The origin and distribution of English surnames
Presentation Outline 1.
•
The Nature of One Name Studies:
o
Collection
o
Analysis
o
Synthesis
•
Discovering the origins of surnames:
o
The traditional approach, Surname
Dictionaries
▪
strengths
▪
shortcomings
o
A alternative approach:
▪
The English Surname Survey
▪
mapping surnames thru time
▪
generalizations drawn from the English
surname survey
▪
illustrations, the Hardisty and
Dangerfield surnames
•
Locative surnames:
o
Problems identifying the origin of
locative surnames
o
Anglo Saxon place names and
surnames
o
Scandinavian place names and
surnames
o
Cornish Place names and
surnames
2
The origin and distribution of English surnames
Presentation Outline
•
Surnames from the landscape:
o
The Ancient Woodlands
o
Woodland place names
o
Woodland surname distributiions
•
Occupational surnames:
o
Characteristics of occupational surnames
o
Surnames from the agricultural landscape
o
The Regional variation of agricultural
surnames
▪
the regions of An Atlas of Rural
Settlement
▪
Occupational surnames of
the Central Province
▪
Surnames outside the
Central Province
•
Surnames from the textile trades:
o
The distribution of the early
textile industry
o
The impact of the fulling mill
o
A range of textile related
surnames and their distribution
Presentation Outline 2.
3
Its not Just about collecting data….
Discovering a surname’s origin
5
“The development of Hereditary surnames in the
Country (England) was a prolonged and complex
business, not operating uniformly over the whole
of Britain, but subject to marked regional
variations and differences between one social
class and another, and propelled into existence by
a variety of forces, some of which are not easy to
perceive”.
Concerning the development of hereditary surnames
Richard McKinley noted:
The traditional approach: Surname Dictionaries
The traditional approach to the discovery
of origins has been the domain of
linguists and the study of etymology:
Strengths of the traditional approach:
Shortcomings of the traditional approach:
Given the frequency and range of English surnames the scope
of the undertaking is daunting to say the least.
9
•
Many surnames are missing or omitted.
•
In many cases detailed research into specific
surnames has shown that some etymologies
are simply incorrect.
•
Medieval surnames listed in dictionaries are
not necessarily hereditary nor linked to
contemporary surnames.
An alternative approach: The English Surname Survey
The English Surname Survey was established in 1965 in the Department
of English Local History at the University of Leicester under the Direction of
Richard McKinley.
10
•
The approach relies heavily on the skills of the genealogist,
surname researcher and local historian.
•
The goal is to work backward to construct a “chain of evidence”
linking contemporary surnames with their historic antecedents.
(note: the goal is not necessarily to construct a pedigree)
The English Surname Survey:
The Methodology
Mapping surname distributions through time is
an integral tool.
11
•
It originally relied on telephone directories
for contemporary data and distributions.
•
With the advent and availability of data on the
internet, the census, civil registration and
historic records can be used to trace many
surnames or variants back to the 16th century
or earlier.
•
Archer Software’s Surname Atlas and its
mapping software GenMap can be used to
map English distributions.
Generalizations drawn from work produced by
the English Surname Survey
•
Surnames can have single, plural or multiple origins.
An Illustration: The Hardisty surname
13
13
“Hardisty is a habitation
name from a place in
Yorks., in the parish of
Fewston”. (Hanks and
Hodges)
In “Little Timble, Great Timble & the Hamlet of Snowdon”, by William Grainge (1895), we
are told that; “Hardisty or Hardistie – is one of the family names that appear to have
sprung up on the Forest soil, flourished through all the period of recorded time, and is
yet remaining in the land”.
The Hearth Tax of 1672
notes the presence of
Hardistys in
Hampsthwaite and
Fewston parishes, where
no fewer than 7% of
taxpayers were Hardistys.
The Elizabethan Subsidy Roll (1597-8), references a William Hardistie living in
“Clyfton”.
The Poll Tax of 1379 records that in the “Villa de Tymble, Knaresborough Liberty”,
Johannes de Hardolfsty and Stephanus de Hardolfsty were taxpayers.
