mariner’. Occasionally it may be a shortened form of McMurray.4: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Mhuire ‘son of the servant (i.e. devotee) of Mary’. See also Gilmore.5: In some cases also an Americanized form of Arabic Merhi.
Riddell : Scottish and northern English: variant of Riddle. A family of the name Riddell has been established in Whitton in Roxburghshire since the mid 12th century when Walter de Riddel from Rydale (North Yorkshire) settled in Scotland after accompanying King David. Another unrelated family of this name have been established in Northumberland since at least the 14th century with William de Ridell having been sheriff of the county in 1314.
Saul : 1: English French German Italian and Jewish: from the personal name Saul (Hebrew Shaul ‘asked-for’) the name of the king of Israel whose story is recounted in the first book of Samuel. In spite of his success in uniting Israel and his military prowess Saul had a troubled reign not least because of his long conflict with the young David who eventually succeeded him. Perhaps for this reason the personal name was not particularly common in medieval times. A further disincentive to its popularity as a Christian name was the fact that it was the original name of Saint Paul borne by him while he was persecuting Christians and rejected by him after his conversion to Christianity. It may in part have arisen as a nickname for someone who had played the part of the Biblical king in a religious play.2: English: variant of Sall.3: English and Irish: variant of Sale 2.
Sneddon : Scottish: habitational name from the lands of Sneddon in Paisley (Renfrewshire) from Snawdon in Garvald and Barra (East Lothian) or perhaps from Snawdon near Thirlestane in Lauderdale (Berwickshire). Whichever placename is involved in the surname is ultimately from Old English snāw ‘snow’ + dūn ‘hill’ like the famous Snowdon in Wales. Those in Scotland may be independent coinings and literal descriptions of hills on which snow tended to lie long but Snowdoun or Snawdoun also belong to a group of Arthurian names popular in Scotland in the later Middle Ages and may have been applied as such in the names mentioned and also in the case of the lost Snadown by St. Andrews (Fife). Stirling was regarded as standing on the boundary of the ancient Scottish and British kingdoms with strong associations with King Arthur making it possible for King David II to claim to the chronicler Jean Froissart in 1365 that Stirling Castle was the Snowdon of King Arthur. It may be that the placename(s) supplying the surname allude to this potent mythology.
Somerville : 1: Scottish: of Norman origin a habitational name from Graveron-Sémerville in Eure (Normandy) from the ancient Germanic personal name Sigimar (see Siemer) + Old French ville ‘settlement’. The surname was taken from England to Scotland in the 12th century by William de Somerville a retainer of David Earl of Huntingdon who became King David I of Scotland.2: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Somacháin (see Summers) or Mag Shamradháin (see Somers).
Swatton : 1: from Swaton (Lincs) which is recorded as Suavetone in 1086. The place-name probably derives from the Old Scandinavian personal name Sváfi + Old English tūn ‘farmstead estate’. 2: possibly a late variant of Sweeting found in 14th- and 16th-century Wilts but the following early bearers may alternatively belong under (1). The names may have been confused. Compare John Swayton 1581 David Sweeting 1638 in IGI (Faversham Kent).
Zion : Jewish: artificial name from Hebrew tsion ‘(Mount) Zion’ the hill in Jerusalem on which the city of David was built or from the male personal name derived from the name of the hill. Compare Sion.
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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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