Origin
ABERCROMBIE : (Celtic and Gaelic.) Local. The name of a parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Frith of Forth, whence the possessor took his surname; from Aber, marshy ground, a place where two or more streams meet; and cruvme or crombie, a bend or crook. Aber, in the Celtic and Gaelic, and also in the Cornish British, signifies the confluence of two or more streams, or the mouth of a river, where it flows into the sea; hence it is often applied to marshy ground, generally near the confluence of two rivers. It also signifies, sometimes, a gulf or whirlpool.
ABERDEEN : (Gaelic and Celtic.) Local. The name of a city in Aberdeenshire, whence the surname was taken. It is derived from Aber, the mouth, as above, and Don, the name of a river, at the mouth of which it is situated.
ABERDENE : (Gaelic and Celtic.) Local. The name of a city in Aberdeenshire, whence the surname was taken. It is derived from Aber, the mouth, as above, and Don, the name of a river, at the mouth of which it is situated.
ACKLAND : (Saxon) Local. The name of a place in North Devonshire, England, whence the surname is derived; so called, because it was situated among groves of oaks from ack, oak, as above, and land.
AGAR : (Gaelic and Celtic.) Aighear signifies gladness, joy, gayety. If from the Latin ager, it denotes a field or land.
ALAN : Derived, according to Julius Scaliger, from the Sclavonic Aland, a wolf-dog, a hound, and Chaucer uses Aland in the same sense. Bailey derives it as the same from the British. Camden thinks it a corruption of AElianus which signifies sun-bright. From the same we have Allen, Allin, Alleyne. In the Gaelic, Aluinn signifies exceedingly fair, handsome, elegant, lovely; Irish, Alun, fair, beautiful.
ALLAN : Derived, according to Julius Scaliger, from the Sclavonic Aland, a wolf-dog, a hound, and Chaucer uses Aland in the same sense. Bailey derives it as the same from the British. Camden thinks it a corruption of AElianus which signifies sun-bright. From the same we have Allen, Allin, Alleyne. In the Gaelic, Aluinn signifies exceedingly fair, handsome, elegant, lovely; Irish, Alun, fair, beautiful.
ALDEN : (Sax.) Local. From ald, old, and den or dun, a hill or town; old-town, or it may be high-own, from alt, high, Gaelic, and dun, a hill, castle, or town.
ALDAINE : (Sax.) Local. From ald, old, and den or dun, a hill or town; old-town, or it may be high-own, from alt, high, Gaelic, and dun, a hill, castle, or town.
ALDRIDGE : (Sax.) The same as Aldred, of which it is a corruption.
ALLEN : Derived, according to Julius Scaliger, from the Sclavonic Aland, a wolf-dog, a hound, and Chaucer uses Aland in the same sense. Bailey derives it as the same from the British. Camden thinks it a corruption of AElianus which signifies sun-bright. From the same we have Allen, Allin, Alleyne. In the Gaelic, Aluinn signifies exceedingly fair, handsome, elegant, lovely; Irish, Alun, fair, beautiful.
ALSOP : (LocaL) From Alsop, Co. Derby, England. One might imagine it a corruption of Ale-shop, a name given to one who kept an ale-shop. A very appropriate name at the present day; for Alsop's ale is celebrated all the world over.
AMES : (French.) From Amie, a friend, beloved; or if from the Hebrew Amos, a burden. Some think it is a contraction of Ambrose (which see). Amesbury in England was originally Ambrosebury.
AMHERST : (Saxon) Local. From ham, a town or village, and hurst or herst, a wood, the town in the wood, the H by custom, being dropped or silent. It may have been derived from Hamo, who was sheriff in the county of Kent, in the time of William the Conqueror; a descendant of his was called Hamo de Herst, and the Norman de, and the aspirate h being dropped Amherst. Amhurst, the connected grove, or conjoined woods; am, in the British, as a prefix, has the sense of Amb, amphi, circum, i.e., about, surrounding, encompassing; hence, the surrounding grove, or Amhurst.
