Origin
Bligh : 1: English (of Norman origin): variant of Blythe with Anglo-Norman loss of th.2: Irish and Manx: Anglicized form of Ó Blighe ‘descendant of Blighe’ probably a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse byname Blígr (from blígja ‘to gaze’).3: Cornish: nickname from Cornish blyth ‘wolf’. Compare Blethen.
Flather : of uncertain origin. In 19th-century Yorks dialect flather had the sense ‘flattery nonsense palaver’ (English Dialect Dictionary); it is probably a reduced form of Middle English Old French flaterie ‘flattery’. If the change in consonant from t to th occurred in Middle English it is possible that the surname represents Middle English flater flatour (Old French flateor) ‘flatterer’ but more evidence is needed to support this explanation.
Flathers : English (Yorkshire): variant of Flather of uncertain origin. In the 19th-century Yorkshire dialect flather had the sense ‘flattery nonsense palaver’; it is probably a shortened form of Middle English Old French flaterie ‘flattery’. If the change in consonant from t to th occurred in Middle English it is possible that the surname represents Middle English flater flatour (Old French flateor) ‘flatterer’ but more evidence is needed to support this explanation.
Luty : 1: English: variant of Leuty.2: Americanized form of Swiss German Lüthi or Lüthy (see Luthi) reflecting the pronunciation of th as t in German.
McCarty : Irish: variant of McCarthy reflecting the common southern Irish pronunciation of th.
McCathie : unexplained. Black gives MacCathay as ‘an old Galloway surname’ and hints that it is a variant of McCathen . If so compare McKane from Mac Catháin. However it is most likely a spelling variant of McCaughey since th for ch or gh also occurs in some Irish anglicized spellings.
McGrath : Irish: Anglicized form of a patronymic from the Gaelic personal name Mac Raith ‘son of grace or good fortune’ from rath ‘grace prosperity’. The final fricative th is no longer pronounced in the language of origin. See also McRae the usual Scottish form of the surname.
Ousey : probably a variant of Hosey with loss of initial H-; this may be for Hussey. Compare Jane Hussey 1632 in IGI (Warrington Lancs); Elliza'Th. Hussey 1731 in IGI (Leigh Lancs).
Thynne : 1: from Middle English thin ‘lean slender’ (Old English þynne). 2: from Ó Teimheáin ‘descendant of Teimheán’ a personal name derived from a diminutive of teimh ‘dark’. In this spelling th indicates a dental t rather than a fricative. Also anglicized as Teevan (where the earlier pronunciation of mh is retained).
Utteridge : from the Middle English personal name Outrich which presumably goes back to an unrecorded Old English name *Ūhtrīc (from ūht(e) ‘dawn dusk twilight’ + rīc(e) ‘power(ful)’). The medieval forms may however contain misreadings of ch for th and therefore belong under Outred. There seems also to have been some phonetic confusion between these surnames in the post-medieval period.
Veit : 1: German: from the personal name Veit (from Latin Vitus; see Vito).2: Americanized form of German Veith a variant of 1 written thus to preserve the German pronunciation of th as t.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): adoption of the name in 1 above because of the Yiddish personal name Faytl ultimately related to Latin Vitalis (see Vitale).
Vivian : 1: English: from the Old French and Middle English personal name Vivian Vivien from Latin Vivianus (derivative of vivus ‘living’) the name of a 5th-century Christian martyr. As a personal name its comparative rarity in medieval England gave it a distinctiveness that encouraged its use as a surname. Its pronunciation appears to have caused difficulty and it is found in a large variety of forms not all of which have survived. Developments include the interchange of initial V and F the interchange of intervocalic v and th and the further interchange of th and d; thus Vivian became Fivian which became Fithian which became Fidian. See also Fithen.2: French: mainly southern variant of the personal name Vivien (see 1 above).3: Spanish and Galician (Vivián): from the personal name Vivián (see 1 above). Compare Bibian.
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 Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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