Origin and popularity of the name WORTH

Origin

Worth : 1: English: habitational name from any of various places called Worth for example in Cheshire Dorset Sussex and Kent from Old English worth ‘enclosure settlement’. The vocabulary word probably survived into the Middle English period in the sense of a subsidiary settlement dependent on a main village and in some cases the surname may be a topographic name derived from this use. Compare Worthy.2: North German: topographic name from Middle Low German wort ‘enclosure elevated piece of land farmstead’ or a habitational name from a place so named in northern Germany.

Ainsworth : 1: English (Lancashire): habitational name from a place near Manchester named Ainsworth from the Old English personal name Ægen + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.2: English (Yorkshire): in Yorkshire the name was a variant of or confused with Hainsworth.

Aldworth : English: habitational name from Aldworth (Berkshire) which was named in Old English with eald ‘old’ (or a personal name derived from this word) + worth ‘smallholding curtilage’.

Alter : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): distinguishing epithet for the older of two bearers of the same personal name.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish personal name Alter an inflected form of alt ‘old’. This was in part an omen or well-wishing name expressing the parents’ hope that the child would live a long life; in part a protective name given to a child born after the death of a sibling but also said to have sometimes been assumed by someone who was seriously ill. The purpose is supposed to have been to confuse the Angel of Death into thinking that the person was old and so not worth claiming as a victim.3: German: from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with alt ‘old’.

Ashelford : English: habitational name from Ashelford in East Down in Devon which is recorded as Assele(s)worth in the 13th century and Aishelford in 1672. The placename derives from the Old English personal name Æscel + worth ‘enclosure curtilage’ with later replacement of -worth by the more familiar -ford. See also Astleford.

Ashworth : English (mainly Lancashire): habitational name from Ashworth in Lancashire from Old English æsc ‘ash tree’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Aylesworth : English: habitational name from Ailsworth in Cambridgeshire named in Old English with a personal name Ægel + worth ‘enclosure’.

Bamsey : English: habitational name from Beamsworthy in Beaworthy (Devon) which is recorded as Baldemundeswurthe in 1249 Bealmesworthy in 1418 from a Middle English development of an Old English personal name Bealdmund (‘brave bold’ + ‘protection’) + worth or worthi ‘small farm smallholding curtilage’.

Bean : 1: English: nickname for a pleasant person from Middle English bēne ‘friendly amiable’.2: English: metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of beans from Middle English bene ‘bean’ (Old English bēan ‘beans’ a collective singular). The broad bean Vicia faba was a staple food in Europe in the Middle Ages. The green bean Phaseolus vulgaris came from South America and was not introduced to Europe until the late 16th century. The word bene was commonly used to denote something of little worth and occasionally it may have been applied as a nickname for someone considered insignificant.3: English: possibly a habitational or topographic name. Redmonds Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames cites Adam del Bene of Harrogate (1351) as evidence to suggest that in the Harrogate area where the Yorkshire name later proliferated it may have been derived from a place where beans grew.4: English: perhaps a variant of Benn. Compare Benney.5: Scottish and Irish: shortened Anglicized form of the patronymic Mac B(h)eathain ‘son of Beathán’ from the Gaelic personal name Beathán a diminutive of beatha ‘life’ see McBain. In Ireland Bean is also found also a shortened form of Ó Beachain see Behan.6: Americanized form (translation into English) of German Bohne or an altered form of Biehn. See also Bihn.7: Americanized form (mistranslation into English) of French Lefebvre. As the vocabulary word fèvre ‘smith’ was replaced by forgeron in modern French the meaning of the old word for a smith became opaque and the surname was reinterpreted as if it were La fève from fève ‘bean’.

Beardsworth : English: habitational name from Beardwood (in Lancashire). The placename is probably from the Old English personal name Bearda + worth ‘smallholding curtilage’.

Bedsworth : English: variant of Bettesworth a habitational name from Betchworth in Surrey from the Old English personal name Becci + worth ‘enclosure’.

Benneworth : from Benniworth (Lincs). The place-name is from Old English Beonningas ‘people associated with a man named Beonna’ in the genitive plural form with -inga- + worth ‘enclosure’.

Bettesworth : from Betchworth (Surrey) recorded as Becheswrth (1210–12) Bettisworth (1448). The place-name is from an Old English male given name Becci in the genitive case with -es + worth ‘enclosure smallholding’.

