Full text of "An etymological dictionary of family and Christian names. With an essay on their derivation and import"

AN 



ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 



OF 



FAMILY AND CHRISTIAN NAMES, 

WITH AN ESSAY, 

ON THEIR DERIVATION AND IMPORT. 



BY 



WILLIAM ARTHUR, M.A. 



"To find out the trne original! of surnames is full of difficnltie." 

CAMDEN 



NEW YORK. 
SHELDON, BLAKEMAN & CO. 

No. 115 NASSAU STREET. 

1857. 





Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1856, by 
WILLIAM ARTHUR, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Northern 
District of New York. 



cs 



STEREOTYPED BT PRINIED BY 

THOMAS B. SMITH. J. J. HEED, 

82 & 84 Beekman Street. 16 



PREFACE. 



THE Author has been induced to publish this volume, 
from the opinions expressed by a number of literary 
friends, that a work on the origin and import of Family 
Names would be a valuable addition to the current 
literature of this country. He is not aware that a Dic- 
tionary of this kind has ever before been published, 
embracing surnames derived from the English, Saxon, 
Dutch, Danish, German, Welsh, Gaelic (Celtic), Cor- 
nish-British, and other languages. 

From this consideration he is inclined to indulge the 
hope that the book will be acceptable not only to the 
Philologist, but to readers in general who may have 
the curiosity to know the origin and signification of 
their own names. 

Much labor has been spent upon the Dictionary. It 
has been prepared by long and careful research and 
study of the several languages from which the names 
are derived. 

In the outlines of the Introductory Essay the author 
is indebted for much valuable information to the 
" learned Camden," " Camden's Remaines concerning 
Britaine," London, 1614. 



IV PREFACE. 

He has read with pleasure an interesting and amus- 
ing " Essay on English Surnames," by Mark Antony 
Lower, M.A., London, 1849, from which he has taken 
many curious observations and humorous anecdotes on 
several names given in that work. 

Available aid has also been obtained from a series of 
articles on Irish Surnames, by Mr. John O'Donovan, 
published in the " Irish Penny Journal," Dublin, 1841 ; 
from " Bailey's English Dictionary," 20th edition, 1764 ; 
"Playfair's British Family Antiquity," London, 1811 ; 
and from " Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic Diction- 
ary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland," 
London, 1848. 

In a volume of this size it is not to be expected that 
the origin and meaning of every surname can be found, 
nevertheless, from an attentive perusal of the Intro- 
ductory Essay, and the several derivations of the names 
given, a majority of Family and Christian names may 
be ascertained with a good degree of accuracy. 

From the nature and difficulty of the work, arising 
in many instances from the mutation and corruption of 
the original names, the change of customs and language, 
and the frequent similarity of the roots from which 
many of the words are derived, it can not be otherwise 
than in many respects imperfect. 

NEWTONYILLE, ALBANY Co., N.T., 
November, 1856. 



AN ESSAY 



THE ORIGIN AND IMPORT 



FAMILY ISTA.MES. 



NAMES commenced in Eden. The Creator be- 
stowed on the first man the name of Adam, denot- 
ing his origin from the earth. Eve gave to her 
first born the name of (7am, implying acquisition, a 
standing testimony of her faith in the first promise 
made to man in Eden. 

The signification of the Hebrew names recorded 
in the 5th chapter of G-enesis, when arranged in 
order, present an epitome of the ruin and recovery 
of man through a Eedeemer : 

ADAM, i. e., "Man in the image of God;" 

SETH, " Substituted by ;" 

ENOS, " Frail Man ;" 

CANAAN, ' ' Lamenting ; ' ' 

MAHALALEEL, " The blessed God ;" 

JARED, " Shall come down ;" 

ENOCH, "Teaching;" 



6 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

METHUSELAH, " His death, shall send ;" 
LAMECH, " To the humble ;" 

NOAH, " Eest or consolation."* 

These names in the order in which they are re- 
corded, read thus: "To man, once made in the 
image of God, now substituted by man frail and full 
of sorrow, the blessed God himself shall come down 
to the earth teaching, and his death shall send to 
the humble, consolation." 

The son of Abraham and Sarah, by divine direc- 
tion was to bear the name of Isaac, signifying laugh- 
ter, in allusion to the circumstances recorded of the 
father of the faithful in the 17th chapter of Genesis. 
In like manner Jacob received the name Yaakob, 
that is, he shall " hold by the heel" or supplant, a 
prediction which was fulfilled when he supplant- 
ed his brother Esau, in the matter of his birthright. 

The ancient Hebrews retained the greatest sim- 
plicity in the use of names, and generally a single 
name distinguished the individual. "Where it was 
necessary the name of the father was added, and 
sometimes that of the mother, if she happened to be 
more celebrated. 

Names were first given for the distinction of per- 
sons, and each individual had, at the beginning, but 

* Dr. Cummings. 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 7 

one proper or given name, as Joseph among the 
Jews, Amasis among the Egyptians, Arbaces among 
the Medians, among the Greeks Ulysses, among the 
Romans Romulvis, the Germans Ariovistus, the British 
Caradoc, the Saxons Edric, etc. 

The Jews named their children the eighth day 
after the nativity, when the rite of circumcision was 
performed. The Greeks gave the name on the 
tenth day, and an entertainment was given by the 
parents to their friends, and sacrifices offered to the 
gods. 

The Eomans gave names to their female children 
on the eighth day, and to the males on the ninth, 
which they called Dies lustricus, the day of purifi- 
cation, on which day they solemnized a feast called 
Nbmmalia. 

The name given was generally indicative of some 
particular circumstance attending the birth or in- 
fancy, some quality of body or mind, or was ex- 
pressive of the good wishes or fond hopes of the 
parent. Objects in nature, the most admired and 
beautiful, were selected by them to designate theii 
offspring. The sun, the moon and stars, the clouds 
the beasts of the field, the trees and the flowers that 
adorn the face of nature, were all made subservient 
to this end. 

Pythagoras taught that the minds, actions, and 



8 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

success of men would be according to their fate, 
genius and name, and Plato advises men to be care- 
ful in giving fair and happy names. 

Such hopeful names as Victor, conqueror, Felix, 
happy, and Fortunatus, lucky, were called by Cicero, 
" bona nomina,"good names, and by Tacitus, " fausta 
nomina," prosperous names. 

" Such names among the Komans were considered 
so happy and fortunate, that in the time of Galienus, 
Kegilianus who commanded in the ancient Illyricum, 
obtained the empire in consequence of the deriva- 
tion of his name. When it was demanded during 
a banquet, what was the origin of Kegilianus, one 
answered, ' a RegnoJ to reign, to be a king ; another 
began to decline * Rex (a king), Regis, Regilianus,' 1 
when the soldiers began to exclaim, 'Ergo potest 
Eex esse, ergo potest regere, Deus tibi regis nomen 
imposuit,' and so invested him with the imperial 
robes."* 

Lewis the Eighth, King of France, sent two of his 
embassadors to Alphonso, king of Spain, to solicit 
one of his daughters in marriage. When the young 
ladies, whose names were Urraca and Blanche, were 
presented to the embassadors, they made choice of 
Blanche, though far less beautiful than her sister, 
assigning as a reason that her name would be 

* Camden. 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 9 

better received in France, as Blanche signified fair 
and beautiful. 

So the proverb, "Bonum nomen bonum omen" A 
good name is a good omen. 

Names, epithets, and soubriquets were often be- 
stowed by others than the parents, at a more 
advanced age, expressive of character or exploits, 
of personal beauty, deformity or blemish such as, 
among the Greeks TeAe^o^o^ (Telemachus), able to 
sustain the war; Qfahnrnos (Philip), a lover of 
horses ; 'Ahet-avdpog (Alexander), a benefactor of 
men, and Tpvnbg, eagle-nose. Among the Komans, 
Victor, a conqueror ; Strabo, squint-eyed ; Varus, 
bow-legged. Among the Britons, Cadwallader, 
the leader of the war. Among the Gaels or Celts, 
Galgach, or Galgachus, the fierce fighter of battles ; 
Curaidh, a hero. 

Among the Britons and Gaels, names were taken 
from those animals which excelled in swiftness, 
fierceness, boldness, strength or courage, as the 
Lion, the Bear, the Wolf, the Mastiff. The follow- 
ing are examples : Llew, Llewelyn, Arthur, Kee, etc. 

Others from valor, skill in war, and various 
mental qualities, as Caw, Cadwallon, Cadwallader, 
Hardd; Donald, Duncan, Fergus, Colom, Coel, Car- 
actacus* 

* For the signification of these names, see Dictionary, 



10 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

Others from color. Lloyd, Brych, Winne, Goch, 
Gorm, Gwrmain, Glass, Dhu or Du, Da or Day, 
'Melyn, Bane, Cane, Eoe, &c. 

The KOMANS introduced such names as Julius, 
Claudius, Felix, Constans, Constantine, Augustus, 
Augustine, etc. The SAXONS the names of Charles, 
Edward, Edmund, Baldwin, Oswald, etc. The 
Danes, such as Hengist, Horsa, Sweyne, Canute; 
and the NORMANS chose such as Kobert, William, 
Eichard, Henry, etc. 

Before the general introduction of surnames, the 
Britons and Celts, for the sake of distinction, used 
explanatory names, descriptive of personal peculiar- 
ities, individual pursuits, mental or bodily qualities, 
accidental circumstances, or the performance of 
certain actions. These names have been called 
Soubriquets, Cognomens, and Nicknames such as 
Howel Da, or Howel the good; Howel y Pedolau, or 
Howel of the horse-shoes, so called from being able 
to straighten them or bend them by manual strength ; 
Cadrod Eardd, or the beautiful; Kind Flaidd, or 
Eirid the Wolf; Cunedda Wkdig, or the Patriotic ; 
Howel y Fwyall, or the Battle axe; Caswallon 
Law hir, or the long hand ; Lly warch Hen, or the 
aged ; Donald Gorm, or Blue Donald ; Malcolm 
Ganmore, great head. 

The Gaels of Ireland had also the same kind of 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 11 

cognomens or descriptive names, as Mall Roe, or 
Niall the Ked ; Niall More, .ISTiall the Great ; Con 
Bachach, Con the Lame ; Henry Avrey, Henry the 
Contentious; Shane au Dimais, John the Proud; 
Shane Buidhe, or John with the yellow hair ; Shane 
Gearr, John Short; Seumas Reagh, James the 
Swarthy; O'Connor Don, the Brown-haired O'Con- 
nor.* 

Sir Henry Piers, in the year 1682, in a letter to 
Anthony, Lord Bishop of Meath, gave the follow- 
ing account of Irish sobriquets and cognomens : 

* * * " They take much liberty, and seem to 
do it with delight, in giving of nicknames ; and if a 
man have any imperfection or evil habit, he shall 
be sure to hear of it in the nickname. Thus, if he be 
blind, lame, squint-eyed, gray-eyed, be a stammerer 
in speech, be left-handed, to be sure he shall have 
one of these added to his name ; so also from his 
color of hair, as black, red, yellow, brown, etc. ; and 
from his age, as young, old ; or from what he ad- 
dicts himself to, or much delights in, as in draining, 
building, fencing, or the like ; so that no man what- 
ever can escape a nickname who lives among them, 
or converseth with them ; and sometimes, so libidin- 
ous are they in this kind of raillery, they will give 
nicknames per antiphrasim, or contrariety of speech, 

* Mr. John 0'Don:^an, Irish Penny Journal, 1841. 



12 ESSAY ON THE OEIGIN AND 

Thus a man of excellent parts, and beloved of all 
men, shall be called Qrana, that is, naughty, or fit to 
be complained of. If a man have a beautiful coun- 
tenance or lovely eyes, they will call him Cueegh, 
that is, squint-eyed; if a great housekeeper, he 
shall be called Ackerisagh, that is, greedy." 

The same custom prevailed in England, and 
other countries, in reference to descriptive names, 
many of which in after times became surnames ; as 
William the Lion; Henry the Fowler; Edmund 
Ironside; Harold Harefoot; William Eufus (the 
Eed); Henry Beauclerk (fine Scholar); Eichard 
Cceur de Lion (the Lion-hearted; John Lackland; 
Edward Longshanks; David Crookshanks. Some 
of this class indicate mental qualities, as Good, 
Goodman, Goodenough, Best, Sage, Wise. Others 
are derived from personal appearance or bodily 
peculiarities, as Big, Meikle, Little, Lightbody, 
Lightfoot, Armstrong, Greathead. 

Among these are included names denoting com- 
plexion, color of hair and dress, as Black, Blond, 
Brown, Gray, Grissel, Eed, Eufus, Eous, Eussel, 
Eothe (Germ, red), Eothman, Euddiman, Blacket 
or Blackhead, Whitelock, and Whitehead. 

Among names of costume are found Capet, 
Curthose (short hose), Eobe, Mantle, etc. 

The custom of giving nicknames to individuals 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 13 

bearing hereditary surnames has not yet been dis- 
continued ; and in many localities, the peasantry are 
better known by soubriquets than by their proper 
surnames. This is especially the case where several 
families bear the same sur-names. 

Mark Antony Lower, M. A., in his interesting 
and amusing Essay on Family Nomenclature, re- 
lates the following story, as given by a correspond- 
ent of Knight's Quarterly Magazine: "I knew an 
apothecary in the collieries, who, as a matter of 
decorum, always entered the real name of his 
patients in his books; that is, when he could 
ascertain them. But they stood there for orna- 
ment ; for use, he found it necessary to append the 
soubriquet, which he did with true medical formal- 
ity, as, for instance, 'Thomas Williams, vulgo diet. 
(vulgarly called) < Old Puff.' " 

A story is told of an attorney's clerk, who was 
professionally employed to serve a process on one 
of these oddly-named persons, whose real name was 
entered in the instrument with legal accuracy. The 
clerk, after a great deal of inquiry as to the where- 
abouts of the party, was about to abandon the 
search as hopeless, when a young woman, who had 
witnessed his labors, kindly volunteered to assist 
him. 

"Oy say, Bullyed" cried she to the first person 



14 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

they met, " does thee know a mon neamed Adam 
Green?" The bull-head was shaken in token of 
ignorance. 

"Loy-a-led, dost thee?" 

Lie-a-bed's opportunities of making acquaintance 
had been rather limited, and she could not resolve 
the difficulty. 

Stumpy (a man with a wooden leg), Cowskin, 
fipindkshanJcs, Cockeye, and Pigtail were severally 
invoked, but in vain; and the querist fell into a 
brown study, in which she remained for some time. 
At length, however, her eyes suddenly brightened, 
and slapping one of her companions on the shoul- 
der, she exclaimed triumphantly, "Dash my wig! 
whoy he means moy feyther !" and then turning to 
the gentleman, added, "yo should'n ax'd for Ode 
(old) Blackbird." 

It is stated that " few of the miners of Stafford- 
shire bear the names of their fathers; and an 
instance is given of a certain pig-dealer in that 
county whose father's name was Johnson, but the 
people call him Pigman, and Pigman he calls him- 
self. This name may be now seen over the door of 
a public-house which this man keeps in Stafford- 
shire."* 

In this connection Mr. Lower adds : " There were 

* Mark Antony Lower, M. A., on English Surnames, 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 15 

lately living in the small town of Folkestone, Co. 
Kent (Eng.), fifteen persons whose hereditary name 
was HALL, but who, gratia distinctioniSj bore the 
elegant designations of 

DOGGY HALL, FEATHERTOE, 
BUMPER, BUBBLES, 

PIERCE-EYE, FAGGOTS, 

CULA, JlGGERY, 

PUMBLE-FOOT, COLDFLIP, 

SILVER-EYE, LUMPY, 

SUTTY, THICK-LIPS. 
OLD HARE. 

A SURNAME is an additional name added to the 
Proper or given name, for the sake of distinction, 
and so called because originally written over the 
other name, instead of after it, from the French 
Surnom, or the Latin "Super nomen" signifying 
above the name. 

Surnames have originated in various ways. Some 
are derived from the names of places ; others from 
offices and professions ; from personal peculiarities ; 
from the Christian or proper name of the father ; 
from the performance of certain actions; from 
objects in the animal, mineral, and vegetable world, 
and from accidental circumstances of every varied 
character. 



16 ESSAY ON THE OKIGIN AND 

The introduction of surnames arose from the 
necessity of the case. Soon after the diffusion of 
Christianity among the nations of Europe, their 
Pagan names were generally laid aside, and the 
people began to take Hebrew names, such as Moses, 
Aaron, Malachi, David, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
John, Peter, James. As the families increased, 
many persons were found bearing the same name. 
The Johns, and the Jameses, and the Peters became 
numerous. 

For a long time, soubriquets and nicknames, like 
those of which we have spoken, and patronymics, 
were appended to the name to distinguish the in- 
dividual, which were in some cases retained, and 
became surnames, but by degrees this means of 
remedying the confusion became insufficient, and to 
identify the individual more distinctly, surnames 
were found necessary. 

It is impossible to state at what precise period 
names became stationary, or began to descend hered- 
itarily. According to Cam den, surnames began to 
be taken up in France about the year 1000, and 
in England about the time of the Conquest (1066), 
or a very little before, under King Edward the 
Confessor. 

He says: " And to this time doe the Scottishmen 
referre the antiquitie of their surnames, although 



SIG. 'CATION OF NAMES. 17 

Buchanan suppose^ that they were not in use in 
Scotland many yeares after. 

" But in England, certaine it is, that as the better 
sort, euen from the Conquest, by little and little, 
took surnames, so they were not settled among the 
common people fully vntil about the time of King 
Edward the Second, but still varied according to 
the father's name, as Richardson, if his father were 
Richard; Hodgson, if his father were Roger, or in 
some other respect, and from thenceforth began to 
be established (some say by statute) in their 
posteritie. 

" This will seem strange to some Englishmen and 
Scottishmen, which, like the Arcadians, think their 
surnames as ancient as the moone, or, at the least, 
to reach many an age beyond the Conquest. But 
they which thinke it most strange (I speake vnder 
correction), I doubt they will hardly finde any 
surname which descended to posteritie before that 
time ; neither have they seene (I fear) any deed or 
donation before the Conquest, but subsigned with 
crosses and single names, without surnames, in this 
manner, in England *{ Ego Eadredus confirmaui; 
*| Ego Edmundus corroboraui; >%* Ego Sigarius con- 
clusi; *{ Ego Olfstanus consolidaui, etc. 

"Likewise for Scotland, in an old booke of 
Duresme in the Charter, whereby Edgare, sonne 



18 ESSAY ON THE OBIGIN AND 

of King Malcolme, gave lands neare Coldingham to 
that church, in the year 1097, the Scottish noble- 
men, witnesses thereunto, had no other surnames 
but the Christian names of their fathers, for thus 
they signed /S *f Q-ulfifilii Meniani. S. *fa Guluertl 
filii Doncani, etc." 

On the authority of Dr. Keating* and his cotem- 
porary Gratianus Lucius, we learn that surnames 
first became hereditary in Ireland, in the reign of 
Brian Boru, who was killed in the battle of Clon- 
tarf, in the year 1014, in which battle the Danes 
were defeated. Previous to this time, individuals 
were identified by Tribe names, after the Patriarchal 
manner. These tribe names were formed from 
those of the progenitors by prefixing the following 
words, signifying race, progeny, descendants, etc.: 
Corca, Cineal, Clan, Muintir, Siol, Sliocht, Dal, 
Tealach, Ua, Ui, or 0, which signifies grandson or 
descendant. 

It is asserted on the authority of the ancient Irish 
Manuscripts, that King Brian ordained that a cer- 
tain surname should be imposed on every tribe or 
clan, in order that it might be more easily known 
from what stock each family was descended ; and 

* See Irish T\Mmy Journal, 1841, p. 365, "Origin and Meanings of 
Irish Family names, by John O'Donovan." 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 19 

that these names should become hereditary and 
fixed forever. In the formation of these names, 
care was taken that they should not be arbitrarily 
assumed. The several families were required to 
adopt the names of their fathers or grandfathers, 
and those ancestors were generally selected who 
were celebrated for their virtues or renowned for 
their valor. 

Many of the surnames now common in Ireland 
were derived from the chiefs of the several clans 
who fought against the Danes at the battle of 
Clontarf, under King Brian, and others were 
assumed from ancestors who flourished subsequently 
to the reign of that monarch. Soon after the 
invasion of Ireland by Henry the Second, in the 
year 1172, the Anglo-Norman and Welsh families 
who had obtained large grants of land in- that king- 
dom, in reward for their military services in subdu- 
ing the inhabitants, from intermarriages and other 
causes, began by degrees to adopt the language and 
manners of the people, and in process of time be- 
came "Hibernis ipsis Hiberniores" more Irish than 
the Irish themselves. They not only spoke the 
Irish language, but conformed to the Irish custom 
of surnames, by placing "MAC," which signifies 
11 son" before the Christian name of their father. 
This was particularly the case in regard to those 



20 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

English and Welsh families who settled in the 
province of Connaught. Thus, the descendants 
of William De Burgos were called Mac William, 
that is, the son of William, and the De Exeters 
assumed the name of MacJordan, from Jordan De 
Exeter, who derived his name from Exeter, a town 
in Devonshire, England. 

In the year 1465, in the reign of Edward the 
Fourth, it was enacted by statute, that every Irish- 
man dwelling within the English pale, then com- 
prising the counties of Dublin, Meath, Lowth, and 
Kildare, in Ireland, should take an English sur- 
name. 

" At the request of the Commons, it is ordeyned 
and established by authority of said Parliament, 
that every Irishman that dwells betwixt or among 
Englishmen, in the county Dublin, Myeth, Uri- 
ell, and Kildare, shall goe like to one English- 
man in apparel, and shaveing off his beard above 
the mouth, and shall be within one year sworn 
the liege man of the king, in the hands of the 
lieutenant, or deputy, or such as he will assigne to 
receive this oath for the multitude that is to be 
sworne, and shall take to him an English surname 
of one towne, as Sutton, Chester, Trym, Skyrne, 
Corke, Kinsale ; or colour, as White, Black, Brown ; 
or art or science, as Smith, or Carpenter ; or office, 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 21 

as Cook, Butler; and that he and his issue shall use 
this name under payne of forfeyting of his goods 
yearly till the premises be done, to be levied two 
times by the yeare to the king's warres, according 
to the discretion of the lieutenant of the king or his 
deputy." 5 Edward IV., cap. 3. 

In obedience to this law, Harris, in his additions 
to Ware, remarks that the Shanachs took the name 
of Fox, the McGfabhans or McGrowans, that of 
Smith, and the Geals the name of White. In con- 
sequence of this statute of Edward, many Irish 
families were induced to translate or change their 
names into English. 

The ancient prefixes of Mac and are still retained 
in Irish names, the former denoting son, and the lat- 
ter grandson, or descendant. To distinguish the 
individual the father's name was used, and some- 
times that of the grandfather after the manner of 
the Scripture. Thus, should Donnel have a son, he 
would be called 1/acDonnel, that is, the son of Don- 
nel, and his grandson would be termed O'Donnel ; 
O'lSTeal, the grandson of Neal, or the descendant of 
Neal ; MacNedl, the son of Neal. 

The Welsh, in like manner, prefixed Ap, mob, abj 
or vap to the given or first name to denote son, as 
David Ap Ho well, David the son of Howell ; Evan 
Ap Khys, Evan the son of Rees ; Richard Ap Evan, 



22 ESSAY ON THE OKIGIN AND 

Eichard trie son of Evan ; John Ap Hugh, John 
the son of Hugh. These names are now abreviated 
into Powell, Price, Sevan, and Pugh. 

The -name of the ancestor was appended in this 
manner for half-a-dozen generations back, and it is 
no uncommon occurrence to find in their old re- 
cords a name like this : 

" Evan - ap - Griffith-ap-Jones-ap-William-ap Owen- 
ap-Jenkin-ap-Morgan-ap-Kheese." 

