Origin
Down : 1: English (Devon): topographic name for someone who lived on or near a down or low hill from Middle English dun(e) doun(e) (Old English dūn) ‘down low hill’. See also Downer.2: English (Devon): possibly in some cases a patronymic from the Old English personal name Dūn but later names of this origin cannot reliably be distinguished from those originating from the topographic sense. See Dunn 2.
Abner : 1: English: from a Biblical personal name meaning in Hebrew ‘God is (my) light’ which was popular among the Puritans especially among early settlers in New England but also in the southern states. In the First and Second Books of Samuel Abner is Saul's uncle and the commander of his army who is eventually cut down by Joab (II Samuel 3:12–39). This surname is very rare in Britain.2: Probably also an Americanized form of German Ebner.
Aguado : Spanish: apparently a nickname from aguado ‘watered down diluted’.
Ajala : West African (Nigeria): from the Yoruba personal name Àjàlá a praise name understood in Yoruba as meaning ‘one destined to fight and wear down his opponent’. The element à forms abstract nouns from verb phrases.
Ashelford : English: habitational name from Ashelford in East Down in Devon which is recorded as Assele(s)worth in the 13th century and Aishelford in 1672. The placename derives from the Old English personal name Æscel + worth ‘enclosure curtilage’ with later replacement of -worth by the more familiar -ford. See also Astleford.
Bambridge : from a Middle English *bem-briğğe ‘tree-bridge’ i.e. one formed by a felled tree or made of wooden beams or from a place called this such as Beambridge in Worleston (Cheshire) which is recorded as le Bembrugg in 1302–6 and Beam Bridge and Dagenham Beam Bridge both in Dagenham (Essex) the latter being recorded in the 13th century as pontem voc. Dagenham Beem. Compare Beam Trowbridge Bamford and the place-names Thelbridge (Devon) Elbridge (Shrops).in NE England a variant of Bainbridge.in Ireland possibly from Banbridge Co Down.
Bannerton : of uncertain origin; possibly a variant of Bannatyne although De Bhulbh says the distribution of this spelling in Ballinasloe and Galway is very different from that of Bannatyne which is found in Belfast and Down brought from Arran and Bute. However respelling of names from Britain is quite common in Ireland.
Bettle : English (Bedfordshire):: 1: nickname from Middle English betel ‘mallet’ (Anglian Old English bētel West Saxon bītel bȳtel) perhaps denoting a maker or user of a beetle (a kind of mallet used for driving in wedges ramming down paving stones etc.).2: in some cases perhaps a nickname from Middle English bitel ‘sharp’.
Bodmer : Swiss German:: 1: topographic name for someone who dwelt in a valley bottom from Middle High German bodem ‘floor bottom’ or a habitational name for someone from Bodmen near Zurich or Bodman on Lake Constance Germany.2: occupational name for someone who put down floors from the same word as 1 above.
Brantley : Americanized form of Swiss German Brändli or South German and Swiss German Brändle: topographic name for someone who lived near a place where there had been a forest fire or in an area of town that had burned down.
Bredin : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Bhrídín the name of a family related to Mac Giolla Bhrighde ‘son of the servant of (Saint) Brigit’ where Brídín is a diminutive of the saint's name (see McBride). This name was once found in an ecclesiastical family in County Down but it has not survived in Ireland.
Burkett : 1: English: from an Old English personal name Burgheard composed of the elements burh burg ‘fort’ (see Burke) + heard ‘hardy brave strong’. The name was reintroduced into Middle English by the Normans in the forms Bou(r)chart Bocard.2: English: possibly also from a Middle English personal name Burcard Burchard (Norman Burcard Old French Burchard) which was imported by the Normans and derives from ancient Germanic Burghard (in the form Burkhard this was a very popular medieval German name; see Burkhart) cognate with the Old English name above. In France this gives rise to the surname Bouchard Bouchart but evidence for its use in Norman England is difficult to pin down and modern surnames in Burch- often have a different origin altogether.3: English: variant of Birkett a spelling commonly found in northern England.4: Americanized form of German Burkhart.
Caul : 1: English: variant of Call.2: Irish (Wexford Down Donegal): shortened form of McCaul (see McCall).
