Origin
Nicholas : English (southwestern England and south Wales) and Dutch: from the personal name Nicholas (from Latin Nicolaus from Greek Nikolaos from nikān ‘to conquer’ + laos ‘people’). Forms with -ch- are due to hypercorrection (compare Anthony). The name in various vernacular forms was popular among Christians throughout Europe in the Middle Ages largely as a result of the fame of a 4th-century Lycian bishop about whom a large number of legends grew up and who was venerated in the Orthodox Church as well as the Catholic. In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed cognates from other languages and also their patronymics and other derivatives e.g. Croatian and Serbian Nikolić (see Nikolic) Greek Papanikolaou ‘(son of) Nicholas the priest’ and Nikolopoulos. Compare Nickolas.
Adrian : English French German Polish and Romanian: from a vernacular form of the Latin personal name Adrianus (Hadrianus) originally an ethnic name denoting someone from the coast of the Adriatic (Latin Adria). It was borne by several minor early Christian saints in particular a martyr at Nicomedia (died c. 304) the patron saint of soldiers and butchers. Later the name was adopted by several popes including the only pope of English birth Nicholas Breakspear who reigned as Adrian IV (1154–59).
Bulfield : apparently from a lost or unidentified place so named perhaps deriving from Middle English bole bule ‘bull’ + feld ‘open land field’ (Old English *bula feld); or perhaps from Bilfield in Hatfield (Herefs) as in Nicholas de Billefeld 1290 in Patent Rolls (Herefs).
Chate : perhaps a variant of Chatt. Note that Catt is strongly present in east Sussex. If so the original short vowel has been lengthened perhaps through the influence of Old French chate ‘she-cat’. This would be a nickname but Johannes Chete 1379 in Poll Tax (Steyning and Bramber boroughs Sussex) occurs in the same part of Sussex as Chate and Chate and Chete with lengthening of the vowel could both derive from a Middle English personal name *Chat(te) or *Chet(te) (Old English C(e)atta) an alternative source of Catt and Chatt. Although there is no direct evidence of Chate as a variant of Chatt in Sussex it does occur in NE England. See Chatt and compare John Chate 1674 Jane Chatt 1746 in IGI (Whickham Durham); Nicholas Chate 1792 John Chatt 1793 in IGI (Allendale Northumb).
Chilman : 1: possibly from Middle English childesman ‘servant or attendant of a young noble’; see the 1276 record. Childman (from Middle English child ‘young noble’ + man) may have the same meaning.alternatively perhaps from an unrecorded Middle English personal name Childman (Old English *Cildmann) one of the late Old English personal names compounded with -mann with the same elements as in (i). Nicholas Childman was the son of Childman 1279 in Hundred Rolls (Cambs). 2: from the Old English personal name Cēolmund (from cēol ‘ship’ + mund ‘protection guardian’) which was common in the 8th and 9th centuries and recorded once later about 1050 in Herts. It must have continued in use after the Conquest at least in Somerset. For -man from -mund compare Osman.
Clayson : English: patronymic from the personal name Classe a short form of Nicholas. The name may have been imported to England in the Middle Ages by Flemish weavers. In North America this surname has probably absorbed some cases of Dutch Claassen and its variants.
Colkin : from the Middle English personal name Col(e)kin a pet form of Nicholas (see Cole) with the hypocoristic suffix -kin.
Diddams : variant of Didham with post-medieval excrescent -s. Compare Thomas Didham 1773 Nicholas Diddams 1786 in IGI (Stoke Damerel Devon); Lucy Diddam 1792 Elizabeth Diddams 1780 in IGI (Wherwell Hants). By folk etymology Diddams may have been altered somewhat earlier to Diddymouse and also to Didymus through false association with Didymus the latinized form of Greek didymos ‘twin’ an epithet of the apostle Thomas in the gospel of John (11:16).