ARMSTRONG : A name given for strength in battle. Historians relate the following tradition: This family was anciently settled on the Scottish border; their original name was Fairbairn, which was changed to Armstrong on the following occasion: An ancient king of Scotland having had his horse killed under him in battle, was immediately re-mounted by Fairbairn, his armor-bearer, on his own horse. For this timely assistance he amply rewarded him with lands on the borders, and to perpetuate the memory of so important a service, as well as the manner in which it was performed (for Fairbairn took the king by the thigh, and set him on the saddle), his royal master gave him the appellation of Armstrong. The chief seat of Johnnie Armstrong was Gilnockie, in Eskdale, a place of exquisite beauty. Johnnie was executed by order of James V., in 1529, as a Border Freebooter. Andrew Armstrong sold his patrimony to one of his kinsmen, and emigrated to the north of Ireland in the commencement of the seventeenth century. The Armstrongs were always noted for their courage and daring. In the Lay of the Last Minstrel, when the chief was about to assemble his clans, he says to his heralds: Ye need not go to Liddisdale, For whon they see the blazing bale, Elliots and Armstrongs never fail
ASOALL : In the Gaelic, means a sheltered place, a bosom, a covert. Aisgiodal or Aisgall was one of the Danish commanders at the battle of Clontarf near Dublin. The name is expressive of courage and strength. From this may be found the name of Hascall. If the name is of British origin, it would signify the sedgy moor, from Hesg, and hal or hayle low grounds, meadows.
ASGALL : In the Gaelic, means a sheltered place, a bosom, a covert. Aisgiodal or Aisgall was one of the Danish commanders at the battle of Clontarf near Dublin. The name is expressive of courage and strength. From this may be found the name of Hascall. If the name is of British origin, it would signify the sedgy moor, from Hesg, and hal or hayle low grounds, meadows.
ATKINS : Camden derives it from At, a familiar abbreviation of Arthur, and kins, a diminutive, signifying a child, having the same meaning as the German kind, a child, an infant, i. e., the son of Arthur, so Wilkins, Simpkins, etc.
AVERY : (Gaelic.) From Aimhrea (the mh having the sound of v ), denoting contention or disagreement It may be from Avery, a granary, or from Aviarius, Latin, a bird-keeper.
AYRES : Local. Derived from a river, town, and district of the same name in Scotland. Air, Gaelic. Derivation uncertain. It may come from Iar, west the course in which the river runs; or Air, slaughter, the place of battle. The Celtic Aer, and the Welsh Awyr, signify, radically, to open, expand or flow clearly; to shoot or radiate. In Thorpe's catalogue of the deeds of Battle Abbey, we find the following legendary account of this name: Ayres, formerly Eyre. The first of this family was named Truelove, one of the followers of William the Conqueror. At the battle of Hastings, Duke William was flung from his horse, and his helmet beaten into his face, which Truelove observing, pulled off, and horsed him again. The duke told him 'Thou shalt hereafter from Truelove be called Eyre (or Air), because thou hast given me the air I breathe.' After the battle, the Duke, on inquiry respecting him, found him severely wounded (his leg and thigh having been struck off); he ordered him the utmost care, and on his recovery, gave him lands in Derby, in reward for his services, and the leg and thigh in armor, cut off, for his crest; an honorary badge yet worn by all the Eyres in England.
BAB A : German, Bube, a boy; Greek, an inarticulate sound, as of an infant crying out; hence, a little child; to say Baba, that is, father or Papa. The word is nearly the same in all languages; it signifies a young child of either sex.
BABCOCK : Little Bab, or Bartholomew; from Bab, a nickname for Bartholomew, and cock, small, little, a son; cic, cock, el, and et are diminutives, and include the ideas of kindness and tenderness, associated with smallness of slib. It may be from Bob, the nickname for Robert; Bobcock, the son of Robert, Robertson.
BACHELOR : From the Dutch Bock, a book, and leeraar, a doctor of divinity, law, or physic. When applied to persons of a certain military rank, it may be a corruption of Bas chevalier, because lower in dignity than the milites bannereti. Killian adopts the opinion that as the soldier who has once been engaged in battle, is called battalarius, so he who has once been engaged in literary warfare, in public dispute upon any subject. Calepinus thinks that those who took the degree of Bachelor, were so called (Baccalaurei), because a chaplet of laurel berries was placed upon them. The word, however, has probably but one origin, which would account for its various applications.
BACON : Bacon, from the Anglo-Saxon bacan, to bake, to dry by heat. Some derive this surname from the Saxon baccen or buccen, a beech-tree. Upon the monument of Thomas Bacon, in Brome Church in Suffolk (Eng.), there is a beech-tree engraven in brass, with a man resting under it It appears, also, that the first Lord-keeper, Sir Nicholas Bacon, with his two wives, are represented in a similar manner.