Chalk : English (Hampshire and Wiltshire): habitational name from Bower Chalke or Broad Chalke (Wiltshire) or Chalk (Kent) or occasionally a topographic name from residence on or near a chalk down from Old English cealc ‘chalk’ here ‘chalky soil’ or an Old English cealce ‘chalk down’.
Chesney : 1: Scottish and Irish (Antrim Down): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac (an) tSasanaigh see McChesney.2: English (of Norman origin): variant of Chaney a cognate of 3 below.3: French: topographic name for someone who lived by or in an oak wood from Old French chesnai ‘oak grove’ (from chesne ‘oak’). Compare Cheney 2.
Chessell : either from Chesthill a lost place in Moreton Say and Stoke upon Tern (Shrops) or from Chessell Freshwater (IoW). Both place-names are spelled as Chesthull in medieval records but the Shrops name is thought to refer to a hill (Old English hyll) where parish boundaries were disputed (the first element is Old English ceast ‘strife contention’) whereas the IoW name refers to a hill where burial chests or coffins were found (the first element is Old English cest ‘chest’) probably referring to the 6th-century pagan cemetery on Chessell Down.
Chunara : from Gujarati chunara ‘lime-manufacturer’ (agentive noun from chuna ‘lime’). According to local tradition the Chunaras were originally Rajputs who migrated from Rajasthan to Gujarat and joined the army of the Gaekwar of Baroda before settling down in trade.
Chylinski : Polish (Chyliński): habitational name for someone from Chylin in Lublin Masovian and Greater Poland voivodeships or Chyliny in Masovian and Podlaskie voivodeships named with the nickname Chyła (from chylić się ‘to bow down to slope to droop’). Compare Hilinski.
Clingan : Scottish (Kirkcudbrightshire) and Irish (Fermanagh Down): shortened form of Mac Clingan an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gilla Fhinnéin ‘son of the servant of (Saint) Finnian’ also Anglicized as Mac Alingen.
Cloughley : of uncertain origin: possibly a reduced form of an unidentified Irish surname in Mac-. Woulfe gives Mac Claochlaoich as a variant or corruption of Mac Caochlaoich or Mac Caochfhile (anglicized as Kehelly and Coakley in West Cork) which is phonetically suitable for Cloughley but a long way from County Down.
Coey : 1: English: variant of Coy.2: Irish (Antrim and Down): from Mac Cumhaighe see McCooey.
Coltrane : Irish (northern): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coltaráin a surname associated with County Down.
Copeland : English and Scottish: habitational name from Copeland in Cumbria or Coupland in Northumberland both named with Old Norse kaupa-land ‘bought land’ a feature worthy of note during the early Middle Ages when land was rarely sold but rather held by feudal tenure and handed down from one generation to the next.
Costley : Irish (Offaly and Down): variant of Costello.
Cowan : 1: Scottish and Manx: shortened form of McOwen and McKeown. See also McEwen.2: Sottish and Manx: from a shortened form of Irish Ó Comhdhain and Mac Comhdhain ‘descendant or son of Comhdan’ or Gaelic Mac Comhghain ‘son of Comhghan (‘the twin’). Pronounced to rhyme with Owen the name sometimes appears as Coan and Cohen in Down and has been used interchangeably with Irish Coyne in Connacht and McIlhone in Tyrone. In the Isle of Man the name is pronounced /'kauən/ (with Cow- as in English cow).3: Scottish and Manx: sometimes a variant of Colquhoun pronounced Cohoon in Scotland and Cahoon in Ulster.
Crockard : 1: variant of Crockett (1). 2: if not the Scottish name in (1) by migration then a variant of Cricket (also attested in Down) a reduced form of McCrickard alias McCrockard for which see Crockett (2).
Crothers : Irish (northern especially Down): variant of Scottish Carruthers.
Crummie : 2: English: variant of Crummey.1: Irish (Armagh and Down): variant of Crummey; Cromie.