Everall : 1: post-medieval variant of Averill. Compare Walter Averell 1607 Nicholas Everell 1652 Jeoffry Everall 1675 in IGI (Beeston Norfolk); Mary Everall 1665 Mary Averell 1682 in IGI (Saint Giles Cripplegate London); Abraham Averell 1716 William Everill 1771 in IGI (Wolverhampton Staffs). 2: perhaps from the rare Middle English female personal name Everil(d) representing either Old English Eoforhild (from eofor ‘boar’ + hild ‘battle’) or an unrecorded Old French form of its Continental Germanic equivalent Eburhild. As a post-Conquest given name it is apparently attested in a minor place-name Hevereldsshaghe 1439 in Place-Names of WR Yorks 3 p. 191 at Everill Shaw in Hebden Bridge. The 1379 WR Yorks surname cited below if derived from the personal name is unlikely to have any link with the post-medieval Shrops and Staffs surnames cited under (1). 3: perhaps a variant of Deverell the initial D- being dropped as though it were a reduced form of the Anglo-Norman French preposition de ‘of from’. However Deverell and its variants are solidly SW England especially Wilts with no presence in Shrops or Staffs where Everall and Everill are concentrated.
Eversham : 1: altered form of Everson; see Evison. 2: perhaps also a late variant of Evesham; compare Joseph Evesham 1789 in IGI (Sutton Saint Nicholas Herefs) and Elizabeth Eversham 1875 in IGI (Fownhope Herefs).
Garnham : the usual English form of Gernon. The name is pronounced as both /ʤa:nəm/ and /ga:nəm/ As early as the 12th century Gernun is found occasionally as Gernum. This later became Garnom and Garnam Garnham and Jarnham as if derived from a place-name. Thomas Gernon Nicholas Gernown John Garnon and Edmund Garnon 1524 in Subsidy Rolls (Bacton Suffolk) are identical with the 16th-century bearers from Bacton listed below.
Gilders : 1: variant of Gilder or Gelder with post-medieval excrescent -s. Compare Ric. Gelder 1566 in IGI (Barton upon Humber Lincs) Nicholas Gilder 1589 in IGI (Saint Ann Blackfriars London) Jeremie Gilder 1592 in IGI (Islip Oxon) and Anne Gilder 1769 in IGI (Alresford Essex) with the bearers cited below. 2: perhaps for an officer of a town's guild-house (Middle English gild-ho(u)s). However it is uncertain that the Middle English surname became hereditary as post-medieval forms like Gildas and Gildus are likely to be quasi-phonetic spellings of Gilders or Gelders in which /r/ has been assimilated to the following /s/. The 1688 spelling Gildhouse is probably a hypercorrect form of Gildus by folk etymology. All the post-medieval examples listed below may therefore belong at (1).
Goldwell : 1: from any of several places named from Middle English golde ‘(marsh) marigold’ + wel(le) ‘stream water source’ such as Goldwells in Horndon on the Hill (Essex) or Goldwell Farm in Charlton Abbots (Gloucs). 2: variant of Coldwell (see Caldwell) with voiced initial consonant. Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames notes that in Holmfirth WR Yorks Nicholas Coldwell (1664 in Parish Registers) is probably identical with Nicholas Gouldwell (1664 in Hearth Tax).
Gotobed : from Middle English go(e) + to + bed(de); compare Serle Gotokirke 1279 in Hundred Rolls (Cambs) John Gobiside 1379 in Yorks Poll Tax Johannes Gotoreste 1379 in Poll Tax (Banbury Oxon); Nicholas Gabyfore 1430 in Durham Priory Fees.
Gunby : English: habitational name from Gunby in East Yorkshire which is named from the Old Norse female personal name Gunnhildr + Old Norse bȳ ‘farmstead settlement’ or from Gunby Saint Nicholas or Gunby Saint Peter in Lincolnshire named from the Old Norse male personal name Gunni + bȳ ‘farmstead settlement’.
Ibell : from the Middle English female personal name Ibel a pet form of Isabel. Compare Ibbs and John Ibelsone 1381 in Subsidy Rolls (Staffs).perhaps occasionally a locative name as with Robert de Ibole 1314 Nicholas de Ibull 1387 in Patent Rolls (Derbys) but no early Derbys connection has been established with the modern name.
Lutton : English:: 1: habitational name from East and West Lutton in Weaverthorpe (East Yorkshire) or from Lutton in Sutton Saint Nicholas (Lincolnshire).2: variant of Luton.
Nicolosi : Italian (Sicily): habitational name from a place so called in Catania which takes its name from a monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
Nikolas : 1: Greek: from the personal name Nikola(o)s (see Nicholas) or in most cases an (American) shortened form of any of various Greek derivatives of this personal name e.g. Nikolaidis Papanikolaou ‘(son of) Nicholas the Priest’ and Hatzinikolaou ‘(son of) Nicholas the Pilgrim’. See also Nicolas compare Nickolas.2: German: variant of Nikolaus.3: Croatian and Serbian (Nikolaš): from a vernacular form of the personal name Nikola (see Nicholas).4: Americanized form of any of various Serbian Macedonian or Bulgarian patronymics from the personal name Nikola ‘Nicholas’; see Nickolas compare Nicolas.