Bloodworth : English: possibly a habitational name from Blidworth in Nottinghamshire named with the Old English personal name BlīTha + Old English worth ‘enclosure’. There are problems with this interpretation and a lost placename in Yorkshire or the East Midlands may be the origin of the name.

Bosworth : English: habitational name from Husbands Bosworth in Leicestershire (Baresworde in Domesday Book) from an Old English personal name Bār (from bār ‘boar’) + worth ‘enclosure’ and possibly also from Market Bosworth in Leicestershire so named with an Old English personal name Bōsa + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Brinkworth : English: habitational name from a place in Wiltshire named Brinkworth from the Old English personal name Brynca + worth ‘enclosed settlement’.

Burnworth : English: probably a habitational name from Burnworthy in Devon which is named with the Old English personal name Beorna + Old English worth or worthig ‘enclosure’. The interchange between worth and worthy is common in Middle English names in the southwest. The surname has died out in the British Isles.

Butterworth : English: from Butterworth in Lancashire (near Rochdale). Named with Old English butere ‘butter’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Byworth : possibly from Byworth (Sussex) or Beaworth (Hants) but originally found in the south-east Midlands and widely enough scattered to make an origin in the Middle English phrase bi worth ‘by (the) smallholding’ more likely.

Carrivick : from Carevick in Cubert (Cornwall) earlier recorded as Crowarthevick. The place-name derives from Middle Cornish krow ‘hut’ + worth ‘at against’ + an uncertain final element.

Charlesworth : English (northern England and North Midlands): habitational name from a place in Derbyshire named Charlesworth from an Old English personal name Ceafl (or from the Old English word ceafl ‘jaw’ here meaning ‘ravine’) + worth ‘enclosure’.

Cudworth : English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Cudworth in Yorkshire named with the Old English personal name Cūtha + Old English worth ‘enclosure’. Some examples of the name may derive from Cudworth in Somerset named with the Old English personal name Cuda + Old English worth.

Cumberworth : English (Lincolnshire): habitational name from Cumberworth in Lincolnshire named from an Old English personal name Cumbre + worth ‘enclosure’. There is also a Lower and an Upper Cumberworth in Yorkshire but these appear not to have contributed significantly to the modern surname which is concentrated in Lincolnshire.

Dilworth : 1: English (Lancashire): habitational name from Dilworth in Lancashire named from Old English dile ‘dill’ (a medicinal and culinary herb) + worth ‘enclosure’.2: Irish (Tyrone): English surname adopted by bearers of the Gaelic name Ó Dubhluachra ‘descendant of Dubhluachra’ a compound of dubh ‘black’ + luachair ‘rushes’.

Dodsworth : English (Yorkshire and Durham): variant of Dodworth a habitational name for someone from Dodworth in Yorkshire (recorded in the Domesday Book as Dodeswrde) named from the Old English personal name Dodd(a) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Dreyer : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname derived from German drei ‘three’ Middle High German drī(e) with the addition of the suffix -er. This was the name of a medieval coin worth three hellers (see Heller) and it is possible that the German surname may have been derived from this word. More probably the nickname is derived from some other connection with the number three too anecdotal to be even guessed at now.2: North German and Scandinavian: occupational name for a turner of wood or bone from an agent derivative of Middle Low German dreien dregen ‘to turn’. See also Dressler.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Yiddish dreyer ‘turner’ or a nickname from a homonym meaning ‘swindler cheat’.4: English: variant of Dryer.

Duckworth : English (Lancashire): habitational name from Duckworth in the borough of Bury Lancashire which is named from Old English dūce ‘duck’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Edgeworth : English (Gloucestershire): habitational name from Edgeworth (Gloucestershire) or possibly from Edgworth (Lancashire) so named from Old English ecg ‘hillside ridge’ + worth ‘enclosure’. This surname is also common in Ireland (particularly in County Longford) having been in Ireland since 1583. Edgeworthstown in Longford is named after Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817).

Ellingsworth : English: variant of Illingworth a habitational name from Illingworth Yorkshire from the Old English personal name Illa or Ylla (a short form of various personal names containing the first element hild ‘strife battle’) + the Old English connective -ing- + worth ‘enclosure’.