Dalzell : Scottish: habitational name from a place in the Clyde valley recorded in 1200 in the forms Dalyell Daliel and in 1352 as Daleel apparently from Gaelic dail ‘field’ + g(h)eal ‘white’. The z in the spelling is not really a z at all; it represents Middle English ʒ and the pronunciation regardless of spelling was normally ‘Dee-ell’ or ‘Die-ell’ sometimes ‘Dal-yell’. Black quotes an ‘old Galloway rhyme’: ‘Deil (devil) and Da’yell begins with yae letter; Deil's nae gude and Da’yell's nae better’. Nowadays ‘Dal-zell’ and ‘Dal-zeel’ are also heard and are standard in North America. The name was introduced in the 17th century to Ireland (counties Louth and Down) where the normal spelling is Dalzell. The more common spelling Scotland is Dalziel.
Dardis : Irish (Westmeath): possibly a variant of French D'Artois a Norman habitational name for someone from Artois France. Woulfe however suggests this may be a habitational name from the Ards peninsula in County Down which was heavily settled by Normans.
Deng : Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 鄧: (i) from Deng (鄧) the name of a state (located in Dengxian in Henan province) granted to Man Ji uncle of Wu Ding (a king of the Shang dynasty; 1600–1046 BC). (ii) from Deng Bowen (鄧伯溫) head of an ancient state (located in present-day Shandong province) dating back to the reign of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (iii) from Deng (鄧) a fief (located in Hubei province) granted to descendants of Zhong Kang the 4th king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (iv) from Deng Cheng (鄧城 City of Deng) a town in the state of Cai (located in present-day Henan province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (v) from Deng (鄧) a title of Li Tianyi the 8th son of Li Yu (the last king of the state of Southern Tang (937–975 AD) during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960) periods). The state of Southern Tang was annexed by Emperor Taizong of Song (939–997 AD) in 975 AD and the royal families of South Tang were hunted down. Li Tianyi's son fled and changed the surname (Li) to Deng (鄧) his father's title.
Devaney : Irish:: 1: (Armagh and Down): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Duibheamhna from a personal name based on dubh ‘black’ + the genitive of Eamhain the Gaelic name of Navan fort County Armagh the legendary capital of Ulster.2: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Duibheanaigh ‘descendant of Duibheannach’ a personal name of uncertain origin; the first element is dubh ‘black’ the second may be eanach ‘marshy place’. The surname has become confused with Devane.
Ditcham : 1: perhaps from Ditchingham (Norfolk) with a reduction of Middle English Dichingeham to Dich(eh)am. This fits the modern distribution of the surname but early forms of the place-name showing the necessary reduction have not been found. The place-name denoted the homestead (Old English hām) of the Dicingas an Old English folk name meaning ‘the people of a man named Dic(c)a’ or ‘dwellers at the dyke or ditch’. Post-medieval bearers of the name may alternatively belong at (2) or (3). 2: see Detchon a NE England surname that had evidently migrated down the east coast to the port of Lynn by the early 16th century. The development to Ditcham is evidenced in 19th-century Northumb. 3: perhaps from Ditcham in Buriton (Hants) but after its possible attestation in late 13th-century E Sussex the surname seems to disappear from the records. The place-name may have denoted the homestead (Old English hām) of a man named Dic(c)a or a homestead near a ditch or dyke (Old English dīc).
Donnan : Irish (County Down): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Donnáin ‘descendant of Donnán’ a diminutive of donn ‘brown-haired man’ or ‘chieftain’. This surname is often confused with Doonan.
Dorian : 1: Irish (Donegal and Down): variant of Doran.2: Romanian: from a short form of the personal name Teodorian derived from Teodor Greek Theodōros (see Theodore).3: French: possibly a variant of Dorient patronymic with fused preposition d(e) ‘of’ from a personal name derived from Latin Orientius the name borne by a Christian Latin poet and martyr of the 5th century.4: Probably an Americanized form of Armenian Deroyan a variant of Derian.
Dorrian : Irish: County Down and Donegal variant of Doran.
Downer : 1: English (Isle of Wight Hampshire and Sussex): topographic name for someone who lived on a hill or down from Middle English douner a derivative of Middle English doun (Old English dūn) ‘hill’ + -er. It is synonymous with atte Doune (see Down) and is a type of formation especially common in Sussex Surrey and Hampshire.2: English: in the north-West Midlands perhaps a variant of Downward with shortening of the final syllable to -er a habitational name probably from Downwood (Herefordshire) and perhaps also Dunwood (Staffordshire) with -wood re-etymologized as -ward and occasionally shortened to -ard. See also Downard.3: Irish (Tipperary): variant of Dooner.