Lower tells of a church at Llangollen, Wales, 
dedicated to " St. Collen-ap-Gwynnawg-ap-Clyn- 
dawg-ap-Cowrda-ap-Caradoc- Freichfras - ap - Llyn- 
Merim-ap-Einion-Yrth-ap-Cunedda-Wledig a name 
that casts that of the Dutchman ' Inkvervarikodsdor- 
spankTcmJcadrachdern 1 into the shade." 

Surnames were not adopted in Wales until long 
after they were in England and Scotland. The old 
manner was retained as far down as the time of 
Henry the Eighth. It is related in Camden, " That 
in late yeares, in the time of King Henry the 
Eight, an ancient worshipful gentleman of Wales 
beeing called at the pannel of Jurie by the name of 
' Thomas ap- William-op- Thomas-ap -Richard-ap-Hoel- 
ap-Euen-Vaglian,' 1 was advised by the judge to leave 
that old manner; whereupon he after called himself 
Moston, according to the name of his principall 
house, and left that surname to his posteritie." 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 23 

About this time, the heads of the Welsh families 
either took the names of their immediate ancestors as 
surnames, or adopted names from their estates, 
after the English manner. 

The old Normans prefixed Fitz, a son, the same 
as Fils in French, and Filius in Latin, to the name 
of the father as a patronymic, as Fife William, the 
son of William, the same as Williamson. 

In Ireland, after the invasion of Strongbow, in 
the time of Henry the Second, names commencing 
with Fitz frequently occur, as Fitzhugh, Fitzgerald, 
Fitzgibbon, Fitzsimmons, Fitzpatrick, which are of 
Anglo-Norman origin. Oamden informs us that in 
the reign of Henry the First, the daughter and heir 
of Fitzhamon, an English nobleman of wealth, 
refused the hand of Kobert, the natural son of the 
king, saying, 

" It were to me a great shame 
To have a lord withouten his twa name." 

Whereupon, the king gave him the name of Fitz 
Eoy, "the son of the king." Children born out of 
lawful wedlock not unfrequently have had Fitz 
prefixed to the name of their mother or reputed 
father. The children of his Eoyal Highness, Wil- 
liam, Duke of Clarence, and Mrs. Jordan, took the 
surname of Fitzclarence. 



24 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

"WiTZ, a termination common in Eussian names, 
denotes son, and is somewhat analogous to the Nor- 
man Fitz, as Peter Paulowitz, Peter the son of Paul. 

SKY is used in a similar manner by the Poles, as 
James Petrowsky, James the son of Peter. 

ING, Teutonic, denoting progeny which Wachter 
derives from the British engi, to produce, bring 
forth was affixed by the Anglo-Saxons to the 
father's name as a surname for the son, as Cuihing 
the son of Cuth, JElfreding the son of Alfred, Whit- 
ing the Fair offspring, Browning the Dark off- 
spring. Gin, in Gaelic, signifies to beget; An, 
Gaelic, is a termination of nouns implying the 
diminutive of that to which it is annexed, and an, 
in the Welsh, as an affix, conveys also the idea of 
littleness. The termination son was also added to 
the father's name, and instead of saying John 
the son of William, the name was written John 
Williamson; Peter Johnson, in place of Peter the 
son of John. While the English affixed son to the 
baptismal name of the father, the Welsh merely 
appended "s," as John Matthews, that is, John the 
son of Mathew; David Jones (Johns), David the 
son of John; John Hughs, John the- son of 
Hugh. 

Kin, kind, ling, let, et, ot, cic, cock, are diminutives. 

From the German kind, a child, is formed the 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 25 

diminutive termination kin, as Watkin the son of 
Wat or Walter ; Wilkin the son of Will or Wil- 
liam. Kin or kind has the same signification as the 
Greek yevog and the Latin genus, race, offspring, 
children. 

LING at the end of a word conveys the idea of 
something young or little, as darling or dearling, 
firstling, gosling, and denotes also the situation, 
state, or condition of the subject to which it is 
applied, as hireling, worldling. 

LET, Anglo-Saxon lyt, is sometimes used for 
little, as hamlet, ringlet, streamlet, Bartlet; i. e., 
little Bart or Bartholomew. The terminations et 
and ot are used in the same sense, as Wilkt, Willmot, 
the son of William or little William. 

The termination cic or cock is also a diminutive, 
and signifies little or son, as Hiccic, Hiccock, the son 
of Hig or Hugh; Wilcock, the son of William; 
Babcock, the son of Bob or Robert. 

LOCAL NAMES form the largest class of our sur- 
names. First among these are those which are 
national, expressing the country whence the person 
first bearing the name came; as ENGLISH, SCOTT, 
IKISH, FKENCH. 

GERMAN or GORMAN, BRETT and BRITAIN. 

FLEMING, from Flanders. 
2 



26 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

BURGOYNE, from Burgundy. 

CORNISH and CORNWALLIS, from Cornwall. 

GERMAINE, ALMAN and D'ALMAINE (D'.llle- 
magne), from Germany. 

CHAMPAGNE and CHAMPNEYS, from Champagne, 
France. 

GASCOYNE and GASKIN, from Gascony. 

KOMAYNE. from Eome. 

WESTPHAL, from Westphalia. 

HANWAY, from HAINAULT. 

JANEWAY, a Genoese etc., etc. 

These names had commonly Le (the) prefixed to 
them in old records. 

The practice of taking names from patrimonial 
estates, or from the place of residence or birth, was 
prevalent in Normandy and the contiguous parts of 
France in the latter part of the tenth century, and 
was generally adopted in England and Scotland after 
the Conquest. 

Names were taken from almost every county, 
city, town, parish, village, and hamlet, and from 
manors, farms, and single houses, such as Cheshire, 
Kent, Ross, Hastings, Cunningham, Huntingdon, 
Preston, Hull, Compton, Goring, etc., so that local 
lames of this class number many thousands. 

Where the name was taken from the patrimonial 
estate, it was assumed by the individual himself; 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 27 

when from the place of residence or birth, it was 
probably bestowed by others. A person who had 
removed from his native place and settled in an- 
other, received from the inhabitants of the town 
or village in which he took up his abode the name 
of his native place as a surname, which descended 
to his children. 

These names were first given with the prefix "of" 
shortened frequently to "0" or "d" signifying from 
(or it may be sometimes an abreviation of " a"), as 
John O 1 Huntingdon, Adam d Kirby. These prefixes 
were after a time dropped, and Adam d Kirby 
became Adam Kirby, and John O'Kent, John Kent. 

Besides these, we have a great number of local 
surnames which are general and descriptive of the 
nature or situation of the residence of the persons 
upon whom they were bestowed, as Hill, Wood, 
Dale, Parlce, etc. The prefix At or Atte was gen- 
erally used before these names, as John At Hill, 
John at the hill, James At Well, Will At- Gate, Tom 
At- Wood, now Atwell, Adgate, and Atwood. Atte 
was varied to Atten when the following -name began 
with a vowel, as Peter Atten Ash, now Nash, 
Richard Atten Oak, now Noakes or Nokes. 

Sometimes " d" was used instead of at, as Thomas 
d Becket, Jack d Deane. By and under were used as 
prefixes, as James By-field, Tom Under-hill. 



28 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

In this way men took their names from rivers 
and trees, from residing at or near them, as Beck, 
Gill, Eden, Trent, Grant, and Shannon; Beach, 
Vine, Ashe, Bush, and Thorn. 

Local names prefixed with De (from) and termi- 
nating in ville, originated in Normandy, and were 
introduced into England at the time of the Con- 
quest. These names were taken from the districts 
towns, or hamlets of which they were possessed, or 
in which they resided previously to their following 
the fortunes of William the Conqueror, such as 
De Mandeville, De Neville, De Montague, De Warren, 
De Beaumont, etc. The prefix De was generally 
dropped about the reign of Henry the Sixth. All 
these names introduced into England at the time of 
the Conquest, from Normandy and the contiguous 
parts of France may easily be distinguished by the 
prefixes De, Du, Des, De La, St., and the suffixes, 
Beau, Mont, Font, Fant, Ers, Age, Ard, Aux, Bois, 
Eux, Et, Val, Court, Vaux, Lay, Fort, Ot, Champ, 
and Ville, the component parts of names of places 
in Normandy, the signification of most of which we 
give in the derivation of those names into the com- 
position of which they enter. 

The greater part of English local surnames are 
composed of the following words or terminations : 
Ford, Ham, Ley, Ey, Ney, Ton, Tun, Ing, Hurst, 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 29 

Wick, Stow, Sted, Caster, Combe, Cote, Thorpe, 
Worth, Burg, Beck, and Gill. There is an ancient 
proverb 

" Kn JFortJ, in 3^ am, fn lies anti 2Ton, 
ST&e most oC 35njjlfs|) surnames run." 

To which Lower has added 



Kn& ?&urst, anfc 8toot, SStfcfe, Sbteti an* JFfelti, 
manj 2EnflUs& surnames telU, 

STJorpe anti bourne, ote, Caster, 
(Jtomfie, 33ur2, 3ion, anti Stotoe, anU Sstofte, 



CKate, 5W^elI, Stone, are mang matte; 

), anK |outt), antt Boton, anU Santr, 

Slnt! 33ccfc, ant) Sea, toftlj numbers stantJ." 

FORD, Welsh, Fford, signifies a way, a road. 
.Fore?, Saxon, from the verb Faran, to go or pass, 
denotes a shallow place in a river, where it may be 
passed on foot, whence Bradford, Crawford, Stan- 
ford, etc. 

HAM, Saxon, a house, a home, a dwelling-place; 
German, heim, a home. It is used in the names 
of places, as "Waltham, Durham, Buckingham, etc. 
Ham, in some localities in England, indicates a rich, 
level pasture ; a plot of land near water ; a triangu- 
lar field. 

LEY, LEGH, and LEIGH, a pasture, field, com- 



30 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

mons ; uncultivated land. Lie, Welsb, a place, 
Stanley, Burkelej, Ealeigh, etc. 

EY, NET, EA are applied to places contiguous to 
water ; a wet or watery place, as Chertsey, Lindsey, 
Esley. 

TON and TUNE, Saxon, and TUIN, Dutch, signify 
an inclosure; DUN and DIN, Gaelic and "Welsh, a 
hill, a fortified place ; now a town, dun, tune, town. 
If the residence of the Briton was on a plain, it was 
called Llan, from lagen or logan, an inclosed plain, 
or a low-lying place; if on an eminence, it was 
called Dun. Dun, in the Gaelic, signifies a heap ; a 
hill, mount ; a fortified house or hill, fortress, castle, 
or tower. 

The surnames terminating in den, din, ton and 
tun, are numerous, as Houghton, Leighton, Chitten- 
din, Huntington. 

ING- is a meadow; low flat lands near a river, 
lake, or wash of the sea, as Lansing, Washington. 

HURST, a wood, a grove ; a word found in many 
names of places, as Bathurst, Hayhurst, Crowhurst, 
Eeddenhurst. 

WICK, in old Saxon, is a village, castle, or fort ; 
the same as vicus in Latin ; a bay, a port or harbor, 
whence Wickware, Wickliff, Warwick, Sedgewick. 

STOW, a fixed place or mansion, whence Barstow, 
Bristow, Raystow. 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 31 

STED, in the Danish, signifies a place inclosed, an 
inclosure ; a fixed residence ; whence Halsted, Olm- 
sted, Husted, Stedham, Grinsted. 

CEASTEB, Saxon, a camp, a city; Latin, castrum, 
whence Kochester, Winchester, Chichester, Exeter. 

COMBE, Anglo-Saxon, a valley; Welsh, cwm, a 
vale, from which we have Balcombe, Bascombe, 
Slocum. 

COT, CETE, Saxon, a cottage; COTE, French, the 
sea-coast ; a hill, hillock ; down ; the side. Several 
names are composed of these words, as Cotesworth, 
Lippencot, Westcot. 

THORPE, Anglo-Saxon, a village. Dutch, Dorp, 
from this comes Northrop, Nbrthrup or Northorp, 
Winthorp or Winthrop. 

WOETH, a possession, farm; court, place; a fort, 
an island. Such names end in worth, as Bosworth, 
Farnsworth, Wordsworth, Woodworth. 

BURG, BURY, a hill; Dutch, Berg, a mountain, a 
hill; now, a court, a castle, a town. From these 
words we have the names Kingsbury, Loundsbury, 
Waterbury, Salisbury, Eosenburg or Kosenbury. 

TRE, TREF, Welsh, a town, Coventry, the town 
of the Convent ; Trelawny, Tremayne. 

The Britons of Cornwall derived many of their 
surnames from local objects, while most of the 
Welsh names are patronymics. The following 



32 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

couplet expresses the usual character of Cornish 
names : 

" By Tre, Eos, Pol, Lan, Gaer, and Pen, 
You know the most of Cornish men." 

These words signify town, heath, pool, church, 
castle, and promontory. 

BY is a termination of Danish names of places, 
and denotes a dwelling, a village, or town, as 
Willoughby, Busby, Ormsby, Selby, Goadby. 

OVER. The Anglo-Saxon over corresponds to 
the German ufer, and signifies a shore or bank, as 
Westover. 

BECK, a brook, Anglo-Saxon, Becc, from which we 
have Beckford, Beckwith, Beckley, etc. 

A majority of Dutch surnames are local, derived 
from places in Holland. YAN, Dutch, YON, German, 
signify of or from, and denote locality, as Van 
Antwerp, belonging to or coming from the city of 
Antwerp ; Van Buren, from the town of Buren in 
Holland. Nearly all the Dutch local names have 
this prefix. 

SURNAMES DERIVED FROM CHRISTIAN OB BAPTIS- 
MAL NAMES are probably next in number to the local 
surnames. For a long time, before and even after 
the introduction of stationary surnames, the name 
*f the father was used by the child as a surname. 



SIGNIFICATION J>F NAMES. 33 

Camden says we have many surnames formed of 
such forenames as are now obselete, and only occur 
in Doomsday Book and other ancient records, of 
which he gives a list. 

I have already shown how the Normans prefixed 
Fife to their father's name for a surname, to denote 
son ; the Welsh Ap, and the ancient Irish, Mac. 

The surnames formed from Christian or baptismal 
names are very numerous ; as many as ten or fif- 
teen are frequently formed from a single Christian 
name. Lower forms no less than twenty -nine from 
the name of William. 

First we have the names terminating in son, 
which was added to the name of the father, as 
Williamson, Johnson, Thompson, Wilson, etc. 

The Welsh merely appended "s" instead of son, 
as Edwards, Davis, Jones (Johns), Hughs. 

Then we have those formed from nicknames, 
nursenames, and abbreviated names, as Watson, the 
son of Wat or Walter ; Watts, the same ; Simpson, 
Simms ; Dobson, the son of Dob or Kobert ; Dobbs, 
Hobson, Hobbs, etc., etc. 

A great many are formed of these abreviated or 

nursenames, with the addition of the diminutive 

terminations ette, kin, and cock or cox, all of which 

signify " little" or " child." From the termination 

2* 



84 ESSAY ON THE OBIGIN AND 

ette we have such names as WiUett, little Will, or 
the son of Will; Halktt, little Hal or Henry. 

From Jain or Joins we have Wilkins, Tompkins, 
Simpkins, Atkins, Hawkins, Higgins, Dobbin, and 
Qilfcin. From cock or cox, Wilcox, Simcox, Bdbcock, 
the son of Bab or Bartholomew ; Alcock, the son of 
Hal or Henry, and Hickcox, the son of Hig or Hugh. 

NAMES OF TKADE, OCCUPATIONS, AND PUKSUITS, 
are next in number, as Smith, Carpenter, Joiner, 
Taylor, Barker, Barber, Baker, Brewer. Sherman (a 
shearman, one who used to shear cloth), Nay lor 
(nail-maker), Chapman, Mercer, Jenner (Joiner), 
Tucker (a fuller), Monger (a merchant), etc., etc. 

These names originally had the Norman prefix 
" Le" (the), as Le Spicer, Le Dispenser, Le Tailleur. 

OFFICIAL NAMES, including civil and ecclesiastical 
dignities, viz., King, Prince, Duke, Lord, Earl, 
Knight, Pope, Bishop, Priest, Monk, Marshall, 
Bailey, Chamberlain, etc., etc. 

Many of these titles, as King, Prince, etc., were 
imposed on individuals from mere caprice, as few 
of these kings or dukes ever held the distinguished 
rank their names indicate. 

It is said that nearly nine hundred Bangs are 
born annually in England and Wales. 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 35 

We find the following in Lower's Essay, as taken 
from the " History of Huntingdon." 

"TKUE COPY of a jury taken before Judge 
Doddridge, at the assizes holden at Huntingdon, 
A.D. 1619. (It is necessary to remark, 'that the 
judge had, at the preceding circuit, censured the 
sheriff for empanneling men not qualified by rank 
for serving on the Grand Jury, and the sheriff being 
a humorist, resolved to fit the judge with sounds at 
least.') On calling over the following names, and 
pausing emphatically at the end of the Christian, 
instead of the surname, his lordship began to think 
he had, indeed, a jury of quality : 

Maximilian KING of Toseland, 
Henry PKINCE of Godmanchester, 
George DUKE of Somersham, 
William MAEQUIS of Stukeley, 
Edmund EARL of Hartford, 
Kichard BARON of By thorn, 
Stephen POPE of Newton, 
Stephen CARDINAL of Kimbolton, 
Humphrey BISHOP of Buckden, 
Eobert LORD of Waresley, 
Eobert KNIGHT of Win wick, 
William ABBOTT of Stukeley, 
Eobert BARON of St. Keots, 
William DEAN of Old Weston, 



86 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

John ARCHDEACON of Paxton, 
Peter ESQUIRE of Easton, 
Edward FRYER of Ellington, 
Henry MONK of Stukelej, 
George GENTLEMAN of Spaldwick, 
George PRIEST of Graffham, 
Eichard DEACON of Catworth. 

" The judge, it is said, was highly pleased with 
this practical joke, and commended the sheriff for 
his ingenuity. The descendants of some of these 
illustrious jurors still reside in the county, and bear 
the same names ; in particular, a Maximilian King, 
we are informed, still presides over Toseland." 

Personal characteristics have given origin to 
another class of surnames, descriptive of mental or 
bodily peculiarities. Among these are many names 
of color and complexion, as Black, Brown, Blond, 
"White, Gray, Grissel (grayish), Eous (red), Dunn 
(brown) ; and from the color of the hair, White- 
head, Whitlock, Fairfax (fair-hair), Brunei, Eoth 
(red), Swartz (black), Fairchild, Black, Black- 
man, etc. 

Those which indicate the mental or moral qual- 
ities are such as Good, Goodman, Goodfellow, 
Giddy, Wise, Wiley, Meek, Merry, Moody, Bliss, 
Joy, Gay, Sage. 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 37 

Those derived from bodily peculiarity and from 
feats of personal strength or courage, Strong, 
Mickle, Little, Long, Short, Strongfellow or Streng- 
fellow, Hardy, Proudfit, Lightbody, Ironside, Arm- 
strong, Crookshanks, Turnbull, and Camoys. 

" Round was his face, and camuse was his nose." 

CHAUOEB. 

"We find such names bestowed among the Greeks 
and Komans. The Greeks had their Sophocles 
(wise), Agathios (good), and Strabo (squint-eyed), 
and Paulus (little). The Eomans, their Pius, Pru- 
dentius, Longus; their Kaso (bottle-nose), Calvus 
(bald-pate), Flaccus (loll-eared), Yarus (bow-legged), 
Ancus (crooked arm), Crispus (curly-headed), etc. 
As I have before remarked, the Britons, Gaels, and 
Celts bestowed many names descriptive of personal 
.peculiarities, and mental and bodily qualities, as 
Cadrod Hardd, Cadrod the beautiful ; Con Bachach, 
Con the lame; Shane Buidhe (Boyd), John with the 
yellow hair ; Seumas Reagli, James the swarthy ; 
Vaughan, little ; Gough, red ; G-wynne, white, etc. 

Some surnames are derived from animals, such 
especially as were noted for fierceness or courage, as 
the bear, the wolf, the lion, whence the names 
Byron, or bear; Wolf, French Loupt, German Guelph, 
the surname of the existing Royal Family of Great 



38 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

Britain; "Wild-boar or "Wilbur, Lovel or Luvel, 
from Lupellus, a little wolf; Bull, Brock (a badger), 
Todd (a fox), Hare, Hart, Leveret, Eoe, Stagg, etc., 
to which, some add the name of Hog and Hogden, a 
sheltered swine pasture. 

A writer in the Edinburg Eeview, April, 1855, 
has remarked that Eber or Eafer, a boar, is the root 
of the following names : Eber, Ever, Ebers, Ever- 
ard, Evered, Everett, Everingham, Everington, 
Everly, and Everton. 

Eichard the Third was called the Boar or the 
Hog, " and so gave occasion to the rhyme that cost 
the maker his life : 

" The Cat, the Rat, and Lovel the Dog 
Rule all England under the Hog."* 

The names of fishes have been taken as family 
names. From this source we have Pike, Burt, 
Chubb, Mullet, Bass, Fish, etc. 

Birds also come in for a share in our surnames. 
"We have Dove, Eaven, Lark, Wren, Peacock, 
Finch, Sparrow, Swan, Culver, Grosling, Heron, 
Wild-goose or Wilgus, Jay, and many others. 

The mineral and vegetable kingdoms have con- 
tributed their full quota of names. In this list we 

* EDINBURG REVIEW, April, 1855. " The allusion to the names 
of RatclifF and Catesby is obvious. Lovel is said to have borne a 
dog as his arms." 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 89 

find Garnet, Jewel, Gold, Silver, Salt, Steel, Iron, 
Flint, and Stone. 

From flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees, we have 
Lilly, Eose, Feme, Furze, Heath, Broome, Prim- 
rose, Pease, Peach, Oak, Cherry, Beach, Ash, Thorn, 
Alder, Pine, and Burch. 

"We find such names among the Eomans Taurus, 
a bull; Vitulus, a calf; Porcius, like a hog; Ca- 
prUlus, like a goat ; Leo, lion ; Lupus, a wolf ; and 
the names of Fabius, Lentulus, Cicero, and Piso, 
were given respectively for skill in cultivating 
beans, lentils, peas, and vetches. 

Many names were taken from the signs over the 
doors of inns, or the shops of various tradesmen, 
where goods were manufactured and sold. 

Camden informs us, " that he was told by them 
who said they spake of knowledge, that many 
names that seem unfitting for men, as of brutish 
beasts, etc., come from the very signs of the houses 
where they inhabited. That some, in late time, 
dwelling at the sign of the Dolphin, Bull, "White- 
horse, Eacket, Peacocke, etc., were commonly called 
Thomas at the Dolphin, Will at the Bull, George at the 
Whitehorse, Robin at the Racket, which names, as 
many other of the like sort, with omitting at, be- 
came afterward hereditary to their children." 



40 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

In olden times, in London, might be seen the 
sign of the Boar's Head, the Crosskeyes, the Gun, 
the Castle, the Crane, the Cardinal's Hat, the 
Angell, the Bell, the Swan, the Bowles, the Bar- 
rell, the Crosier, the Griffin, the Coney, the Jugg, 
the Kettle, the Potts, the Pitcher, Sword, Shears, 
Scales, Tabor, Tub, etc. 

In the cities and towns, every kind of beasts, 
birds, and fishes, objects animate and inanimate, 
were taken by tradesmen as signs to distinguish 
their shops from others, and to excite the attention 
of customers. From many of these, names were 
bestowed, and we can account in this way for many 
surnames which would otherwise seem strange and 
absurd. 

Armorial ensigns and heraldic bearings have 
given surnames to families. Many of the old 
knights took their names from the figures and 
devices they bore on their shields. 

The royal line of Plantagenet (Broome) took 
their surname from the broom plant, Fulke, Earl 
of Anjou, the founder of the house, having worn 
a sprig of broom, as a symbol of humility, and 
adopted it as his badge after his pilgrimage to the 
Holy Land. 