Ellsworth : 1: English (Yorkshire): habitational name from Elsworth a lost place in Norwood near Fewston (Yorkshire) from the Old English personal name El(l)i (see Ellington) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ (see Worth).2: English: habitational name from Elworth in Abbotsbury (Dorset) with instrusive -s- from the Old English personal name Ella + Old English worth.3: English: rare variant of Elsworthy a habitational name from Elworthy (Somerset) with the same origin as the placename in 2 above (with Old English worth later replaced by worthig) ‘enclosure’.4: English: habitational name from Elsworth in Cambridgeshire with the same origin as the placename in 1 above.

Ewart : English:: 1: from the Middle English (Old French) personal name Ewart a French form of Edward.2: occupational name from Middle English ewehird ‘ewe herd keeper of the sheep’ (Old English ēowu + hierde). Ewes were kept for their milk from which cheese was made. The name may also have survived as Howard.3: habitational name from Ewart (Northumberland) from Old English ēa ‘river’ + worth ‘enclosure’. The place is indeed enclosed on three sides by the rivers Glen and Till.

Farnworth : English: habitational name from either of two places one formerly in Lancashire now in Greater Manchester the other in Cheshire; both so named from Old English fearn ‘fern’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Farthing : English:: 1: from the Middle English personal name Farthein Farthing Ferthing (Old Norse Farthegn late Old English Færthegn) composed of the elements far ‘ship passage’ + thegn ‘warrior nobleman or retainer’.2: habitational name from a place called in Middle English with ferthing (Old English fēorthing ‘fourth part quarter’). Until 1960 when it was withdrawn this was the name of the smallest British coin worth one quarter of a penny. The same word was also used to denote a measure of land normally one quarter of a virgate or other larger unit. The term is frequent in minor placenames in Sussex and is also found in Somerset and Devon.

Fenner : 1: English: from Middle English fen(ne) ‘fen marsh’ (Old English fenn) + -er a topographic name for someone who lived in or by a marsh or fen. Fenn Place in Worth in Sussex had owners called atte Fenne who in the time of King Henry VI (1421–1471) apparently changed their name to Fenner. See Fenn.2: English: variant of Fainer from Middle English feiner fener ‘haymonger one who sells hay’ (Old French fenier) or perhaps a nickname from Middle English feiner ‘inventor; hypocrite’.3: South German and Swiss German: occupational name for an ensign or standard bearer from Middle High German vener an agent derivative of Middle High German vane ‘flag’. See also Fenrich.

Grandidge : from Old French grein de orge ‘ear of barleycorn’ used figuratively for an object of little worth. It may have been given to someone who used the expression as a term of contempt.

Hackworth : English (Durham and Northumberland): variant of Ackworth with prosthetic H- a habitational name from Ackworth (Yorkshire). The placename means ‘Acca's enclosure’ from the Old English personal name Acca + worth ‘enclosure curtilage’.

Hainsworth : English:: 1: (Yorkshire): habitational name from Hainworth in Keighley Yorkshire named from the Old English personal name Hagena + Old English worth ‘enclosure’. The intrusive -s- was acquired by the late 15th century probably through false association with the Lancashire surname Ainsworth in 2 below.2: variant of Ainsworth in Lancashire. Names such as de Haynesworth and de Heynesworth occur in the surrounding area in the 14th century.

Hawksworth : English: habitational name from either of two places called Hawksworth (Yorkshire Nottinghamshire). The Yorkshire placename derives from the Old English personal name Hafoc (genitive Hafoces) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ while the Nottinghamshire placename probably comes from the Old English personal name Hōc (genitive Hōces) + Old English worth; the form of the placename appears to have been altered under influence from Middle English hauk ‘hawk’. Compare Hawk 3 and Hawksley.

Haworth : English: habitational name from Haworth (Yorkshire) probably from Old English haga ‘hedge enclosure’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Hemsworth : English (Yorkshire): habitational name from any of the places called Hemsworth (Yorkshire Derbyshire Dorset) but primarily the one in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire placename derives from an Old English personal name Hymel (genitive Hymeles) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ while the Derbyshire placename probably derives from the Old English personal name Hemele (genitive Hemeles) + Old English worth. The Dorset placename comes from an Old English personal name Hemede (genitive Hemedes) + Old English worth.