Prickard : 2: occasionally perhaps from Middle English priken ‘to stab pierce’ + hert hurt ‘hart deer’ (Old English prician + heorot) probably denoting a hunter. Compare Pretlove and note also John Prikehering 1279 in Hundred Rolls (Hunts) ‘prick herring’ (probably for a fisherman); William Prikeavant 1279 in Hundred Rolls (Beds) ‘spur in front’; Nicholas Prikhors 1327 in Subsidy Rolls (Yorks) ‘prick horse’ (presumably for a hard rider who used his spurs). 1: variant of Pritchard (compare Rickard).
Prinn : from Old French prin ‘first superior; small slender’. McKinley Surnames of Sussex p. 405 notes that Nicholas Prinne (1327) is possibly the same man as Nicholas le Premir (1332). See Primmer and compare Prime.
Ratliff : English (Suffolk): habitational name from one or more of the places so named such as Radcliffe (Lancashire) Radcliffe on Trent and Ratcliffe on Soar (both Nottinghamshire) Radclive (Buckinghamshire) Ratcliffe Culey and Ratcliffe on the Wreake (both Leicestershire) Ratclyffe in Clyst Hydon Ratcliffes in Thorverton and Ratcliffes in Broad Clyst (all Devon) Ratcliff in Stepney (Middlesex) and Rackley in Compton Bishop (Somerset). The placenames derive from Old English rēad ‘red’ + clif ‘cliff bank steep slope’ (see also Rutley). A family of the name Radcliffe trace their descent from Sir Nicholas de Radclyffe. He is said to have been a knight who held the major of Radcliffe in Lancashire and served Roger de Poitou Baron de Marsey in the 11th century.
Ridley : 1: English: habitational name from any of various places called Ridley (Cheshire Kent Northumberland) or Ridley Hall in Terling (Essex). The Cheshire Kent and Northumberland placenames probably derive from Old English (ge)ryd(d) ‘cleared’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. The Essex placename may derive from Old English rēad ‘red’ + lēah. A Northumberland family of this name included Bishop Nicholas Ridley who was burned at the stake in 1555 for refusing to recant his Protestant beliefs.2: Possibly also an altered form of Swiss German Riedle or Riedler (see Ridler).
Rushall : 1: perhaps from any of several places called Rushall (Norfolk Staffs Wilts) especially the one in Staffs or possibly sometimes from Rusthall in Speldhurst (Kent). Rushall in Staffs which is recorded as Rischale in 1086 Rushale in 1195 and Russehall in 1242 derives from Old English *rysc ‘rush rushes’ + halh ‘nook corner of land’. Rushall in Norfolk which is recorded as Riuishale in 1175 derives from an uncertain first element + Old English halh. Rushall in Wilts is recorded as Rusteshala in 1160 Rusteshell in 1285 Rosshall in 1416 Russhale in 1430 and Russall in 1535. It derives from an Old English personal name *Rust (genitive *Rustes) + halh. Rusthall in Speldhurst (Kent) which is recorded in a surname as (de) Rustuwelle in about 1180 probably derives from Old English rust ‘rust rust colour’ + wella ‘well spring stream’ but with a change in the final element due to influence from Middle English Old English hall ‘hall residence’ perhaps referring to a nearby building. See Rustell. 2: see Russell which was probably confused with the name in (1). Compare William Rushall 1598 in PROB 11 (Tewkesbury Gloucs) with John Russel 1327 in Subsidy Rolls (Tewkesbury Gloucs) and Elnor Russell 1576 in IGI (Tewkesbury Gloucs); Elyzabeth Rushall 1612 in IGI (Mickleton Gloucs) with Nicholas and WilliamRussel 1327 in Subsidy Rolls (Mickleton Gloucs); and Thomas Russell 1662 in IGI (Childs Wickham Gloucs) with Johannes Russhel 1381 in Poll Tax (Childswickham Gloucs). 3: see Rossall.
San Nicolas : Spanish (San Nicolás; also Sannicolás): habitational name from any of numerous places so named for a local shrine or church dedicated to Saint Nicholas (Spanish San Nicolás); see Nicholas.
