Origin
Hull : 1: English: from the Middle English personal name Hulle a pet form of Hugh or of its common diminutives Hulin Hulot (see Hewlett and Huling).2: English: in southwest England and the west and central Midlands sometimes a topographical or habitational name for someone who lived on or by a hill (Middle English atte hulle from Old English hyll) or from a place with this name. However this word and the derived names will have usually assumed the standard form Hill in modern times as in the case of Hill (Gloucestershire) which was usually spelt Hull or Hulle during the Middle Ages. Hull with this origin was also once the name of two other places now lost one in Great Budworth (Cheshire) and the other in Inkpen (Berkshire). See also Hell.3: English: perhaps a habitational name from Kingston upon Hull in East Yorkshire which takes its name from the river Hull (perhaps related to Danish hul ‘hole hollow’ or perhaps a British name based on the root seul- ‘mud’).4: In some cases possibly also Estonian: from hull ‘crazy’ an arbitrary surname given by a manorial official. This surname is very rare in Estonia.
Algate : from a lost Aldegat(e) in Beverley or Ald(e)gat(e) in Hull (ER Yorks); or presumably from Aldgate in London which is recorded as Alegate from 1108 onwards with the intrusive -d- appearing in the 17th century. The Middle English place-names in Yorkshire mean ‘old gate’ though the London one apparently originated as ‘ale gate’.
Astle : 1: English: habitational name from a place in Cheshire called Astle from Old English ēast ‘east’ + hyll ‘hill’. There may also have been some confusion with Asthall and Astley. Or occasionally this may be a topographic name denoting residence on an ‘east hill’ (from Middle English ast + hill or hull) i.e. a hill to the east of a settlement.2: English: perhaps also a habitational name from Astwell Northamptonshire from Old English ēast ‘east’ + wielle ‘spring’.3: English: habitational name from Asthall Oxfordshire from Old English ēast ‘east’ + halh ‘nook’.4: English: variant of Astill from the Middle English personal name Astill a shortened form of Norman French Ansketill (Old Norse Ásketill); see Astin.5: English: possibly also from the Middle English personal name Astwulf (Old English Ēastwulf composed of the elements ēast ‘east’ + wulf ‘wolf’).6: In some cases also an Americanized form of South German Astl or Astel: probably a nickname for a crude person from Middle High German ast ‘branch bough knot’.
Birtles : 1: from Birtles (in Prestbury Cheshire) Birchill Farm (in Hassop Derbys) or possibly Birchills (in Walsall Staffs). The place-names are from the plural of Old English *bircel ‘small birch’ with occasional confusion of the final syllable with Middle English hill hull ‘hill’ and hale ‘corner of land’ (etc.). Pronunciation of /ʧ/ in Birch- has been simplified to /t/ before the following /l/ whence modern Birtles but the -th- spellings in the medieval forms are probably misreadings of -ch-; the letters c and t are commonly indistinguishable in medieval court hand.post-medieval variant of Birtle with excrescent -s. 2: perhaps a post-medieval variant of Birchall + excrescent -s and the sound change from /ʧ/ to /t/ noted in (1) above but Birchall itself could be a variant of Birtles in which case the following bearers belong at (1).
Campleman : according to Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames an altered form of Cappleman perhaps influenced by Camplin and its variant Camplejohn. Compare John Campline 1628 Richard Cappleman 1721 in IGI (Lythe NR Yorks); Robert Cappleman William Campleman 1672 in Hearth Tax (Newbegin ward Hull).
Grindle : 1: English: topographic name from Middle English grene ‘green’ + dale ‘dale valley’ or hille hull ‘hill’ or a habitational name from placenames meaning ‘green valley’ (Old English grēne + Old English dæl dell or Old Norse dalr) such as Greendale in Devon and Cumbria Grindale in East Yorkshire or a lost place originally called Grendale Gryndale in Loftus (North Yorkshire) possibly identical with modern Grinkle in nearby Easington.2: English: variant of Greenhill with an intrusive -d- as illustrated by the placename Grindle in Ryton (Shropshire) which appears as Grenehull in Middle English but as Grendull and Grendle in the 16th century.3: South German: from Middle High German grindel ‘latch beam pole’ probably a metonymic occupational name for a doorman.4: Altered form of North German Grindel.