Hepworth : English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name primarily from Hepworth (Yorkshire) or less likely from the place so named in Suffolk. The Yorkshire placename derives from an Old English personal name Heppa + Old English worth ‘enclosure’ while the Suffolk placename comes from Old English hēope ‘rose hip’ or hēopa ‘dog rose bramble’ + worth.

Holdsworth : English (Yorkshire): habitational name from Holdsworth in Ovenden (Yorkshire) or less likely from Holdsworth in Bradfield (Yorkshire). Both placenames derive from an Old English personal name Halda + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Hollingsworth : 1: English: habitational name from Hollingworth (Cheshire) Hollingworth in Butterworth (Lancashire) or possibly Hollinworth Head in Charlesworth (Derbyshire) from Old English holegn ‘holly’ + worth ‘enclosure’. The surname which was taken to Ireland in the 17th century has developed a variant with an unexplained medial -s- not noted in any of the placename forms.2: Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) Jewish name.

Howarth : English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Howarth in Rochdale (Lancashire) possibly from Old English hōh ‘heel spur of land’ + worth ‘enclosure’. The name may have been confused with Haworth.

Illingworth : English (Yorkshire): habitational name from Illingworth in Yorkshire. The placename derives from the Old English personal name Ylla or Illa + the Old English connective -ing- + worth ‘enclosure’. See also Ellingsworth.

Keyworth : English (Lincolnshire Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire): habitational name from Keyworth in Nottinghamshire. The placename derives from an uncertain initial element (perhaps Old English cā ‘jackdaw’) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Killingsworth : English (Norfolk): variant of Killingworth a habitational name from North and South Kilworth (Leicestershire) or from Killingworth (Northumberland). The Leicestershire placename probably derives from an Old English personal name Cyfel + the Old English placename forming suffix -ing or the groupname suffix -ingas (genitive -inga-) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’. The Northumberland placename probably derives from an Old English personal name Cylla + Old English connective -ing- + worth. This name may sometimes have been confused with Collingwood.

Lapworth : English: habitational name from Lapworth in Warwickshire which probably derives its name from Old English læppa ‘district border’ + worthign or worth ‘enclosure’.

Letchworth : English: habitational name from Letchworth Hertfordshire which is probably so named from an Old English lycce ‘enclosure’ (related to Old English loc ‘enclosure’) + worth ‘(enclosure round a) homestead’.

Littleproud : from Middle English litel ‘little’ (Old English lȳtel) + prude prute ‘worth value; pride splendour’ (Old French prod prud prut ‘advantage profit worth value’). The wife of Henry Lytilprud (1301 in Nottingham Borough Records) was Hawisia ‘Crist a pes’ whose constant cry ‘Christ have peace!’ suggests her husband deserved his nickname.

Longworth : English: habitational name from Longworth in Bolton le Moors Lancashire. The placename derives from Old English lang ‘long’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Male : 1: Welsh: from the personal name Mael (literally ‘prince’).2: English (of Norman origin): nickname from Old French mail ‘mallet club mace’ or Middle English (Old French) maille ‘ring (of chain mail) armour’ or Old French maille ‘speckle stain’ or Middle English maille (Old French maaille) ‘coin worth half a penny’ or from a shortened form of Anglo-Norman French amel Old French esma(i)l ‘enamel’ (compare Mailer). Any of these terms might have been used to characterize an individual's behaviour occupation or appearance.3: English: nickname Middle English (Old French) male ‘bag pouch’ also ‘stomach belly’ perhaps given to someone who wore a distinctive pouch or bag or who made such bags (compare the Middle English occupational term malemakere) or to someone with a prominent belly.4: English (of Norman origin): variant of Madle a nickname from Old French Middle English masle madle (also Middle English male) ‘man adult’ or adjectivally ‘male masculine’.5: English: in Lancashire perhaps a variant of Meale either a nickname from Middle English mele ‘meal ground cereal’ perhaps for a maker or seller of meal (compare Millman) or a topographic name from Middle English mele ‘sand-hill’ (Old Norse melr) as found in such placenames as North Meols (Lancashire) Ravensmeols in Formby (Lancashire) and Great Meols (Cheshire) (compare Meil).6: Slovenian: nickname for a physically small man from a derivative of mal ‘small little’ (see Mal 1). Compare Mahle.7: Dutch (Van der Male and Van Male): habitational name from any of a number of places in Flanders named Male.8: Norwegian: habitational name from the farm name Male in Romsdal derived from Old Norse mǫl ‘bank layer of pebbles along a beach’.9: Americanized form of Norwegian Mæle or of its variant Mæhle (see Mahle). Compare Mele.