BAGOT : (Fr.) A stay or walking staff; a gunstick or drumstick, from Bagnette. It may be a corruption oi Bigot (which see). Bagad, in the Welsh, signifies a great many.
BARR : (Celtic.) Local. The top or summit of any thing, any thing round. Bar, Gaelic, an old word for a bard or learned man. Bar, local, a bank of sand or earth, a shoal; the shore of the sea. It may be derived from Barre, a town in France, or from Barr, a parish and village in Ayrshire, Scotland.
BARRON : The word Baron is of Celtic extraction, and originally synonymous with man in general It has this meaning in the Salic law, and in the laws of the Lombards; in the English law, the phrase baron and. feme is equivalent to man and wife. It was afterward used to denote a man of respectability, a stout or valiant man; and Barone was also used by the Italians to signify a beggar. From denoting a stout or valiant man, it was employed as a name for a distinguished military leader, who having fought and conquered under some great commander, was afterward rewarded by him with a part of the lands which he had acquired. As a surname, it was originally Le Baron, The Baron. Gaelic, Baran, a baron.
BARON : The word Baron is of Celtic extraction, and originally synonymous with man in general It has this meaning in the Salic law, and in the laws of the Lombards; in the English law, the phrase baron and. feme is equivalent to man and wife. It was afterward used to denote a man of respectability, a stout or valiant man; and Barone was also used by the Italians to signify a beggar. From denoting a stout or valiant man, it was employed as a name for a distinguished military leader, who having fought and conquered under some great commander, was afterward rewarded by him with a part of the lands which he had acquired. As a surname, it was originally Le Baron, The Baron. Gaelic, Baran, a baron.
BARTON : (Sax.) Local. From a town in Lincolnshire, England; a corn town, or barley village, from bere, barley, and ton, an inclosure, a house, a village. Barton, a curtilage. In Devonshire, it is applied to any freehold estate not possessed of manorial privileges.
BATH : (Sax.) Local. A town in the county of Somerset, Eng., famous for its hot baths; so named from the Saxon, bad, Teutonic, bad, a place to bathe or wash in. It was called by the Saxons Acmanceaster, or the sick folks' town; and by the Britons, Caerbaddon, from Caer, a fortified place or city, and baddon, a bathing-place, from badd, a bath.
BAUM : (Germ.) A tree. It may be derived from a town in France by that name.
BECKER : (Ger.) From becker, the same as backer, a baker. It may be from becher, a cup or goblet, from bechern, to tipple; der Becher” (Ger.), drinker, a tippler; the same in Dutch.
BEDELL : The same as Beadle, of which it is a corruption; an officer belonging to a court, university, ward, or parish.
BELLAMY : Local. From Bellesme, a town of France; or it may be Belami, French, a dear and excellent friend; from bel, fair or beautiful, and ami, a friend or companion.
BERNARD : (Sax.) From Beam or Bairn, a child, and ard (Teut.), nature, disposition; of a child-like disposition; filial affection. Verstegan brings it from Beorn, heart one of a stout heart.
BARNARD : (Sax.) From Beam or Bairn, a child, and ard (Teut.), nature, disposition; of a child-like disposition; filial affection. Verstegan brings it from Beorn, heart one of a stout heart.
BIGOT : A name given by the French to the Normans, because, as Camden says, At every other word they would swear 'By God' , from which they were termed Bigodi. It became the surname of Roger de Montgomery, one of the followers of William the Conqueror, who was called Roger Bigod. The English word bigot has probably the same origin.
BIGOD : A name given by the French to the Normans, because, as Camden says, At every other word they would swear 'By God' , from which they were termed Bigodi. It became the surname of Roger de Montgomery, one of the followers of William the Conqueror, who was called Roger Bigod. The English word bigot has probably the same origin.
BIRNIE : Local. A parish in the shire of Elgin, Scotland. It was formerly named Brenuth, from brae-nut, as many hazel-trees grew there. The natives called it Burn-nigh, that is, a village near the Burn or river, now corrupted to Birnie.
BIRNEY : Local. A parish in the shire of Elgin, Scotland. It was formerly named Brenuth, from brae-nut, as many hazel-trees grew there. The natives called it Burn-nigh, that is, a village near the Burn or river, now corrupted to Birnie.