Hell : 1: English: probably in many cases a variant of Ell with prosthetic H-. Compare Heal 3.2: English: topographic name from Middle English hell southeastern form of hull hill ‘hill’ found e.g. in Kent Sussex Essex and Hertfordshire.3: English (southwestern): variant of Heal with shortening of the vowel.4: German: nickname from Middle High German hell ‘bright shining’.5: German: variant of Helle 1.
Hill : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill from Middle English hill hell hull ‘hill’ (Old English hyll). Compare Hiller. This surname is also very common among African Americans.2: English: possibly in some cases from the personal name Hille a pet form of some name such as Hilger or Hillary.3: German: from a short form of Hildebrand or any of a variety of other names male and female containing ancient Germanic hild ‘battle’ as the first element.4: Americanized form (translation into English) of Finnish Mäki ‘hill’ or of any of various other names formed with this element (see Maki).5: Americanized form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames.
Hilmer : 1: North German: from the ancient Germanic personal name Hildemar formed with hild ‘strife battle’ + mari ‘famous’.2: South German: shortened form of Hillmeier a distinguishing name from Middle High German hülwe hüll ‘water-hole slough’ + meier ‘(tenant) farmer’.
Hockenhull : English: habitational name from Hockenhull (Cheshire) named in Old English as ‘Hoc(c)a's hill’ a compound of the personal name Hoc(c)a (in the genitive singular form Hoc(c)an) + hyll Middle English hill hull ‘hill’.
Huller : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived on a hill from Middle English huller (see Hull). This type of topographic name formation with -er equivalent to atte Hull is common in southern England and absent from northern England. See Hiller and Heller.2: English: in Yorkshire a late variant of Hulley.3: English: variant of Hillier from Middle English huller ‘roofer’ found in Western and southern England as far east as Sussex.4: German (Hüller): occupational name for a tailor from an agent derivative of Middle High German hülle hulle ‘cloak’.5: German (Hüller): shortened form of Hülber a topographic name for a farmer near a pond or watering hole for cattle from Middle High German hülwe ‘shallow village pond’.
Ingmire : 1: English (Kent and London): habitational name from Inglemire in Kingston upon Hull (East Yorkshire) also sometimes known as Igglemire. The placename is probably from Old Norse igli ‘leech’ + marr ‘marsh’ or Old English mere ‘pool’. This surname is now rare in Britain.2: Perhaps an Americanized form of German Engemeyer a topographic name for a tenant farmer who lived in a narrow place i.e. a deep narrow valley from eng ‘narrow’ (see Enge) + Meyer ‘tenant farmer’.
Marfleet : from Marfleet in Kingston upon Hull (ER Yorks) which is recorded as Mereflet in 1086. The place-name derives from Old English mere ‘pool’ + flēot ‘estuary inlet stream’.
Merrill : 1: Welsh and English: from a female personal name of Celtic origin found in Welsh as Meriel and Meryl and in Irish as Muirgheal earlier Muirgel (‘sea-bright’).2: English: habitational name from one or more of the many places whose names derive from Middle English mirie merie murie ‘merry pleasant’ (Old English myrge) + hill hell hull ‘hill’ (Old English hyll) including two places called Merry Hill in Staffordshire and a third in Hertfordshire.
Nendick : from Navendyk the name of a medieval watercourse and sheep pasture near Hull Bank in Cottingham (ER Yorks). The place-name appears to derive from the Old Scandinavian personal name Nafni + Old Scandinavian dík ‘ditch’. The migration of the family name from Cottingham to Kirkby Moorside (NR Yorks) may owe something to the fact that both manors were the property of the same lordship.
