Origin
Forth : 1: English: variant of Ford 1.2: German: topographic name for someone who lived by a ford Middle High German vort vurt Middle Low German vorde ‘ford entrance way’ or a habitational name from a place in Franconia or in former Pomerania (now Poland) named Forth.
Ajose : West African (Nigeria): from the Yoruba personal name Ajó̩sè̩ from a-já-ò̩sè̩ ‘(who) came forth on a day of worship’.
Frew : Scottish: habitational name from the Fords of Frew (Kincardine Perthshire) a fortified site on the River Forth probably so called from a British element frwd ‘current stream’. This place was the lowest crossing point on the River Forth and so an important strategic location in the Middle Ages.
Gitting : 1: from Guiting Power or Temple Guiting in Gloucs recorded as Getinge in 1086 Gutinge Guyting Gyting Gettinge and Gitting in the 13th century. The place-name derives from Old English gyte ‘a pouring forth a flood’ + the river name-forming suffix -ing. It is nowadays pronounced /gaitiŋ/ but surname preserves the older pronunciation /gɪtiŋ/. 2: see Gitton.
Hata : Japanese: written 秦 also phonetically 羽田 羽太 波田 ハ多 and so forth. It is the name of an ancient clan descended from the family and followers of Yuzuki no Kimi a Korean prince who claimed descent from Qin Shihuangdi Emperor of China (259–210 BC). Many of these followers were skilled silk producers and weavers; they were therefore given the name Hata meaning ‘loom’. Listed in the Shinsen shōjiroku the name is related etymologically to Hattori ‘clothing guild’. Actually the character 秦 pronounced qin (or ch’in) in Chinese has nothing to do with weaving; it means ‘flourishing rice plants’. As the name of the first clan to conquer and unify the rest of China it is the source of the name China. It is likely that the reading hata was arbitrarily applied by the newly literate Japanese to the character qin because the newly arrived weavers claimed Qin clan connections or at least were perceived as being ‘Chinese’. Also sometimes pronounced Hada.
Ii : Japanese: written 井伊 ‘well’ and ‘that’ the name one of Japan's great daimyō families originally based in Tōtōmi (now part of Shizuoka prefecture) later in Kōzuke (now Gunma prefecture) and Ōmi (now Shiga prefecture). Other variants of the name substitute either character with similar sounding characters such as 飯 ‘cooked rice’ 居 ‘residence’ and so forth. It was formerly Romanized as Iyi. — Note: In the population figure published by the US Census Bureau the Roman number II (meaning ‘the second’ i.e. ‘the younger’ of the two bearers of the name) is apparently also counted as a surname Ii.
Kaneko : Japanese: written 金子 ‘golden (or metal) child’; also phonetically 兼子 金児 金古 and so forth. Bearers of the name are not numerous but there are several places of this name. It apparently derives from gold dust or iron ore dust found in streams or sand banks; 金 kane means ‘gold’ and is also the generic term for metal. The surname is mainly found in the Tokyo area and Okinawa and one family is descended from the ancient Mononobe clan.
Makinde : West African (Nigeria): from the Yoruba personal name Mákindé from mú akin dé ‘(God) has brought forth this hero’.
Nagi : 1: Muslim: variant of Naji.2: Indian (Punjab): from Sanskrit nāgī ‘one with serpents’ an epithet of the god Shiva. This name is traditionally borne by a subgroup of Tank goldsmiths in Punjab.3: Japanese: rare name but found in several places throughout western Japan and variously written. All seem to be taken from placenames. A few are written with single characters: 凪 ‘calm’ 泙 ‘roar’ 梛 ‘evergreen’. Other variants are written phonetically for example: 梛木 ‘evergreen tree’ 名木 ‘name tree’ 南木 ‘south tree’ 南祇 ‘south’ and ‘local deity’ and so forth.
Nono : 1: Italian: probably from nono ‘ninth’ used as a personal name for a ninth son.2: Assyrian/Chaldean: from a variant of the male personal name Nona.3: Filipino: nickname derived from nuno ‘ancestor grandparent’ a word that occurs in various languages of the Philippines.4: Japanese: rare name written 野々 or 埜々 both meaning ‘fields’ or 能々 ‘abilities’. The second character is a ‘repeat’ sign so the name is sometimes written 野野 and so forth.5: Japanese (Nōno): variant of 4 written 農野 ‘farmer's field’.6: African (Cameroon and Uganda): unexplained.
Schwenk : 1: North German: variant of Schwanke.2: South German (mainly Württemberg Silesia and Bavaria): from Middle High German swenken ‘to swing back and forth sling’ apparently a nickname referring to a person's gait. Compare Swenk and Swink.
Scott : 1: English Scottish and Irish (Down): habitational and ethnic name from Middle English Scot ‘man from Scotland’. There is no evidence that the surname denoted either of the earlier senses of Scot as ‘(Gaelic-speaking) Irishman’ or ‘man from Alba’ the Gaelic-speaking region of Scotland north of the river Forth. This surname is also very common among African Americans.2: English and Scottish: from the rare Middle English personal name Scot (Old English Scott possibly also Old Norse Skotr) only certainly attested in northern England.3: English: variant of Scutt.
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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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