A Time Series: The Dangerfield surname
Data sources:
•
1901Census
•
1851 Census
•
Civil Registration 1837 - 1850
•
Christenings and marriages, IGI 1750 - 1800
•
Christenings and marriages, IGI 1700 - 1750
•
Christenings and marriages, IGI 1650 - 1700
•
Christenings and marriages, IGI 1550 - 1600
•
1608 Military Survey
•
1522 Military Survey
•
Witness to Berkeley land transactions 1306 -
1461 , 1250 - 1305
•
14
Dangerfield:
William de Angeruill 1205 P (Do), Foulke
Dangerfeild 1659 Bardsley. From one of the
places named Angerville in Normandy.
14
Locative Surnames:
15
“Neither was there, or is there, any town,
village, hamlet, or place in England, but
hath made names to families.”
William Camden, ‘Remaines Concerning Britain' 1605
15
Problems Identifying the source of a surname from place
names:
•
The surname may reflect the spelling of a place which has
subsequently changed its spelling.
•
The surname spelling may have evolved to such a degree
that it may no longer resemble the place name spelling.
•
There may be multiple places with the same name.
o
Oxford Dictionary of British Place names.
•
The place may no longer exist.
o
for example a deserted medieval village.
Deserted Medieval Villages:
Studies by Maurice Beresford and
John G. Hurst 1990
The location of deserted villages
identified by 1988 – red dots
represent villages known up to
1977, green dots are new in 1988.
Total: 2813
The area of open field agriculture
experienced heavy losses
in the 14th century.
The black death resulted in enclosure
movement and the eventual desertion
of medieval villages in the Central Plain.
Enclosures before
1801.
Wharram Percy:
A deserted
medieval village
located on the
western edge of
the chalk Wolds of
North Yorkshire.
OE - “tun”
Etymology: enclosure,
farmstead village, manor
Place name frequency
7,046
Anglo Saxon place names:
Place name element “ton”:
16
16
Place name element “ton”:
OE - “tun”
Etymology: enclosure,
farmstead, village, manor
ton frequency 7,046
Examples:
Acton Kent
Acton Suffolk
Acton Dorset
Acton Shropshire
Acton Staffordshire
Acton Worcestershire
Place name element “ing(s)”:
OE - “ing”
Etymology: place, river, a place
“belonging to”
ings, added to a personal name
to make a folk name.
ing frequency 336
ings frequency 67
Examples:
Chickering Suffolk
Coultings Somerset
Place name element “ham”:
OE - “hamm” , “homm”
Etymology: enclosure, land
hemmed in by water or marsh or
higher ground, land in a river
bend, river meadow.
Place name frequency 1,017
Examples:
Angerham Lancashire
Fordham Essex
“OE Hwaeling, of Hwaetel
a diminutive of names in
Hwaet- or a derivative of
OE hwaet "active, bold,
brave". The unrecorded
Hwaetel is the first
element of Whatlington
(Sussex)”.
Watling Surname:
Reaney in “English Surnames”
observed:
Whatling East Sussex
Watling wood Suffolk
Watlings Fm West Sussex
Watlington Oxfordshore
Watlington Hill Oxfordshore
Watlington Park Oxfordshore
Watlington Norfolk
Watling
Place
names:
Watling
Place
names:
Scandinavian place names and surnames
17
“Thorpe” place names:
Etymology: A secondary
settlement or outlying farm.
17
Total frequency 747
Some of the names indicate
the settlement was
dependent on a
neighbouring village.
Examples:
Ashwellthorpe
Staverley Woodthorpe
“By” place names:
Etymology: Farmstead village
total frequency 649
Examples:
Burnby East Riding of Yorkshire
“Thwaite” place names:
Etymology: farmstead village
total frequency 649
Examples:
Gillerthwaite Cumbria
Finsthwaite Cumbria
Understanding the The Banwell index:
•
Developed by Guild of One Name Studies
member the late Eric Banwell.
•
Compares the relative frequency of the
population in a sub region with that of
the national population.
•
Assume the Smith population is 3% of a sub
region, a parish or a census area and 1% of
the National population.
3%
The Smith
surname
1%
•
Therefore 3% / 1% = 3 (the Banwell index)
•
A high Banwell Index
represents longer term
settlement particularly
with high frequency
surnames.
“By” surnames:
Surname Frequency: 173,484
Surname count: N/A
“By” surnames and place
names
“Thorpe” surnames:
45 surnames with a
frequency of 25 or higher
total frequency 18,989
The highest individual
surname frequency is
Thorpe at 11,831 is
followed by Goldthorpe at
733.
