Origin
Provost : 1: French: northern and western variant of Prévost (see Prevost) and in North America (also) an altered form of this (compare 2 below).2: English: occupational name from Middle English provost provest proust ‘provost steward representative’ (Old English prafost) also used for the head of a religious chapter or educational establishment or since such officials were usually clergy and celibate a nickname for a self-important person.
Fenwick : English (northern) and Scottish: habitational name from either of two places in Northumberland or from one in Yorkshire all of which are so named from Old English fenn ‘marsh fen’ + wīc ‘outlying dairy farm’. There is also a place in Ayrshire Scotland which has the same name and origin. This last is the source of at least some early examples of the surname: Nicholaus Fynwyk was provost of Ayr in 1313 and Reginald de Fynwyk or Fynvyk appears as bailie and alderman of the same burgh in 1387 and 1401. The name is usually pronounced ‘Fennick’.
Meacher : from a compound of Middle English meten ‘to measure (out) meet out repay’ + yare yarewe ‘thoroughly completely; promptly quickly’ perhaps for someone who met his obligations fully and promptly or (more likely) who required others to do so. The name appears to have originated in Stour Provost Dorset (see the 14th-century examples) where the variant Metyard is recorded in the 18th century. For the sense compare and contrast Stallabrass.
Stower : 1: see Storr. Some of the bearers cited here may belong to (2) or (3). 2: from Stour Provost East and West Stour or Stourpaine (Dorset) recorded as Stur(e) in 1086 and named from the River Stour which is named with a word related to the Germanic root *stūr- ‘strong stiff fierce’. The following post-medieval bearers may alternatively belong with (1). 3: from the Norman French given name Stur (Old Scandinavian Sture of uncertain etymology but possibly related to stórr ‘big’). It is not known if this survived as a hereditary surname.
Stowers : English:: 1: habitational name from the River Stour in Essex named with a word related to the ancient Germanic root stūr- ‘strong stiff fierce’. The surname has since developed a post-medieval excrescent -s.2: variant of Stower with post-medieval excrescent -s itself a variant of Storr. In some cases Stower is also a habitational name from Stour Provost East and West Stour or Stourpaine (Dorset) named from the River Stour (see above). The name may also have originated from the Norman French personal name Stur (Old Norse Sture of uncertain etymology but possibly related to stórr ‘big’) but it is not known if this survived as a hereditary surname.
Wannell : perhaps in some cases from Wadmill Farm in Stour Provost (Dorset) recorded as Wabenhull in 1300 and Wavenhill in 1421 or from the 'messuage lands and tenement called Wavinhill part of Axworthy barton in Thrushelton [Devon]' 1712 in Cornwall Record Office. The Dorset place-name appears to derive from an Old English personal name *Waba (genitive *Waban) + Old English hyll ‘hill’. The origin of the Devon place-name cannot be certain due to a lack of medieval forms.
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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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