BLAIR : (Celtic.) Local. From Blair or Blar, which originally signified a cleared plain,' but from the Celts generally choosing such plains for their fields of battle, blair came to signify a battle. There is a small village called the Blair near Lochord, about two miles from Lochleven, in Fifeshire, Scotland. It signifies a spot where a battle was fought, locus pugnae. Here, it is supposed, an engagement took place between the Romans and the Caledonians, a.d. 83.
BORLAND : (Cor. Br.) Local. The high land; the swelling or rising land; from bor, swelling, rising, and lemd. If from the Saxon, it signifies the land belonging to the common people. Bordlands were lands which the lords kept in their hands for the maintenance of their board or table. Borland is the name of a village in Fifeshire, Scotland, whence the family may have originated.
BOSTWICK : (Cor. Br.) Local. The house near the haven or creek; from Bos, a house, and wick, a haven or creek. It may be from the Dutch Bosch, a wood, and wick, the town in the wood. Boswick, in the Cornish-British, is the dwelling near the harbor or village.
BOWES : This surname, according to Grose, originated as follows : about the time of the Conqueror, there was a town (on the site of the Castle of Bowes), which the tradition of the family states, was burned. It then belonged to the Earls of Brittany and Richmond. The castle was built, as Mr. Horseley thinks, out of the ruins of the Roman Fortress, by Alan Niger, the second earl of that title, who, it is said, placed therein William, his relation, with five hundred archers to defend it against some insurgents in Cambridge and Westmorland confederated with the Scots, giving him for the device of his standard the arms of Brittany, with three bows and a bundle of arrows, whence both the castle and the commander derived their names; the former being called Bowes Castle, and the latter, William de Arcubus, or William Bowes.
BRIAN : (Gaelic.) The nobly descended, from Bri, dignity, honor, and on, diminutive of that to which it is annexed, belonging to it; Gaelic, gin or gen, begotten. Bri, Welsh, honor; briadd, honorary. Bailey derives Brian from Bruiant, French, clamorous. Brian, in the Gaelic, also implies one who is fair-spoken, wordy, specious.
BRION : (Gaelic.) The nobly descended, from Bri, dignity, honor, and on, diminutive of that to which it is annexed, belonging to it; Gaelic, gin or gen, begotten. Bri, Welsh, honor; briadd, honorary. Bailey derives Brian from Bruiant, French, clamorous. Brian, in the Gaelic, also implies one who is fair-spoken, wordy, specious.
BRIANT : (Gaelic.) Dignity, honor; from Bri, exalted, and ant, a termination, implying the being or state of that to which it is annexed; equivalent to the Greek av, and the Latin ens.
BRYANT : (Gaelic.) Dignity, honor; from Bri, exalted, and ant, a termination, implying the being or state of that to which it is annexed; equivalent to the Greek av, and the Latin ens.
BRICK : A corruption of Breck (which see). We cut the following, on this name, from a newspaper: A certain college-professor, who had assembled his class at the commencement of the term, was reading over the list of names to see that all were present. It chanced that one of the number was unknown to the professor, having just entered the class. What is your name, sir? asked the professor, looking through his spectacles. You are a brick, was the startling reply. Sir, said the professor, half starting out of his chair at the supposed impertinence, but not quite sure that he understood him correctly, sir, I did not exactly understand your answer. You are a brick, was again the composed reply. This is intolerable, said the professor, his face reddening; beware, young man, how you attempt to insult me. Insult you ! said the student, in turn astonished. How have I done it? Did you not say I was a brick? returned the professor, with stifled indignation. No, sir; you asked me my name, and I answered your question. My name is U. R. A. Brick Uriah Reynolds Anderson Brick. Ah, indeed, murmured the professor, sinking back into his seat in confusion it was a misconception on my part. Will you commence the lesson, Mr. Brick ?
BRIDE : (Gaelic.) From Brighid, a hostage, pledge, or security. The son of Bridget. Cormac, Archbishop of Cashel, in his glossary, defines Brighid fiery dart, and that it was the name of the Muse who was believed to preside over poetry, in pagan times, in Ireland. Breochuidh, a term given to those virgins who kept the perpetual fire of Beil or Belus among the Druids and ancient Celts.