Short : 1: English: nickname for a short person from Middle English short ‘short’ (Old English sceort).2: English: topographic name for someone who lived at a detached or cut-off piece of land (Middle English shorte shirte from Old English scierte scerte scyrte) or else a habitational name from a place so named such as Shoart in Harbeldown (Kent) and Shuart in Saint Nicholas at Wade (Kent). Compare Shorter.3: Irish and Scottish: adopted for Gaelic Mac an Gheairr Mac an Ghirr ‘son of the short man’ (see McGirr).4: Americanized form (translation into English) of German Kurz.
Standeven : hypercorrect form of Standen. Citing Nicholas Standen or Standeven 1561–81 in Subsidy Rolls (Slaidburn WR Yorks) Redmonds rightly infers that Standen was re-interpreted by folk etymology as though it were a vulgar pronunciation of stand even as stand e'en.
Tolentino : 1: Italian and Jewish (from Italy): habitational name from the city of Tolentino in Macerata province.2: Spanish: from the personal name Tolentino of the same origin as 1 above adopted because of its association with Saint Nicholas of Tolentino (c. 1245–1305). This surname is most common in the Philippines and Mexico.
Trinick : of uncertain origin; probably from a place-name with various possible places of origin but it is unclear where it arose. Trennick in Saint Clement is a possibility but apart from Nicholas Tretheneke 1543 in Subsidy Rolls (Saint Clement Cornwall) no example deriving from this place has been securely identified and it is even unclear whether his surname developed into Trinick. Other possible place-name sources (e.g. Treneague in Saint Breock) require the stress to have shifted from the second to the first syllable and are therefore uncertain.
Tyas : 1: from Anglo-Norman French t(i)eis tiais ‘Teuton German’ denoting someone from Germany or the Low Countries. Some of the early bearers may belong with (2). 2: occasionally from Thiais (Val-de-Marne). Compare Nicholas de Tieys canon of the church of Saint Stephen de Gressibus Paris 1309 in Patent Rolls.
Wadhams : English: variant of Wadham with post-medieval excrescent -s a habitational name from Wadham in Knowstone (Devon). The placename derives from the Old English personal name Wada or Old English wād ‘woad’ + hām ‘village homestead’ or hamm ‘water meadow’. Wadham College Oxford was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham widow of Nicholas Wadham (died 1609) a wealthy Somerset landowner.
Wadwell : hypercorrect variant of Waddell. Compare Nicholas Waddell 1587 William Wadwell 1646 in IGI (Dover Kent); Thomazine Waddell 1615 John Wadwell 1673 in IGI (Canterbury Kent).
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.
Windover : apparently a variant of Wendover. Compare Nicholas Wendover 1696 Nicholas Windover 1733 in IGI (Stockbridge Hants); Samuel Windover 1749 Samuel Wendover 1756 in IGI (Portsea Hants). However the 1345 early bearer raises the possibility of an additional unknown locative origin.
Woodlow : from Woodloes in Warwick Saint Nicholas (Warwicks) which is recorded as Wudulau in 1123. The place-name derives from Old English wudu ‘wood’ + hlāw ‘mound hill’.
Wordsworth : Bardsley suggests that it is a variant of Wadsworth noting that at Silkstone (WR Yorks) the surname appears as Waddysworth (1556) Wardsworth (1656) Wadsworth (1666) and Wordsworth (from 1668). The link has been confirmed by DNA research in which one rare haplotype was shared among some Wadsworths and some Wordsworths. Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames however argues that the documentary evidence points firmly to it being a variant of Wardleworth. He notes that Adam de World(es)worth of Barnsley in 1394 is linked by a deed to the Wordsworth family in Penistone (WR Yorks) 1398-1401 and cites Nicholas de Wordulworth of Penistone in 1408. It is possible therefore that Wadsworth itself is sometimes a variant of Wardleworth.
Wraith : 1: variant of Wroth from northern Middle English wra(i)th ‘angry’. 2: variant of Wraight Middle English wregh(t) wrethe ‘carpenter’ in which th represents one of several Middle English and early Modern English pronunciations of Middle English gh and ght. Compare Nicholas Wrayte 1575 John Wraight 1583 Alice Wraite 1585 Anthonye Wraith 1591 in IGI (Elham Kent); John Wryght 1613 Ann Wreth 1751 in IGI (Uffculme Devon).
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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