Names were borrowed from armor and costume, 
as Fortescue (strong-shield), Strongbow, Harness, 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 41 

Beauharnois, Broadspeare, Shakespeare, Shotbolt, 
Curthose, that is, short hose, Curtmantle, a name 
given to Henry the Second from his wearing shorter 
mantles than were then in fashion; Freemantle, 
Coates, Capet. "Hugh Capet, the founder of the 
royal line of France, in the tenth century, is said to 
have acquired that surname from a freak of which, 
in his boyhood, he was very fond, that of snatching 
off the caps of his play-fellows. De La Rocque, 
however, gives a different origin for this name, 
deriving it from ' le bon sens et esprit qui residoit 
a sa testeT" 

We have names taken from the seasons, the 
months, and the days of the week, holidays and 
festivals of the church, most of which probably 
originated from the period of birth, such as Sum- 
mer, Spring, Winter, Fall, Monday, Friday, May, 
March, Morrow, Weekes, Day, Christmas, Paschal, 
Holiday, Noel (Christmas), etc. 

Many surnames have originated in soubriquets, 
epithets of contempt, and ridicule, and nicknames, 
imposed for personal peculiarities, habits, and qual- 
ities, or from incidents or accidents which happened 
to the original bearers. Such names are very nu- 
merous, and can be accounted for in no other way. 



4:2 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND 

They are such as Doolittle, Hearsay, Timeslow, 
Houseless, Tugwell, Steptoe, Goelightly, Bragg, 
Trollope, that is, slattern ; Parnell, a woman of bad 
character; Lawless, Silliman, Bastard (William the 
Conqueror was not ashamed of the illegitimacy of 
his birth, as he often signed his name William the 
Bastard), Crookshanks, Longshanks, Addlehead, 
and Leatherhead, Gubbins, that is, the refuse parts 
of a fish ; Gallows, and Devil ! 

We can easily imagine how some ridiculous 
incident or foolish act or saying would confer a 
soubriquet or nickname upon a person by which he 
would be known and called through life, and which 
would even descend to his children, for we often see 
this in our day. 

The following anecdote from Lower is an illus- 
tration : " The parish clerk of Langford, near Wel- 
lington, was called Kedcock for many years before 
his death ; for having one Sunday slept in church, 
and dreaming that he was at a cock-fighting, he 
bawled out 'a shilling upon the red cock!' And 
behold, the family are called Redcock to this day." 

We have gone through the principal sources 
from which the greater part of our surnames are 
derived ; but many names yet remain for the origin 
of which we are at a loss to account. 

But shall we wonder when we consider that 



SIGNIFICATION OF NAMES. 43 

names have been taken and bestowed from every 
imaginable incident and occurrence unknown to us, 
and that many of them have been so corrupted in 
process of time, that we can not trace their originals. 
All names must have been originally significant. 

In the words of our old friend Camden : 
"To drawe to an end, no name whatsoeuer is to be 
disliked, in respect either of originall or of significa- 
tion ; for neither the good names doe disgrace the 
bad, neither doe euil names disgrace the good. If 
names are to be accounted good or bad, in all coun- 
tries both good and bad have bin of the same sur- 
names, which, as they participate one with the other 
in glory, so sometimes in shame. Therefore, for 
ancestors, parentage, and names, as Seneca said, let 
every man say, Vix ea nostra voco. Time hath 
intermingled and confused all, and we are come all 
to this present, by successive variable descents from 
high and low ; or as he saith more plainly, the low 
are descended from the high, and contrariwise the 
high from the low." 



AN 

ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

OP 

FAMILY NAMES. 



IN the following Dictionary, in giving the languages from 
which the names are derived, I have used these abbreviations: 



Nor. FT. Norman French. 

Sax. Saxon. 

Cor. Br. Cornish British. 

FT. French. 

Du. Dutch. 

A. S. Anglo-Saxon. 



G-er. G-ennan. 

Teut. Teutonic. 

Lat Latin. 

Gr. Greek. 

Heb. Hebrew. 

Dan. Danish. 



The term Gaelic is often used instead of what is commonly 
called the Celtic. The Celts of Ireland call their language the 
Gaelic or Gaelen, and the Welsh writers call the Irish Guidhel 
or Gael. The Gaelic is spoken in different dialects, by the de- 
scendants of the ancient Celts or Gaels, in a large portion of 
Ireland, in the Highlands of Scotland, in the Hebrides, and, to 
some extent, in the Isle of Man. 

The names of many of the rivers, headlands, hills, and mount- 
ains in Britain are found to be of Gaelic or Celtic origin. 

The ancient British or Welsh language, spoken and written 
by the people of that name, is more nearly allied to the G-aelic 
than the Teutonic. 

The Cornish-British is a dialect of the Celto-Belgic or Cam- 
brian, formerly spoken throughout Cornwall, but now extinct. 



46 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

The Saxon, so named from the people who spoke it, in its 
idiom, resemoled the modern Low Dutch. 

The Anglo-Saxon was a compound of the idioms spoken by 
the Angli, the Saxons, and the Jutes, who, invited by the Brit- 
ish to assist them against the Scots and Picts, finally took pos- 
session of the country. 



AARON. (Hebrew.) Signifies a mountaineer, or mount of 

strength. 

ABBOT. So named from his office in the church ; the chief 
ruler of an abbey derived from the Syriac Abba, signifying 
father. 

ABD ALLAH. (Turkish.) The servant of God. 
ABEL. (Hebrew.) Vanity, breath. 

ABENDROTH. (Ger.) From abend, evening, and roth, red. 
The name might have been given to a child born at the 
close of day. 

ABEROROMBIE. (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 cruime or crombie, a bend or crook. Aber, in the Celtic 
and Gaelic, and also in the Cornish British, signifies the con- 
fluence 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 or 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 ia 
situated. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 47 

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. NitJi 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 Aberniihy. 

ABNEY. (ISTor. Fr.) Local. A corruption of Aubigny, a town 
of France, in the department of Berry, whence the surname 
is derived; so U Aubigny is corrupted to Dabney. 

ABRAHAM. (Heb.) The father of a great multitude. 
ACHESON. (Cor. Br.) An inscription or memorial. 

ACKART. (Saxon.) From Ack, oak, and ard, nature, disposi- 
tion; firm-hearted, unyielding. 

ACKERMAN. (Saxon.) From Acker, oaken, made of oak, 

and man. The brave, firm, unyielding man. 
ACKERS. (Saxon.) Camden derives this surname from the 

Latin Ager, a field. The name, however, is Saxon, and 

signifies the place of oaks, or oak-man ; ac and ake being old 

terms for oak. 
The termination er, in many nouns has the same signification as 

the Latin vir, a man as P 'lower ', i. e., Plowman; Baker, 

Bakerman. 
Like oak, the first Acker might have been firm and unyielding 

in his disposition, or he might have used or sold acorns. 
ACKLAND. (Saxon.) Local. The name of a place in North 

Devonshire, England, whence the surname is derived; so 

called, because it was situated among groves of oaks from 

ack, oak, as above, and land. 
ACTON. (Saxon.) Local. The oak-town or oak-hill the 

name of a town in Middlesex, England, whence the name 

is derived. 
ADAIR. (Celtic and Gaelic.) Local. From Ath, a ford, and 

dare, from darach, the place of oaks, " The ford of the oaks.'' 

There is the following tradition of the origin of this surname : 



48 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

" Thomas, the sixth Earl of Desmond, while on a hunting ex- 
cursion was benighted, and lost his way, between Tralee and 
Newcastle, in the county of Limerick, where he was re- 
ceived and hospitably entertained by one William McCor- 
mic, whose daughter he subsequently married. At this 
. alliance, the family and clan took umbrage. Resigning his 
title ^nd estate to his youngest brother, he fled to France hi 
1418, and died of grief at Rouen, two years afterward. 
The King of England attended his funeral. He had issue, 
Maurice and John ; Robert, the son of Maurice, returning to 
Ireland, with the hope of regaining the estates and titie of 
Thomas, his ancestor, slew G-erald, the White Knight, in 
single combat at Athdare, the ford of the oaks, whence he 
received the name of Adaire. He embarked for Scotland, 
where he married Arabella, daughter of John Campbell, 
Lord of Argyle." 

ADAMS. (Hebrew.) Man, earthly, or red. The surname of 
Adam is of great antiquity in Scotland. Duncan Adam, 
son of Alexander Adam, lived in the reign of King Robert 
Bruce, and had four sons, from whom all the Adams, 
Adamsons, and Adies in Scotland are descended. 

ADOOCK, little Ad or Adam, cock being a diminutive termina- 
tion. (See Alcock, Wilcox, etc.) 

ADDISON. The same as Adamson, the son of Adam, Adie or 
Addie being, in the Lowland-Scotch, a familiar corruption of 
Adam, hence Addie-son. 

ADEE or ADIE. The same as Adam. (See Addison.) 

ADKINS. Little Adam, or the son of Adam, from Ad and 
kins, a diminutive, signifying child, from the German kind, 
so Wilkins, Tompkins, etc. 

ADLAM. (Saxon.) Local. From adel, fine, noble, and him, a 
village or castle. Addham, contracted to Adlam. 

ADLAR. (Dutch.) From Adelaar, an eagle. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 49 

ADRIAN or HADRIAN. (Latin.) Local. From the city 
Hadria, which Gesner derives from the Greek &Spde, great 
or wealthy. 

AFFLECK. (Gaelic and Celtic.) Local. Said to be a corrup- 
tion of the name Auchinleck, which was assumed by the 
proprietors of the lands and barony of Auchinleck, near 
Dundee, in Angusshire, Scotland. The name is pronounced 
Affleck by the natives. (See Auchinleck.) 

AGAN or EGAN. (Gaelic.) From Mgin, force, violence; 
hence, strong-handed, active. The name may be local, and 
named from Agen, a town in Guienne, France ; also Agen, 
Welsh, local, a cleft. 

AGAR. (Gaelic and Celtic.) Aighear signifies gladness, joy, 
gayety. If from the Latin ager, it denotes a field or land. 

AGLIONBY. (Nor. Fr.) Local From Agtion, an eaglet, and 
ly, a residence or habitation the eagle's nest. 

AGNEW. (Nor. Fr.) Local. From the town of Agneau in 
Normandy, whence the family originated. They went from 
England into Ireland with Strongbow. Agneaii, in Nor. 
Fr. signifies a Iamb. 

AIKEN. (Saxon.) Oaken; hard or firm. 
AIKMAN. (Sax.) From acJc, oak, and man, 

AINSWORTH. (British and Welsh.) Local From ams, a 
spring, a river, and gwerth, a place, possession, or court. 
In the British and Gaelic, Ann, Am, An, Sain, Aon, and 
Avon, signify a river ; the place or possession on the river. 

AITKIN. Probably the same as Allans (which see). 

AITON. (Nor. Fr.) Local. From ea or eau, water, and ton, a 
town; the town near the water; the same as Eaton. 

AXEMAN or ACKMAN. (Saxon,) The same as Oakman, 
from his strength or disposition. From ack, or ake, oak, and 



50 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

AKEES. (Saxon.) The same as Ackers (which see). 
AKIN and AKEN. The same as Aiken (which see). 

ALAN or ALLAN. Derived, according to Julius Scaliger, 
from the Sclavonic Aland, a wolf-dog, a hound, and Chaucer 
uses Aland in the same sense. Bailey derives it as the 
same from the British. Camden thinks it a corruption of 
jffllianus, which signifies sun-bright. From the same we 
have Allen, Allin, Alleyne. In the Gaelic, Aluinn signifies 
exceedingly fair, handsome, elegant, lovely; Irish, Alun, fair, 
beautiful. 

ALANSON. The son of Alan. 

ALBERT. (German.) All bright or famous ; leort or bert, sig- 
nifies famous, fair, and clear, bright ; so Sebert and Ethelbert 
were sometimes written Se bright and Ethel bright. AH, 
Eal, and ^El, in old English and Saxon compound names, 
have the same signification as the English AH, as Al-dred, 
Al-win, etc. 

ALBEECHT. (Saxon.) The same as Albert All-bright. 

ALCOCK. From Hal or Al, a nickname for Henry ; and cock, 
a termination meaning little, a diminutive, the same as ot or 
Un; little Hal or Al, so Wilcox, little Will, and Simcox, 
little Sim, etc. 

ALDEN or ALDAINE. (Sax.) Local. From aid, old, and den 
or dun, a hill or town ; old-town, or it may be high- x>wn, 
from alt, high, Gaelic, and dun, a hill, castle, or town. 

ALDERSEY. (Sax.) Local The isle of alders. 
ALDIS. (Saxon.) A contraction of aid-house, the old house. 
ALDJOY. (Sax.) The same as the English all-joy. 
ALDRED. (Sax.) AU-fear-Hsee Albert. 

ALDRIDGE. (Sax.) The same as Aldred, of which it is a 
corruption. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 51 

ALEXANDER. (Greek.) An aider or benefactor of men. 
From 'A/le, to aid or help, and dvrjp, a man. A powerful 
auxiliary. 

ALFORD or ALYORD. (Saxon.) Local From Alford, a 
town in Lincolnshire, England, signifying the old ford or 
way, from aid, old, and ford, a ford, way, or pass. 

ALFORT. (Local.) A village in France, two leagues from 
Paris. 

ALFRED. (Saxon.) All-peace, from all, and fred or friede, 
peace, like Alwin and Albert. 

ALGAR. (Gaelic.) Noble. 

ALLEN. The same as Alan (which see). 

ALLENDORF. Local A town in Hesse, Germany, signifying 
the old town ; dorf, a town or village, the same as Olden- 
dorf. 

ALLGOOD. (Saxon.) The same as the English All-good. 

ALSOP. (Local) From Alsop, Co. Derby, England. One 
might imagine it a corruption of Ale-shop, a name given to 
one who kept an ale-shop. A very appropriate name at the 
present day; for "Alsop's ale" is celebrated all the world 
over. 

ALYERSTON or ALYERTON. (Cor. Br.) Local A high 
green hill ; from al, high, ver, green, and don or ton, a hill 

ALVIN or ALWIN. (Saxon.) All-winning or victorious, the 
v and w being interchangeable. 

ALVORD. (Saxon.) The same as Alford (which see). 

AMAKER. (Local) Derived from Amager, a small Danish 
island to the east of Copenhagen. 

AMBLER. (French.) From Ambleur, an officer of the king's 
stables ; anciently " le Amblour" 

AMBROSE. (Greek.) From fyppooiof, divine, immortal 



52 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

AMERY. (German.) Always rich, able, and powerful, from 
the old German Emerick or Immer-reich, always rich. 

AMES. (French.) From Amie, a friend, beloved ; or if from 
the Hebrew Amos, a burden. Some think it is a contrac- 
tion of Ambrose (which see). Amesbury in England was 
originally Ambrosebury. 

AMHERST. (Saxon.) Local. From ham, a town or village, 
and hurst or herst, a wood, the town in the wood, the "jET," 
by custom, being dropped or silent. It may have been 
derived from JBamo, who was sheriff in the county of Kent, 
in the time of William the Conqueror ; a descendant of his 
was called Hamo de Herst, and the Norman de, and the 
aspirate " h" being dropped Amherst. AMHTJRST, the con- 
nected grove, or conjoined woods ; " am" in the British, as 
a prefix, has the sense of Amb, amphi, circum, i. e., about, 
surrounding, encompassing; hence, the surrounding grove, 
or Amhurst. 

AMMADON. (Gaelic.) From Amadan, a numskull, a simple- 
ton ; may be so called by way of antiphrasis, because he 
was wise ; as Ptolemy received the surname Philadelphus 
(from the Greek 0Uof, a lover or friend, and cMeA^of, a brother), 
because he charged two of his brothers with forming designs 
against his life, and then caused them to be destroyed. 

AJMPTE. (Dutch.) Ampt, an official situation ; the house in 
which an officer transacts his business ; a lordship of the 
Netherlands. 

kNDARTON. (Br.) Local. The oak-hill; from an, the; dar, 
an oak, and ton, a hill. 

ANDERSON. The son of Andrew (which see). 
ANDREW. (Greek.) From dvdpetoe, manly, courageous. 

ANGEVTNE. So named because coming originally from 
Anjou, in France. The natives of Anjou were called 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 63 



ANGLE or ANGEL. (Greek.) From dyye.lof, a messenger ; 
also the name of a town in France wheie the family may 
have originated. 

ANGUS. Local A county of Scotland, sometimes called For- 
farshire, and took its name, according to Halloran, from 
Aongus Per, grandson to Carbre Eiada, who, with others, 
invaded the modern Scotland, A.D. 498. Angus or Aongus is 
derived from Aon, excellent, noble, and gais, boldness, valor. 

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. 

ANNESLEY. Local. From a town in Nottinghamshire, Eng- 
land, and named, perhaps, from Anclo, a city in Norway, 
by the free-booters or conquerors of Briton. Annansley, 
the lea, lying on the Annon. 

ANSELL. Supposed to be an abbreviatioa ofAnsehn; also 
the name of a bird. 

ANSELM. (German.) From the Teutonic Hamstihelm, a 
defender of his companions. 

ANSON. The son of Ann, or the same as Hanson, the son of 
Hans or John the " H" being dropped in pronunciation. 

ANSTRTJTHER (Gaelic.) From Anstruth, an ancient order 
of historians or bards among the Celts, next in rank to the 
Attamh, or chief doctor of the seven degrees in all the 
sciences. His reward was twenty kine. He was to be^ at- 
tended by twelve students in his own science, to be enter- 
tained for fifteen days, and to be protected from all accusa- 
tions during that time ; and he and his attendants supplied 
with all manner of necessaries. Anstruth is derived from 
Aon, that is, good, great; sruth, knowing, discerning, and 
er put for fear, a man. 

ANTHON. A contraction of Anthony, from the Greek avfof, 
a flower ; but, by way of excellency, appropriated to Rose- 
mary flowers. 



54 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

ANTHONY. (Greek.) From av6o^ a flower; flourishing, 
beautiful, graceful 

APPLEBY. Local. A town in Westmoreland, England, 
called Aballdba by the Komans, from which the name 
is derived. By signifies a town, the apple-town. 

APPLEGARTH. Local. The orchard, apple-garden, or close. 
APPLETON. Local. The town abounding in apples. 

ARBLASTER. A corruption of JBalistarius, a cross-bowman, 
one who directed the great engines of war used before the 
invention of cannon. 

"In the kernils (battlements) here and there, 
QtArblastirs great plenty were." 

ROM. OF THE ROSE. 

AEBUTHNOT. 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 Aberbuth- 
noth, 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. 

ARCHIBALD. (German.) The same as Erchenbald, a power- 
ful, bold, and speedy learner or observer. In the Gaelic this 
name is called Gillespie a favorite name with the Scotch. 

ARDAL or ARDGALL. (Celtic.) Bravery or prowess. AT- 
dol } local, Welsh, from ar, upon, and dol or dal, a vale, on 
the vale, or a place opposite the dale. 

ARGYLE. (Gaelic.) An extensive shire on the western coast 
of Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic Earra 
Ghaidheal, that is, the country of the western Gael, or, 
according to Grant, the breeding-place of the Gael 

ARLINGTON. Local. From a village in Sussex, England. 

ARLON. A local name, and derived from Arlon, a town in 
the Netherlands, thirteen miles east from Luxemburg. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 55 

AEMISTEAD and ARMSTED. (Saxon.) The place of arms. 

ARMITAGE. Local The same as Hermitage, the cell or 
habitation of a hermit, formerly a wilderness or solitary 
place; a convent of hermits or minor friars. 

ARMOUR. Defensive arms; all instruments of war. The 
name is probably contracted from Armorer, a maker of 
armor. 

ARMSTRONG. A name given for strength in battle. His- 
torians relate the following tradition : 

This family was anciently settled on the Scottish border ; their 
original name was Fairbairn, which was changed to Arm- 
strong on the following occasion : 

An ancient king of Scotland having had his horse killed under 
him in battle, was immediately re-mounted by Fairbairn, 
his armor-bearer, on his own horse. For this timely assist- 
ance he amply rewarded him with lands on the borders, and 
to perpetuate the memory of so important a service, as well 
as the manner hi which it was performed (for Fairbairn took 
the king by the thigh, and set him on the saddle), his royal 
master gave him the appellation of Armstrong. The chief 
seat of Johnnie Armstrong was Gilnockie, in Eskdale, a 
place of exquisite beauty. Johnnie was executed by order 
of James V., in 1529, as a "Border Freebooter." Andrew 
Armstrong sold his patrimony to one of his kinsmen, and 
emigrated to the north of Ireland in the commencement of 
the seventeenth century. The Armstrongs were always 
noted for their courage and daring. In the " Lay of the Last 
Minstrel," when the chief was about to assemble his clans, 
he says to his heralds: 

" Te need not go to Liddisdale, 
For when they see the blazing bale 
Elliots and Armstrongs never fail." 

ARNOLD. (German.) The same as Ernold; from are or 
ehre, honor, and hold, faithful or devoted to faithful to his 
honor. How unworthy of the name was the notorious 
Benedict I 



56 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

ARTHUR. (British.) A strong man ; from Ar (Lat. vir), a 
man, and ihor, strong. In the Gaelic, Air is the same as 
Fear, a man; and the ancient Scythians called a man AWT. 
Thor was the Jupiter of the Teutonic races, their god of 
thunder. In "Welsh, Arth is a bear, an emblem of strength 
and courage, and ur a noun termination, a man. Arthur, a 
bear-man, a hero, a man of strength ; the name of a British 
prince. 

ARTOIS. (Local.) From the province of Artois in the 
Netherlands. 

ARUNDEL. Local From a town in Sussex, England, on 
the river Arun ; a corruption of Arundale " the dale on the 
Arun." 

ASOALL or ASG-ALL. In the Gaelic, means a sheltered 
place, a bosom, a covert. Aisgiodal or Aisgall was one of 
the Danish commanders at the battle of Clontarf, near 
Dublin. The name is expressive of courage and strength. 
From this may be found the name of HascaU. If the name 
is of British origin, it would signify the sedgy moor, from 
Hesg, and Tial or hayle low grounds, meadows. 

ASHBURTON. Local. From a town of the same name in 
Devonshire, England. Burton signifies the town on the hill, 
and Ashburton the town on the hill covered or surrounded 
with ash trees. Ash may be, in some cases, a corruption of 
the Gaelic or Celtic uisge, water. 

ASHBY. (Sax.) Local. The house by the "ash," or the 
village on a place abounding in ash-trees; by signifying a 
villa or habitation. 

ASHFORD. (Sax.) Local. A town in Kent, England, on 
the river Ash or Esh the ford over the Ash. 

ASHLEY. (Sax.) Local The lea, field, or pasture abound- 
ing in ash-trees. Leegli, ley, or lea, signifying uncultivated 
grounds or pastures ; lands untilled, generally used as com- 
mons. 

ASHTON. (Sax.) Local The ash-hill or town. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 51 

ASKEW. (Sax.) Local. Acksheugh, hilly lands covered with 
oaks. Aschau, local, a town on the bend of a river in Sles- 
wick, Denmark. Askew, crooked, from the Danish. 

ASPINWALL. (Sax.) Local. Tne aspen-vale. 

ASTLEY. (Sax.) Local. A corruption of Estley or J&afley, 
the east meadow or field. (See ley, under Ashley.) 

ASTON. (Sax.) Local A corruption of Esion or Easton, 
the east town. 



ASTOR. Local. Oster, a town in North Jutland. 

Greek, a star. Austeuer, G-erman, a dowry, a portion. 
Ooster, the east part. 

ATHERTON. (Sax.) Local From Atherstone, a town in 
Warwickshire, England. 

ATHILL. Local. At (the) hill This family formerly bore 
the name of " De la Hou" that is, " of the hill," which was 
anglicized into AthiU. They came originally from Nor- 
mandy. 

ATHOL. (Celtic and Gaelic.) Local. A district of Perth- 
shire, Scotland ; from ath, a ford, and al, an old word for a 
rock, a stone, Rockford, or the ford of the rock. 