Owbridge : 1: possibly from Hull Bridge in Beverley (ER Yorks) which is recorded as Ulbrigg in about 1120 (in an MS dated 1398) and Hulbrig Hulbryg from 1394–1543. The place takes its name from the River Hull + Old English brycg ‘bridge’. A late Middle English change of -ul- to -ol- and then to -ou- occurs in Owram (from the ER Yorks place-name Ulrome). Similarly (H)ulbryg could have developed to (H)oubrig.Alternatively Owbridge might have derived from Howe Bridge in Malton (NR Yorks) which is recorded as ponte de Hou in the 12th and 13th centuries and as ponte de How in the 15th century (ponte being the dative form of Latin pons ‘bridge’). The place-name derives from Old English hōh ‘heel spur of land’ + brycg. The post-medieval bearers cited here may alternatively belong with (2). 2: variant of Outbridge an obsolete pronunciation of Oughtibridge a WR Yorks name. Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames notes that a man named German Owbridge or Outbridge of Meadow Lane is recorded in 1651 in the Leeds Parish Registers and that in the 1672 Hearth Tax Henry Outbridg was registered in Market Weighton (ER Yorks) where Owbridge is also on record.
Rolleston : 1: in the Midlands from Rolleston (Leics Notts Staffs) and perhaps Rowston (Lincs); in ER Yorks from Rolston (or Rowlston) in Mappleton (ER Yorks); and in SW England from Rollestone in Upton Pyne or Rolstone Barton in Morchard Bishop (both in Devon) or Rollestone (Wilts) and perhaps Rowlestone (Herefs) or Rolstone in Banwell (Somerset). The place-names have various etymological origins though most are named with the Middle English personal name Rolf or the Old Scandinavian personal name Hrólfr + Middle English toun ‘town settlement’ Old English tūn ‘farmstead estate’. It is possible that some of the following bearers belong with (2) particularly the Yorks examples. 2: variant of Rollinson reduced to Rolleson and altered by the addition of an intrusive -t- as though it were a locative name in -ston. Compare Thomas Rolleson' 1377 in Poll Tax (Kingston upon Hull ER Yorks) and Christopher Rollston 1723 Henry Rowlstone 1763 in IGI (Kingston upon Hull ER Yorks).
Southcoat : from Southcoates in Kingston upon Hull (ER Yorks) which is recorded as Sotecote Sotecotes in 1086 Sotcote in 1235 Suttecotes in 1293 and Sothecotes in 1294. The place-name derives from the Old Scandinavian given name Sóti + Old English cot ‘cottage hut shelter’.
Straker : English:: 1: occupational name from Middle English straker streker unrecorded derivatives of northern Middle English straken (Old English strācian) ‘to stroke or rub (something) to smear (something with a substance)’ and Middle English streken (Old Norse strjúka) ‘to stroke make smooth spread or smear (a substance) evenly’. In some instances straker streker may have denoted a waxer of shoe-leather or a sharpener of knives. In other cases a straker or streker may have been a polisher of goods made of wood metal or other materials or he may have been an official corn measurer who used a flat stick or strike to level off the quantity of corn he was measuring. See also the etymologically related Striker and Stroker which were probably to some extent synonymous and interchangeable with Straker.2: perhaps an occupational name for someone who made iron strakes in a smithy or for someone who used strakes to make wheels or plowshares. This would be a plausible though unrecorded derivative of Middle English strake (Old English stracca) ‘band strip strake’ most often used to denote the strips of iron that formed the rim of a cartwheel or that fastened a plowshare. Middle English strake also denoted a wooden plank including the planking on a ship's hull so the surname could also have been given to someone who made planks or who built ships. However there is no contextual evidence to confirm either of these possibilities.
Widdall : 1: from Woodhill (in Bury Lancs) recorded as Wyddell in 1563 and probably derives from Old English wīd ‘wide’ + Old English halh ‘a piece of low-lying land by a river a haugh’. Woodhill lies in a bend of the R. Irwell. 2: in ER Yorks perhaps alternatively a variant of the Scottish surname Weddell (see Waddell) as suggested in Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames citing William Widdaille or Weddell 1576-81in York Registry Wills (Kingston upon Hull). Weddell is well evidenced in York and nearby places in ER Yorks from the late 14th century. However Widdellin ER Yorks could be the Lancs name by migration possibly confused with Weddell. See also (3) which could theoretically account for the name in ER Yorks. 3: perhaps from a lost or unidentified place in Lincs called Wydale or possibly from Wydale in Brompton or Widdale in Aysgarth both in NR Yorks and probably composed with Middle English with (Old Scandinavian viðr) ‘wood’ + Middle English dal (Old Scandinavian dalr) ‘valley’. However there is no evidence that these places gave rise to a surname. The Lincs name could alternatively belong with (1) or (2) by migration.
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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
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
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