Dungate : probably chiefly from Danegate in Rotherfield (Sussex) recorded as Dounegate in 1428 Dengate in 1528 and Dungate in 1721. The name is attested much earlier as a surname in the adjacent parish of Wadhurst (Sussex) and in the neighbouring hundred of Brenchley (Kent); Brenchley itself is only six miles from Wadhurst. Downgate House in Wadhurst is recorded as Dungates in 1679 and may have been named from the family that lived there. An alternative source in eastern Kent is Dungate in Rodmersham but this is not recorded until 1591 as Dongate and one cannot altogether rule out the possibility that it was named from a branch of the Wadhurst family that had migrated there. The surname Dungate is recorded in the adjacent parish of Lynsted in 1578. The place-name derives from Middle English doun (Old English dūn) ‘hill down upland expanse’ + Middle English gate (Old English geat) ‘gateway)’. It may have named a feature that crossed from Rotherfield into Wadhurst.
Feather : 1: English: from Middle English fether fed(d)er ‘feather’ or perhaps a shortened form of Middle English fetherer applied as a metonymic occupational name for a trader in feathers and down a maker of quilts or possibly a maker of pens. Feathermongers are recorded from the 13th century onward.2: English: perhaps also a variant of Father from Middle English fader father feder fether (Old English fæder) ‘father’ often used to denote someone who exercised protecting care like that of a father.3: Native American: translation into English and shortening of a personal name based on a word such as Chippewa miigwan or Lakota Sioux wiyaka meaning ‘feather’. The great cultural significance of the eagle feathers to many Native American tribes is reflected in their traditional personal names many of which were adopted as surnames (translated into English) e.g. Red Feather (see Redfeather) and White Feather (see Whitefeather).4: Americanized form of German Feder.
Fiveash : English: probably a topographic name for someone who lived in a place distinguished by five ash trees from Middle English five ‘five’ + ashe ‘ash (tree)’. Five Ashes in Hadlow Down Sussex was so named around 1512.
Gelston : 1: English: habitational name from a place so named in Lincolnshire. The placename recorded in the Domesday book as Cheuelestune is probably from an Old Norse personal name Gjǫfull + Old English tūn ‘farmstead village’.2: Irish (Antrim and Down): it is possible that this name has been adopted as an Anglicized form of Irish Mac Giolla tSeanáin see Gilsenan.
Getty : Scottish (Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire) and Irish: habitational name from Dalgety a parish in Fife. This surname is found mainly in counties Antrim and Down and is Gaelicized in Ireland as Mag Eitigh.
Grennan : 1: English (Lancashire of Norman origin): nickname for a man with a moustache from Old French gernon grenon ‘moustache’.2: Irish (Offaly Westmeath and Down): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Grianáin (see Greenan).
Gribben : Manx and Irish (Antrim and Down): variant of Gribbin.
Guiney : Irish (Cork and Down): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Géibheannaigh ‘son of Géibheannach’ from géibheannach ‘fettered’. See also Keaveny. In counties Kerry and Cork the name may possibly be a corruption of Ó Géibheannaigh.
Haggan : Irish (Antrim and Down): variant of Hagan 1.
Harper : English (Staffordshire) Scottish Irish (Antrim and Down) and Dutch: occupational name for a player on the harp from Middle English harper(e) ‘harper’ (Old English hearpere) and Middle Dutch harper herper. The harper was one of the most important figures of a medieval baronial hall especially in Scotland and northern England and the office of harper was sometimes hereditary. The Scottish surname is probably an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Chruiteir ‘son of the harper’ (from Gaelic cruit ‘harp’ ‘stringed instrument’). This surname has long been present in Ireland.
Hatherley : English: habitational name from Hatherleigh in Bovey Tracey (Devon) Up Hatherley Down Hatherley (Gloucestershire) or Hatherly Farm in Hilton (Dorset). The placenames probably derive from Old English hagu-thorn hæg-thorn ‘hawthorn’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ although the initial element could alternatively be hǣddre ‘heather’.
Haueter : Swiss German: topographic name for a settler living at a logging area or a clearing from Upper German Hau ‘area where trees were felled’ (cognate with Middle High German houwen ‘to cut down cut up work on’) -(et)er denoting a person.