ATHOW. Local The same as A thill; how or hoo, a high 
place. 

ATKINS. Camden derives it from At, a familiar abbreviation 
of Arthur, and kins, a diminutive, signifying a child, having 
the same meaning as the German kind, a child, an infant, 
e.j the son of Arthur, so Wilkins, Simpkins, etc. 

ATTREE. Local. At (the) -tree. 
ATWATER. Local. At (the) water. 
ATWELL. Local. At (the) well 

ATWOOD. Local At (the) wood. 

3* 



68 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

AUBKE Y. A corruption of the G-erman Alberic, a name given 
in hope of power or wealth, ric signifying rich or powerful ; 
always rich. 

AUCHINLECK. Local. A parish in Ayrshire, Scotland. 
The etymology of the name may be found in the Gaelic 
Ach } an elevation, a mound, or round hill, generally level at 
the top; and leac, a flat stone, a tombstone. In several 
parts of Ayrshire may be traced the remains of cairns, en- 
campments, and Druidical circles. Auchinleck appears to 
have been one of those places where the ancient Celts and 
Druids held conventions, celebrated their festivals, and per- 
formed acts of worship. 

AUCHMUTY. (Gaelic.) Local. The field or mount of law ; 
an eminence in which law-courts were held, moot-hills, as 
they were called ; from Ach, an elevation, a mound, and 
mod, a court, an assembly, a meeting. 

AUDLEY. (Sax.) Local. From aid or and, old, and ley, a 
field or pasture the old field. 

AUSTIN. (Latin.) A contraction of Augustine, from Augus- 
tinus, imperial, royal, great, renowned. 

AVERILL. Local. A corruption of Haverhill, the aspirate 
being dropped. Haverill is a town in Suffolk, England, so 
named from the Dutch Hyver, Teut, Haher, oats, and hill 
the hill sown with oats. 

AVERY. (G-aelic.) From Aimhrea (the " mh" having the 
sound of "v"), denoting contention or disagreement. It 
may be from Avery } a granary, or from Aviarius, Latin, a 
bird-keeper. 

AVIS. Avis, in French, is a projector, schemer, busy-body. 
Avw, Latin, a grandfather, ancestor. Avis, a bird. 

AYLMER. This family trace their name and descent from 
Ailmer or Athelmare, Earl of Cornwall, in the time of King 
Ethelred. Attmor, in Welsh, signifies a valley or dale. 

AYLS WORTH. This name admits of several meanings ; Eal, 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 69 

Saxon, finished, completed, and worth, a farm-house or vil- 
lage. Ayles, Cor. Br., low meadow, flat lands, washed by a 
river, sea, or lake, and gwerth, a worth, farm, house, village. 

AYLEWARD. The ale-keeper. 

AYRES. Local Derived from a river, town, and district of 
the same name in Scotland. Air, G-aelic. Derivation un- 
certain. It may come from lar, 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 follow- 
ing 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 Ms services, and the 
leg and thigh in armor, cut off, for his crest ; an honorary 
badge yet worn by all the Eyres hi England." 

BABA. German, Bube, a boy; Greek, Ba&z, an inarticulate 
sound, as of an infant crying out; hence, a little child; to 
say Baba, that is, father or Papa. The word is nearly the 
same in all languages ; it signifies a young child of either sex. 

BABER. (Gaelic.) Bdbair or Basbair, a fencer or swords- 
man ; one who, by his blows, produced death ; from Bos, 
death, and fear, a man. 

BABCOCK. Little Bab, or Bartholomew; from Bab, a nick- 
name for Bartholomew, and cock, small, little, a son; tie, 
cock, el, and et are diminutives, and include the ideas of kind- 



60 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 



and tenderness, associated with smallness of SL le. It 
maybe from Sob, the nickname for Eobert; Bobcock, the 
son of Robert, Robertson. 

BACHELOR. Prom the Dutch Bock, a book, and leeraar, a 
doctor of divinity, law, or physic. When applied to persons 
of a certain military rank, it may be a corruption of Bos 
chevalier, because lower in dignity than the milites bannereti. 
Killian adopts the opinion that as the soldier who has once 
been engaged in battle, is called battalarius, so he who has 
once been engaged in literary warfare, in public dispute upon 
any subject. Calepinus thinks that those who took the degree 
of Bachelor, were so called ^Baccalaurei), because a chaplet 
of laurel berries was placed upon them. The word, how- 
ever, has probably but one origin, which would account for 
its various applications. 

BACKMAN. German, Bach, a brook, and man. BoeJcman 
bookman. Back, in some places, a ferry; Backman, a ferry- 
man. 

BACKUS. (Germ.) From BacJc-haus, a bake-house. 

BACON. Bacon, from the Anglo-Saxon bacan, to bake, to dry 
by heat. Some derive this surname from the Saxon baccen 
or buccen, a beech-tree. Upon the monument of Thomas 
Bacon, in Brome Church in Suffolk (Eng.), there is a beech- 
tree engraven in brass, with a man resting under it It ap- 
pears, also, that the first Lord-keeper, Sir Nicholas Bacon, 
with his two wives, are represented in a similar manner. 

BADEAU. (Fr.) Camden says this was a name given to the 
Parisians who admired every tiling that seems a little extra- 
ordinary. 

BADGER. A licensed dealer in grain; a hawker, a peddler; 
also, the name of a small animal. 

BADGELY. Bagasly, local. From a town in Scotland. 

BAGLEY. (Sax.) Local. The rising or swelling ground 
that lies untilled ; from bcelge, rising or swelling, and kagh 
or ley, plain or pasture land. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 61 

BAGOT. (Fr.) A stay or walking staff; a gunstick c dram- 
stick, from Baguette. It may be a corruption oi Bigot 
(which see). Bagad, in the Welsh, signifies a great many. 

BAILEY. A name of office ; a corruption of Bailiff, which is 
derived from the French bailler, to deliver. A municipal 
officer in Scotland corresponding to an alderman. 

BAILLIE. (Fr.) Baffle, a bailiff; same as Bailey. 

BAIN" or BAINE. (Celtic.) Whiteness, fairness. Bain is 
also a bath or hot-house. The name may be local, from 
Bain, a town in France. 

BAISLEY. Baisealach, Gaelic, proud. 

BAITS. A word used hi several languages, and signifies to 
feed, to rest for refreshment; one who kept a house of 
entertainment. 

BAKER. (Sax.) A name of trade, a baker ; from the Saxon 
bacan, to dry by heat. 

BALL. (Cor. Br. and Gaelic.) Bal, a mine, the top of a hill, the top. 

BALCOMBE. Local. From Bal, Gaelic, a round body, any 
thing thrown up; a building, house, town; and combe, a 
valley ; the round valley ; tin-works thrown up in a valley, 
or a dwelling in such a place. 

BALDWIN. (Ger.) The speedy conqueror or victor; from 
bald, quick or speedy, and win, an old word signifying vic- 
tor or conqueror, as Bert-win, famous victor; All-win, all 
victorious, etc. 

BALEN. Belen, in the Cor. British, is the same as Melen, a 
mill. Bellyn, local, a town in Lower Saxony. Balaen, 
Welsh, steel, denoting strength and durability. 

BALFOUR Local. From the barony and castle of Balfour, 
near the confluence of the rivers Or and Leven. (Scot.) Ball 
and Batta, in Gaelic, signifies a casting up, raising, like the 
Greek Bd/Mw, 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. 



62 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BALLANTINE. Local. A place where Bal or Belus was 
worshiped by the Celts ; from Bal and teine, fire. 

BALLANTYNE. Local. A place of ancient pagan worship 
among the Celts, whose principal deity was Belen or Baal, 
the sun. To the honor of this deity, the Celts lighted fires 
on the 1st of May and Midsummer day. Baalantine signi- 
fies " the fire of Baal," from Baalen and teine, Gaelic, fire. 

BALLARD. (Celtic and Gaelic.) From Ball, a place, a round 
elevation ; and ard, high. The Gaelic word Battart signifies 
noisy, boasting. Bal also signifies a lord, and ard, high. 

BANCHO. ^Gaelic.) The white dog; from Ian, white, and 
chu or cu, a dog. Barikhoo (Eng.), the high bank. 

BANCROFT. Local From the Cor. Br. Ian, a mount, hill, or 
high ground; and croft, a small field near a dwelling a 
green pasture. 

BANGS. This name may be a corruption of Banks, or from 
the French bain, a bath, a hot-house. 

BANNATYNE. Local. The name of a place in Scotland, sig- 
nifying the hill where fires were kindled. 

BANNERMAN. A name of office in Scotland borne by the 

king's standard-bearer. 

BANNING. Baaning, Danish, a home, a dwelling. 

BANNISTER. The keeper of a bath; from the French lain, 

a bath. 

BANT. (Welsh.) A high place; Bant-Ue. 
BANTA. (Gaelic.) Local. From Beaunta, hills, mountains. 

BANVARD. (Cor. Br.) Local. From ban, a mount, hill, or 
high ground; and vard, a rampart, that is, a fortified hill or 
castle. 

BAR. Local. A town of France. Barr, a parish in Ayrshire, 
Scotland. 

BARBER. A name of trade, one who shaves and dresses hair. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 63 

BAECLAY. (Sax.) Local. A corruption of Berkeley; a 
town in Gloucestershire, England, derived from the Saxon 
leorce, a beech-tree, and leagh or ley, a field, and so called 
because of the plenty of beech-trees growing there. 

BAECULO. (Dutch.) Local. From Borkulo, a town in 
Holland. The name was originally Van Borkulo. 

BARD. (Celtic.) Local. From lawr, a top or summit, the 
highest; and eidde or oidde, instructor the chief preceptor, 
instructor, or poet. 

BAEDEL. (Welsh.) Local A fortification. 

BARHYDT. (Dutch.) From Barheid, sharpness, roughness, 
severity. 

BARKER. A tanner. 

"What craftsman art thou, said the king, 
I pray thee tell me trowe? 
I am a Barker, sir, by my trade, 
Now tell me, what art thou?" 

PEECY'S RELIQTTE& 

BARNARD. The same as Bernard (which see). 

BARNES. A distinguished family of Sotterly, Co. Suffolk, 
England. Beam, local, a city in France. Bamyz, Cor. Br., 
a judge. 

BARNET. Local. A town in Hertfordshire, England. 

BARNEY. A familiar abbreviation or corruption of Bernard, 
or Barnard (which see). 

BARNWELL. Local. From the old English Bearne, a wood, 

and veld, a field. 

BARNUM. Local. A corruption of Bearriham, the town in 
the wood or hill. Bern, in the Swiss language, signifies a 
bear. This family was originally of Southwick, County 
Hants, England. 



64 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BAKE. (Celtic.) Local. The top or summit of any thing; 
any thing round. Bar, Gaelic, an old word for a bard or 
learned man. Bar, local, a bank of sand or earth, a shoal ; 
the shore of the sea. It may be derived from Barre, a town 
in France, or from Barr, a parish and village in Ayrshire, 
Scotland. 

BARRAS. (Saxon.) Local. From Baerwas, Saxon, groves, 
a place among trees ; a town in England. 

BARRELL. (Gaelic.) From Barratt, excellent, surpassing. 

BARRET. (Fr.) Cunning; 'from the old French larat, strife, 
deceit 

BARRESTGER. Local. A corruption of Beranger (Lat. Ber- 
engarus) ; from Beringer, a town in France, where a battle 
was fought between the French and the English. 

BARRON or BARON. The word Baron is of Celtic extrac- 
tion, and originally synonymous with man in general. It 
has this meaning in the Salic law, and in the laws of the 
Lombards ; in the English law, the phrase laron and feme 
is equivalent to man and wife. It was afterward used to 
denote a man of respectability, a stout or valiant man ; and 
Barone was also used by the Italians to signify a beggar. 

From denoting a stout or valiant man, it was employed as a 
name for a distinguished military leader, who having fought 
and conquered under some great commander, was afterward 
rewarded by him with a part of the lands which he had 
acquired. 

As a surname, it was originally Le Baron, The Baron. Gaelic, 
Baran, a baron. 

BARROW. Local A circular earthen mound, marking the 
place of interment of some noted person ; also a place of de- 
fense. The name of a river in Ireland. 

BARRY. Local. From the Barry Islands in Glamorganshire, 
Wales; so called, says Bailey, from Baruch, a devout man 
who was interred there. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 65 

BARSTOW. Local. May have various significations. JBarr, 
the top of a hill, and stow, a place or depository. Bar, in 
the Gaelic, Welsh, and Cornish-British, means the summit 
or top of any thing. The GTaelic or Irish aran and barr, 
signify bread, a crop of grain ; Welsh, bar, bread, an ear of 
corn; Saxon, bar and here, corn, barley. Barstow, a place 
where grain is stored. 

BARTHOLOMEW. (Heb.) The son of him who maketh the 
waters to mount, or a son that suspends the waters. 

BARTLETT. A diminutive of Bartholomew little Bart. 

BARTON. (Sax.) Local. From a town in Lincolnshire, 
England ; a corn town, or barley village, from here, barley, 
and ton, an inclosure, a house, a village. Barton, a cur- 
tilage. In Devonshire, it is applied to any freehold estate 
not possessed of manorial privileges. 

BARTUL. (Grer.) An abbreviation of Bartulph, which is from 
Beorht, and ulph ; that is, help in counsel, or famous helper. 
Bartel, an abbreviation of Bartholomew, used in Holland. 

BARWICK or BERWICK. Local A town in Northumber- 
land, Eng., at the mouth of the river Tweed. The name 
signifies, the town at the mouth of a river, from dber, the 
mouth, and wick, a town or harbor. Berewick, the corn- 
town, from bere, barley, corn. 

BASFORD. Local. The shallow ford or way. 
BASIL. (Greek.) From Baa^evf, royal, kingly. 



BASSET. (Fr.) A little fat man with short legs and thighs, 
from the French Basset. 

BATEMAN. May have two significations, Baitman, a keeper 
of a house of entertainment, and Bateman, a contentious 
man, from bate, Saxon, strife, to beat, contention. 

BATES. Bate, Anglo-Saxon, contention. 



66 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BATH. (Sax.) Local. A town in the county of Somerset, 
Eng., famous for its hot baths ; so named from the Saxon, 
lad, Teutonic, lad, a place to bathe or wash in. It was 
called by the Saxons Acmanceaster, or the " sick folks' town ;" 
and by the Britons, Caerbaddon, from Caer, a fortified place 
or city, and baddon, a bathing-place, from ladd, a bath. 

BATHTJRST. (Sax.) Local From Bath, as above, and 
hurst, a place of fruit-trees, a wood or grove. Boothhurst, 
the house or lodge in the grove. 

BAUM. (Germ.) A tree. It may be derived from a town in 
France by that name. 

BAXTER. (Anglo-Saxon.) Bagster, a baker. 
BEACH. Local The shore of the sea, lake, or river. 
BEACHER. A dweller on the beach or bay. 

BEAL. Local. Biel, a town in Switzerland. The Gaelic 
word "Beul" signifies the mouth, and by metonymy, elo- 
quent, musical 

BEADLE. A name of office ; a messenger or crier of a court; 
an officer belonging to a university or parish. 

BEATTY. From the Celtic Biatach. Anciently, in Ireland, 
lands were assigned by the government to a certain number 
of persons who were appointed to keep houses of entertain- 
ment, and to exercise hospitality in the different provinces j 
they were called Biatachs. The office was considered hon- 
orable, and besides the lands assigned by the king, they 
were the lords of seven boroughs or villages, feeding seven 
herds of one hundred and twenty oxen each, besides the 
grain raised from seven ploughs every year. Beathaich, in 
the G-aelic, signifies to feed, nourish, to welcome, to support. 
"Beata mor" Irish, to have a great estate. Beatha, G-aelic, 
life, food, welcome, salutation. 

BEAUCHAMP. (Nor. Fr.) De Beauchamp, from the fair or 
beautiful field ; in Latin, De Bella Campo. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 67 

BEAUFORT. (Nor. Fr.) JDe Beaufort, from the fine or 
commodious fort. De Betio Forti. 

BEAUMONT. (Nor. Fr.) De Beaumont; a city in France, 
on the river Sarte, in the province of Mayne ; the fair 
mount. De BeUo Monte. 

BEAUYAIS. (Fr.) De Beauvais. From a town in France 
of that name, signifying the sightly or beautiful place. 

BECK. (Anglo-Saxon.) Local From lecc, a brook. 

BECKETT. Local A little brook. (By no means appropri- 
ate to the furious St. Thomas of Canterbury ! 

BECKER. (G-er.) From lector, the same as lacker, a baker. 
It may be from lecher, a cup or goblet, from lechern, to tip- 
ple; "der Becher" (G-er.), drinker, a tippler; the same in 
Dutch. 

BECKFORD. (Sax.) Local The brook-ford. 

BECKLEY or BEAKLEY. Local The meadow or pasture 
by the brook ; from leek, a brook, and ley, field or meadow. 

BECKMAN". A dweller by a brook or stream, or on a lee, or 
neck of land. 

BECKWTTH. Local. The same as Beckworth, the farm or 
place by the brook, from leek, a brook, and worth, a farm. 

BED ALE. Local. From a town in England by that name. 

BEDE. He that prayeth, or a devout man. "To say our 
Bedes, is but to say our prayers." 

BEDDAU. (Welsh.) Local Graves. "Rhos-y Beddau," the 
heath of the graves, referring to Druidical rites. 

BEDEAU. (Fr.) From ledeau, a beadle, mace-bearer; a 
petty officer in parishes. 

BEDELL. The same as Beadle, of which it is a corruption; an 
officer belonging to a court, university, ward, or parish. 



68 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BEDFORD. Local A town and shire in England ; from the 
Saxon bedan, battle, war, slaughter, and ford, a way or shal- 
low place for crossing a river. Byddin-ffordd, Welsh, the 
route or way of the army. 

BEECHER. (Fr.) Beau chere, fine entertainment; or from 
the beech-wood. 

BEERS. Local From Beer, a town in Dorsetshire, England; 
so called from lere, grain, barley; a fruitful place. In the 
Dutch, leer signifies a bear, a boar. 

BEGrGK From the G-aelic Beag, little, young, small of stature. 

BELCHER. (Old French.) BeLchere, good cheer, fine enter- 
tainment; a happier name than to be a Belcher, and swell 
with pride or passion. 

BELDEK (Cor. Br.) The beautiful hill; or BeiUin, the hill 
of Belus, a place of Druid-worship. 

BELL. A name taken from the sign of an inn or shop. The 
sign of a bell was frequently used. " John at the Bell" be- 
came " John Bell" Bel, French, beautiful, handsome, fine. . 

BELLAMOOT. (Fr.) De BeUamont, from the fair or beau- 
tiful mount. De BeUo Monte. 

BELLAMY. Local. From Bellesme, a town of France ; or it 
may be Belami, French, a dear and excellent friend ; from 
lei, fair or beautiful, and ami, a friend or companion. 

BELLEW. (Nor. Fr.) De Bellew, a corruption of De Belle 
Eau, that is, " from the beautiful water." The family orig- 
inally came from Italy ; they went into England with Wil- 
liam the Conqueror, and afterward settled in Meath, Ireland. 

BELLINGER. Local From Bellinger, a town in South Jut- 
land. 

BELMONT. (Fr.) De Belmont, from the fair mount; the 
same as Bellamont De Bello Monte. 

BELVIDERE. (Italian.) Pleasant to behold; from BeUo, 
pleasant, and videre, to see. 



OF FAMILI NAMES. 60 

BENEDICT. (Latin.) From Benedicts, blessed, well spoken 
of, or a person wishing all good. 

BENJAMIN. (Heb.) The son of the right hand; the young- 
est of Jacob's twelve sons. 

BENNETT or BENNET. A contraction or rather a corrup- 
tion of Benedict, from Benedidus, blessed. 

BENT. Local. A plain, a moor, covered with the bent-grass. 

BENTLEY. Local From lent, as above, and ley, uncultivated 
ground, a pasture. 

BENSON. Ben's-son, the son of Benjamin. 
BEOEN. (Saxon.) A chief. 

BERESFORD. The bears'-ford, from tens, bears, according to 
Chaucer. Barrasford, from barra, an old word for a plain, 
open heath. 

BERKELEY. (Sax.) Local From the town of Berkeley, in 
Gloucestershire, England, derived from the Saxon JSeorce, a 
beech-tree, or the box-tree, and leagh or ley, a field, and so 
called because of the plenty of beech-trees there growing. 

BERNARD or BARNARD. (Sax.) From Beam or Bairn, 
a child, and ard (Teut.), nature, disposition; of a child-like 
disposition ; filial affection. Yerstegan brings it from Beorn, 
heart one of a stout heart. 

BERRY. (Fr.) Local. From the province of Bern, in 
France. 

BERTRAM or BERTRAND. (Sax.) Fair and pure. 
BETTS. (Latin.) A contraction of the Latin Beatus, happy. 

BETHUNE. Local. From the town of Bethune, a fortified 
town, and capital of a county in Artois, Netherlands. 

BEY AN. (Welsh.) A contraction of Ap Evan, or Ivan, the 
son of John ; from ap, son, or literally /rom, and Ivan, John, 
So Brice, from Ap Rice ; Pritchard, from Ap Richard, etc. 



70 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BEVERIDGE. Local From a town in the county of Dorset, 
England. Sever is probably a contraction of Belvoir (Fr.), 
that is, fine prospect ; and ridge, the back or top of a hill. 
A town located on a hill. 

BEVERLY. Local From the borough of Beverly in York- 
shire, 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. 

BEWLEY. A corruption of the French Beaulieu, that is, a 
beautiful place. 

BICKERSTETH. Supposed to come from the Welsh word 
bicra, to fight, to bicker, and steth, a corruption of staff, used 
for tilting or skirmishing. Probably taken from the sign of 
an inn. JBeJcer (Dutch), is a drinking-cup, Bekeren, to drink, 
to tipple, guzzle, with the termination steth, for sted, a place. 

BIDDLE. The same as Bedell and Beadle (which see). 

BIDDULPH. Probably the same as Botolph, which Camden 
derives from Boat, and ulph (Saxon), Help, because, per- 
haps, he was the mariner's tutelar saint, and for that reason 
was so much adored at Boston, in England. 

BIGALOW. Bygglu, in the Welsh, signifies to hector, to bully. 
In the Cor. Br., Bygel is a herdsman, a shepherd, and the 
name may have been applied to the commander of an army. 

BIG-GAR. Local. A town in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Buy- 
gar, in Danish, signifies a builder. 

BIGLER. (French.) One who squints. Bygylor, Welsh, a 
hector. 

BIGGORE. Local. An ancient province of France. 

BIGOT or BIGOD. A name given by the French to the Nor- 
mans, because, as Camden says, " At every other word they 
would swear ' By Grod,' " from which they were termed 
Bigodi. It became the surname of Roger de Montgomery, 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 71 

one of the followers of William the Conqueror, who was 
called Roger Bigod. The English word bigot has probably 
the same origin. 

BIGSBY. (Danish.) The place near the town; from Ugs, 
near, and by, the town. 

BILLINGS. Local. From the town of Billing, in Lincoln- 
shire, England. Beilean, Gaelic, loquacious; a prattling 
person. 

BING. (Danish.) Local. Any thing that incloses ; from the 
Danish binge, a pen, a bin, a corn-bin ; a name given to a 
place where supplies or provisions were kept 

BINGHAM. Local. From the town of Bingham, in Notting- 
hamshire, so named from the Danish Bing, a place where 
provisions were deposited; and ham, a town or village. 
Bingham, a depository for grain ; a place tilled, inhabited. 

BINNEY. Local. From the Cor. Br. Bin, a hill; and ey, 
water ; or from Buinne, Gaelic, a cataract, a stream. Bin- 
neach, in the Gaelic, also signifies hilly, pinnacled, mount- 
ains. 

BIOKN". (Danish.) A bear ; denoting courage and strength, 
the same as Byron. Beren, Saxon, belonging to a bear. 

