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.
ABERNETHY : (Gaelic and Celtic.) Local. From a town in Strathern, Scotland, on the river Tay; derived from Aber, as given above, and nethy, in the Gaelic, dangerous. Nith or Nithy, is also the name of a river in the south of Scotland, and the name may have been taken from a town at or near its mouth Abernithy.
AINSWORTH : (British and Welsh.) Local. From ains, a spring, a river, and gwerth, a place, possession, or court. In the British and Gaelic, Aun, Ain, Au, Hain, Aon, and Avon, signify a river; the place or possession on the river.
ANNAN : Local. A river and borough of Scotland. From the Gaelic aon, aon, one, one, or the river that divides the dale in two shares. Amhan, Avon, or An-oun, in Gaelic, may signify the slow running water; a gentle river.
ARBUTHNOT : Local. First assumed by the proprietors of the land and barony of Arbuthnot in the Mearns, Scotland. The name is said to have been anciently written Aberbuthnoth, which signifies the dwelling near the confluence of the river with the sea, from Aber, the mouth of a river, both, a dwelling, and neth, a stream that descends, or is lower than some other relative object.
ARUNDEL : Local. From a town in Sussex, England, on the river Arun; a corruption of Arundale the dale on the Arun.
ASHFORD : (Sax.) Local. A town in Kent, England, on the river Ash or Esh the ford over the Ash.
ASKEW : (Sax.) Local. Acksheugh, billy lands covered with oaks. Aschau, local, a town on the bend of a river in Sleswick, Denmark. Askew crooked, from the Danish.
AYLSWORTH : This name admits of several meanings; Eall, Saxon, finished, completed, and worth, a farm-house or village. Ayles, Cor. Br., low meadow, flat lands, washed by a river, sea, or lake, and gwerth, a worth, farm, house, village.
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.
BALFOUR : Local. From the barony and castle of Balfour, near the confluence of the rivers Or and Leven. (Scot.) Ball and Balla, in Gaelic, signifies a casting up, raising, and denotes a wall, fortress, house, a village. Balfour, i. e., the Keep, or castle on the river Or. Balfoir the castle of deliverance or security.
BARROW : Local. A circular earthen mound, marking the place of interment of some noted person; also a place of defense. The name of a river in Ireland.
BARWICK : Local. A town in Northumberland, Eng., at the mouth of the river Tweed. The name signifies, the town at the mouth of a river, from aber, the mouth, and wick, a town or harbor. Berewick, the corn-town, from bere, barley, corn.
BERWICK : Local. A town in Northumberland, Eng., at the mouth of the river Tweed. The name signifies, the town at the mouth of a river, from aber, the mouth, and wick, a town or harbor. Berewick, the corn-town, from bere, barley, corn.
BEACH : Local. The shore of the sea, lake, or river.
BEAUMONT : (Nor. Fr.) De Beaumont; a city in France, on the river Sarte, in the province of Mayne; the fair mount. De Bello Monte.
BEDFORD : Local. A town and shire in England; from the Saxon bedan, battle, war, slaughter, and ford, a way or shallow place for crossing a river. Byddin-ffordd, Welsh, the route or way of the army.
BEVERLY : Local. From the borough of Beverly in Yorkshire, England; from Belvoir, a beautiful prospect, and ley, a place or field. Some say the lake of beavers, from Beverlac, and so called from the beavers which abounded in the river Hull, near by.
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.
BOURNE : Local. From the town of Bourne, in Lincolnshire, England, which is so named from the old English Bourne, a small river or spring-well.
BOYD : (Gaelic.) From Buidhe, yellow-haired. Boyd, a river of England that unites with the Avon.
BRAINE : Local. A small town and abbey on the river Vesle, in France. Brain, Gaelic, a chieftain; a naval commander; a captain of a ship.
BRANDRETH : Bailey defines this name the curb of a well, but I think the name is local, and may be derived aa follows: Bran, both Welsh and Gaelic, signifies a swift river, and dreth, the sandy shore or strand. Brandreth may also mean the sandy shore frequented by wild-fowl, from Bran, a crow, and dreth, as above. Brwyndreth, in Welsh, denotes the shore abounding with rushes, from brwyn, rushes, and treth, the shore. I prefer, however, to use Bran in the sense of dark, black, and then we have the dark shore, or water, or a place on the shore of the river Bran.
BRYNE : Local. A river in Donegal, Ireland; in Welsh, a hill. Bryne, Saxon, a burning.
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.
BURD : Local. A river in France.
BURGOS : Local. A city of Spain, in Old Castile, situated beside a hill, on the river Arlanzon.
BURNHAM : Local. Derived from Burnham, a town in Norfolk, also in Essex, England; in the old English, Bourn or Burn, signifies a river, and ham, a village or town the village by the river. Bourn, burn, and bern, in the Cornish-British, is a hill, a heap; and Burnham, the house or town on the rising ground.
CALDER : Local. A river in Yorkshire, England. Cadduor, Gaelic and Welsh, the water that incloses or shuts in.
CALDERWOOD : Local. The wood on the river Calder.