Hearfield : from Harefield (WR Yorks; Heayrfeald in 1570) or Heathfield in Stonebeck Down (WR Yorks; Hearfeld in 1630) whose early modern spellings are hard to distinguish.
Heatherly : English (Midlands): habitational name from Hatherleigh in Bovey Tracey (Devon) Up Hatherley Down Hatherley (Gloucestershire) or Hatherly Farm in Hilton (Dorset). The placenames may derive from Old English hagu-thorn hæg-thorn ‘hawthorn’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ though the initial element may alternatively be hǣddre ‘heather’ or a derivative of hǣth ‘heath heather’ (such as hǣthor from hǣth + the noun suffix -or; see Heather).
Hewitt : English:: 1: from the Middle English personal name Hewet Huet Hughet Howet pet forms of Hugh (Middle English Hewe Hue; see Hugh and compare Hew). The spelling Hughet stood for both Huet and the synonymous Huget; see Huggett. This surname has also been established in Ireland since the 14th century.2: habitational name from Hewitts in Chelsfield or Hewitts in Willesborough (both Kent) both named from Old English hīewett ‘cutting’ denoting a place where trees had been cut down. Here there lived families called de la Hewatte (1270) de la hewett (1301) and atte Hewete (1338). The name may also be topographic for someone who lived in a newly made clearing in a wood.
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’.
Hooks : 1: English (Norfolk): post-medieval variant of Hook with excrescent -s or else a topographic name for someone residing at or near some bends in a river or track from the plural of Middle English hok ‘hook’; see Hook 1. This surname is also established in northern Ireland (Armagh and Down).2: Possibly an Americanized form of Dutch Hoeks a genitivized form of Hoek.
Horden : 1: variant of Hordern with dissimilation of the second r. The name was sometimes confused with Harden; compare Michaell Harden 1605 in IGI (Baswich Staffs). 2: perhaps from Hore Down in Ilfracombe (about 7 miles from Braunton) but this is not recorded as a place-name before 1525 and it is not known if it had an associated farm in medieval times. Alternatively it may be a variant of another name (compare Hordern Harden). 3: probably a variant of Hawthorn from Hawthorn in Easington (Durham). A family from this place had acquired lands in Kirkinner (Wigtownshire) by the 15th century. 4: from Horden in Easington (Durham) which is recorded as Horeden in a 12th-century copy of a document from about 1040. The place-name derives from Old English horu ‘filth dirt’ + denu ‘valley’.
Jessel : 1: German: derivative of Jesse.2: English: perhaps a variant of Chessell with voicing of initial /ʧ/ to /ʤ/ spelled J-. This is a habitational name either from Chesthill a lost place in Moreton Say and Stoke upon Tern (Shropshire) or from Chessell Freshwater (Isle of Wight). Both placenames are spelled as Chesthull in medieval records but the Shropshire name is thought to refer to a hill (Old English hyll) where parish boundaries were disputed (the first element is Old English ceast ‘strife contention’) whereas the Isle of Wight name refers to a hill where burial chests or coffins were found (the first element is Old English cest ‘chest’) probably referring to the 6th-century pagan cemetery on Chessell Down.3: French: diminutive of Jesse.4: Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Yiddish Yossel Yessell a pet form of the personal name Josef (see Joseph).
Kernahan : Irish (Antrim and Down): variant of Kernaghan.
Laplume : French:: 1: habitational name from Laplume or La Plume names of several places in various parts of France e.g. in Lot-et-Garonne.2: metonymic occupational name for a seller of down and feathers from plume ‘feather’ + the definite article la. Compare Plume 3.3: soldier's name from la plume ‘the feather’.
Lerpiniere : from La Herpinière near Saumur a former Huguenot stronghold whose academy was closed down in 1685 resulting in the dispersal of staff and students.
Letz : German:: 1: nickname for someone awkward and clumsy from Middle High German letz ‘upside down opposite’.2: from a derivative of any of various ancient Germanic compound personal names with the first element liut ‘tribe people’.
Lowdell : from Loudwell in Hadlow Down (Sussex) which is recorded as Lowdewell in 1333. The place-name derives from Old English hlūd ‘loud noisy’ + wella ‘well spring stream’. There may have been some confusion with Ludwell.