Middlesworth : Possibly English: habitational name from a lost or unidentified place possibly so named from Old English midel ‘middle’ + worth ‘enclosure settlement’.

Molesworth : English: habitational name from a place in Huntingdonshire named in Old English from the personal name Mūl (genitive Mūles) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Offord : 1: English (East Anglia and London): habitational name from Offord Cluny and Offord Darcy in Huntindgonshire. The placename derives from Old English upp ‘up upper’ + ford ‘ford’.2: English: alternatively from a lost place called Offord near Pennyford in Wootton Wawen Warwickshire. The placename derives from the Old English personal name Offa + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Papworth : English (Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire): habitational name from Papworth Saint Agnes or Papworth Everard (Cambridgeshire) recorded as Pappeworda and Papeworth in 1086. The placename derives from the Old English personal name Pap(p)a + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Patak : 1: Hungarian: either a topographic name from patak ‘creek’ or a habitational name from any of several places called with this word which is of Slavic origin (from potok).2: Czech and Slovak (Paták): nickname from Czech paták the name of an old small coin (literally ‘fiver’; it was at one time worth five groschen).

Pease : 1: English: from Middle English pese pise (Old English peose pise) ‘pea’. The word was commonly used to denote something small or of little worth as in the phrase not worth a pese. It may have been used to nickname someone who habitually used the term or who was thought to merit it. It might alternatively have been a name for a pea-seller. Compare Bean.2: Americanized form of French Pié (see Pie) with the addition of excrescent -s a common feature of Americanized surnames.

Peasgood : from Middle English pese pise (Old English peose pise) ‘pea’ + codd ‘bag’’ a peascod or pea pod. The word was commonly used to denote something of little worth and may have been used to nickname someone who habitually used the term or who was thought to merit it. Alternatively it may have been given to a grower or seller of peas. Compare Pease.

Pebworth : English: habitational name from Pebworth (Gloucestershire). The placename probably derives from an Old English personal name Peobba + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Pennycook : 1: Scottish: habitational name from Penicuik in Midlothian. The placename is from Brittonic (Cumbric) penn ir gog ‘cuckoo summit’ (from pen ‘head summit’ + cog ‘cuckoo’).2: English: occupational name from Middle English peni ‘penny’ (Old English penig) + cok ‘cook’ (Old English cōk) denoting a cook selling meals worth a penny.3: English: perhaps also from a pet form of the rare Middle English personal name Pening + the hypocristic suffix cok.

Perla : 1: Spanish: from perla ‘pearl’ possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a trader in pearls which in the Middle Ages were fashionable among the rich for the ornamentation of clothes.2: Italian: generally from the female personal name Perla meaning ‘pearl’ (Italian perla) but in some cases possibly a metonymic occupational name from the vocabulary word (see 1 above).3: Italian: habitational name from Perla a district of Schignano in Como province.4: Croatian and Slovenian: nickname from perla ‘pearl’ a word of ultimately Latin origin also used pejoratively for a person who leaves a better impression than it is worth. This surname is very rare in Croatia and Slovenia.

Pickworth : English: habitational name from either of two places called Pickworth in Lincolnshire and Rutland. The placenames derive from an Old English personal name Pīca + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Plappert : South German: nickname from Middle High German blaphart the name of a silver coin worth one-twentieth of a gulden (florin).

Rooth : 1: Dutch: variant of Root 4.2: English: habitational name from Rowarth in New Mills (Derbyshire) from Old English rūh ‘rough’ + worth ‘enclosure’.3: English: variant of Routh.

Rushford : 1: English and Scottish: habitational name primarily from Ryshworth in Bingley (Yorkshire) but sometimes perhaps also from Rushford (Norfolk) and Rushford Barton in Chagford (Devon). The Yorkshire and Devon placenames derive from Old English risc ‘rush’ + ford ‘ford’. The Norfolk placename derives from Old English risc + worth ‘enclosure’.2: Americanized form of French Rochefort.

Rushworth : English: habitational name from Rishworth (Yorkshire) from Old English risc ‘rush’ + worth ‘enclosure’. There is often confusion between this name and Rushforth.

