Origin
Michael : English German Dutch Jewish and Greek: from the personal name Michael ultimately from Hebrew Mika’el ‘Who is like God?’. This was borne by an archangel in the Bible the protector of Israel (Daniel 10:13 12:1; Rev. 12:7). In Christian tradition Michael was regarded as the warrior archangel conqueror of Satan and the personal name was correspondingly popular throughout Europe especially in knightly and military families. In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed many cognates from other languages e.g. Hungarian Mihály (see Mihaly) Czech and Slovak Michal Assyrian/Chaldean or Arabic Mikhael and Mikhail and also patronymics and other derivatives from these names e.g. Greek Papamichael its cognate Papamichalis and Michaelides Serbian Mihajlović (see Mihajlovic) and Slovenian Mihelčič (see Mihelcic). Compare Mikeal.
Barnwell : 1: English (Warwickshire): habitational name from a place so called in Cambridgeshire and another in Northamptonshire both named with Old English beorn ‘warrior’ (genitive plural beorna) or the Old English personal name Beorna + well(a) ‘stream’.2: Irish (Dublin Meath): of English origin (the same as 1 above). Sir Michael de Berneval or de Barneval took part in Strongbow's expedition to Ireland in 1172. He first held land in Berehavan Cork before the main landing in Leinster. The English surname was Gaelicized as de Bearnabhal.
Bartle : 1: English: from the Middle English and Old French personal name Bartel a pet form of the medieval personal name Bartholomew.2: English: habitational name from Higher and Lower Bartle in Saint Michael on Wyre parish Lancashire.3: German (also Bärtle): from a pet form of the personal name Bartholomäus (see Bartholomew) or Berthold.4: Americanized form of German Polish Czech and Slovak Bartel and of the Slovenian variant Bartelj.
Burwood : from Burghwood Farm in Ormesby Saint Michael or Burwood Hall in Mileham (both Norfolk). The place-names probably contain Middle English burgh in the later sense ‘manor’ + wod(e) ‘wood’.
Creech : 1: English: habitational name from Creech Saint Michael in Somerset or East Creech in Dorset both named with the Celtic element crṻg ‘mound hill’.2: English: perhaps a topographic name for someone who lived by a creek if Reaney is right to presume a Middle English word crich(e) creche (Old English cricc) with this sense. Alternatively from Middle English cracche crecche ‘manger stall; stable’ perhaps ‘cottage or hut’.3: Manx: shortened form of Gaelic Mac Raois an altered form of Mac Aonghuis ‘son of Aonghus (Angus)’. Ballacreetch in Onchan on the Isle of Man means ‘Creetch's farm’.4: Scottish: habitational name from Creich in Fife. The name is now rare in Scotland.5: Possibly also an Americanized form of German Krietsch (or some other similar like-sounding surname).
Cridge : English (Suffolk and Norfolk): perhaps a habitational name from East Creech in Church Knowle or Creech in Steeple (both in Dorset) or Creech Saint Michael (Somerset); or from some other place whose name has a similar origin (British Celtic crouco- ‘hill barrow’).
Engley : perhaps a reduced variant of English. Compare Richardi Englis 1686 Richard Engles 1736 John English 1784 in IGI (Gloucester Gloucs) and Michael English 1726 in IGI (Woodchester Gloucs) with the bearers below.
Gebremichael : Ethiopian (also Gebre Michael): from the personal name Gebre Michael which has the Christian religious meaning ‘servant of St. Michael’ (see Gebre and Michael). — Note: Since Ethiopians do not have hereditary surnames this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.
Grazebrook : probably a variant of Grisbrook though there may have been some confusion with Glazebrook; compare Benjamn Glazebrook 1715 Benj Grazebrook 1721 in IGI (Bisley Gloucs); Michael Glazbrook 1719 Samuel Grazebrook 1760 in IGI (Old Swinford Worcs); Esther Glazebrook 1790 Esther Grazebrook 1793 in IGI (Bolton Lancs).