Lyness : English (northern) and Irish: in part at least probably a variant of Lines. It was taken to County Armagh Ireland in the 17th century and is now found chiefly in counties Antrim and Down where it is sometimes used for Mac Aleenan.
Mackle : 1: South German (Mäckle): from a pet form of Mack 3.2: Irish (Roscommon): perhaps from the patronymic Ó Machail ‘descendant of Machal’. It has sometimes been altered to McKell as if it were etymologically a Mc- patronymic. Occasionally also a synonym for McGill in the county of Down.
Martel : 1: French and English (Guernsey): nickname for a forceful person or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a smith from Old French martel ‘hammer’ (also recorded in late Middle English) from Late Latin martellus. The reference may be to the martel de fer the iron hammer or mace of medieval warfare as had been the case with Charles Martel the grandfather of Charlemagne who gained his byname from the force with which he struck down his enemies the Saracens in the battle of Tours (Poitiers) in 732.2: English (Guernsey): from the Middle English and Old French personal name Martel a pet form of Martin.3: German (also Märtel): from a pet form of the personal name Martin. Compare Mertel.4: Spanish and Portuguese: from Portuguese martelo Old Spanish martel ‘hammer’ (see also 1 above) or an Iberianized form of the Italian cognate Martello.
McBriar : from Mac Bráthair ‘son of the brother (i.e. the monk or friar)’. MacLysaght calls McBriar ‘the form used in Down for the Scottish name McBrair (bráthair ‘brother or friar’) which Black traces in Dumfries from the 14th century.
McCartan : Irish (northern): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Artáin ‘son of Artán’ a diminutive of the personal name Art ‘bear’. This is a chieftain family in County Down.
McCaw : Irish (Antrim and Down) and southwestern Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Ádhaimh ‘son of Ádhamh’ Gaelic form of the personal name Adam. Compare McAdam where the Biblical personal name has not been Gaelicized.
McClenaghan : Scottish and northern Irish (Antrim Derry and Down): variant of McClanahan.
McElmurray : Irish:: 1: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Muire ‘son of the servant (i.e. devotee) of (the Virgin) Mary’. This was the surname of a chieftain family in County Down. It is more commonly Anglicized as Gilmore.2: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Mhura ‘servant of Saint Mura (of Fahan in Donegal)’. This was an ecclesiastical family in Armagh no longer distinguishable from Mac Giolla Muire (see 1 above).
McGaw : Irish (northern mainly Down) and Scottish (southwestern): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mag Ádhaimh or Mac Ádhaimh ‘son of Adam’. Compare McCaw.
McGinnis : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mag Aonghuis or Mag Aonghusa ‘son of Aonghus’ (see Angus). This is the surname of a chieftain family in western County Down. Compare the Scottish form McInnis and the variant McNeese. Compare also McGuinness.
McNulty : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Ultaigh ‘son of the Ulsterman’. This is the name of a Donegal family originally from County Down. It has sometimes been Anglicized as North.
McQuiggan : Irish (Antrim and Down): variant of McGuigan 1.
McStay : Irish (Ulster especially Down and Armagh): altered Anglicized form (by erroneous association with the prefix Mac) of Gaelic Ó Maoilstéighe ‘descendant of Maoilstéighe’ a personal name beginning maol ‘tonsured one devotee’. This surname was once Anglicized as O'Mustey a form that is no longer found.
McWilliam : Scottish and Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Uilleim a patronymic from a Gaelicized form of William also Anglicized as Williamson in Scotland. The name is thought to be mainly Scottish in Ulster though there has been some confusion with McQuillan in County Down. In Connacht McWilliam was a branch of Burke.
Millan : 1: Spanish and Galician (Millán): from Millán a vernacular shortened form of the Latin personal name Aemilianus (see Milian). This was the name of the 6th-century Christian saint Millán (Emiliano) de la Cogolla.2: Galician: in some cases possibly a habitational name from any of the places in Galicia (Spain) called Millán from Latin villa Aemiliani ‘villa of Aemilianus’.3: Scottish (Lanarkshire) and Irish (Derry and Down): shortened form of McMillan.
Nadolny : Polish and Jewish (from Poland): topographic name from Polish nadół ‘downwards’ denoting someone who lived lower down in a village on a slope or on relatively low-lying ground.