BIRCH. Local. A name probably given from residing at or 
near a birch-tree. " John at the birch," etc. 

BIKNTE and 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. 

BIXBY. (Danish.) Local. The house or village among the 

box-trees. N 

BLACKBURN. Local The black brook or stream. 
BLACKWOOD. Local. This family derived their name from 

the lands of Baron Dufferin and Claneboye, in Scotland, 

called Blackwood. 



72 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BL AIN. (Fr.) Local. From the town of Blain, in Bretagne, 
France. Blaen, in the Welsh, signifies the summit or top ; 
the same as pen, brig, and bar, the highest part of a mount- 
ain; the end or top of an object; the inland extremity of a 
glen ; a leader or chie 

BLAIR. (Celtic.) Local. From Blair or Blar, which origin- 
ally signified " a cleared plain," but from the Celts generally 
choosing such plains for their fields of battle, blair came to 
signify a battle. There is a small village called the Blair 
near Lochord, about two miles from Lochleven, in Fifeshire, 
Scotland. It signifies a spot where a battle was fough^ 
" locus pugnce." Here, it is supposed, an engagement took 
place between the Romans and the Caledonians, A.D. 83. 

BLAISDALE. Local From the old English word Blase, 
sprouting forth, luxuriant ; and dale, a valley. 

BLAKE. A corruption of the British Ap Lake, from Ap, signi- 
fying from, or son, and Lake, -the son of Lake. The family 
went into Ireland with Strongbow, where the name be- 
came corrupted into Blake. Ap Lake was one of the knights 
of Arthur's Round Table. 

BLAKEMAN. A corruption of Blackman, a name probably 
given from having a dark complexion. 

BLAND. MQd, gentle, smooth. 

BLANEY. Local. Welsh, Bluenae, the inland extremity of a 
valley. 

BLASEDALE. Local. A place in Lancashire, England. 

BLAUVELT. (G-er.) Local The blue field; from Blau, 
blue, and veld orfeld, field. 

BLEECKER or BLEEKER. (Dutch.) From BleeTcer, a 
bleacher or whitener of linen. In Danish, bleger. 

BLIN. (Welsh.) Local The same as Blaen, a point, the 
inland extremity of a valley. Blin also signifies weary, 
troublesome. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. *78 

BUSS. In English, is a very happy name, imposed by others 
on the individual Blys, in the Welsh, signifies desiring, 
longing. 

BLIVEN. (Danish.) From Beleven, affable, genteel, kind. 

BLOOD. In the Dutch, signifies timorous, cowardly ; a simple- 
ton. Lower informs us that G-odkin, Blood (S'blood), and 
Sacre, may be regarded as clipped oaths, and given as names 
to the persons in the habit of using them ; and that in the 
neighborhood of a fashionable square in London, are now 
living surgeons whose names are Churchyard, Death, Blood, 
and Slaughter. 

BLOSS. Local From Blois, the chief town of a territory of 
the same name in Orleans, France. 

BLOUNT, BLOUND, or BLOND. (Nor. Fr.) Of fair hair or 
complexion; from the French Blond, This family trace 
their origin to the Blondi or Brondi of Italy, so named from 
their fair complexion. They went into England with Wil- 
liam the Conqueror. 

BLUNDELL. (Nor. Fr.) From Blund or Blond, fair-haired, 
and having the same signification, only in a lesser degree. 
Blundell, a little fair-haired, so RusseU, from Rous red. 

BLUNT. The same as Blount (which see). 

BLYTH. Glad, gay, joyful Blytli, local, a town in England. 

BOARDMAN. One who keeps a boarding-house. 

BOCK. (Dutch.) Bock, a book ; loTc, a goat 

BOCOCK. BeaucocJc, a fine fellow ; a straggler. 

BODINE. (Fr.) Waggish, merry, sportive. Boodinne, in the 
Dutch, signifies a she-messenger. 

BODLEY. (Cor. Br.) Local The house on the lea; from 
Bod, a house, and ley. 

BOG-ART. (Dutch.) Local From boomgard, an orchard. 

4 



74 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BOGrUJBJ. Local. From the residence being near a bog, or 
from the Saxon boga, a bend, a bow, a corner ; a town in 
France; the name appears on ancient coins in Sussex, 
England. 

BOLINGIBROKE. Local. A town in Lincolnshire, England, 
the birth-place of Henry IV. " The brook or bridge near 
the round hill" 

BOLSTEE. (Cor. Br.) Local. A place in St. Agnes, Wales, 
and signifies an entrenchment; from BoUa, a casting or 
throwing up, and ter, the earth. Bolwestur, Welsh, a Hang- 
er-on. 

BOLTON. Local A town in England; the round hill; the 
abrupt, steep, round hill. 

BOND. The father of a family, "Pater familias" whence hus- 
band, that is, house-bond. Bonde, in Danish, is a peasant, 
countryman, also a villager. 

BONAR. Local. A town in Scotland; a chain of hills; hills 
lor tillage ; also, the hill of slaughter. Cornish British, Bonar, 
the house of slaughter. 

BONNAL. (Cor. Br.) Local. The house on the cliff. 

BONNER. (Fr.) From Boriheur, happiness, good-fortune, 
prosperity. 

BONNET. (Scot.) Genteel, fine, spruce. French, Bon, 
Bonne, good, handsome. 

BONTECOU. (Fr.) Bonte, goodness, strength, fhiitfulness, 
and cul (pron^&w), the bottom, behind; denoting, figura- 
tively, the humor or turn of mind. 

BOORMAN. (Sax. and G-er.) A countryman or farmer. 

BOOTH. A small cottage. 

BORDOEL. Local A town in Lower Saxony. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 75 

BORLAND. (Cor. Br.) Local. The highland; the swelling 
or rising land ; from bor, swelling, rising, and land. If from 
the Saxon, it signifies the land belonging to the common 
people. Bordlands were lands which the lords kept in their 
hands for the maintenance of their board or table. 

Borland is the name of a village in Fifeshire, Scotland, whence 
the family may have originated. 

BORRAIL. (Gaelic.) Prom Borrail, swaggering, boastful, 
haughty, proud. Barrel, in old English, signifies a plain, 
rude fellow, a boor. 

BOSCAWEN. (Cor. Br.) Local. From the town of Bos- 
cawen, in Cornwall, which signifies the house surrounded by 
elder trees. 

BOSTWICK. (Cor. Br.) Local. The house near the haven 
or creek ; from Bos, a house, and wick, a haven or creek. 
It may be from the Dutch Bosch, a wood, and wick, the 
town in the wood. BoswicJc, in the Cornish-British, is the 
dwelling near the harbor or village. 

BOSWELL. Local. A corruption of BosseviHe; from Bosch, 
a wood, and wile, a village. Bothel, Gaelic, the house of the 
powerful. 

BOTTESFORD. Local. A town in England. 

BOUGHTON. Local. From Boughton, a place in Northamp- 
tonshire, England; the bowing or bending hill. Bouton, 
the steep or abrupt hill. 

BOUYIER. (Fr.) A drover. 

BOTTOM. Local. Any low grounds ; a dale or valley. 

BOURNE. Local. From the town of Bourne, in Lincoln- 
shire, England, which is so named from the old English 
Bourne, a small river or spring-well. 

BOUCHER. (French.) A butcher; a blood-thirsty man. 

BOYIE. (Fr.) Local A corruption of Beauvais, a town in 
France, whence the surname originated, and which signifies 



76 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

the sightly or beautiful place." The family settled in Holland 
from France. 

BOWERS. From 6wr, Saxon, a chamber ; a cottage ; a shady 
recess. 

BOWEK (Welsh.) A corruption of Ap Owen, the son of 
Owen, so Price from Ap Rice, and Prichard from Ap 
Richard. 

BOWES. This surname, according to Grose, originated as fol- 
lows: about the time of the Conqueror, there was a town 
(on the site of the Castle of JBowes), which the tradition of 
the family states, was burned. It then belonged to the 
Earls of Brittany and Richmond. The castle was built, as 
Mr. Horseley thinks, out of the ruins of the Roman Fortress, 
by Alan Niger, the second earl of that title, who, it is said, 
placed therein William, his relation, with five hundred arch- 
ers to defend it against some insurgents in Cambridge and 
Westmorland confederated with the Scots, giving him for 
the device of his standard the arms of Brittany, with three 
bows and a bundle of arrows, whence both the castle and 
the commander derived then* names; the former being 
called Bowes Castle, and the latter, William de Armibus, or 
William Bowes. 

BOWLES. Probably from the sign of an inn, as " John at the 
Bowl" i. e., at the sign of the bowl. Boel, local, a town in 
South Jutland, Denmark Boel, Dutch, an estate, also one 
who keeps a mistress. 

BOWMAN. A military cognomen ; an archer. 

BOWNE. (Cor. Br. and Welsh.) Signifies ready, active, 
nimble. 

BOWYER. An archer, one who uses a bow; one who makes 
bows. 

BO YD. (G-aelic.) From buidhe, yellow-haired. Boyd, a river 
of England that unites with the Avon. 

BOYER. A name given to a Grandee among the 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 77 

BOYNTON. Local. From Buvington, in the Wolds, in the 
East Biding of Yorkshire, England, now called Boynton 
Dugdale, so named from its being higher in place or alti- 
tude. 

BRACT. (Fr.) Local From Bracy, a town in Normandy. 

BRAINE. Local. A small town and abbey on the river 
Vesle, in France. Brain, Gaelic, a chieftain; a naval com- 
mander ; a captain of a ship. 

BRADBURN. Local The wide or broad brook. 

BEADFORD. Local A town on the Avon, in Wiltshire, 
England, whence the surname is derived, and which signifies 
the broad ford, there being at that place a ford across the 
Avoa. 

BEADY. (G-aelic.) Breada, handsome. 

BEAG-Q-. Brag, among the Scandinavians, was the god of elo- 
quence, and the word was anciently used in the sense of 
eloquent; also, accomplished, brave, daring. 

SEAMAN. Bramin, a priest among the Hindoos. Bremen, 
local, a city of Germany. 

BRAN. (Gaelic.) Poor; black; a raven, a mountain-stream, 
Welsh, bran, a crow; the name of dark rivers. 

BEAMHALL. A place where goods are sold; Iram, Danish, 
goods on sale. 

BRAND. In all the Teutonic dialects "brand signifies to burn; 
also a sword, either from its brandishing, or from its glitter- 
ing brightness. Brant, a hill ; steep, high ; Welsh, Bryn. 

BRANDS. Local. A town in Denmark. 

BRANDON. Local. A market-town in Suffolk, England, 
and means either the burnt town, or the crows' TiiU. 

BRANDRETH. Bailey defines this name "the curb of a 
well," but I think the name is local, and may be derived as 
follows: Bran, both Welsh and Gaelic, signifies a swift 



78 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

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 



BEATT. (Danish.) Brave, valiant, courageous. 

BKECK. Local An old word signifying broken, a gap; 
Brecca, an old law term which we find in old Latin deeds, 
was used to denote a breach, decay, or want of repair. 
Breck is also used in some parts of England to denote pas- 
ture. Breck, G-aelic, is a wolf or wild savage. 

BEECKENRIDGE. Local From Brecken, broken, out of 
repair; and ridge, Sax., ryg, the top of a hill; a house. 

BREED. (Dutch.) From Breed, broad, large. Brede, local, a 
town in Sussex, England, and in the Danish, signifies brim, 
margin; sea-side, shore, river-side. 

BREESE. (Welsh.) A contraction of Ap Reese, the son of 
Reese, or Rice (which see) ; so Bevan from Ap Evan, Brice 
from Ap Rice, etc. Brys, Welsh, agility, quickness; Bresse, 
local, a small territory in Burgundy, France. 

BEENDOK (Cor. Br.) Local. The crow's hill; from Bren, 
a'crow, and dun or don, a hill 

BRENIGAN. (Cor. Br.) A limpet. 

BREOTST. (Cor. Br.) From Brenhin, a tributary prince; a 
king. Brenin, Welsh, a chief. 

BRENT WOOD. Local. \ town in Essex, England, and sig- 
nifies burnt-wood ; brent signifying burnt, from the Anglo- 
Saxon brennan, to burn. 

BREWER, BREWISTER, BREWSTER. A brewer of malt 
liquor. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 79 

BRET and BRETT. Probably contracted from Breton, a 
Briton; brette, French, a long sword; brat and bretyn, in 
the Welsh, signify an urchin. 

BRETON. (British.) A native of Britain ; Bretton, a town 
in Flintshire, Wales. 

BREUILLY. (Fr.) Local A coppice. 

BRIAN or BRION. (Gaelic.) The nobly descended, from Bri, 
dignity, honor, and an, diminutive of that to which it is an- 
nexed, belonging to it; Gaelic, gin or gen, begotten. Bri, 
Welsh, honor; briadd, honorary. Bailey derives Brian 
from Bruiant, French, clamorous. Brian, in the Gaelic, 
also implies one who is fair-spoken, wordy, specious. 

BRIANT or BRYANT. (Gaelic.) Dignity, honor; from 
Bri, exalted, and ant, a termination, implying the being or 
state of that to which it is annexed ; equivalent to the Greek 
av, and the Latin ens. 

BRIENNE. Local. A town of France, either so called from 
its elevation, or being the ancient meeting-place of the 
Brians or nobles. 

BRILL. (Dutch.) Local So called from Bril, a neat city in 
the Netherlands. 

BRIARE. Local. From Briare, a town in the province of 
Orleans, France. 

BRIERLY. Local The briar-lee; French, bruyere, shrubs 
growing on commons and heaths. 

BRICE. (Welsh.) A contraction of Ap Rice, the son of Rice, 
which is the same as Rhys or Rhees (see Rhees). Brys, 
Welsh, haste, quick, lively. 

BRICK. A corruption of Breck (which see). We cut the fol- 
lowing, on this name, from a newspaper : 

A certain college-professor, who had assembled his class at the 
commencement of the term, was reading over the list of 
names to see tha' <J1 were present. It chanced that one of 



80 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

the number was unknown to the professor, having just 
entered the class. 

" What is your name, sir ?" asked the professor, looking through 
his spectacles. 

" You are a brick," was the startling reply. 

" Sir," said the professor, half starting out of his chair at the 
supposed impertinence, but not quite sure that he under- 
stood him correctly, " sir, I did not exactly understand your 
answer." 

" You are a brick," was again the composed reply. 

"This is intolerable," said the professor, his face reddening; 
"beware, young man, how you attempt to insult me." 

"Insult you 1" said the student, in turn astonished. "How have 
I done it?" 

" Did you not say I was a brick ?" returned the professor, with 
stifled indignation. 

" "No, sir ; you asked me my name, and I answered your ques- 
tion. My name is U. K. A. Brick Uriah Reynolds Ander- 
son Brick." 

" Ah, indeed,*' murmured the professor, sinking back into his seat 
in confusion " it was a misconception on my part. Will 
you commence the lesson, Mr. Brick ?" 

BRIDGE and BRIDGES. Local Any structure of wood, 
stone, or other materials, raised over rivers for the passage 
of men and other animals. 

BRIDGMAN. One who attends a bridge; a builder of 
bridges. 

BRIDE. (Gaelic.) From BrigTiid, a hostage, pledge, or secu- 
rity. The son of Bridget. Cormac, Archbishop of Cash el, 
in his glossary, defines Brigliid " fiery dart," and that it was 
the name of the Muse who was believed to preside over 
poetry, in pagan times, in Ireland. JBreochuidh, a term 
given to those virgins who kept the perpetual fire of Beil or 
Belus among the Druids and ancient Celts. 

BRIGGS. From the Anglo-Saxon brigg, a bridge; briff t 
Welsh, height, the top of any thing, 






OP FAMILY NAMES. 81 

BRIGHTON. Local. A town on the coast of Sussex, Eng- 
land, anciently called BrigJitelmstone, from BriChelm, i. e., 
bright helmet, who was bishop of Bath and Wells, about the 
year 955. The bright town. 

BRIMMER. From the Anglo-Saxon Bremman, Breme, or 
Brim, to extend, to amplify to the utmost limits ; to be vio- 
lent, furious, to rage ; a violent, bold, furious man ; " Fough- 
ten breme," that is, "He fought furiously." Bremmer, a 
native of Bremen, Germany. 

BRINKERHOFF. (Dutch.) BrengerJiof, messenger of the 
court, or head messenger or carrier ; from Brenger, a mes- 
senger, and hof, a court, or hoofd, head, chief, a leader. 

BRISBAN or BRISBEST. This name is* local, and may signify 
the Mount or Hill of Judgment, a place where courts were 
held and law administered, among the Celts and Britons, 
from the Cornish-British Irez or Irys, a judgment, a trial at 
kw, and Ian, a hill, a mount. In Q-aelic, Breasban signifies 
the royal mount; Briosgdbhain, the rapid river; Brisbeinn, 
the broken hill or cliff. 

BRISTED. (Sax.) Local From Inks, bright, pleasant, and 
stead, a place a bright, pleasant place. 

BRISTOL. (Gaelic and Welsh.) Local. A city in England. 
The name signifies "The broken chasm;" from Iris, Gaelic, 
broken, and tull, Welsh, tol, a hole, cleft or chasm. This 
corresponds to the ancient name of Bristol, which was Caer 
Oder, i. e., " the City of the Gap" or chasm, through which 
the Avon finds a passage to the sea. 

BRISTOW. (Sax.) Local. From Irihs, pleasant, bright, and 
stow, the same as stead, a place. 

BRITTE. A word used in Dutch poetry for a Brittainer. 

BRITTON, BRITTEN, and BRITTAN. A native of Britain, 
the ancient name of England. Several derivations have 
been given to Britain, such as Brydon or Prydyn, Welsh, 
the fair tribe, or brave men. Bridaoine, Gaelic, from Bri, 
dignity, and daoiie, men. Pryddain, the fair and beautiful 
4* 



82 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

isle. JBrait or JBriand, extensive, and w, land. Brit-tone, 
the land of tin. 

BROCK. From the Saxon Broc, a badger. Brock, in Gaelic 
or Irish, Cor. Br. and Welsh, has the same meaning. 

BROCKLESBY. Local. Derived from BrocJcks, a small town 
of that name in England, and by, near to ; a village. Dutch, 
Brock, a marsh ; also, broken land. 

In a party in which the celebrated Porson was a guest, there 
was also a physician by this name, Dr. Brocklesby, a de- 
scendant of the eminent man who attended Dr. Johnson in 
his last illness. In addressing Dr. Brocklesby, Porson called 
him Dr. Rock "Yes, Dr. Rock no, Dr. Rock," etc. a 
name rendered almost infamous by Hogarth, in his picture 
of the " March of the G-uards." At length, Dr. Brocklesby 
became offended, and said, " Mr. Porson, my name is not 
Rock, it is Brocklesby," pronouncing the syllables distinctly, 
Brock-les-by. "Well," said Porson, "if BrocJc-les-b is not 
Rock, then I know nothing of Algebra. 

BRODIE. (Gaelic.) Local. From the lands of Brodie, Co. 
Moray, Scotland. The name signifies a little ridge; a browj 
a precipice. Brody, a town of G-allicia. 

BRODT. Local. So named from a town in Sclavonia, settled 
by an ancient people who came from Scythia. 

BROME or BROOME. The Earls of Anjou first took the sur- 
name of Brome or Broome after their pilgrimage to the 
Holy Land. Fulke, Earl of Anjou, having worn a sprig of 
the broom-plant as the symbol of humility. 

BROMFIELD or BROOMFIELD. Local The field abound- 
ing in broom. 

BROMLEY. Local From Bromley, a small town in England, 
so called from brome or broom, and ley, a field or common. 

BROOME. The same as Brome, above. 

BRONSON, BRUNSOK A contraction of Brownson, the 
son of Brown. Briaunson, local, a place in France. This 
name came into England with William the Conqueror. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 88 

KOOKS. Local Brooks, Becks, and Eundels are names for 

small rivers. 

3ROSTER. (Cor. Br.) Greatness, majesty. 

BROTHERSON. The same as nephew. 

BROUG-HAM. Local. Originally BurgJiam. The village on 
a hill ; a borough town. The name of a place in England. 

BROUGHTON Local A town on the hill; a village in 
Flintshire, England. 

BROWER. (Dutch.) From Brouwer, a brewer. 

BROWN. A name derived from complexion, color of hair or 
garments, consequently, a very common name. 

BROWNSON. The son of Brown. 

BRUCE. (Nor. Fr.) Local. De Bruys ; from Bray or 
Bruys, a place in Normandy where the family originated. 
De Bruys was one of the followers of William the Con- 
queror, and fought at the battle of Hastings. From this 
ancestor, King Robert Bruce was descended. 

RUNNER. Local From a town of that name in Switzerland. 
RUX. Local A town in England. 

RUYERE. (Fr.) Local A common or heath covered with 
shrubs. 

3RYAN. The same as Brian or Brien (which see). 

BRYN. (Welsh.) A mountain ; a mountaineer* 

BRYCE. (Welsh.) A contraction of Ap Rhys, the son of 
Rhys or Rhees. (See Rhees.) 

BRYNE. Local. A river in Donegal, Ireland; in Welsh, a 
hill. Bryne, Saxon, a burning. 

BUCHAN. Local A district of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 
The derivation of the name is uncertain. It may be from 
the Gaelic &oc, bocan, deer ; a place abounding in deer. 

BUCHANAN. Local A parish in the shire of Sterling, Scot- 
land. The derivation of the name is uncertain. It is prob- 
ably from the same root as Buchan. 



84 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BUOHEE. (Fr.) Pronounced Booshay. A wood-house ; pile 
of wood; pyre; funeral-pile. 

BUCK. Such names as Lyon, Bull, Buck, etc., may have been 
borrowed from armorial bearings, the shields and banners of 
war, or for a resemblance to those animals noted for cour- 
age, agility, or swiftness, or from signs and emblems over 
shops and inns. 

BUCKBEE. Local The town or village among the beech- 
trees, from boc, a beech-tree, and by, a village. 

BUCKHOUT. (Dutch.) Local. The beech-wood; from 
beuk, a beech, and houdt, a wood. . 

BUCKING-HAM. (Sax.) Local. A shire and town in Eng- 
land, and so called either from Bucen, beechen, and ham, a 
village, from the abundance of beech-trees growing there, or 
from the Saxon bucca, deer the deer-village. 

BUCKLHST. (Gaelic.) Local. From Bucldyn, a town in 
Sterlingshire, Scotland. The name may be derived from 
Boc, plural, Buic, a roe-buck, deer, and linne, a pool or lake. 

BUCKMASTER A name probably given to one who had 
the care of herds of venison. 

BUCKMINSTER. (Sax.) From bucen, beechen, or bugan, to 
bend, a bow, a corner, round ; and minster, a church, a mon- 
astery. 

BUCKSTON or BUXTON. (Sax.) Local. From boc, a 
beech-tree, and ton, a town beech-town. 

BUDD. (Welsh.) Thrift, gain, riches, victory; bod, a dwell- 
ing. Bud, in the Danish, signifies a messenger, courier, a 
sergeant. 

BUDDINGTOK Local. The flourishing town, or Bodding- 
ton, the dwelling town. Buttington, a place on the Severn, 
England, which may indicate the town on the limit, bound- 
ary, or extremity. 

BUEL. (Welsh.) A herd of cattle; an ox. Eueil, local, a 
place in France. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 85 

BULKELEY or BUCKLEY. Local. Derived from the manor 
of Bulkeley, in the County Palatine of Chester, England. A 
corruption of Buttock-ley, the bullock-field or pasture. 

BULL. A well-known animal, powerful, fierce, and violent. 
The name may have originated from the sign of a shop or 
inn, as " John at the Bull." Bui, in Saxon, is a brooch, a 
stud, a bracelet. 

BULL ARD. Having the disposition of a bull 
BULLEE. (Danish.) Bokr, a gallant ; an amorist. 