“Thorpe” surnames and
place names
“Thwaite” surnames:
27 surnames >100
Total surname
frequency: 14899
“Thwaite” surnames and
place names
Cornish place names and surnames
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
Richard Carew in his Survey of
Cornwall, published in 1602.
18
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
“Tre” place names:
Frequency in Cornwall: - 1,443
Etymology: a settlement or
homestead
Examples:
Tresidder Cornwall
Treby Farm Dorset
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
“Pol” place name:
Place name frequency in
Cornwall: - 93
Etymology: a pond, lake
or well
Examples:
Polbrock Cornwall
Polharmon
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
“Pen” place names:
Place name frequency in
Cornwall: - 2,814
Etymology: a hill or headland
Example:
Penrose
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
Summary:
Tre - 14,443
Pol- 93
Pen - 2814
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
Tresidder:
A variant of Treseder, from the farm
of Seder. The Baptism of Elizabeth
Treseder is recorded in 1595. In the
1881 census the surname persisted
in the immediate vicinity of
Constantine.
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
Polkinghorn(e):
This is a locational name from an
estate in the parish of Guinear
Cornwall, recorded as Polkenhoern
in 1316. This locational name was
most likely given to the first settler
i”Kenhorne”, who took up residence
by the pool. The name has three
spelling variations: Polkinghorn(e),
Polkinhorn and Puckinghorne.
*Internet Surnam,database
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
Penrose:
There are eleven places with the
name Penrose in Cornwall. These
locations are likely indicators of the
ancient Celtic origin of the name,
which means 'the head or end, or
the moor, heathland, or hill'. The
derivation is from the Celtic
elements 'pen' meaning head, top or
end, with 'ros', heath, moorland or
projection, hill or spur.
“By Tre Pol and Pen Shall ye
know all Cornishmen”
Hocking(s) Hocken Hockin
Hawkin:
The origin of the surname is unclear.
One theory traces it to the migration of
Flemish weavers to northern England
where they were involved in the woollen
textile industry. The surname may be
derived from the forename Hocc, a pet
form of the OE Hocca. Flemish
surnames frequently include the suffix
kin. The surname became established in
Devon near Lydford where it appears in
early taxation records. In In the early
17th century.
Topographic elements: The Ancient Woodlands
19
The extent of the ancient
woodlands in Roman times:
Ordnance Survey map of
Roman Britain (1939)
The extent of the Ancient
Woodlands in the 16th century
Based on the Domesday Book,
Anglo Saxon and Scandinavian Place-
Names
Deforestation took place during the
Anglo Saxon period. particularly in
what would come to be known as the
“Central Plain”.
•
It would continue following the
Norman invasion as population
growth accelerated in the 13th
and 14th centuries.
How did the process of deforestation
undertaken by the Anglo Saxons and
Normans influence the distribution of
woodland surnames?
•
In particular how did it influence the
distribution of woodland surnames
both inside and outside the Central
Plain?
The etymology of woodland place names
reflects both dialect and function. The first
element can take a variety of forms;
personal names, animals, trees and
descriptive elements.
leigh: a wood or clearing.
shaw: from the Old English scaga, sceaga, a
copse, grove or small wood.