BROCKLESBY : Local. Derived from Brockles, a small town of that name in England, and by, near to; a village. Dutch, Brock, a marsh; also, broken land. In a party in which the celebrated Porson was a guest, there was also a physician by this name, Dr. Brocklesby, a descendant of the eminent man who attended Dr. Johnson in his last illness. In addressing Dr. Brocklesby, Porson called him Dr. Rock Yes, Dr. Rock no, Dr. Rock, etc. a name rendered almost infamous by Hogarth, in his picture of the March of the Guards. At length, Dr. Brocklesby became offended, and said, Mr. Porson, my name is not Rock, it is Brocklesby, pronouncing the syllables distinctly, Brock-les-by. Well, said Porson, if Brock-les-b is not Rock, then I know nothing of Algebra.
BUCHAN : Local. A district of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The derivation of the name is uncertain. It may be from the Gaelic boc, bocan, deer; a place abounding in deer.
BUCHANAN : Local. A parish in the shire of Sterling, Scotland. The derivation of the name is uncertain. It is probably from the same root as Buchan.
BULLIONS : Probably local, from Bolleyne, a town in France, whence the family of Anne Boleyne took their name; or from the city of Boulogne, which was so called from Beul, Gaelic, the mouth, and Liane, the river, or the mouth of Liane, it being situated at the mouth of that river.
BURDEN : Lower says this name is probably a corruption of bourdon, a pilgrim's staff, a very appropriate sign for a wayside hostelry. It may be local, derived from Bour, a house (from the Saxon bure, a bed-chamber), and den, a valley the house in the valley.
BURLEIGH : Local. Burh, Saxon, is the same as burg, a city, castle, house, or tower; in composition, it signifies defense; high, a low place, opposed to a place higher, the same as ley, a meadow, a pasture. Burly, swelled, bulky, boisterous.
BURRELL : Borel is used by Chaucer in the sense of lay, as borel-clerks lay-clerks. It may be a corruption of Borrail (which see).
BUTLER : This family derive their origin from the old Counts of Briony or Biony, in Normandy, a descendant of whom, Herveius Fitz Walter, accompanied the Conqueror into England. His son, Theobold, went with Henry II into Ireland, where, having greatly assisted in the reduction of the kingdom, he was rewarded with large possessions there, and made it the place of his residence. The king afterward conferred on him the office of chief Butler of Ireland, whence his descendants, the Earls of Ormond and others, took the surname of De Boteler or Butler.
CALDWELL : Local. Col-wold, the wood of hazels; or it may be Cold-well, a cold spring.
CARACTACUS : (Gaelic.) From Caer, a castle or city; eacht, an exploit, and cios, a tribute, expressive of his abilities in conducting an offensive, as well as a defensive war; or, as O'Connor derives it, from Cathreacteac, the leader of the host in battle.
CATHCART : (Gaelic.) Local. From the parish of Cathcart, in Lanark and Renfrew, Scotland. The river Cart runs through it, whence the name is derived. Caeth-Cart, from caeth, a strait, the river here running in a narrow channel.
CHADWICK : Local. The cottage by the harbor, or sheltered place; from the Saxon Cyte and wick; Cyte signifies a cottage, and wick, a harbor, a sheltered place. It may be so called from the shad fisheries.
CHESTER : Local. From the city of Chester, the capital of Cheshire, England, founded by the Romans. The name is derived from the Latin Castrum; Saxon, ceaster, a fortified place, a city, a castle or camp, it being a Roman station where the twentieth legion was quartered. The Roman stations in England were generally so called, being sometimes varied in dialect to Chester, Chaster, or Caster, the termination of many English towns, as Colchester, the camp on the river Coin; Doncaster, on the Don; Lancaster, on the Lon or Lune, etc.
CONN : (Gaelic.) Strength, according to O'Donovan; it is also the genitive plural of cu, a dog. Cond, signifies protecting, keeping.
COOKE : One whose occupation it is to prepare victuals for the table.
CORMAC : (Celtic.) The son of the chariot; first given, it is said, to a prince of Leinster who happened to be born in a chariot, while his mother was going on a journey.
CORNELL : In the British it signifies a corner, a place shaped like a horn (from the Latin cornu). Corneille, in the French, signifies a crow.
CRITTENDEN : (Cor. Br. and Welsh.) Local. The cot on the lower hill; from cru, a cot; tarn, lower, and dun or din, a hill; or it may be the chalk hill, from krit, Saxon, chalk.