CANON : (Welsh.) The river Taf is called in the interior the Canon, or the singing river. A rule, a law; a dignitary of the church.
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.
CHESEBROUGH : Local. The cheese-borough or town. Chessbro, the hill or town on the river Chess.
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.
CLAVERING : Local. First assumed by the proprietors of the barony of Clavering, in Essex, England, near the springhead of the river Tort. Derived from the Anglo-Saxon cloefer, or Belgic klaver, both denoting clover; and ing, a meadow, a pasture the clover-fields.
CLAY : Local. A town of France in Seine. A lake on the isle of Lewis, Scotland. Clee, hills in Wales. Oh, left-handed, a place lying to the left, in relation to another place. Cledh, cloid, and cladd, in the Gaelic, Welsh, and British, signify a ditch, a trench, a wall; cladh, a church-yard; cledd, Welsh, a sword; Gaelic, claiheamb, from which we have Cloymore, a large sword. The same word in Welsh and Gaelic that signifies a river is often applied to a sword, from their resemblance in glittering brightness.
COLY : Local. A little river in Devonshire, England.
COMEYN : From Cominges, a town in France, anciently called Lugdunum Convenarum, situated on a hill near the banks of the river Garonne, so named because people of diverse countries assembled together to dwell in that place. Comeyne or De Cominges went into England with William the Conqueror.
DE COMINGES : From Cominges, a town in France, anciently called Lugdunum Convenarum, situated on a hill near the banks of the river Garonne, so named because people of diverse countries assembled together to dwell in that place. Comeyne or De Cominges went into England with William the Conqueror.
CONANT : (Welsh and Gaelic.) Conan, a river. Counant, a cataract in North Wales, from cau, a chasm, a deep hollow, shut up, and nant, a rivulet.
CONTIN : Local. From Contin, a parish in Rosshire, Scotland, derived from the Gaelic Con-tuinn, signifying the meeting of the waters, alluding to the forking of the river Rasay, which here form an island.
CONWAY : (Br. and Celtic.) Local. From a river of that name in Wales, which issues from a lake in Merionethshire, and flows through a fertile vale of the same name, and enters the Irish Sea, at Aberconway; from Con, head, chief, and wy, a river.
COOTE : Local. Welsh, Coed, a wood; Cor. Br., Coit and Cut. Coot-hill or Coit-hayle, the wood on the river.
COURTENAY : Local. A town of France which stands on a hill on the banks of the small river Clairy, about fifty-six miles south of Paris. This small town has imparted its name to several princes, whose actions are celebrated in French history. The name signifies The court near the water.
CRAYFORD : Local. A town on the river Cray, in Kent, England. The ford over the Cray.
CROMWELL : (Br.) Local. From crom, crooked, and hal or hayle, low, level land bordering on the river or sea. Lowlands on the bend of a river.
DART : Local. A river in England. Duart, a town in Scotland.
DARWIN : (Welsh.) From Derwin, an oak; local, Derwent, a river in England.
DAVENPORT : Local. Derived from the town of Davenport, in Cheshire, England, so called from the river Dan or Daven (which name signifies a river), and port, a haven or harbor.
DAWES : Local. D'Awes, from the river, fountain, or water.
DEWSBURY : Local. A town on the river Calder, England.
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.
DOUGLASS : (Gaelic.) Local. The dark green river, from Dhu, black, dark, and glass, green. A river of Scotland which flows into the Clyde. A town of Lanarkshire. The tradition of the origin of the name is this: in the year 770, a man of rank and figure came seasonably to the assistance of Solvatius, King of Scotland, whose territory was then invaded by Donald Bain, of the Western Isles. The victory being obtained, the King was desirous to see the man who had done him so signal a service, and he was pointed out to him in these words, in the Gaelic, Sholto Dhuglass, behold that dark, or swarthy, man.
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
DUNLEVY : (Cor. Br. and Gaelic.) Local. From Dun, a hill, ley, green, and vy, a river or stream the green hills by the river. Dunlamh or Dunlavy, in Gaelic, signifies the strong-handed. Dunalamhas, mh having the sound of v, is the hill or castle of warriors.
DURBAN : Local. D'Urbin, a province of Italy. Urbin or Urbino, a city situated nearly in the middle of the province or Duchy of Urbin, near the source of the river Foglia.
EAGER : Sharp-set, vehement, earnest The name may be local, from the river Eger, in Bohemia, or Egra, a city on the river Eger.
ELWY : Local. A river in Wales.
EMMET : Local. The name of a river; Eimot, Gaelic, the quick river, from eim, quick. Emmet, Saxon, aemet, an ant.
ENNIS : (Celtic or Gaelic.) Local. An island or peninsula, made so either by a fresh water river or the sea. Ynys in the Welsh.
ENNES : (Celtic or Gaelic.) Local. An island or peninsula, made so either by a fresh water river or the sea. Ynys in the Welsh.
INNIS : (Celtic or Gaelic.) Local. An island or peninsula, made so either by a fresh water river or the sea. Ynys in the Welsh.