holt: a single species wood
Hurst: hyrst, a wooded hill
Woodland suffixes:
Surname frequency: 9,560
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 995 (10.4%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 8,565 (89.6%)
Leigh Surnames
Surname frequency: 9,560
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 995 (10.4%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 8,565 (89.6%)
Total number of place names: 793
Place names inside the Central Province:
258 (32.5%)
Place names outside the Central Province
535 (67%)
Leigh Surnames and Place names:
Surname frequency: 121,518
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50 113
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 5,749 (13%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 105,769 (87%)
*shaw Surnames
Surname frequency: 121,518
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50 113
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 5,749 (13%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 105,769 (87%)
Total number of place names: 802
Place names inside the Central Province:
105 (13%)
Place names outside the Central Province
697 (86.9%)
*shaw Surnames and Place names
Surname frequency: 19,849
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50 9
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 2,000 (10.1%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 17,849 (89.9%)
*.holt Surnames
Surname frequency: 19,849
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50 9
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 2,000 (10.1%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 17,849 (89.9%)
Total number of place names: 268
Place names inside the Central Province:
88 (32.5%)
Place names outside the Central Province
535 (67.%)
*.holt Surnames
Surname frequency: 47,326
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50 63
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 3,596 (7.5%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 17,849 (89.9%)
*.hurst Surnames
Surname frequency: 47,326
Number of surnames with a
frequency>= 50 63
Frequency of surnames inside the Central
Province: 3,596 (7.5%)
Frequency of surnames outside the Central
Province: 17,849 (89.9%)
Total number of place names: 793
Place names inside the Central Province:
258 (32.5%)
Place names outside the Central Province
535 (67.%)
*.hurst Surnames and Place names
*.Leigh
Banwell
Index
greater than
2
*.shaw
Banwell
Index
greater than
2
*.holt
Banwell
Index
greater than
2
*.hurst
Banwell
Index
greater than
2
Occupational Surnames:
Characteristics of Occupational Surnames:
20
•
Many occupational surnames will end in the
suffix "er". However some locative names will
also end in "er".
•
Occupational surnames, particularly more
common ones will often have multiple origins.
•
Occupational surnames, even those with multiple
origins may be decidedly regional in nature.
•
Rare occupational surnames will often have plural or
single origins and the region in which they originate
can often be identified.
Occupational Surnames: The Agricultural landscape
The Agricultural “Provinces”
of England:
21
An Atlas of Rural
Settlement, 2001 by
Brian K Roberts and
Stuart Wrathmell
•
The Atlas describes agriculture in 16th century England.
•
It Identified four distinct “Provinces” each of which
contained several sub regions with distinctive forms of
agriculture.
•
The Northern, Western and South-eastern provinces
were characterized by independent settlements, small
hamlets and farms.
An Atlas of Rural
Settlement, 2001 by
Brian K Roberts and
Stuart Wrathmell
The Agricultural “Provinces”
of England:
In Medieval times the Central Province was
characterized by open field cultivation and
nucleated settlements.
Plowman:
Spellings include such variants as
Ploughman, Plowman, Plumen,
Plimmin, Plimmon and Pleming. All
describe a ploughman, the most
important of all medieval agricultural
workers. The derivation is from the Old
English pre 7th century word "ploh", a
plough and "mann", a skilled man.
Plowwright:
A maker of ploughs deriving from
the Old English pre 7th Century
"ploh" meaning "plough" plus
"wyrtha", "wrtha", "craftsman".
*Internet Surname Database
•
Early instances, William Le
Plowritte (1279) "The
Hundred Rolls of
Cambridgeshire", and Robert
Le Plogwryth (1285) "The
Court Rolls of the Manor of
Wakefield, Yorkshire"*.
Acerman:
From the Olde English pre 7th
Century "aecermann", a compound
of "aecer", field, ploughed land,
combined with the Old Norse
"mann", man. On many medieval
manors there were separate
tenements held by "acremen" in
return for ploughing service.
•
Robert le Akerman (Essex, 1233);
Roger le Acreman (Oxfordshire,
1273); and Hugh Akerman
(Cambridgeshire, 1273*).
*Internet Surname Database
- Corn and crops variously
combined
-Stock keeping, with some
corn growing some dairying
Tanner
Anglo-Saxon occupational surname
for someone employed as a tanner
of animal skins and hides
Lemmer le Tannur (1175, Yorkshire),
and Philip le Tannour (1273,
Huntingdonshire).
- Cattle and sheep rearing
some dairying
-Stock fattening, horse
breeding, dairying
-Stock keeping, with some
corn growing some dairying
Geldard/Gelder:
A tender of oxen and gelded
horses. Middle English "gelde"
(from the Old Norse "gelda",
barren, sterile), with the Olde
English pre 7th Century "hierde",
herdsman, tender.
*Internet Surname Database
•
Petrus Geldhird and a
Ricardus Geldhyrd were
noted in the 1379 Poll Tax
Returns of Yorkshire*.
- Cattle and sheep rearing
some dairying
-Stock fattening, horse
breeding, dairying
Coward:
A tender of oxen and gelded horses.
Middle English "gelde" (from the Old
Norse "gelda", barren, sterile), with
the Olde English pre 7th Century
"hierde", herdsman, tender.