CROGAN : (Gaelic.) A lean little person; literally, a shell, a pitcher, from krogan; krogan, a castle in North Wales. It may signify a little rock.
CULLEN : Local. From the town of Cullen, in Banflfehire, Scotland. The derivation is uncertain. It may be from Cuillean, holly, a place of holly-trees; or Cullin, the place at the neck of the lake, from Cul, a neck, the back of any thing, and lin, a lake, a pond.
CURTIS : An abbreviation of courteous. It may be from Curthose, a name given for wearing short hose, as the name Curtmantle was given to Henry the Second of England, from his introducing the fashion of wearing shorter mantlee than had been previously used.
DALRYMPLE : Local. Taken from the lands and barony of Dalrymple, in Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is said to be a corruption of ihe Gaelic Dale-roi-milleadh, which signifies the valley of the slaughter of kings, and the place was so called from a battle fought there before the Christian era, in which two kings, Fergus and Coilus, were slain. According to others, it signifies the valley of the crooked pool. I think the name signifies the valley on the margin of the pool, from the Welsh Dol, a valley; rhim, the edge or border, and pwll, a pool It is very nearly the same in Gaelic; Dail, a vale, troimh, by, along the whole extent, and poll, a small lake.
DALZIEL : (Gaelic.) Local. Taken from the parish of Dalziel, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The parish is said to have received its name from the old parish church which stood near ihe Clyde, which was probably so called from Dal, a dale or valley, and cille, a church the church in the valley. There is the following tradition, told by Nisbet, of the origin of the name: A favorite of Kenneth n. having been hanged by the Picts, and the King being much concerned that the body should be exposed in so disgraceful a situation, offered a large reward to him who should rescue it. This being an enterprise of great danger, no one was found bold enough to undertake it, till a gentleman came to the king, and said, Dahid, that is, 'I dare.'
DALYELL : (Gaelic.) Local. Taken from the parish of Dalziel, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The parish is said to have received its name from the old parish church which stood near ihe Clyde, which was probably so called from Dal, a dale or valley, and cille, a church the church in the valley. There is the following tradition, told by Nisbet, of the origin of the name: A favorite of Kenneth n. having been hanged by the Picts, and the King being much concerned that the body should be exposed in so disgraceful a situation, offered a large reward to him who should rescue it. This being an enterprise of great danger, no one was found bold enough to undertake it, till a gentleman came to the king, and said, Dahid, that is, 'I dare.'
DAWSON : Said to be a corruption of the Nor. Fr. D'Ossone, from the town of Ossone, in Normandy. Camden, however, thinks it a contraction of Davison, the son of David, which is the more probable derivation.
DEXTER : A contraction of De Exeter, from the city of Exeter, in Devonshire, England; anciently written Excester, from Exe, the name of the river on which it is situated, and cester, a camp or town for the derivation of which see Chester.
DICK : The familiar abbreviation of Richard. It may come from the Dutch Dyck, a bank or dike, a bulwark thrown up in the Low Countries against the sea or rivers to prevent inundation.
DORR : This name may have several significations, according to the language in which it was first given. Dorr, Gaelic, difficult, easily vexed. Dur, Gaelic, persevering, earnest, obstinate. Dorr, Icelandic, a spear. Dor, Cor. British, the earth; also dorre, to break. Doir, local, a woody place. Dar, Welsh, oak.
DUMFRIES : Local. A town in Scotland on the river Nith, and said to be so called from the Gaelic Dun, a castle, and Dutch vrows, women the castle or retreat of the women, a nunnery. I think rather it is derived from Dunfriih, the castle in the forest; Gaelic, Dun, a castle, and frith, a deer-forest
DURHAM : Local. Acoording to Bailey, this word is derived from the Saxon Dun and holm, a town in a wood. It seems rather to come from the British Dour, water, and holm, land surrounded mostly by water. It may be derived from Dovre, which, in the British and Celtic, signifies a woody place, abounding in oaks; hence Doireholm or Dourham, that is, the place or town surrounded by woods.
DURKEE : In the Gaelic, Duirche is the comparative of Dorch, dark, cloudy, hence dark-complexioned. It may come from Durga, Gaelic, surly, sour, repulsive Durgy, in the Cor. Br., signifies a small turf hedge.