Honomichl : Czech: from a shortened form of the German personal name Johann Michael.
Karahalios : Greek: nickname meaning ‘Black Mike’ composed of Turkish kara ‘black’ (see Karas) and the personal name Halios a pet form of Michaēl (see Michael).
Kington : English: habitational name from Kington Saint Michael or West Kington (both Wiltshire) Kington (Worcestershire) Kington in Thornbury (Gloucestershire) Kington in Claverdon (Warwickshire) Old Kington (Herefordshire) or any of the three places called Kington in Dorset. The placenames derive from Old English cyne ‘royal’ or cyning ‘king’ + tūn ‘farmstead estate’.
Maskew : perhaps from a minor locality in Crosthwaite (Westm) called Merskhowe in 1374 alluding to a hill (Old Scandinavian haugr) by a marsh (Old Scandinavian mersk). Compare Alice Merscow 1655 in IGI (Garstang Lancs) with Margaret Maskow 1709 in IGI (Saint Michael on Wyre Lancs) and Gulielmus Marscough 1821 in IGI (Clayton le Moors Lancs). Colloquial reduction of Mersk- to Mask- is unexceptional while final -ow frequently becomes -ew in NW English dialect subsequently weakened to -ey. However there is no medieval evidence that this minor feature in the landscape gave rise to a surname.alternatively perhaps from Marshaw (in Overwyresdale Lancaster Lancs) recorded as Marthesagh in 1323 and explained as the wood (Old English sceaga) frequented by martens (Old English mearð). By folk etymology Marsh- may have been altered to Marsk- and -shaw equated with -scough and -skew (Old Scandinavian skógr) ‘wood’.perhaps a variant of Maskall or Maskell (see Marshall) possibly illustrated by John Maskall 1612 Thomas Maskew 1618 in IGI (Saint Mary Castlegate York) and Marmaduke Maskew 1622 William Maskell 1660 in IGI (Holy Trinity Goodramgate York).
Michaelides : Greek: patronymic from the personal name Michaēl (see Michael). The suffix -ides meaning ‘son/descendant of’ is classical and was revived in the 19th century in particular by Greeks from Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace.
Miles : 1: English (of Norman origin): from the Middle English (Old French) personal name Mile + genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s or from its other Old French form Miles a derivative of ancient Germanic Milo based on the element mil from mel ‘good generous’. The Old French oblique case form was Milon (see Milon 1). Compare Millen and Millson.2: English: variant with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s of Myhill from a vernacular form of the Biblical name Michael. Miles Coverdale the translator of the Bible when in Germany called himself Michael Anglus (‘the Englishman’).3: Irish (Louth and Kilkenny): when not the same as 1 or 2 it is sometimes an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maolmhuire see Myles.4: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): patronymic from the Yiddish personal name Mile a diminutive of Yerachmiel a variant of Biblical Yerachmel (1 Chronicles 2:9). It is formed with the Yiddish possessive -s.5: Americanized form of some original Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname.6: German: variant of Miels a patronymic from Miele 4.
Milkins : from an unrecorded Middle English *Milkin probably a pet form of the female personal name Millicent (see Mill Millicent) or one of the male names Miles or Michael (see Miles Myhill). The additional -s appears to be optional and post-medieval.
Mycock : from an unrecorded Middle English personal name *Mycok which would be a pet form of My a shortened form of Myhel i.e. Michael. See Myhill and compare Myatt.alternatively perhaps a variant of Maycock but the change in the vowel is unexplained.
Nancarrow : Cornish: habitational name from any of the places in the parishes of Saint Allen and Saint Michael Penkivel so named from Cornish nans ‘valley’ + carow ‘deer stag’ or garow ‘rough’.
Rothermich : German: perhaps from rot(er) ‘red’ + a short form of the personal name Michael i.e. a distinguishing nickname for a Michael with red hair.
San Miguel : Spanish (also Sanmiguel): habitational name from any of numerous places so named for a local shrine or church dedicated to Saint Michael (Spanish San Miguel); see Michael.