*Internet Surname Database
•
Examples include such as
Adam Le Couherd in the
1317 Assize Rolls of Kent,
and Robertus Cowherde of
Yorkshire in the 1379 Poll
Tax rolls. John Cowherde is
recorded in Worcester in
1327*
Cattle and sheep
rearing, some dairying
Sheep, corn, stock
keeping. pig, horse
breeding
Occupational Surnames: Textiles
Early areas of cloth production
were limited to ecclesiastical
centres or major urban places
under the control of guilds.
The early woolen textile
industry:
22
Fulling mills were introduced from
the continent by the Knights
Templar in the 13th century.
The early woolen textile
industry:
The early woolen textile
industry:
The Introduction of the fulling mill
would break the hold of the Urban
Guilds.
The woollen industry would shift to
regions with access to raw materials,
sheep and flowing water.
•
E.M.Carus Wilson refer to this
development as England’s first
industrial revolution.
•
it would strongly influence the
distribution of textile related surnames.
.
Walker:
1881 frequency: 100,114
Walker: Cloth was “fulled” by
walking on it, hence walker.
With mechanical fulling the
“walker” was replaced with
wooden hammers operated by a
water wheel.
Tucker:
1881 frequency: 16,487
Tucker referenced the word tuck,
tucking having the same
meaning as fulling.
Most common in the west,
Cornwall and Devon.
Fuller:
1881 frequency: 12,054
In the south east the process of
fulling was carried out by a
“fuller”.
Walker Tucker Fuller combined
Dialect
divide
Weaver
1881 frequency 7,773
Derivative of Middle English
weven “to weave”, (Old English
wefan).
Webb:
1881 frequency 40,484
Occupational name for a weaver,
early Middle English webbe, from
Old English webba, a primary
derivative of “wefan”.
Webber:
1881 frequency: 9,091
Found in the south west, in close
association with the surname
Tucker.
Webster:
1881 frequency: 25,986
Anglo-Saxon in origin, it is found
chiefly in Yorkshire, Lancashire
and the Midlands, and is a
variant of the occupational name
Webb, which was originally given
to a weaver.
Dexter:
1881 Frequency: 2,197
Dexter was originally used to
distinguish female dyers, but later it
applied to men as well.
•
Early examples of the surname
include John and Ralf Dextere
in the Friary Rolls of Leicester
in 1262, Robert le Digester in
the Subsidy Rolls of
Worcestershire in 1275.
Lister:
1881 frequency: 8,519
Recorded in a wide range of
spellings including Lister, Lyster,
Lester, Lestor, McLeister, Laister.
•
Occupational term for a textile
dyer, from the Middle English
word "litster", meaning to dye.
This term was used principally in
Northern England and most
frequently in Yorkshire.
Publications focusing on Surname Studies….
23
•
Yorkshire West Ridings; 1973 George Redmonds,
•
Norfolk and Suffolk Surnames in the Middle Ages; 1975; Lancashire; 1981,
Sussex; 1988 Richard McKinley
•
Devon; 1995, Leicestershire, Rutland; 1998 David Postel
•
A History of British Surnames; 1990 Richard McKinley
•
Family Names and Family History; 2000 David Hey
•
Surnames, DNA & family History; 2012 George Redmonds, Turi King, and
David Hey
•
Surnames Handbook: A Guide to Family Name Research in the 21st Century;
2012 Debbie Kennett and Derek A. Palgrave
•
Middle English Surnames in West Yorkshire, 2013 Wendi A.Dunlop
Additional reading
24
Research Your Surname and Your Family Tree, Dr Graham Davis
Tracing Your [English} Ancestors from 1066 to 1837 Dr Jonathan Oates ( Review )
Medieval Genealogy: How to Find Your Medieval Ancestors Paul Chambers
DNA and Family History: How Genetic Testing Can Advance Your
GenealogicalResearch, Chris Pomeroy
The Advantages of a Dual DNA/Documentary Approach to Reconstruct the
Family Trees of a Surname Chris Pomeroy
Getting the Most from a surname Study: Semantics, DNA and computer
modeling Dr John S Plant and Prof Richard E Plant
Distribution and persistence of Surnames in a Yorkshire Dale 1500 -1750
Maurice Turner
Homes of family names in Great Britain H B Guppy