FALES : Local. Fale, a river of Cornwall, England; also, a rough, rocky place.
GANO : Local. Welsh, genau, an opening of a lake, river, dale or valley; a place admitting entrance. Genau, in Ger., signifies shorty alluding to stature.
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.
GIRVAN : Local. From the river and town of Girvan in Ayrshire, Scotland. In the Welsh, Gearafon or Chwyrddafon, implies the river flowing through the green flourishing place, from afon or avon, a river, and Gwyrdd, green, flourishing.
GLANVlLLE : Local. A house or castle on the shore of a river or the sea; Welsh, glan, a shore, bank of a river; old French or Gaelic, the same; as Glandeve, in France, on the banks of the Var. Glan or glen signifies also a narrow valley or dell.
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.
HAINES : Camden derives the name from Ainulph, and that from Ana, alone, and ulph, Sax., help, that is one who needs not the assistance of others. Haine, a river in Belgium. Haine, Fr., signifies malicious, full of hatred. Hain, German, a wood, forest, thicket, grove.
HAYNES : Camden derives the name from Ainulph, and that from Ana, alone, and ulph, Sax., help, that is one who needs not the assistance of others. Haine, a river in Belgium. Haine, Fr., signifies malicious, full of hatred. Hain, German, a wood, forest, thicket, grove.
HAINSWORTH : (Anglo-Saxon) Local. The farm or place in the forest or grove, from home, German and Saxon, a wood, and worth, a place inclosed, cultivated. British and Welsh, the estate on the river.
HAYNSWORTH : (Anglo-Saxon) Local. The farm or place in the forest or grove, from home, German and Saxon, a wood, and worth, a place inclosed, cultivated. British and Welsh, the estate on the river.
HALE : (Welsh.) A moor; also, Hayle, a salt-water river.
HAYLE : (Welsh.) A moor; also, Hayle, a salt-water river.
HAL : (Welsh.) A moor; also, Hayle, a salt-water river.
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.
HALPEN : (Welsh.) The head of the moor or salt river. Gaelic, Alpin, the highest land, peak of a mountain, from Alp and ben.
HAMLIN : Local. A corruption of Hammeline, which was taken from Hamelen, a town on the river Weser, Germany. Hamelin, a town in Scotland, so called from Ham, a house or village, and lin, a waterfall, a small lake or pond.
HAMMEL : (Armoric.) A house, a close, a place of rest, a home. Hamle, a river in Brunswick, Germany.
HARGILL : Local. Hartgill, a small river in England. The deer-brook.
HASWELL : (Dutch or Germ.) Hasveldt, from Hase, a river in Westphalia, and veldt, a field, corrupted into well; or from Wald, German, a wood or forest, the forest on the Hase. The name may also signify the misty place, or the Wild or field of hares, from Haas, Dutch, a hare.
HATCH : Local. A kind of door or floodgate. These ancient stops or hatches conasted of sundry great stakes and piles erected by fishermen in the river Thames or other streamy for their better convenience of securing fish. Also, a term for gates leading to deer-parks or forests.
HOSFORD : Local. From Ouseford, in England, the o being aspirated that is, the ford or way of the river Ouse.
INGE : Ing, Saxon, a pasture, a meadow or watering place, low ground. Danish, Eng, a meadow, meadow ground, pasture; a place near a river. Welsh, Ing, narrow, a strait
IPRES : Local. A town in the Netherlands, and has its name from the small river Yperlee on which it stands.
IRVING : Local. From a river and town of the same name in Ayrshire, Scotland.
IRVINE : Local. From a river and town of the same name in Ayrshire, Scotland.
ISHAM : Local. Isis-ham, that is, the town on the river Isis, in Northamptonshire, England.
KEEL : A low, flat-bottomed vessel used in the river Tyne, to convey coals; an inn-sign; a harbor. Kiel, local, a town in Denmark, a corner, wedge, a ravine.
KENDALL : Local. Derived from the town of Kendal, in Westmoreland, England, and was so called from the river Ken, on which it is situated, and dale; the dale on the river Ken.
KILBURNE : Local. Derived from the village of Kilburne, in Middlesex, England, famous for its fine well of mineral water. Kil, Dutch; Kilde, Danish, a channel or bed of a river, and hence a stream; bourne, a fountain, a spring-well.
KYLE : Local. From a district of the same name in Ayrshire, Scotland. Gaelic, Coill, a wood. The river Coyle runs through the district, whence, perhaps, the name.
LANCASTER : Local. A town and county of England, the castle or city on the Loyne or Lan river. The Britons called it Cuerwerydd. (See Chester.)
LEAVENWORTH : Local. (Welsh.) Llyngwerth, the smooth, level farm, castle or court, or the worth or place on the river Leven.
LEE : A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, a common, a sheltered place; Lee, a river, a stream, from Lli, Welsh, a stream.
LEA : A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, a common, a sheltered place; Lee, a river, a stream, from Lli, Welsh, a stream.
LEY : A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, a common, a sheltered place; Lee, a river, a stream, from Lli, Welsh, a stream.
Origin of name provided by Jean Tosti
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