Sandell : 1: Swedish: ornamental name from sand ‘sand’ + the suffix -ell a derivative of the Latin adjectival ending -elius. The original humanistic form of the surname Sandelius is still common in Sweden.2: English: from Middle English sand ‘sand’ + hil(le) hul(le) ‘hill’ or helde hilde hulde ‘slope’. The surname may be topographic for someone who lived on or near a sandy hill or sandy slope or habitational from a place so named such as Sandhill in Worth (Sussex) or Sandhill in East Grinstead (Sussex).3: English: variant of Sandall.

Scherf : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German Middle Low German scherf a coin worth half a penny possibly applied as a nickname for a poor person.2: German: nickname from Middle High German scharpf scherf ‘sharp rough’.3: German: habitational name from any of the places in the Rhineland named Scherf.

Sedmak : 1: Slovenian and Croatian: nickname for a child born as a seventh child derived from sedmi ‘seventh’.2: Slovak (Sedmák): perhaps a nickname from sedmák the name of an old coin worth seven kreutzers (see Kreutzer).

Sestak : 1: Czech and Slovak (Šesták): from šesták the name of an old coin (literally ‘sixer’; it was at one time worth six kreuzers). The surname would have been acquired by someone who had to pay rent of this amount or for some other anecdotal reason.2: Croatian (Šestak): nickname denoting a child born as a sixth child from a derivative of šesti ‘sixth’. Compare Shestak.3: Rusyn (from Slovakia; mainly Šesták): nickname for a child born as a sixth child (see Shostak compare 2 above) or from the name of an old coin (see 1 above). Compare Shestak.4: Americanized form of Hungarian Seszták: of Slovak or other Slavic origin (see above).

Shostak : 1: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) Ukrainian Rusyn and Belorussian: nickname from Ukrainian shostak Belorussian shastak ‘six-fingered person’ also the name of an old coin worth six groschens derived from Ukrainian shist Belorussian shests ‘six’ or a nickname (an old personal name) for a child born as a sixth child derived from Ukrainian and Belorussian shosty ‘sixth’. Compare Shestak.2: Americanized form of Polish Rusyn (from Poland) and Jewish (from Poland) Szóstak; see Szostak.

Shuttleworth : English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name mostly from one or other of three places called Shuttleworth in Lancashire though occasionally from Shuttleworth now Littleworth in Rossington (Yorkshire) or Shuttlewood in Bolsover (Derbyshire). The Lancashire and Yorkshire placenames derive from Old English scyt(t)els ‘bolt bar’ probably also meaning ‘something that can be barred or bolted’ + worth ‘enclosure’ while the Derbyshire placename comes from Old English scyt(t)els + wudu ‘wood’.

Silkworth : Possibly English: habitational name from Silksworth in Tyne and Wear (formerly in County Durham) named in Old English with the personal name Sigelāc + worth ‘enclosure’. However the surname does not appear in present-day English records.

Southworth : English (Lancashire): habitational name from Southworth in Winwick (Lancashire) from Old English sūth ‘south southern’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Stanwood : English: 1: variant of Stanworth a habitational name from Stanworth in Leyland (Lancashire). The placename derives from Old English stān ‘stone rock’ + worth ‘enclosure’.2: perhaps a variant of Stannard with the final syllable re-interpreted as casual pronunciation of -wood.

Starmer : English:: 1: habitational name from Starmore in Westrill (Leicestershire) from an Old English personal name Storm (genitive Stormes) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.2: habitational name from the lost placename Stermore near Stowe by Chartley (Staffordshire) from an uncertain first element + Old English mōr ‘moor marshland’.

Tilt : English: topographic name from Middle English tilth(e) ‘cultivated land’ (Old English tilthe) or a habitational name from a place called with this word such as Cobham Tilt in Cobham (Surrey) or Tiltwood in Worth (Sussex).

Tiltman : from Middle English *tilt(h)eman either ‘one who farms or plough arable land’ or a synonym of atte tilthe (see Tilt) naming someone who lived by a piece of cultivated land (Middle English tilth + man) or at a place so named such as Tiltwood in Worth (Sussex) or High Tilt (Kent). The name was apparently interchangeable with Tillman (2) and was probably often absorbed by it. Compare the name in Cuckfield with Willelmus Tilman 1379 in Poll Tax (Cuckfield Sussex).