DURGY : In the Gaelic, Duirche is the comparative of Dorch, dark, cloudy, hence dark-complexioned. It may come from Durga, Gaelic, surly, sour, repulsive Durgy, in the Cor. Br., signifies a small turf hedge.
DYER : One whose occupation it is to dye cloth.
ELTON : There are many places of this name in England; it is impossible to decide from which the family appellation is derived. The derivation is from the Saxon words ael, an eel, and ton a town abounding in eels.
ERSKINE : Some writers deduce this family from a noble Florentine wlio came to Scotland in the reign of Kenneth II. It is said, in the reign of Malcolm II, a Scotchman of high distinction having killed with his own hand Enrique, one of the Danish generals, at the battle of Murthill, cut off his head, and with .the, bloody dagger in his hand showed it to the king, and in the Gaelic language said Eriskyne, upon the knife,' alluding to the head and dagger; and in the same language also said, Intend to perform greater actions than what I have done. Whereupon, King Malcolm imposed upon him the surname of Eriskine, and assigned him for his armor-bearings a hand holding a dagger, with Je pense plus for a motto, which has continued to be the crest and motto of this family.
FAAL : (Gaelic.) A rocky place; Fells, Saxon, crags, barren and stony hills. Fates has the same signification. Falaise, a town in France, takes its name from the rocks which surround it.
FLANDERS : Local. A name given to a native of Flanders, a County or Earldom of the Low Countries, or Netherlands. It took its name either from Flandrina, the wife of Liderick II, Prince of Buc, or from Flambert, the nephew of Clodion, King of France.
GALGACHUS : In the chronicle of the kings of Scotland Galgachus is called Galdus, of which name and its etymology Gardon gives the following account: Galgachus was Latinized by the Romans, from the Highland appellations Gold and cachach; the first, Gold, being the proper name, and the second, cachach, being an adjection to it from the battles he had fought; it signifies the same as prceUosus; Gold the fighter of battles, which kind of nicknames are still in use among the Highlanders. Colgach, Gaelic, fierce, furious, and ach, battle, skirmish.
GARDINER : This name may be derived from the same roots as Gairden. It is probably, however, the same as Gardener, the orthography having been changed. Camden says, Wise was the man that told my Lord Bishop (Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester) that his name was not Gardener as the English pronounce it, but Gardiner, with the French accent, and therefore a gentleman. The principal family of the Gardiners in this country derive their descent from Lion Gardiner, a native of Scotland, who served under General Fairfax in the Low Countries as an engineer. He was sent to this country in 1635, by Lords Say and Sele, Brooke, and others, to build a fort, and make a settlement on their grant at the mouth of the Connecticut river. He built the fort at Saybrook, which name he gave to it after the names of his patrons Lords Say and Brooke. His eldest son, David, born at Fort Saybrook, in 1636, was the first white child born in Connecticut He afterward bought from the Indians the island in Long Island Sound, called by them Monchonack, and by the English the Isle of Wight, paying for it. as the old records say, a black dog, a gun, and some Dutch blankets. He removed there with his family, and gave it the name of Gardiner's Island. The island still remains in the possession of the family, having descended in a direct line from Lion Gardiner.
GOADBY : Local. This name is derived from the Danish word Gode, that is, good, fair, rich, fine, and by, the Danish for a town meaning the fair or handsome town. If the word is of British origin, it signifies the town by the wood, from Goed, in the Cor. Br., a wood.
