Origin
Ramsey : Scottish English and Irish (Antrim): habitational name from Ramsey (Huntingdonshire now part of Cambridgeshire) from Old English hramsa ‘wild garlic’ + ēg ‘island low-lying land’. Alternatively the name may also arise from Ramsey (Essex) probably from the same etymology as the Huntingdonshire placename. However this is unlikely to be the source of the Scottish surname. This form of the surname is also common in Ireland where it is probably in most if not all cases an altered form of Scottish Ramsay.
Breakspear : from Middle English breken ‘to break’ + spere ‘spear’ probably used for a successful contender in tournament or battle. Compare Stephen Bruselaunce 1308 in Ramsey Abbey Court Rolls (Suffolk); Martin Briselaunce 1312 in London Letter Books D; Richard Brekeswerd (‘break sword’) 1195 in Pipe Rolls (Lincs).
Higney : 1: from Ó hÉignigh see Heagney. 2: from Higney in Ramsey (Hunts) which is recorded as Hyggeneya Higkeneia and Hykeneye in medieval documents. The place-name derives from an Old English personal name *Hycga (genitive *Hycgan) + Old English ēg ‘island’.
Ramsay : Scottish and English: variant (the usual spelling in Scotland) of Ramsey. The Scottish Ramsays derive from Simund de Ramesie recorded before 1175 who went to Scotland from Ramsey (Huntingdonshire).
Tancred : metathesized variant of Tankard. There is no evidence that the modern surname derived from the Old French personal name Tancred (Continental Germanic Tancrad from *thank- ‘think thank’ + *rād- ‘counsel’) though the given name is attested in Tancredus filius Bernardi Tancredus de Witton 1252 in Ramsey Cartulary (Hunts) and a derived surname is apparently recorded in John Tankred 1389 in Crowland Abbey Estates (Cambs).
Theed : from an Old English personal name *Þēoda a short form of names with the first element þēod ‘people’ such as Þēodwulf. Alan son of Thede held land called Theduluesmere in Burstall (Suffolk) 1216–72 in Ancient Deeds iii. Compare Geoffrey Thedolf 1276 in Hundred Rolls (Bucks); John Thedwyne 1317 in Assize Rolls (Kent).occasionally perhaps from the Old English female personal name *Þēode or a name of which þēod ‘people’ was the first element. Compare Theberga vidua about 1250 in Ramsey Cartulary (Hunts); Richard Thedware 1252 in Ramsey Cartulary (Hunts); Gerbaga Thedlef 1327 in Subsidy Rolls (Suffolk).
White : 1: English: from Middle English white wit (Old English hwīt ‘white’) hence a nickname for someone with white hair or a pale complexion. In some cases it is perhaps from a Middle English survival of the Old English personal name Hwīta a short form of names in Hwīt- (from hwīt ‘white’). The name may also be topographic referring to someone who lived by a bend or curve in a river or road (from Old English wiht ‘bend’) the source of the placename of Great Whyte in Ramsey Huntingdonshire (compare Wight). This name is also a variant of Wight. The surname White is also very common among African Americans.2: Irish and Scottish: adopted for any of several Irish and Scottish Gaelic names based on bán ‘white fair’ (see Bain 1 McElwain) or fionn ‘fair’ (see Finn 1). The English surname has been Gaelicized in Ireland as de Faoite.3: Americanized form (translation into English) of various European surnames meaning ‘white’ for example German Weiss French Blanc Polish Białas (see Bialas) Slovenian Belec or any other synonymous Slavic surname beginning with Bel- Bev- Biel- or Bil-.4: Native American: translation into English and shortening of a personal name composed of a word meaning ‘white’ such as Lakota Sioux Waŋbli Ska ‘White Eagle’ (see Whiteeagle) or Tataŋka Ska ‘White Bull’ (see Whitebull). In many cases however this surname was probably chosen because it is a very common English surname in North America.
Worledge : 1: from Middle English worliche an occasional variant of worthli ‘worthy noble distinguished’ (Old English weorþlīc).variant of Wooldridge in which the Middle English personal name Wolrich or Wolrik has been metathesized to Worlich. 2: perhaps from Worlick (in Ramsey Hunts) which is recorded as Wiluuerihc in 1242 and Wyrlewyk in 1287. However the following bearers may belong at (1). The etymology of the place-name is uncertain.
Worley : English:: 1: habitational name with different origins. In the West Midlands this surname is most probably derived from Great or Little Wyrley in Norton Canes (Staffordshire). The placenames derive from Old English wīr ‘bog myrtle’ + lēah ‘wood woodland clearing’. In the East Midlands the name is possibly from Worlick in Ramsey (Huntingdonshire) the etymology of the which is uncertain. In northern England possibly from Whirley in Over Alderley (Cheshire) which has the same etymology as the Staffordshire names. There may also be a further unlocated source of this habitational name in southern England.2: possibly an irregular variant of Wortley or Warley.
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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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