BULLOCK. A full-grown ox. All the families of Bulls, Bul- 
lards, and Bullocks are noted for being firm and inflexible in 
their way. 

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 IMne, the river, or the " mouth of 
lAane" it being situated at the mouth of that river. 

BUN. (Gaelic.) A foundation; Bunn, a hill. 

BUTSTNELL. Local A corruption of Bonhill, a parish in the 
county of Dumbarton, Scotland. 

BUNTING. A kind of bird. 

BUNYAN. (Welsh, Celtic, and Gaelic.) From Bunan, a 
squat, short person. 

BURR. (Saxon.) Burh, a wall, a fortress, a castle; a hill, a 
heap, the same as burgh. 

BURBECK. Local. The beak or point of the hill; from 
Burh, a hill, and beJc, Dutch, a point, a beak ; or from Burh, 
a hill, castle, fort, or dwelling, and leek, a brook. 

BURBY. (Saxon.) The house or village on the hill; from 
Bur, a hill, and by, a house or village. 

BURD. Local. A river in France. 



86 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BURDEN". Lower says this name is probably a corruption of 
bourdon, a pilgrim's staff, a very appropriate sign for a 
wayside hostelry. 

It may be local, derived from Bour, a house (from the Saxon 
bure, a bed-chamber), and den, a valley the house in the 
valley. 

BURDER. A bird-catcher or fowler. 

BURDETT. A little bird, eU signifying young, small, tender. 

BURG. In all the Teutonic languages signifies a hill, a fortifi- 
cation, tower, castle, house, city, and nearly so in the 
Armoric and Welsh. 

BURG-ESS. An inhabitant of a borough ; a freeman, citizen ; 
a representative of a borough in parliament. 

BURGOS. Local. A city of Spain, in Old Castile, situated 
beside a hill, on the river Arlanzon. 

BURGOYNE. Local From Bourgogne, now Burgundy, an 
old province of France. A name given to a native of that 
province. 

BURKE. A corruption of (De) Burgo, as the name was for- 
merly written, that is, from the fort, castle, hill, or city. 
This family went from Normandy into England with the 
Conqueror, and afterward into Ireland with Strongbow. 

BURLASE. (Cor. Br.) Local. The green summit or top. 

BURLEIGH. Local. Burh, Saxon, is the same as burg, a 
city, castle, house, or tower ; in composition, it signifies de- 
fense; leigh, a low place, opposed to a place higher, the 
same as ley, a meadow, a pasture. Burly, swelled, bulky, 
boisterous. 

BURNHAM. Local. Derived from Burnham, a town in Nor- 
folk, also in Essex, England ; in the old English, Bourn or 
Burn, signifies a river, and ham, a village or town the vil- 
lage 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. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 87 

BURNS. Local. A burn, in Scotland, is a small stream, the 
same as Bourne. Biorn, in the Danish and Swedish, signi- 
fies a bear, figuratively, a ferocious, valiant man. 

BURNSIDE. Local Beside the brook or burn. 

BURRARD. Local. A high hill or top. Boorard, resembling 
a countryman; Boer, Dutch, a rustic, a farmer, and ard, 
nature, mode, kind. 

BURRELL. Borel is used by Chaucer in the sense of lay, as 
lorel-derks lay-clerks. It may be a corruption of Borrail 
(which see). 

BURT. (G-aelic.) JBurt, quizzing, joking; also, in English, a 
kind of fish. Buurt, Dutch, a hamlet, consisting only of a 
few houses ; a neighborhood. 

BTJRTIS. (Welsh.) Bwrdais, a burgess, 

BURTON. Local. A town in Leicestershire, England. The 
name signifies either the town on the hill, or, as Bailey says, 
the Bur-town, from the abundance of burs growing there- 
abouts. There are several places by this name in England. 

BUSHNELL. (Dutch.) Bossen-hatt, a faggot or wood-mar- 
ket, or a hall or mansion in the wood. 

BUSHWELL. Local. Bushwild. From lush and well, wild, 
wold, a wood, a lawn, or plain; an uncultivated bushy 
place ; Bushfeldt, the bushy field. 

BUSK. (Swed.) From Busche, a wood, a thicket. 

BUSKIRK. (Dutch.) Local. From Bos, a wood, and berk, 
a church the church in the wood. 

BUSSEY. (Fr.) Local. From the town of Bussey, in the 
province of Burgundy, France. 

BUTLER. This family derive their origin from the old Counts 
of Briony or Biony, in Normandy, a descendant of whom, 
Herveius Fitz Walter, accompanied the Conqueror into 
England. His son, Theobold, went with Henry II. into 
Ireland, where, having greatly assisted in the reduction of 



88 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

the kingdom, he was rewarded with large possessions there, 
and made it the place of his residence. The king afterward 
conferred on him the office of chief Butler of Ireland, whence 
his descendants, the Earls of Onnond and others, took the 
surname of De Boteler or Butler. 

BUTMAN". LocaL Perhaps the man who lives at the butt or 
boundary ; a marksman. Botman, one who gives a blunt 
answer. 

BUTTS. Butts were marks for archery. In most parishes 
places were set apart for this necessary sport which were 
called " the Butts," hence, the name was given to a person 
residing near such a spot, as "John at the Butts." But 
signifies a promontory, as the Butt of Lewis, an isle of 
Scotland. Danish, But, blunt, rough. 

BTJXTOK Local. From the Saxon loc, a beech, German, 
buche, and ton the beech-town. A village in Derbyshire, 
England. 

BYFIELD. The village hi the field, from By, Danish, a town, 
or the place by or near the field. 

BYGBY. (Danish.) Barley-town; from tyg, Danish, barley. 

BYINGTOK (Saxon.) From By ing, a. habitation, and ton t a 
hill or inclosure. 

BYROK (Fr.) Local. Originally De Biron, from the town 
of Biron, in the province of G-uienne, France. 

CAD. (Gaelic and Welsh.) War, a battle-field. 

CADE. An old word for a barrel or cask; probably taken 

from a sign at an ale-house or tavern "John at the Cade." 

Shakspeare uses Cade in this sense : 

"Cade. "We, John Cade, so termed of our supposed father. 
Dick. Or rather of stealing a cade of herrings 1" 

HEN. VI., ACT IT., So. II. 

CADOGAN. (Welsh.) Terrible in battle; from cad, battle, 
and gwg, fierce. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 89 

CADELL. (Welsh.) Warlike. Gaelic, CafheU. 
CADER. (Welsh.) A keep, fortress, or strong-hold. 

CADWALLADER. (Welsh.) Derived from cad, battle, and 
gwaladr, a leader, a lord the leader or lord of the battle. 
Gwaladr would seem to come from gwal, a wall or defense, 
and adre, signifying at home or abroad, everywhere. 

CAD WELL. Local. A village in South Wales; written 
Cydwell. 

CADY. Co-did, in Gaelic, the house of God. There is a com- 
monalty of Switzerland called Gotthespunt, or Casdee, i. e., 
the house of God. Cadie, in the Scottish, is an errand-boy, 
a messenger. 

3AETH. (Welsh.) A captive. 

OAEN". (Welsh and Gaelic.) Chaste, beloved, fair, beautiful. 

CAIRN. (Cor. Br.) Local A circular mound of stones. 

CALDER. Local. A river in Yorkshire, England. Calduor, 
Gaelic and Welsh, the water that incloses or shuts in. 

CALDERWOOD. Local. The wood on the river Calder. 

CALDICOTT, COLDICOT, and CALDECOTE. Local. 
(Welsh.) Col-dow-cwtt, Oolcoit, the neck of the wood. 
O'Connor derives Caldecott from Cald-i-scot, the inclosure 
of the Scot; a locality hemmed in by Glamorgan, the Wye, 
and high lands on the north. A village in Hertfordshire, 
England. 

CALDWELL. Local. Col-wold, the wood of hazels; or it 
may be Cold-well, a cold spring. 

CALHOUN". A corruption of Colquhoun (which see). 

CALL. (Welsh.) Prudent, discerning, cunning, trickish 
Caill and Cuil, Gaelic, are the same. 

CALLAGHAK (Gaelic or Celtic.) From Cwllach, prudent, 
judicious, discreet. 



90 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CAMERON. (Gaelic.) From Cam, crooked, and sron, nose, 
crooked or hooked-nose, 

CAMPBELL. (Celtic and Gaelic.) "Wry-mouth, the man 
whose mouth inclined a little on one side; from cam, 
crooked, distorted, and beul, the mouth. This ancient 
family may be traced as far back as the beginning of the 
fifth century, and is said to have been possessed of Lochore, 
in Argyleshire, as early as the time of Fergus II. Sir Colin 
Campbell, of Lochore, flourished toward the end of the 
thirteenth century, and was called Sir Colin More, or Colin 
the Great. His descendants were called by the Irish 
Me Gotten, that is, the descendants of Colin. 

CAM. (Gaelic and Welsh.) Crooked, winding; injury, deceit, 
injustice. 

CAMUS. (Gaelic.) A bay, a creek, a harbor. Camoys, one 
whose nose is turned upwards. 

CAN or CAIN. (Gaelic.) Clear, white, fair, and hence, be- 
loved, dear; can, a lake, a whelp. 

CANN. (Gaelic.) Ceann and.m; Welsh, Ken or Cen, the 
head; projection. 

CANNING. (Saxon.) Cyning, a leader, a king. Germ., 
Konig ; Dutch, Koning ; Dan., Konge; Swedish, Konung; 
Welsh, cun; Irish, cean, which is the same as the Gaelic 
Ceann, and the oriental Khan or Kaun, all signifying head, 
a leader. Saxon Connan and Cunnan, to see, to know; 

hence Cunning, or Canning, Kenning. 

CANON. (Welsh.) The river Tafis called in the interior the 
Canon, or the singing river. A rule, a law; a dignitary of 
the church. 

CAPEL. An old word signifying a strong horse. 

" And gave him caples to his carte." 

CHAUCER. 
Capel, Danish, an oratory, a chapel 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 91 

CAEACTACUS. (Gaelic.) From Caer, a castle or city; 
eacht, an exploit, and cws, a tribute, expressive of his abil- 
ities in conducting an offensive, as well as a defensive war ; 
or, as O'Connor derives it, from Cathreacteac-eis, the leader 
of the host in battle. 

CARD. A word used in some parts of Scotland to denote a 
traveling tinker. Ceairde, Gaelic, a tradesman. 

CAEDEN. Local Assumed from the manor of Cawarden or 
Garden, near Chester, in England. 

CAEEW. (Welsh.) Derived from the castle of Carrw, in 
Wales. The castle by the water, from Caer } castle or fort, 
and ew, water. 

CAEEY or CAEY. Local. From the manor of Cary or Zari, 
as spelled in the Doomsday Book, in the parish of St. Giles, 
near Launceston, England. Cary, in the British, signifies 
beloved, dear. This name may be the same as Carew. 

CAEMICHAEL. Local. Assumed from the lands and barony 
of Carmichael, in the shire of Lanark. The castle or strong- 
hold of Michael, from caer, a castle or fortified place. 

CAENE and CAEKES. (Welsh.) Local. A rock, a heap 
of stones. This family claim descent from Ithel, King of 
Ghent, now Monmouthshire. Thomas o'r Gare, youngest 
son of Ithel, King of Ghent, was brought up at one of his 
father's seats called Pencarne (from pen, the head, and carne, 
a rock, a heap of stones), whence he was named Carne, 
which continues the surname of the family. 

CAElsTIGAN'. In the Gaelic, Carneach signifies a Druid or 
priest, and Carnahan, rocky or stony ground. 

CAEE. This name has several significations; Caer, Cornish- 
British, a city, town, a fort, a castle ; Carre, French, a stout, 
broad-shouldered man ; Cawr, Welsh, a giant. 

CAETEE. A name of trade, one who drives a cart Cairtear, 
Gaelic, a tourist, a sojourner. 



02 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CARSON or CORSON. The son of Oar; Curson, the stock 
of a vine. 

OARTERET or CARTRET. (Gaelic and Welsh.) Local The 
place or town of the castle. 

CARWIN. (Cor. Br.) Local. The white castle ; from caer, 
a castle, and win or gwin } white. 

GARY. The same as Carey (which see). 

CASE. (French.) Case. A hut, a hovel ; Gaelic, cass, caise, 
steep ; quick, hasty, passionate. 

CASS. (Gaelic.) Cos, a verb, to turn against, to thwart, 
oppose; a difficulty, a trying situation, a cause. Cos, a 
castle, the primary sense is to separate, drive off, or hate ; 
the radical sense of hatred is driving off. 

CASSIDY. (Gaelic.) From casaideach, apt to complain or 
accuse. Casadow, in the Cor. Br., signifies an offender. 

CATHCART. (Gaelic.) Local. From the parish of Cathcarf^ 
in Lanark and Renfrew, Scotland. The river Cart runs 
through it, whence the name is derived. Caeth- Cart, from 
caethj a strait, the river here running in a narrow channel. 

CATHERWOOD. (Gaelic.) Local. A fenny-wood, wet 
ground, from Cathar, soft, boggy ground; or the fortified 
place in a wood, from Cathair, Gaelic, a town, a fortified 
city, a guard, a sentinel 

CAYAN. (Welsh and Gaelic.)- Local The ridge of a hill 

CAW. Local Gaelic, Ca, a house, a place fortified, inclosed, 
surrounded. Caw, Welsh, whatever defends or keeps 
together ; Cawr, an old English word for a king. Caw or 
Cu, an ancient king of North Britain whose capital was 
Dumbarton. 

CAXTON. Local. Derived from Caxton, a small town in 
England. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 98 

OAY. Kea, in the Cornish-British and Welsh, is an inclosure ; 
that which fastens or secures ; a landing for vessels ; French, 
quai; Dutch, Jcaai ; Gaelic, ceitlie. 

CATLY. Local. From Calais, a sea-port of France; Cola, 
Gaelic, a harbor, port, haven, bay, a road for ships. 

CHADWICK. Local. The cottage by the harbor, or sheltered 
place ; from the Saxon Cyte and wick; Cyte signifies a cot- 
tage, and wick, a harbor, a sheltered place. It may be so 
called from the shad fisheries. 

CHAFFEE. (Fr.) Chafe, to heat, to grow warm or angry; 
Fr., chauffer, to warm, to cannonade, attack briskly. 

CHALK. A well-known earth; a locality. Chalk, Saxon, a 
servant or attendant. 

CHALLIS. A cup or bowl ; taken perhaps from the sign of a 
house or shop. 

CHALLONER. Local. Derived from a town in France of the 
same name. This family derive their origin from Macloy 
Crum, of the line of chiefs in Wales, who resided several 
years in Challoner. 

CHALMERS or CHAMBERS. One of the clan Cameron of 
Scotland, going to France, put his name in a Latin dress, as 
was customary in those times, styling himself De Cameraria, 
which was called in French, De la Chambre, and upon his 
return to Scotland, he was again, according to their dialect, 
called Chambers. Chalmers is a corruption of the same. 

CHAMPE. (Fr.) Local. From champ, a field. 

CHAMPION. A soldier, one that fought in public combat in 
his own or another man's quarrel. 

CHAMPLIN or CHAMPLAIN. The same as champaign, a 
flat, open country; from Champ, an open, level field or 
plain, and lean, a meadow; laine, Gaelic, full; leathann, 
wide; Cor. Br., lawn,] Welsh, Uann, full, wide. 

CHAMPNEY. (Fr.) Local. From Champ, a field, and ey, 
water the wet country or country near the water. 



94 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CHANDLER. A name of trade ; a maker and seller of various 
wares, originally of candles. 

CHANNING. (Saxon.) Cyning, knowing, wise; Dutch, 
Koning, whence king ; the same derivation as Canning. 

CHAPEL. Local A private oratory ; a place of public wor- 
ship. 

CHAPIN. A corruption of Chapman ; a trader, a shopman. 

CHAPMAN. The same as Chipman, a trader, a shopman; 
from the Saxon ceapan or cypan, to buy or sell. Sax., ceap, 
a bargain, a price ; one who cheapens, asks the price, buys. 

CHARLES. (Ger.) From carl, strong, stout, courageous, and 
valiant. The Hungarians called a king by the general name 
Carl, and Scaliger makes Carl-man the same as the Greek 



CHARNOCK. (Nor. Fr.) Local. Derived from the town of 
Chernoc, in Normandy. 

CHATHAM or CHETHAM. Local From a town in Kent, 
England, on the Medway, so named from the Saxon cyte, a 
cottage, and ham, a village, signifying the village of cottages. 
A paragraph to the following effect went the round of the 
papers not many years since : 

Two attorneys in partnership had the name of the firm, 
"Catcham and Chetum," inscribed, in the usual manner, 
upon their office-door; but as the singularity and ominous 
juxta-position of the words led to many a coarse joke from 
passers-by, the men of law attempted to destroy, in part, 
the effect of the odd association, by the insertion of the 
initials of their Christian names, which happened to be 
Isaiah and Uriah ; but this made the affair ten times worse, 
for the inscription then ran : 

" /. Catcham and U. Chetum /" 

CHATSEY or CHADSEY. Local. From the Saxon cyte, a 
cottage, and sey, near the water. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 95 

JHATSWORTH. Local. Derived from a village of that name 
in Derbyshire, England, and signifying the cottage-farm; 
from cyte, a cottage, as above, and worth, a place or estate. 

CHATTERTOX. Local. Chadderton, Saxon, cete-doir-ton, 
the cottage-town in the wood ; from cete or cyte, a cottage, 
hut, cabin ; doir, a wood, and ton, a town. 

CHEDSEY. Local. From Chertsey, a town in Surrey, Eng- 
land, near the Thames, pronounced by the natives, Chedsey, 
meaning " Cerot's Island." 

CHEESEMAN. A dealer in cheese. 

CHEEVER. (Fr.) Chevir signifies to master or overcome ; 
and Chevre is a goat. 

CHENEY. (Fr.) Local. From Chene, an oak; Chenaie, a 
grove, a plantation of oaks. 

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 termina- 
tion of many English towns, as Colchester, the camp on the 
river Coin ; Doncaster, on the Don ; Lancaster, on the Lon 
or Lune, etc. 

CHICHESTER. Local. From the city of Chichester, Sussex, 
England, whose Saxon name was Cissanceaster ; from Cissa, 
the son of Aella, who settled the kingdom of the South- 
Saxons ; and ceaster or Chester, a city, from castrum, a Roman 
station. 

CHICKERING. (Cor. Br.) Local. The stone house, a house 
on a rock, a fortress; from chi, a house, and cairne, a rock 
or stones. 



96 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CHILDS. Child, Page and Yarlet were names given to youths 
from seven to fourteen years of age, while receiving their 
education for knighthood. 

CHILTON. Local From a town of the same name in Wilt- 
shire, England, signifying the chalk-hills; from the Saxon 
cylt, clay or chalk. 

CHIPMAN. A trader. (See Chapman.) 

CHITTENDEN. (Cor. Br. and Welsh.) The lower house on 
the rising or fortified ground ; from Chy-tane-din Chy, a 
house, tane, lower, and din or dun, a hill. 

CHOLMONDELEY. (Norman.) Local. The place at the 
gorge or neck of the mountain ; from Col, a strait or defile, 
and mond or mont, a hill. This name is pronounced Chum- 
ley. An English gentleman meeting the Earl of Cholmon- 
deley one day coming out of his own house, and not being 
acquainted with him, asked him if Lord Chol-mond-e-ley 
(pronouncing each syllable distinctly) was at home. " No," 
replied the peer, without hesitation, " nor any of his pe-o- 
pie." 

CHUBB. From the Saxon cob, a great-headed, full-cheeked 
fellow. The fish called chubb was so named from its having 
a large head. 

CHURCH. Local. A house of Christian worship, derived 
from the old English chirch, and Scottish Kirk, Latin circus, 
and this from the Gaelic cearcal, a temple, a round building. 
The root of Church is from the Gaelic car, roundness, from 
which we have cirke or Jrirke. 

CILLY. Local A town in Germany. 

CLAGET. (Ger.) From Jdugheit, good sense, wisdom, pru- 
dence, dexterity. The Danish Tdegt signifies the same. 

CLAPP. (Cor. Br.) Full of chat, tonguey ; from the Cornish- 
British clap, prating. 

CLARE. (Fr.) Glair, from the Latin Qlarus, pure, re- 
nowned, illustrious. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 97 

CLARK, Clerk, a clergyman, a scholar, one who can read and 

write. 

CLAUSON. Local A town of Germany, near Pozen; de- 
rived from Tclause, a mountain defile. 

CLAVERING. Local. First assumed by the ^proprietors of 
the barony of Clavering, in Essex, England, near the spring- 
head of the river Tort Derived from the Anglo-Saxon 
dcefer, 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. Glee, hills in Wales. Cle, left- 
handed, a place lying to the left, in relation to another place. 
Cledh, doid, and cladd, in the G-aelic, Welsh, and British, 
signify a ditch, a trench, a wall; dadh, a church-yard; 
dedd, Welsh, a sword; G-aelic, daiheamb, from which we 
have Claymore, 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. 

CLAYTON. Local. The clay-hill 

CLEARY or CLERY. From the Gaelic Cleireach, a clerk, a 
clergyman, a writer. A noted family of historians whose 
estates were in the county of Donnegal, Ireland. 

CLE AVER. English, one who cleaves; a dweller on a cleave 
or cliff. 

CLEMENT. From the Latin Clemens, mild, meek, gentle. 

CLEVELAND. Local. Derived from a place by that name 
in Yorkshire, England; a corruption of Cliff-lane, and so 
called from its being steep and almost impassable with clifis 
and rocks. 

CLIFF. Local. A steep bank, a precipice ; a town in North- 
amptonshire, England. 

CLIFFORD. Local. The ford or way by the cliff. 

5 



98 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CLIFTON. Local small village in England ; the town on 
the cliff. 

CLING. (Danish.) JHinge, a blade, a sword. 
CLINGMAH. (Danish.) A swordsman, fencer, fighter. 

CLINTON. (Dano-Nonnan.) Local Klint, a promontory, 
brow of a hill^ cape; and ton, a town. Colonel Charles 
Clinton, the progenitor of the distinguished family of Clin- 
ton, and his associate emigrants from Ireland, settled, in 1722, 
in " Little Britain," Orange County, New York. 

CLOSSON. (Dutch.) The son of Klaas, the abbreviation of 
Nicholas among the Dutch. Klaas-son, the son of Nicholas. 
So Santa Klaas for St. Nicholas. 

CLOUG-H. (Anglo-Saxon.) Local A small valley between 
hills, a breach j from the past of the Anglo-Saxon participle 
cleofian, to cleave, divide. 

CLOWES. (Anglo-Saxon.) Local. A cliff or cleft in a hill; 
from Clough, as above. 

CLUM. Local. A place in Germany, the ancient residence of 
the Knight of Clum, the friend of John Huss. 

CLUTE. Kluitj Dutch, a lamp; " hij heeft kluiten," he has got 
the chink, he is rich. 

COATES. Local The side, the shore, coast, border. 

COBERN. Local. A town in Germany ; the high or united 
hill 

COBB. Local. A harbor; as the Cobb of Lyme-Regis, 
County Dorset, England. 

COCHRAN. Local Cocrinn, Gaelic, a point or promontory 
in open sight ; from Coc, manifest, plain, and rinn } a cape or 
promontory. 

COOKBURN. Local The brook by the hillock ; from code, a 
hillock, and burn, a brook. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 99 

COE. The primitive word Co is an elevation, exalted. Koh, in 
the Coptic, is a rock; Jcoh, Persic, a hill; Coey, Gaelic, a 
hero, literally, a dog. Lower says that Coe is a Norfolk 
provincialism to designate " an odd old fellow." 

COOEY. Gaelic, Cv^maigJie, figuratively, the hero or swift 
warrior; literally, the "dog of the plain" 

COEYMAN. (Dutch.) The cow-man; from Jcoey, a cow. 
Kooiman, a man who decoys ducks. 