GORDON : Ghurtduine, Gaelic, a fierce man; Gwrddyn, Welsh, a strong man; Cawrdyn, Welsh, a bero, a giant. Some have derived the Gordons from Gordinia, in Thessaly; others say they are descendants of the Gorduni mentioned by Caesar in his Commentaries. The name appears to be local, and may be derived from a town in France of that name, in the Department of Lot It signifies in Gaelic the round hill, or the hill that surrounds, from Gour, round, and dun, a hill or fort
GRANT : On this name Playfair remarks that it may be derived from the Saxon, Irish, or French. In the Saxon, Grant signifies crooked or bowed. Thus Cambridge, the town and University in England so called, signifies a crooked bridge, or rather a bridge upon Cam River, or the crooked and winding river. The Saxons called this town Grant Bridge, Cam in the British, and Grant in the Saxon, being of the same signification, crooked. So Mons Gramphius, the Grampian Hill, was called by the Saxons Granz Ben, or the crooked hill, but we can not see how from this Saxon word the surname should be borrowed. In the old Irish, Grandha signifies ugly, ill-favored. Grande signifies dark or swarthy. Grant and Ciar signify much the same thing, or are synonymous words, and there being a tribe of the Grants called Clan Chiaran, it is the same as Clan Grant Thus the surname might have been taken from a progenitor that was Chiar or Grant, that is to say, a swarthy or gray-headed man, and, though, in time, Grant became the common and prevailing surname, yet some always retained the other name, Chiaran, and are called Clan Chiaran. In the French Grand signifies great, brave, valorous, and from thence many are inclined to think that the surname Grant is taken from Grand, which in the Irish is sounded short, and thereby the letter d at the end of the word is changed into t, and thus Grand into Grant. The surname, it seems, was thus understood in England about five hundred years ago, for Richard Grant was made Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 1229, and is, in Mr. Anderson's (Genealogical Tables, as well as by others, expressly called Richard Grant. But the English historians of that time, writing in Latin, call him Richardus Magnus, which plainly shows that they took Grant to be the same with the French Grand, and the Latin Magnus. To which let us add, that in the old writs, the article the is put before the surname Grant.
GRIFFIN : A name given to a noted man, whose qualities or disposition, in some respects, resembled this fabulous creature. Griffurn, in Welsh, is applied to a man having a crooked nose, like a hawk's bill. Gryffyn, in the Cornish British, signifies to give. It may be the same as Griffith.
GUELPH : A wolf; the surname of the present Royal Family of England. We have the following amusing tradition of the origin of the royal house of Guelph: It is told in the chronicles that as far back as the days of Charlemagne, one Count Isenbrand, who resided near the Lake of Constance, met an old woman who had given birth to three children at once, a circumstance which appeared to him so portentous and unnatural that he assailed her with a torrent of abuse. Stung to fury by his insults, she cursed the Count, and wished that his wife, then enciente, might bring at a birth as many children as there are months in the year. The imprecation was fulfilled, and the countess became the mother of a dozen babes at once. Dreading the vengeance of her severe lord, she bade her maid go drown eleven of the twelve. But whom should the girl meet while on this horrible errand but the Count himself, who, suspecting that all was not right, demanded to know the contents of the basket. 'Welfen,' was the intrepid reply (i e., the old German term for puppies or young wolves). Dissatisfied with this explanation, the Count lifted up the cloth, and found under it eleven bonny infants nestled together. Their unblemished forms reconciled the sorupulous knight, and he resolved to recognize them as his lawful progeny. Thenceforward, their children and their descendants went by the name of Guelph or Welf
GUNN : (Br.) Local. From Gun, a plain, a down or common; Welsh, gwaen. A person whose name was Gunn complained to a friend that his attorney, in his bill, had not let him off easily. 'That's no wonder,' said his friend, 'as he charged you too high !' But this is not so good as an entry in the custom-house books of Edinburgh, where it appears that 'A,' meaning Alexander 'A. Gunn was discharged for making a false report !' Lower.
GOON : (Br.) Local. From Gun, a plain, a down or common; Welsh, gwaen. A person whose name was Gunn complained to a friend that his attorney, in his bill, had not let him off easily. 'That's no wonder,' said his friend, 'as he charged you too high !' But this is not so good as an entry in the custom-house books of Edinburgh, where it appears that 'A,' meaning Alexander 'A. Gunn was discharged for making a false report !' Lower.
HALES : Local. From a village in Gloucestershire, and also a town in Norfolk, England. In Cor. Br., it signifies low, level lands washed by a river or the sea; a moor. Playfair says, The word Hales is a compound one, being formed of the Saxon Hale or Heile, strong, healthy, and ley, etc. Others derive it from Halig, Saxon, holy.
HALKETT : The name of Halkett, in the writs of the family, is promiscuously written de Hawkhead” and de Halkett. It is territorial or local, and was assumed by the proprietor of the lands and barony of Hawkshead, in Renfrewshire, as soon as surnames became hereditary in Scotland.
HALLAM : From Hall, Welsh, salt, and ham, a house or village, from its manufacture in that place, or being situated near the salt water. It may be derived from Hal or Hayle, a moor, and ham, the house on the moor. Halham, the house on the hill, from Hal, Cornish British, a hill.
HAMMOND : Ham-mount, the town or house on the elevation. It may come from Hamon.
Origin of name provided by Jean Tosti
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