Nekola : Czech: nickname for a stubborn person someone not easily dissuaded from a derivative of Czech ne ‘not’ + the past participle of kolit ‘knock down tumble down’.
O'Haire : Irish (County Down): variant of O'Hare.
O'Neal : Irish (Longford Down): variant of O'Neill.
Obal : 1: Czech (Moravian) and Slovak: possibly a nickname from Czech dialect obalovat ‘to pronounce u instead of l’.2: Polish: nickname from a derivative of obalać ‘to overturn to pull down to ruin’ (compare with 3).3: Slovenian: nickname from obal ‘swollen eye of a vine’ or from a derivative of obaliti ‘to pull down to ruin’ (compare with 2).4: Spanish (Canary Islands): nickname from a variant of oval ‘oval’.
Oborn : 1: English (Somerset): habitational name chiefly from Oborne in Dorset or perhaps occasionally from Howbourne Farm in Hadlow Down Sussex Woburn in Bedfordshire Woburn Park in Surrey or Wooburn in Buckinghamshire. The placenames derive from Old English wōh ‘twisted crooked’ + burna ‘spring stream’ except Wooburn in Buckinghamshire which is of uncertain etymology.2: English (of Norman origin): perhaps from the Middle English personal name Obern an Anglo-Norman French form of Osbern (see Osborne).
Packer : 1: English: probably an occupational name for a wool packer from an agent noun derivative of Middle English pakken ‘to pack’.2: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from an agent noun derivative of Middle Low German pak German Pack ‘package’ hence an occupational name for a wholesale trader especially in the wool trade one who sold goods in large packages rather than broken down into smaller quantities or alternatively one who rode or drove pack animals to transport goods.
Pluemer : 1: North German (Plümer): occupational name for a fruit grower or seller from Middle Low German plūme ‘plum’.2: North German (Plümer): from Middle Low German plume ‘down’ (feather) a metonymic occupational name for a feather dealer or maker of down comforters.3: German (Plümer): variant of Blümer (see Blumer 3). Compare Plumer.
Plume : 1: English: metonymic occupational name from Middle English plum(e) ‘feather decorative plume’ (Anglo-Norman French plum(e) Latin pluma) presumably used for one who worked with or sold feathers.2: English and North German: variant of Plum.3: French: metonymic occupational name for a seller of down and feathers from plume ‘feather’. Compare Laplume 2.4: Catalan (Plumé): from a variant of plomer an occupational name for a worker in lead from a derivative of plom ‘lead’.
Poland : 1: English: habitational name from a place in Hampshire called Poland which probably derives from Old English Pōling or Pulling ‘pool place’. Alternatively it may be a variant of any of the similar (like-sounding) English surnames such as Pulham and Pullen altered by folk etymology to conform to the name of the country in central Europe.2: Irish (County Offaly also Armagh and Down): variant of Polin. Compare Polan.3: German: ethnic name from Middle High German Polan ‘Poland’ + excrescent -d denoting an ethnic Pole or someone with Polish connections.4: Altered form of French Poulin or Poulain ‘young animal colt’.
Polin : 1: Irish (counties Armagh and Down): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Póilín a patronymic from a personal name formed from a pet form of Pól (see Paul).5: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from Poland from a Slavicized form of German Polen ‘Poland’.3: German: variant of Bolling.2: English and Irish: variant of Poland. This surname is rare in Britain.4: French: variant of Paulin.
Pry : 1: Irish (mainly County Down): variant of Prey. This surname is rare in Britain.2: Perhaps also an Americanized form of German Prey.
Pysden : from Poison Down in East Langdon (Kent) which is recorded as Pesinges in 1086 Pysing' in 1264 Pesingge in 1290 and Pising in 1799. The place-name probably derives from an Old English *pising ‘place where peas grow’. An element of bowdlerization is evident in the relatively recent modifications of both the surname and place-name.
Quigg : 1: Irish (County Derry): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Cuaig or Mac Cuaig from a personal name of unexplained etymology. In County Down it is Anglicized as Fivey as if from cúig ‘five’.2: Irish (County Derry): shortened form of Quigley.