Tinsley : English:: 1: habitational name from a place in South Yorkshire near Rotherham named in Old English with the genitive case of an unattested personal name Tynni + hlāw ‘hill’ ‘mound barrow’. This surname is also found in Ulster.2: habitational name from Tinsley Green in Worth (Sussex). The placename appears to derive from an unattested Old English personal name Tint + Old English lēah ‘wood woodland clearing’.

Titsworth : 1: Americanized form of Dutch Tietsoort (see Teachout). Compare Tittsworth.2: Possibly also English: habitational name from Tetsworth in Oxfordshire from an unattested Old English personal name Tǣtel + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Ufford : English: habitational name from Ufford (Northamptonshire) Ufford (Suffolk) or Offord Cluny or Offord Darcy (Huntingdonshire). The Northamptonshire and Suffolk placenames derive from the Old English personal name Uffa + Old English worth ‘enclosure’. For the Huntingdonshire placename see Offord with which the surname may have been confused.

Unsworth : English (Lancashire): habitational name from Unsworth (Lancashire) recorded as Hundeswrth in 1291. This name was easily confused with Hunsworth in Yorkshire since they shared the same etymology ‘Hund's enclosure or settlement’ (from the Old English personal name Hund ‘dog’ + Old English worth ‘enclosure’).

Wadsworth : English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name from Wadsworth near Halifax Yorkshire. The placename derives from an Old English personal name Wæddi (genitive Wæddes) + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Walsworth : English: variant of Walworth. Perhaps also a habitaitonal name from Wellsworth in Idsworth (Hampshire) or Wallsworth in Sandhurst (Gloucestershire) though medieval evidence that either gave rise to a surname is lacking. Both placenames derive from the Old English personal name Walh (genitive Wales) or possibly Old English walh ‘foreigner Briton serf’ (genitive wales) + worth ‘enclosure’.

Walworth : English (Lancashire): habitational name from Walworth in Heighington (Durham) and Walworth in Newington (Surrey) both named with Old English w(e)alh ‘foreigner Briton serf’ (genitive plural wala) + worth ‘enclosure’.

Wentworth : English:: 1: habitational name from Wentworth in Yorkshire. The placename probably derives from the Old English personal name Wintra + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.2: habitational name from Wentworth in Cambridgeshire which has the same etymology as the placename in 1 above.

Wert : 1: German: topographic name for someone who lived on a river island or on a riverbank or on a patch of dry land in a fen all of which were senses of the Middle High German term wert werder.2: North German: occupational name for an innkeeper from Middle Low German wert; alternatively a nickname with the meaning ‘husband master of the house’.3: German: habitational name from any of the places called Werd Werth and Wörth.4: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Wert ‘value’.

Whitworth : English (Lancashire Yorkshire North Midlands): habitational name from Whitworth in Rochdale (Lancashire) and possibly also from Whitworth (Durham). The placenames derive from the Old English personal name Hwīta or Old English hwīt ‘white’ + worth ‘enclosure’.

Wigglesworth : English (Yorkshire): habitational name from Wigglesworth in North Yorkshire recorded in Domesday Book as Winchelesuuorde from the genitive case of the Old English byname Wincel meaning ‘child’ + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Woodworth : English (Lancashire): variant of Woodward or Wadworth the latter being a habitational name from Wadworth in Yorkshire which is derived from the Old English personal name Wada Wadda + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.

Wortham : English (Middlesex): habitational name from Wortham in Suffolk named with Old English worth ‘enclosure’ + hām ‘village homestead’.

Worthman : 1: English: perhaps a topographic name from Middle English worth ‘enclosure’ + man for a person who lived at or near an enclosure. Possibly also an altered form of Wortman. This surname is now rare in Britain.2: Americanized form of North German Worthmann: derivative of Worth 2.

Yeoman : English and Scottish: status name from Middle English yoman yeman used of an attendant of relatively high status in a noble household ranking between a Sergeant and a Groom or between a Squire and a Page. The word probably originated as a shortened form of Middle English yonge man. Later in the Middle English period it came to be used of a modest independent freeholder and this latter sense may well lie behind some examples of the surname. In Scotland by the 16th century it had come to denote a landholder next in rank below a gentleman specifically one who owned land worth at least forty shillings a year.

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Geographic distribution of the 16,622 individuals with the name WORTH on Geneanet.

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