St. Michel : French (Saint-Michel): habitational name from any of several places in various parts of France named Saint-Michel (from the dedication of their churches to Saint Michael) or a nickname with the prefix Saint as an (ironic) attachment to the personal name or surname Michel.
Sumpster : 1: from Middle English *somester *sumester probably a variant of Middle English *somer *sumur ‘packhorse man’ (see Summer) in which the suffix -ester has been substituted for the -er in somer as with Baxter for Baker and Webster for Webber. With this sense and with the common development of an intrusive /p/ between /m/ and /p/ *somester will have been synonymous with Sumpter and probably confused with it; see (2). Some of the following post-medieval examples beginning in Som- or Sum- may alternatively belong with (2) while some of those beginning in Sim- and Sem- may belong with Simister (2).alternatively Middle English *somester *sumester might denote ‘load bearer porter carrier’; compare Summer (iii).derivation from early Modern English summister ‘schoolman abridger’ as suggested in Bardsley is improbable. However Bardsley notes several medieval examples (undated) of Sum(m)aster Summayster and Somayster while John Somaister degher (‘dyer’) 1332 in Subsidy Rolls (Exeter Devon) may be compared with John le Mayster degher in the same document. Bardsley records Samuel Summaster of Devon 1607 in Oxford University Register and a Michael Summaster is recorded in 1623 in IGI (Truro Cornwall). Perhaps a summayster was a weigh master a man in charge of weighing wool etc. at the market. It is unclear whether this name survived beyond the 17th century. 2: variant of Sumpter with an intrusive -s-.
Taskis : from Taskus (Gwinear Cornwall) found in (William de) Talscus in 1316 Michael Talscoys in 1342. However no early-modern bearers of the surname have been found and it is obscure how and when it arose and came to be transmitted as a modern surname. The place-name appears to be from Middle Cornish tal ‘brow’ + schus ‘shade’; the first-syllable stress suggests instead a compound ‘brow-shade’ which makes less sense but the pronunciation of the name may have been influenced by nearby Trevaskis of different derivation.
Tilby : possibly a variant of Tailby which derives from Tealby (Lincs) but this place-name usually appears in forms like Tevelby and Teleby in the medieval period and seems unlikely to have given rise to the early Tilby spellings cited below. A reference to Michael Johnson of London sawyer born at Tylby in the parts of Brabant 1436 in Patent Rolls suggests that the name may be an English rendering of Tilburg.
Vineer : apparently a variant of Venner. Compare John Venner 1695 Thomas Veneer 1720 in IGI (Hatherleigh Devon); Michael Venner 1729 Edward Vineer 1764 in IGI (Mersham Kent).
Welham : 1: from Welham in Leics named from Old English wella + hām ‘homestead by the stream’. The surname appears to have migrated to Norfolk and Suffolk by the 14th century although the variation between Welholme (1308) and Welham (1310) in the family name of the lords of Stratton Saint Michael (Norfolk) seems to imply a different source. No place called Welholme (where the second element is Old Scandinavian holmr ‘raised land in a marshy area’) has been identified and it may be an altered form of Welham through association with Holme Hill the original site of their manor house in Stratton. 2: from Welham in Clarborough Notts named from Old English wellum ‘(at the) wells or springs’. Welham in ER Yorks which has the same etymology is not known to have given rise to a surname.
Wigby : probably an alterered form of Whitby with substitution of /k/ for /t/ and later voicing of /k/ to /g/. Compare Robert Wickby 1605 Robert Whitby 1608 in IGI (each recorded as a parent in Saint Michael at Plea Norwich Norfolk) and compare Robert Whitby 1715 in IGI (Saint Nicholas Liverpool Lancs) and Sarah Whitby 1787 in IGI (Hornchurch Essex) with the early bearers cited below.
Woldemichael : Ethiopian (also Wolde Michael): from the personal name Wolde Michael which has the Christian religious meaning ‘son of St. Michael’ (see Wolde and Michael). — Note: Since Ethiopians do not have hereditary surnames this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.
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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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