COFFIN. Local. Cyffin, hi Welsh, signifies a boundary, a 
limit, a hill; cefyn, the ridge of a hill. This name has its 
origin from Co, high, exalted, and fin, a head, extremity, 
boundary. This family settled early in this country, on the 
sland of Nantucket, near Cape Cod, where the name is 
very common. The following humorous lines, descriptive of 
the characteristics of the different families residing on that 
island, were written by one Daniel Allen, a native of the 
island, more than a hundred years ago : 

"The hasty COFFIN, fractious, loud, 
The silent Gardiner, plotting, 
The Mitchells good, the Barkers proud, 
The Macys eat the pudding ; 
The Rays and Russels coopers are, 
The knowing Folger lazy, 
A learned Coleman very rare, 
And scarce an honest Hussey" 

COGGESHALL or COGSWELL. Local. Derived from the 
town of Coggeshall, in Essex, England; Cog, a small boat, 
and shoal, a place where the water is shallow, and where 
fish abound, a fishing-place. 

COHEN. (Heb.) A bishop or priest. 
COIT. Local A wood. 

COLBERN. Colbrin, Welsh, the hazel-hill; from CoU (plural), 
hazel, and bryn, a hilL 



100 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

COLBURN. (Cor. Br.) The dry well, or the well on the 
neckofthehilL 

COLBY. Local Kolbye, a town in Denmark ; Col, with or 
near, the " &y" or town. 

COLE. An abbreviation of Nicholas, common among the 
Dutch. 

COLEMAN and COLMAN. A dealer or workman in coals. 
G-aelic, Colman, a dove. 

COLLAMORE. Local. From Coulommier, a town in France. 
This family originally came into England with William the 
Conqueror. Colmar, G-aelic, a brave man; Collmor, the 
great wood. 

COLLET. Local. Coti-Ue, in Welsh, denotes the place of 
hazel; Oil-Tie, the place on the back or neck of the hill; 
from cil or col, the back or neck. CoiUe, Gaelic, a wood. 

COLLIER. A name of occupation, a dealer or workman in 
coals. 

COLLDTE. (Fr.) Local A hill that rises by degrees. 

COLLINS. (Gaelic.) From Cuilein, darling, a term of en- 
dearment applied to young animals, as Gatulus, in Latin. 
In the Welsh, Gotten, signifies hazel a hazel-grove. 

COLQUITE or COLQUOIT. Local. From col, the neck, and 
coit, a wood. Col, in the Cor. Br., signifies the neck of a 
hill, a promontory. 

COLQUHOUN and CALHOUK According to tradition, the 
progenitor of this family was a younger son of Conach, 
"King of Ireland, who came to Scotland hi the reign of 
Gregory the Great, and obtained lands in Dumbartonshire, 
to which he gave the name of Conachon, corrupted into 
Colquhoun. I am inclined to think the name is from the 
G-aelic, denoting one who is brave, lively, quick, and furious 
in battle; from Colg, and chuoin, the genitive of Cu, a 
hound, a war-dog. 

COLSON. The son of Col or Cole (which see). 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 101 

COLT. A name given to one of a sportive disposition, or may 
be taken from the sign of an inn. " Will at the Colt" 

COLTON. Local. The town at the neck of the hill, from Col, 
the neck of a hill, and ton, a town. Caltuinn, Gaelic, 
hazel 

COLTER. From the Dutch kolver, one who plays at Icolf, a 
favorite game in Holland. 

COLVILLE. (French.) Local. From Col, a neck, strait, or 
defile ; a pass between hills; and ville, a town, the place in 
the gorge or pass of the dell. 

COLYEN and COLVIN. Local. From Colvend, a town in 
Kircudbrightshire, Scotland, the ancient name of which was 
Culwen, derived from Joannes De Culwen. 

COL WELL or COLVILLE. The village on the neck of the 
hill, or near the hazel-wood ; Col, G-aelic, hazel ; and tnUe, a 
village, changed into wett. ColdweU denotes the quality of 
the water, a cold spring ; Colwold, the hazel-wild, or bushy 
place of hazels. 

COLY. Local A little river in Devonshire, England. 

COMEYN, or DE COMINGES, as it was anciently written; 
from Cominges, a town in France, anciently called Lug- 
dunum 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 Con- 
queror. 

CONANT. (Welsh and Gaelic.) Conan, a river. Counant, 
a cataract in North Wales, from cau, a chasm, a deep hol- 
low, shut up, and nant, a rivulet. 

COMSTOCK. (Dutch.) From Jcom, a dock or harbor, and 
stock, a stick or timber the wharf or dock of timber. 

CONN. (Gaelic.) Strength, according to O'Donovan; it is 
also the genitive plural of cu, a dog. Cond, signifies pro- 
tecting, keeping. 



102 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CONDE. May be a local name from the town of Conde, in the 
French part of Hainault, which gave its name to a branch 
of the royal family of France, the Princes of Conde. Kun- 
dig or kundy, Dutch, signifies knowing, skillful, expert. 

CONDER. Conders were persons stationed upon high places 
near the sea coast to watch the shoals for fishermen, at the 
time of herring-fishing. The name is derived from the 
French conduire, to conduct 

CONE. (Heb.) A bishop or priest; Jcoen, in the Dutch, sig- 
cifies bold, daring, intrepid. 

CONKLIN. (Dutch.) From Con, bold, wise, knowing, and 
Jclein, little or son, i. e., the son of Con. Konkelen, in Dutch, 
signifies to plot, intrigue, conspire. Ceangleann, Gaelic, the 
head of the valley. 

CONNELL or CONNELLY. (Celtic and Gaelic.) From 
conal, love, friendship. 

CONNOR or CONOE. (Celtic and Gaelic.) From Conchobar, 
the chief of men, powerful among men, a leader. O'Dono- 
van derives this name from Conn, strength, and colhair, aid, 
assistance. Con-na-fir, the head of men. 

CONRAD. (Ger.) Able counsel 

CONRY. Local "Gauir Conrigh" a high mountain near 
Tralee, County of Kerry, Ireland. 

CONSTABLE. A name of office. Roger de Lacey first 
assumed this surname from being constable of Chester, in 
England. A commander of the cavalry. 

CONTIN. Local From Contm, a parish in Rosshire, Scot- 
land, 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 rhf r. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 103 

CONYERS. Local From Coigniers, in Normandy, their 
ancient residence; came into England with "William the 
Conquero , 

GOOEY or COE. (Gaelic.) A hero ; literally, the dog of the 
plain, from cu, a dog, and magh } a plain. The names of 
various animals were given anciently to heroes, to denote 
power, swiftness, or courage. 

COOKE. One whose occupation it is to prepare victuals for 
the table. 

COOKSOK The son of Cook; originally from Settle, in 
Yorkshire. 

COOMBS. (Cor. Br.) A place between hills, a valley ; in the 
Welsh, Cwm. 

COONS. Dutch, Koen, bold, daring, audacious. Coon, Saxon, 
bold. 

COOPER. A name of occupation or trade. The name is also 
local, from Cupar, a town in Fifeshire, Scotland, which is 
derived from Cit-pyre, the inclosed fire, or Co, high, a beacon 
fire, or signal on the coast for ships. Pyre, a beacon fire, on 
a high place, is the origin of the word pier, a wharf or land- 
ing-place for ships; Danish, pyr and fyr, a lantern; nvp, 
Greek, a fire; the whole landing-place in time was called 
the pier. 

COORTAK (Anglo-Saxon.) A band of soldiers. 

COOTE. Local. Welsh, Coed, a wood; Cor. Br.,-(7ofl and 
Cut. Coot-hill or Coit-hayle, the wood on the river. 

COPP. (Sax.) Local A MIL 
CORBET or CORBIE. (Fr.) A raven. 

CORBIK Local. The name of a place in G-lencreran, Scot- 
land, signifying a steep hiU, from the Gaelic Cor-beann or 
Cor-beinn. 

CORDLAK Welsh, Coi Idlan, a hamlet, same as Cortlan. 



104 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CORKIN. (G-aelic.) Local. The head of the dale; from 
coire, a dell, a circular hollow, and ceann, the head. 

CORMAC. (Celtic.) The son of the chariot; first given, it is 
said, to a prince of Leinster who happened to be born in a 
chariot, whils his mother was going on a journey. 

CORNELIUS. From the Latin eornu, a horn (Greek, 
and ptof the sun the horn of the sun. 



CORNELL. In the British it signifies a corner, a place shaped 
like a horn (from the Latin corny). C&meiUe, in the 
French, signifies a crow. 

CORNING-. Local. Welsh, cornyn, a small horn, or the 
place of winding or turning. 

CORNISH. Local. Belonging to Cornwall, indicating the 
place from which the family came. 

CORNWALLIS. Local. A native of Cornwall ; Cornwall is 
derived from cornu, a horn; Welsh, corn and Gfalwys, the 
Gauls, the ancient people of France ; a term indicating the 
circular form of the coast. O'Connor derives Cornwall from 
carna, altars, and Gael, i. e., the altars of the Gael 

CORRIE. Local. A town in the Isle of Arran, Scotland. 
Coire, Gaelic, a circular hollow surrounded with hills; a 
mountain dell. 

COR WIN. (Cor. Br.) Local. The white castle ; from caer, a 
castle, and win or gwin, white ; or the white choir. 

CORSE. (Welsh.) A fen, a wet meadow. Carse, Armoric 
and Gaelic, a level tract of fertile land. 



CORY. Correy, local, a town in Scotland. The word conveys 
the idea of roundness, bending, turning, the winding of a 
stream. Gaelic, car; Welsh, cor, a circle, a dell, a glen; 
caire, a circular hollow surrounded by hills. 

COSTAR or COSTER. (Dutch.) From Foster, a sexton ; 
a cunning, sly felloV. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 105 

OOTTRELL. A cottage, or a cottager. 

COTESWORTH. Local The estate or place in the wood ; 
from coit, a wood, and worth, a place or possession. If from 
the French cote, the sea-shore, the estate on the shore. 

COTTON. This name affords several derivations. Local, 
Welsh, Coedton, the woody hill ; Cotton, Cutton, Cor. Br. ; 
Cwtton, Welsh, the cottage hill. Cotden, Saxon, the cot in 
the valley ; Cwthen, Welsh, the ancient cottage or dwelling. 

COURT. A place inclosed, protected, cut off; that which ex- 
cludes access. Saxon, curt; Arm., court; Fr., cour; Gaelic, 
cuairt, a circle ; Welsh, cor and cwr, a circle. 

COURTLANDT. (Dutch.) Local. From Jcort, short, little, 
and land or landt, from the short or narrow land, properly 
Van Courilandt. 

COURTENAY. Local A town of France which stands on a 
hill on the banks of the small river Glairy, 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." 

COVERT. Local. A sheltered place. 

COVENTRY. Local. A city hi Warwickshire, England; 
from Coven, a convent, and tre, British, a town the town 
of the convent ; Welsh, " Cyfaint-tre" 

COWAN. (G-aelic.) Gobhainn, a smith; Cfowan, a Scottish 
word for a wild flower. 

CO WDRAY or COULDRAY. Local. The grove of hazels. 

COWLEY. Local The cow-pasture. 

COX. Cock, little a term of endearment, a diminutive, the 
same as ot or kin, used as a termination, as Willcox, little 
Will ; Simcox, little Sim, etc. The word is also often used 
to denote a leader or chief man. Addison says: "Sir 
Andrew is the cock of the club." 
5* 



106 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

COWLES. A monk's hood or habit. 

CEADOCK. A corruption of the old British name Caradoc, 
which is said to signify " dearly beloved." 

CRAIG-. (Cor. Br. and Welsh.) A rock, a crag, a stone; 
Gaelic, carraig, a rock, creag, a rock. 

CRAM. (German.) From Jcram, a retail shop. 

CRAMER. (German.) From Jcramer, a retail dealer. 

CRANDELL. (Welsh.) LocaL From kren, round, or cran, 
wood ; and dal, or dol, a vale the round or woody vale. 
Crandal, in Irish, signifies the woody vale. 

CRANSTON or CRANSTOUK Local. The town of Grans, 
a Danish leader who invaded England ; a parish in Edin- 
burgshire, Scotland. 

CRAPO. (Fr.) From crapaud, a' toad, an ugly man. 

CRAVEN. One who begs for his life when conquered ; from 
crave, a word used formerly by one vanquished in trial by 
battle, and yielding to the conqueror. Craven is also the 
name of a place in Yorkshire, England, very stony, derived 
from craig, Cor. Br., a rock, and pen, a head. 

CRAWFORD. LocaL First assumed by the proprietor of the 
lands and barony of Crawford, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. 
The extreme ancestor of the ancient family of Crawford, in 
Scotland, was Reginald, youngest son of Alan, the fourth 
Earl of Richmond. He seems to have accompanied David 
the First to the north, and to have received extensive grants 
of land in Strath Cluyd, or Clydesdale, whence his imme- 
diate descendants adopted the name of Crawford, then form- 
ing one of the largest baronies in Scotland, and signifying in 
Gaelic "The pass of Hood" from cru, bloody, and. ford, a pass 
or way, as commemorative, probably, of some sanguinary 
conflict between the Aborigines and the Roman invaders. 
The name has been derived by others from crodh and port, 
pronounced cro-fort, signifying "a sheltering place for 
cattle." 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 107 

CRAYFORD. Local A town on the river Cray, in Kent, 
England. The ford over the Cray. 

CRESSY. Local. From a town in France by that name. 

ORICHTON. In the Gaelic, criochton signifies a boundary hill, 
end, limit, landmark ; creachton, the hill or castle of plunder, 
or the ruined, pillaged place. 

CRIGAN". The same as Crogan ; creagan, Gaelic, a little rock. 

CRITTENDEK (Cor. Br. and Welsh.) Local. The cot on 
the lower hill ; from crn, a cot ; tane, lower, and dun or din, 
a hill ; or it may be the chalk hill, from krit, Saxon, chalk. 

CROCKER. A maker of coarse pottery. The word crock sig- 
nified a large barrel-shaped jar. Chaucer says : " Spurn not 
as doth a crocke against a wal." 

CROCKET. Kroget, Danish, crooked, bowed, bent. 

CROFT. Local. A town of the same name in England ; a 
small field near a dwelling. 

CROGAN. (Gaelic.) A lean little person ; literally, a shell, a 
pitcher, from Jcrogan; Crogan, a castle in North Wales. 
It may signify a little rock. 

CROMWELL. (Br.) Local. From crom, crooked, and hal or 
hayle, low, level land bordering on the river or sea. Low- 
lands on the bend of a river. 

CRONAN. (Gaelic.) A mournful tune or murmuring sound. 
CRONKHITE. (Ger.) From krankheit, sickly, rickety. 
CROOKSHANKS. A name descriptive of bodily peculiarity. 

CROSIER. A bishop's staff, with a cross on the top in the 
form of a crutch or T. A sign over a shop. 

CROSS. Local. A place where a cross was erected, or where 
two ways, roads, or streets intersected each other. 

CROSSWELL. Local. A cross erected near a well. John at 
the Cross-weJ became John Crosswell. 



108 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

CROTHERS and CROWTHER. (Welsh.) A harper, a musi- 
cian ; from crwth, a harp, a Scandinavian fiddle. Gaelic, emit. 

CROUCH. A cross ; from the Latin crux. 

CROUNSE. Dutch, Jcruin, the top or crown ; -krans, a wreath 
or garland ; Krantz, local, a town in the Duchy of Bremen 
from which the family may have come. 

CROWELL. Local. From a town in England by that name. 

CUDNEY. (Br.) From Cud or Coit, a wood, and ey, water 
the wood near the water. 

CUDWORTH. From Cud or Coit, a wood, and worth, a 
place, a dwelling the farm or dwelling in the wood. 

CULLEN. Local. From the town of Cullen, in Banflshire, 
Scotland. The derivation is uncertain. It may be from 
CuiUean, holly, a place of holly-trees; or CuUin, the place 
at the neck of the lake, from Cul, a neck, the back of any 
thing, and tin, a lake, a pond. 

CULBERT. (Gaelic.) From Oulbheart, craft, cunning. 

CULBERTSOK The son of Culbert. 

CULVER. A pigeon, a dove. 

CUMMINGS. Local. A corruption of Comeyn, anciently 
written De Comminges ; from Comminges, a place in 
France, whence they came. (See Comeyn.) 

CHOTNGHAM. Local. A district in Ayrshire, Scotland. 
The name signifies the dwelling of the chief or king, from 
the Saxon, cyning, Dutch, Jconing, a leader or chief, and ham, 
a house or town. 

CUPAR. Local. A borough in Fifeshire, Scotland ; the in- 
closed or fortified hill, from Ou, Gaelic, inclosed, and bar, a 
top, a hill. Ou, a hero, a chief the chiefs hill or fortress. 

CURTIS. An abbreviation of courteous. It may be from 
Ourthose, a name given for wearing short hose, as the name 
Curtmantle was given to -Henry the Second of England, 
from his introducing the fashion of wearing shorter mantles 
than had been previously used. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 109 

CUKE. (Dutch.) From Keur, an elector ; as Keursaxen, the 
elector of Saxony. 

CUSICK. Kessoch, a town near the Moray Frith, Scotland ; 
casach, G-aelic, an ascent going up by steps. Casag, in 
Gaelic, signifies a long coat or cassock, formerly a cloak or 
gown worn by the clergy over the other garments. The 
name may be local, from the place, or from the peculiar dress 
worn by the individual 

CUTTER. A boat ; a name probably taken from the sign of 
an inn, as " John at the Cutter." Coutier, French, a weaver 
or seller of ticking. 

CUTTING-. (Saxon.) Cuth, well known, famous; and ing, 
equivalent to the Latin ens, expressing the existence of the 
quality or action of the word to which it is affixed; or 
Cuthing, the son of Cuth. Ing, inge, or inger, in most of 
the Teutonic languages, denotes offspring, a descendant 

CUTLER. (Ger.) From Keiler, a wild boar; figuratively, a 
powerful man. 

CYNCAD or KINCADD. (Welsh.) The front of the battle. 
In Gaelic, Oeanncath, the chief or commander of the battle ; 
from Ceann, the head, commander, or chief, and cath or cad, 
battle, war. 

DABNEY. (Nor. FT.) Local. A corruption of D' Aubigne ; 

from Aubigne, a town in the department of Cher,- France. 
DAG. (Dutch.) The same as Day the time between the 

rising and setting sun; a dagger, a hand-gun, a pistol; a 

sign over a shop or inn. 
DAGGETT. Local. Probably a corruption of Dowgate, a 

place in London, so called from dow, British, water the 

water-gate. 
DALE, DELL, or DEAL. Nearly synonymous ; a bushy vale; 

low gro ind, with ground ascending around it 



110 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DALLAS. (Welsh.) From DeaUus, knowing, skillful 

DALEY. (Gaelic.) Local A parish in Ayrshire, Scotland; 
derived from Dal, a valley, and righ, a king the valley of 
the king. 

DALRYMPLE. Local Taken from the lands and barony of 
Dalrymple, in Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is said to be a 
corruption of the Gaelic Dale-roi-mitteadh, which signifies 
" the valley of the slaughter of kings," and the place was so 
called from a battle fought there before the Christian era, in 
which two kings, Fergus and Coilus, were slain. According 
to others, it signifies " the valley of the crooked pool." I 
think the name signifies " the valley on the margin of the 
pool," from the Welsh Dol, a valley ; rhim, the edge or bor- 
der, and pwll, a pool. It is very nearly the same in Gaelic ; 
Dail, a vale, troimh, by, along the whole .extent, and poll, a 
small lake. 

DALTON. Local Lerived from the town of Dalton, in Lan- 
cashire, England ; a corruption of Dale-ton, the town in the 
dale; or D 1 Alton, abbreviated to Dalton, that is from the 
high or rocky hill 

DALZIEL or DAL YELL. (Gaelic.) Local. Taken from the 
parish of Dalziel, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The parish is 
said to have -received its name from the old parish church 
which stood near the Clyde, which was probably so called 
from Dal, a dale or valley, and cille, a church the church 
in the valley. There is the following tradition, told by 
Nisbet,-of the origin of the name: 

" A favorite of Kenneth II. having been hanged by the Picts, 
and the King being much concerned that the body should 
be exposed in so disgraceful a situation, offered a large" 
reward to him who should rescue it. This being an enter- 
prise of great danger, no one was found bold enough to 
undertake it, till a gentleman came to the king, and said, 
Dalziel, that is, ' I dare.' In memory of this circumstance 
his descendants assumed for their arms a man hanging on a 



OF FAMILY NAMES. Ill 

gallows, and the motto 1 1 dare.' " The DaLziels afterward 
became Earls of Carnwath. Unfortunately, there is no such 
word as Dalziel in either the Gaelic or Celtic, which signifies 
" I dare." The name is local, as giyen above. 

DAN. (Gaelic.) Bold, daring, intrepid. 

DANA. (Celtic.) From Dana, bold, daring. The chosen 
successor of a king, among the Celts, was so called ; a poet 

DANFORTH or DANFOKD. Local A place in England; 
the way or ford of the Danes. 

DANGAN. (Celtic.) Strong, secure. 

DANGER. A corruption of D'Angier, that is, from Angier, a 
town in France. Lower says, a person named Danger kept 
a public house near Cambridge on the Huntingdon road. 
On being compelled to quit his house, he built an inn on the 
opposite side of the road, and placed beneath his sign "Dan- 
ger from over the way," whereupon his successor in the old 
hotel, inscribed over his door, " There is no Danger here 
now." 

DANGERFIELD. (Fr.) A corruption of D'-Angervitte, that 
is, from Angerville, a town in the province of Orleans, 
France. 

DANIELS. (Heb.) Daniel signifies, the judgment of God, the 
s added, being a contraction of son the son of Daniel 

DANSEREAU. (French.) A dancer. 

DANVERS. (Fr.) Anciently written D'Anvers or De An- 
verso, that is, from the town of Anvers, in France. 

.JALJY. Local. A corruption of Derby, a shire of England, 
so called from doire, a forest, a woody, hilly country abound- 
ing in deer ; or it may be Deerby, the town of deer. 

DARLEY. (Fr.) A corruption of DErle, from the town of 
Erie in France. 

DARLING. A name of endearment, a darling; ing, denoting 
child, progeny, offspring. 



112 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DARRELL. (Nor. FT.) A corruption of De OrreU, so called 
from a castle and family of Normandy. 

DART. Local A river in England. Duart, a town in Scot- 
land. 

DARWIN. (Welsh.) From D&rwin, an oak; local, Derwent, 
a river in England. 

D'ATJBIGNE. (Fr.) From Aubigne, a town in France, in 
the department of Cher. 

DAUBY. A corruption of De Auby or D'Auby, that is, from 
Auby, a town in the Netherlands, near the borders of 
France. v 

DAUCHY or DAUCHE. A Dutchman; an old form of the 
word Dutch or Dutcher, a name given in France to an emi- 
grant from Holland. 

DAUTRY. (Fr.) A corruption of De Autry or D' Autry, that 
is, from Autry, a town in Champagne, France. 

DAYENPORT. Local Derived from the town of Daven- 
port, in Cheshire, England, so called from the river Dan or 
Daven (which name signifies ' a river), and port, a haven or 
harbor. 

DAVIDS. (Heb.) Beloved, dear; the s added, being a con- 
traction of son. 

DAYIS. A corruption of Davids the son of David. 

DAW. (Welsh.) A son-in-law. The name of a species of 
birds. 

DA WES. Local. D'Awes, from the river, fountain, or water. 

DAWNAY. (Nor. Fr.) De Aunay or U Aunay, from the 
town of Aunay, in Normandy. 

DAWSON. Said to be a corruption of the Nor. Fr. D' Ossone, 
from the town of Ossone, in Normandy. Camden, how- 
ever, thinks it a contraction of Davison, the son of David, 
which is the more probable derivation. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 113 

DAY. The Celtic and Gaelic word deag or dagh signifies good, 
excellent, the same as Da, in Welsh. Camden supposes the 
name to be a contraction of David. Dai, Du, in the Welsh, 
signifies dark, ji allusion to the complexion or color of the 
hair. Dhu, in Gaelic, the same, dark color, black. Deah, 
Anglo-Saxon, dark, obscure. 