Rainey : 1: Irish (Antrim and Down) and Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ráighne from a personal name derived from the Old Norse name Rǫgnvaldr itself from ragn- ‘god divine power’ + vald ‘power rule’ (see Ronald Reynold). In Ireland the name became Mac Raighne Ó Raighne with modern forms Rainey Raney Reaney Reanney Reanny Reany Reinny Rennie Reyney Ryney.2: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Regny (Loire France) common in the 12th and 13th centuries.3: English: from the Middle English and Older Scots personal name Rayn(e)y Renie a pet form of Reynold.4: English: habitational name from Ranah Stones in the township of Thurlstone in Penistone (Yorkshire). The placename derives from Old Norse hrafn ‘raven’ + haugr ‘hill mound’. Stones is a post-medieval addition and refers to a number of boulders on the hillside. This Sheffield name usually with the spelling Reaney and correctly pronounced Rainey is now often pronounced Reeney. Its best known bearer is P. H. Reaney who pioneered the modern study of English surname origins.5: English (of French Huguenot origin): from the French personal name René (from Latin Renatus ‘reborn’). The name Renatus was borne by a 4th-century Christian saint and became popular in France in the Middle Ages because of its transparent reference to Christian spiritual rebirth. See Rene.
Rembisz : Polish: variant of Rębisz a derivative of the Old Polish verb rębić ‘to cut down trees to chop wood’.
Ringrose : English: nickname from a Middle English phrase either ringe (the) rose where ringe is a verb or ring on the rose shortened to ringotherose and ringerose where ring is a noun. The name may allude to a game similar to quoits. Compare to ring the bull ‘to play a game where participants throw or swing a ring on to a hook fixed upon a wall or target’. Alternatively it may allude to a singing dance of a type preserved in the children's singing game ring-a-ring o' roses where participants hold hands and dance in a circle falling down at the end of the song. The game is not recorded in England before 1855 but was known in Massachusets c. 1790 and may derive from an adult dance of older date.
Rooney : Irish:: 1: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ruanaidh or Ó Ruanadha ‘descendant of Ruanadh’ a personal name from ruanaidh ‘strong man champion’. Ó Ruanaidhín was a variant in Connacht and Rowan might be adopted as equivalent in Down. Compare Mac Ruanaidh now Croney in Scottish Gaelic.2: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maolruanaidh see Mulrooney and Moroney.
Roubal : 1: Czech: nickname from the past participle of the old or dialect word roubat ‘to hew to cut down (a tree)’ applied to someone who worked with an axe or perhaps to a carpenter.2: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from a pet form of Reuben or possibly an artificial name from Russian rubl ‘rouble’ the Russian unit of currency.
Salako : from the Yoruba àmútò̩runwá or circumstance name Sàlàkó̩ from so àlà kó̩ literally ‘(he) who suspends the white cloth’ traditionally bestowed on a child born with the umbilical cord over one shoulder and down along the waistline.
Savage : 1: English: of Norman origin a nickname for a wild or uncouth person from Middle English and Old French salvage sauvage ‘wild untamed’ (from Late Latin salvaticus literally ‘man of the woods’ a derivative of Latin silva ‘wood’ influenced by Latin salvus ‘whole’ i.e. natural). Compare French Sauvage.2: Irish (Down): generally of English origin (it was taken to County Down in the 12th century) this name has also sometimes been adopted as equivalent of Gaelic Ó Sabháin the name of a small south Munster sept which was earlier Anglicized as O'Savin (see Savin).3: Americanized form of Jewish (Ashkenazic) Savich and of Serbian Savić (see Savic).
Schodowski : Polish: perhaps a nickname derived from schodzić ‘to walk down to climb down’. Alternatively from schód (dialect variant of wschód ‘east’). The vast majority of bearers live in counties in the Masovia and Kuyavia close to the Vistula river which is the border between these historical regions.
Sistek : Czech (Šístek): from a derivative of the vocabulary word šest ‘six’ applied as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house on which the number 6 was prominently displayed or as a nickname for someone with long hair that hung down and curled at the bottom resembling the figure 6.
Slee : 1: English: variant of Sly.2: English: from Middle English sle ‘grassy slope’ (Old English slēa). The surname may be topographic for someone who lived on or by a grassy slope or habitational from a place so named such as Slay Down in Enford (Wiltshire).3: Americanized form of German Schlee.
More
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
Subject to the Terms and Conditions of Ancestry