DEACON. A servant or minister in the church. 

DEALTRY and DAUTRY. A corruption of the Latin De Alta 
Ripa, from the high bank or shore; Radulphus De Alta 
Ripa, Archdean of Colchester died at the siege of Acre in 
the Holy Land, during the Crusades. 

DEARBORN. (Saxon.) Dear-boren, noble, well-born. 

DEARDEN. Local. A corruption of Du-er-den, as still pro- 
nounced by the natives of Lancashire, England, where 
branches of the family reside, and which signifies, "A 
thicket of wood hi a valley." "Doir-den" 

DECKER. From the German Decher, the quantity of ten; 
probably a name given to the tenth child. It may be one 
who decks or covers ships or vessels. 

DE GRAFF. (Dutch.) De Graaf, the count or earl, the great 
man ; de, the, and graaff, count. 

DE GROOT. (Dutch.) The great, tall, large man ; or if local, 
from the town of Groot, in Holland, which signifies the 
great or large place ; from de, the, and groot, great. 

DELAFIEDD. (Fr.) De La Field from the field. 

DELAFLOTE. (Fr.) " From the fleet" or ships. It is said, 
that not long since, in London, a certain Mr. Delafloat had 
his name undergo a singular mutation, in consequence of the 
indistinct manner in which his name was announced. The 
porter understood the name to be Helaflote, and so pro- 
claimed it to the groom of the chambers, and the luckless 
visitor a quiet, shy, reserved young man was actually 
ushered into the midst of a crowded drawing-room, by the 
ominous appellation of Mr. Helafioat I 



114 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DELAMATER. (Fr.) "Le maitre" the master, overseer, 
landlord, preceptor. 

DELANCY. (Fr.) Local. De La,ncy, from the town of 
Lancy, in the province of Burgundy, France. 

DELANY. Anciently ODulainy. 

DELATJNEY. (Fr.) Local De Launey, from Launey, a 
town in the province of Champagne, France. 

DELMAR. (Spanish.) Del Mare, " of the sea." 

DE LORME. (Fr.) From the town of Lonne, in the prov- 
ince of Livernoi, France. 

DELVEK (Fr.) De Elven or B 1 Elven, from Elven, a town 
in Brittany, France. 

DEMEER. (Dutch.) From the sea; the same as Delmar. 

DEMPSTER. Anciently an arbitrator or officer of justice in 
the Scottish courts. 

DENIO. Local. Denia, a city of Valencia, in Spain; De 
Nby&n, from Noyon, a town of France. 

DENMAN. A denizen; in Welsh, Dinman, the place of a 
fortress, from din, a fortress, and man, a place. Denman, 
Saxon, the man of the valley ; a dweller in the vale. 

DEJSCSnS or DENIS. A corruption of the Greek name 
Dionysius, which is derived from 6to^ divine, and vovf, 
mind. Dinas, Welsh, a fort, a stronghold. 

DENTONorDINTON. (Sax.) Local. A town hi the county 
of Buckingham, England. From den, a valley, and ton, a 
town. 

DERBY. Local From Derby, in England. Detr-ly, the 
town or county abounding in deer. (See Darby.) 

DERINGr. (Saxon.) From Dearran or Darran, to dare, bold, 
daring ; a name given to an old Saxon chieftain. 

DERMOD, DIARMA1D, DERMOND, and DERMOT. (Celtic 
and Graelic.) Signify a free man, one having amiable qual- 
ities. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 115 

DESHON. (Fr.) Local. Dijon, a town in Prance. 

DEVENISH. Local. Signifies deep water. This surname 
was given to an ancestor of the family who was early settled 
at the confluence of the rivers Isis and Thames, near Oxford, 
England. Dwfn, Welsh, deep; uisge, Gaelic, water. 

DEVENPECK. (Dutch.) Local. From Diepen, deep, and 
beck, a brook the deep brook. 

DEVEKEUX. (Fr.) D'Evereux, from Evereux, a town in 
Normandy. 

DEYILLE. (French.) De Wle, from the village or town. 
Some write this name Devil/ 

DEYINE or DEVIN. (Fr.) A soothsayer, a cunning man. 

DEYLIK Local. The Norman spelling of Dublin. In the 

great charter of King John, Henry, Archbishop of Dublin, is 

written Henri de Diveline. 

DEWEES. (Dutch.) De, the, and wees, orphan the orphan. 
DEWEY. Dewi, in the Welsh, is a contraction or rather a 

corruption of David. 

DEWSBURY. Local. A town on the river Calder, England. 
DE WILDE. Local. Wildau, called by the Germans Die 

Wilde, is a town of Poland, situated near the confluence of 

the rivers Wilia and Wiln, from whence its name is derived. 

Wild, a wilderness. 
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. 
DIBDIK (Welsh.) Local. From Dib, a slope, sloping 

ground, and din, a fortified hill the fortress on the slope of 

the hill. 

(Welsh.) Local A clough, a cleft in a hill; from 

dibyn. 



116 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DICK. The familiar abbreviation of Richard. It may come 
from the Dutch DycTc, a bank or dike, a bulwark thrown up 
in the Low Countries against the sea or rivers to prevent in- 
undation. 

DICKENS. Dwhings, the son of Dick or Richard. 

DICKSON. The son of Dick or Richard. 

DIE. Local. A town in the province of Dauphiny, France. 

DIEFENDORF. (Ger.) Local. Derived from a small town 
of that name in Germany, and so called from Diefen, thiev- 
ing, and dorf, a village the thieving village. 

DIGBY. Local. From Digby, a town in the county of Lin- 
coln, England, so named from the Danish Dige, a dike, ditch, 
or trench, and &y, a town the town by the dike. 

DILLINGHAM. (Saxon.) Local A place in the county of 
Cambridge, England ; the town of the market ; the buying 
and selling place ; of paying out or telling money. Saxon, 
J)aelan : to divide, separate, throw off, pay over and Aom, a 
village. 

DILLON. From the Welsh DOlyn, handsome, gallant, brave, 
fine. 

DIMOCK or DYMOCK. (Welsh.) A corruption of Din 
Madoc, that is, David, the son of Madoc, Dia being the 
diminutive of David among the Welsh. Madoc is derived 
from mad, good, with the termination oc affixed, which has 
the same effect as our English termination "y." 

DINSMOR. Local. Linos, in Welsh and Cor. Br., is a fort> 

city, or walled town, and mawr, great, large. 

DISNEY. (Nor. Fr.) Anciently written D'lsney or D'Eisney, 
and originally De Isigney, from Isigney, a small village near 
Bayeaux, in Normandy. 

DIX. The same as Dicks or Dickens, the s being a contraction 
of son the son of Dick or Richard. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 117 

DIXIE. (Sax.) Local From the Saxon Die, a ditch, dike, 
or fosse, and ea, water, or ig, an island. 

DOBBIN, DOBBS, and DOBSON. The son of Dob or 

Robert. 

DOBNEY. A corruption of D'Aubigne (which see). 

DODD or DOD. (G-er.) A god-father. Dod, in Gaelic, sig- 
nifies " the pet ;" peevishness, one who is peevish. 

DODSON. The son of Dod. 

DODGE. To evade by a sudden shift of place j one who 
evades, or quibbles. 

DOLBEER. Local. Dolbyr, Welsh, the short vale; from dol, 
a dell, a valley, and byr, short. Dalbyr, local, a town in 
North Jutland, from which the family may have originated. 

D'OILY. Local From Oily, a place in France ; the same as 
Doyle. 

DOLE. Local A town in France; DowyU, Welsh, shady, 
dark. 

DONALD, DONELL, or DONELLY. (Gaelic and Celtic.) A 
great man, a proud chieftain, from DomJinuU. These names 
appear to have their root in the Gaelic noun Dion, a defense, 
shelter, protection. The verb Dion signifies to defend, to 
protect. Dun has nearly the same meaning, a heap, a hill, 
or mount, a fortified house or hill, a castle. Surnames com- 
pounded of Dion, Don, or Dun, were figuratively used to 
denote persons of courage, and who were not easily subdued. 

DONKIN. The same as Duncan (which see). 

DONNACH. The same as Duncan. Diongnach, Gaelic, strong, 
fortified. 

DONOYAN. (Celtic.) The brown-haired chief; from Don- 

dubhan. 

DORAN. The son of Dorr. Doran, Gaelic, an otter; Doran, 

grief, depression of spirits. Dorran, Gaelic, vexation, anger. 



118 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DORLAN, or DORLAND. (Dutch.) Local From Dor, ster- 
ile, barren, and land, unproductive soiL 

DORN. (Dutch.) A thorn-tree. 

DORR. This name may have several significations, according 
to the language in which it was first given. Dorr, Gaelic, 
difficult, easily vexed. Dur, Gaelic, persevering, earnest, 
obstinate. Dorr, Icelandic, a spear. Dor, Cor. British, the 
earth; also dorre, to break. Doir, local, a woody place. 
Dar, Welsh, oak. 

DORSET. Local. A county in England. Dorsette, Anglo- 
Saxon, mountaineers. 

DOTY. Welsh, Diotty, an ale-house. 

DOUAY. (Fr.) Local. Derived from the town of Douay, in 
the province of Artois, France. 

DOUGALL. (Gaelic and Celtic.) The black stranger, from 
Dhu, black, and gall, a stranger, a term used by the Celts to 
denote a Lowlander, a foreigner, not one of them. The 
Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians were called by the Irish 
Fionne Gael, or fair-haired, and the Germans " Dubh Gail," 
or the black strangers. 

DOUGHTY. Strong, brave, noble. 

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," " be- 
hold that dark, or swarthy, man." 

DOUGREY. (Gaelic.) Dugharra, stubborn. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 119 

DOWNS. A term applied, in England, to a tract of poor, 
sandy, hilly land, used only for pasturing sheep. 

DOWELL. (Welsh and Gaelic.) DowyU, Welsh, shady, dark. 
Ynis Dowytt, the shady island. 

DOYLE. A corruption of Z>' Oily, from Oily, a city in France. 

DRAKE. (Gaelic.) Drak, a drake ; drac, a route, a way, a 
footstep ; one who draws or leads, a leader. 

DRAIN. (Gaelic.) Droigheann, a thorn. 

DRAPER. One who sells cloths. 

DRENNOK Local. Draenon, Welsh, a thorn-tree or bush. 

DRISCOL. (Celtic and Gaelic.) Local. From dreas and coill, 
a thicket of briars, the place of wild roses. 

DRIVER. A drover, one who compels or urges any thing 
else to move. 

DROVER. One who drives cattle. 

DRUMMER. One who, in military exercises, beats the drum. 

DRUMMOND. (Gaelic.) Local. From Druim, the back, 

and monadh, mountain, a name of place the back of the 

mountain. 



[DRURY. A jewel [Camden.] \ 

DRYDEN. From the Welsh Urwydwn, broken nose. Ac- 
cording to Evans, Jonreth, surnamed Drwydwn, the father 
of Llywelyn, was the eldest son of Owain Groynedd, but 
was not suffered to enjoy his right on account of that 
blemish. 

DUDLEY. Local. A town in Worcestershire, England, so 
called from the old English Dode-ley, the place of the dead, 
a burying-ground. Dodetig, in the Danish, signifies pale, 
death-like, mortal ; so also the Dutch Doodelijk, and Ger- 
man Todlich. 

Duv-da-lethe, in the Gaelic and Celtic, which has beea corrupted 
to Dudley, has the same signification. 



120 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DUFF. In the G-aelic, signifies black, but in the Cor. Br. and 
"Welsh, a captain. 

DUFIELD. Dufeldt, from the field. 

DUGAK Dugan, Gaelic, the son of Dhu, or the dark-haired. 

DUMAN. Du, from, and man, an elevation, something grand 
or admirable. In the ancient languages, man signifies the 
sun, and mon, the moon. 

DUMFRIES. Local. A town in Scotland on the river Nith, 
and said to be so called from the G-aelic Dun, a castle, and 
Dutch vrows, women the castle or retreat of the women, a 
nunnery. I think rather it is derived from Dunfrith, the 
castle in the forest; Gaelic, Dun, a castle, and frith, a deer- 
forest. 

DUMMER. From the Danish Dommer, an arbiter or judge. 
DUMONT. (Fr.) Du Mont, from the hill or mountain. 
DUN". Local. From the parish of Dun, Forfarshire, Scotland, 

derived from the Gaelic Dun, a hill or rising ground, a fort 

or castle. 
DUNBAR. Local. From the town of Dunbar, at the mouth 

of the Frith of Forth, Scotland. Dundbar, Gaelic, signifies 

the castle, town, or fort on the height or summit. The 

town was so called from its situation on the rock which at 

this place projects into the sea. 
DUSTCAK (Gaelic.) A powerful chieftain, From Dun, a 

fortress, and ceann, head or chief. Duncean or Duncan, 

strong-headed. 

DUNCANSBY. Local Duncan's Bay. 
DUNDAS. (Gaelic.) Local. The south hill, fort, or castle; 

from dun, a hill or fort, and deas, south. 
DUNHAM. Local. A small village in England, so called from 

dun, a hill, and ham, a village. 
DUNEPACE. Local From the Latin Duni-pacis, hills of 

peace. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 121 

DUNKELD. (G-aelic.) Local The hazel-hill. 

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, rrih having the sound of Vj is 
the hill or castle of warriors. 

DUNLOP. (GaeHc.) Local A parish in the district of Cun- 
ningham, Ayrshire, Scotland; from Dun, a castle, fort, or 
hill, and lub, a curvature, a bending of the shore the castle 
or hill at the bend. 

DUNN. Gaelic, Dun, a heap, hill, mount; a fortress, a castle, 
fastness, a tower. Dunn, Saxon, brown, of a dark color, 
swarthy. 

DUNNING. The brown offspring, from the Saxon Dunn, 
brown, and the termination ing, which, among the Saxons, 
signified offspring, as White-ing, the fair offspring, Cuth-ing, 
the son of Cuth. Dunning has retained its original orthog- 
raphy since the days of the Saxons. 

DUNSTAN. (Sax.) From Dun, a hill, and stan, a stone the 
stone-hill, or the strong, enduring dun or fortress. 

DUPPA. Local. A corruption of D 1 Uphaugh, " from the high 
or upper haw; 11 haugh, Scottish and North English, a low- 
lying meadow, a green plot in a valley. Du Pau, local, 
from Pau, a town of France. 

DUE. In the Gaelic, signifies dull, stubborn, obstinate; also, 
steady, earnest, persevering. 

DUEANT. From the Latin name Durandus, enduring, strong, 
inured to hardships, from dura, to harden, to inure to hard- 
ships, to make strong. 

DUEBAN. 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. 

DUKDEN. Local An old English word signifying a coppice 
or thicket cf wood in a valley. 
6 



122 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DURHAM. Local According to Bailey, this word is derived 
from the Saxon Dun and holm, a town in a wood. It 
seems rather to come from the British Dour, water, and 
Tiolm, land surrounded mostly by water. It may be de- 
rived from Doire, which, in the British and Celtic, signifies 
a woody place, abounding in oaks; hence Doireholm or 
Dourham, that is, the place or town surrounded by woods. 

DURKEE or DURGY. In the Gaelic, Duirche is the compar- 
ative of Dorch, dark, cloudy, hence dark-complexioned. It 
may come from Durga, Gaelic, surly, sour, repulsive 
Durgy, in the Cor. Br., signifies a small turf hedge. 

DURWARD. A porter or door-keeper Door-ward. 

DUSTIN. Welsh, Dysdain, a steward of a feast. 

BUTCHER. (Dutch.) Local From Duitscher, a German. 

DUTTOK Local A village in Cheshire, England, and may 
have several derivations. Dut-ton, i. e., Dutch-town. Du- 
ton, from Du, Cor. Br., side, and ton, the same as dun, a hill, 
that is, the side of the hill ; or Du-ton, the two hills, from 
Du, two, and ton, a hill. Dhu-ton, Gaelic and Welsh, the 
black hill 

DWYRE. (Gaelic.) Local From Do-ire, a woody place, 
uncultivated. 

DYER. One whose occupation it is to dye cloth. 

DYKE. Local A name given to one who lived near a ditch, 
bank, or entrenchment, as " John at the dyke." 

DYKEMAK One who makes dykes or entrenchments; a 
dweller near a dyke or embankment. 

DYSART. (Gaelic.) Local A parish in Fifeshire, Scotland ; 
from Dia, God, and ard, high the temple of the highest. 
Dysart was a place of ancient Druidical or Gaelic worship. 



EAGER. Sharp-set, vehement, earnest. The name may be 
local, from the river Eg^r, in Bohemia, or Egra, a city on 
the river Eger. 






OP FAMILY NAMES. 123 

EASTCOTE. Local The eas^cote or house ; so Westcutt, the 

west-cote. 
EATON". (Sax.) Local From ea, water, and ton, a town. 

There are several parishes in England by this name. 
EBERLEE. Local JSabar, in the Gaelic, is a marshy place, a 

place where two or three streams meet. Welsh and Cor. 

Br., Aber-lk. 
EBEKLY. (G-er.) From eber, a boar, and ly, like ; indicating 

courage, fierceness, bravery. 

ECCLES. A church, from the Greek kKK^rjoia, an assembly, 
a church, Gaelic eaglais, Cor. Br., Egles and Eglas. 

EDDY. In the Gaelic, Eddee signifies an instructor. The 
name may be local from the Saxon Ed, backwards, and ea, 
water a current of water running back, a whirlpool Edd, 
Welsh, signifies motion, going ; Eddu, to go, to move. 

EDGAK. (Sax.) From JEJadigar, happy or blessed ; honor. 

EDGECUMBE. Local From the manor of Edgecumbe, in 
Devonshire, England. The name signifies, " the edge of the 



EDIKER. (Sax.) From Eadigar, happy. 
EDMOND. (Sax.) Happy peace. 
EDWAED. (Sax.) Happy keeper. 
EGBERT. (Sax.) Always bright, famous. 

EGGLESTOK (Welsh or Br.) From Egles, a church, and 
tun or dun, a hill the church on the hill 

EIGINN. (Gaelic.) Strong-handed. 
ELDRED. (Sax.) All reverent fear. 
ELI. (Heb.) The offering or lifting up. 
ELIAS. (Heb.) Signifies Lord God. 

ELLET. Little Elias, the diminutive ette being added, as Wil- 
lett, Hallett. 



124 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

ELLIOT. Supposed to signify the son of Elms ; Heliat, Welsh 
and Cor. Br., a huntsman, a pursuer. 

ELLIS. Contracted from Elias. 

ELPHINSTONE. Local. From the lands and barony of 
Elphinstone, in Scotland, and derived from the Anglo- 
Saxon Elfenne, a fairy or spirit, and stone. These elfenne 
or e^-stones are a peculiar hard flint, and hi the olden times 
were supposed to be shot by the fairies or elfs. The place 
is so named from this kind of stone being found on the land. 

ELTON. There are many places of this name in England ; it 
is impossible to decide from which the family appellation is 
derived. The derivation is from the Saxon words ael, an 
eel, and ton a town abounding hi eels. 

ELWY. Local. A river in Wales. 

ELY. Local. From Ely, a^ city in Cambridgeshire, England, 
and signifies the place of willows, from Helig, Cor. Br. and 
Welsh ; Latin, Salix. Greek U JSalig, an island ; land in 
waterland. Greek, "EAo^, a marsh. 

EMERSON. (Sax.) Emar, from Ethelmar, noble, and son 
the son of the noble. 

EMMET. Local The name of a river; "Mmot," Gaelic, the 
quick river, from eim, quick. Emmet, Saxon, aemet, an 
ant. 

ENNIS, ENNES, or INNIS. (Celtic or Gaelic.) Local. An 
island or peninsula, made so either by a fresh water river or 
the sea. Tnys in the Welsh. 

ENOS. (Heb.) Fallen man, mortal, sickly. 

ERRICK " There is a tradition," says Dean Swift, " that the 
ancient family of the Ericks or Herricks derive their lineage 
from Erick the Forrester, a great commander who raised an 
army to oppose the invasion of William the Conqueror." 
Erick is derived from Ehr, German, honor, and rick, rich 
rich hi honor. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 125 

ERSKINE. Some writers deduce this family from a noble 
Florentine who came to Scotland in the reign of Kenneth 
II. It is said, in the reign of Malcolm II, a Scotchman of 
high distinction having killed with his own hand Enrique, 
one of the Danish generals, at the battle of Murthill, cut off 
his head, and with the bloody dagger in his hand showed it 
to the king, and in the Gaelic language said Eriskyne, "upon 
the knife," alluding to the head and dagger; and in the same 
language also said, "I intend to perform greater actions than 
what I have done." Whereupon, King Malcolm imposed 
upon him the surname of ErisMne, and assigned him for his 
armor-bearings a hand holding a dagger, with " Je pense 
plus" for a motto, which has continued to be the crest and 
motto of this family. 

ERWIN. Welsh, Erwyn, very fair, white. Drfionn, Gaelic, 
beautiful, fair. 

ESHAM. Local. Prom a town by that name in Worcester- 
shire, England, formerly Eoves-ham, so called from one 
Eoves Egwins, a shepherd, who was afterward Bishop of 
Worcester, and ham, a village. 

ESTLEY. Local. The east field or pasture East-ley. 

ETHELBERT. (Sax.) Noble, bright, from Ethel or Add, 
noble, and bert, bright, famous. 

ETON. Local Awtwyn, in Welsh, is the hillock near the 
waters, from Aw, water, and twyn, a small hill. In Saxon, 
JEa and ton have the same signification, i. e., " the hill or 
town near the water." 

EURE. Local. From the lordship of Eure, in Buckingham- 
shire, England. Eure, in the Cor. Br., signifies a goldsmith. 

EUSTACE. From the Greek Ev<7ra%, standing firm. 

EVANS. The Welsh for John, the same as Johns. Evan f 
eofn, fearless, bold. 

EVELYN. Local From 'Evelyn, in the county of Salop, 
England. 



126 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

EVERARD. (Sax.) The same as Evdofrc; in Greek, that is, 
well reported, ever honored; or from Eberhardt, ever hard or 
enduring. Some writers are of opinion that we have JSbers, 
Everardj Evered, and Everet, from JEber, a boar. 

EVERETT and EVERTS. A corruption of Everard. 

EVERLY. Local A place in Wiltshire, England. 

EWELL. Local A town in England. Ewhttl, Cor. Br., sig- 
nifies high, tall 

EYRE. The same as Ayres or Ayre (which see). 

EYTINGE. (Saxon.) Local From Ey, Saxon, ig, an island, 
a watery place, and ing } a meadow the meadow on the 
island or near the water. 

FAAL. (G-aelic.) A rocky place ; Fells, Saxon, crags, barren 
and stony hills. Fales has the same signification. Falaise, 
a town in France, takes its name from the rocks which sur- 
round it 

FABER. (Latin.) A workman, a smith. 

FABIAN. Derived from the Latin Fabiiis, Faba, a bean the 
bean-man, so called from his success hi cultivating beans. 

FACET. French, Facette, a little face. Facete, from the Latin 
Fac&ius, gay, cheerful 

FADEN. (Gaelic.) Feadan, a fife, flute, chanter of a bagpipe, 
a musical instrument, fltdan, the son of Fad. 

FAG- AN". (Gaelic.) A beech-tree. The Fagans were descended 
from Patrick O'Hagan, living A.D. 1180. O'Hagan, the pos- 
terity of Agan. Ogan, Ogyn, or Hogyn signifies, in the 
Welsh, young, a youth. Gaelic, Og, a young man. 

FAGG. (Saxon.) Fag, variable or many colored; may be 
bestowed on the first possessor from his variable disposition. 
Fag, a laborious drudge. 

FAIRBAIRN. The same as Fairchild a fair, handsome bairn 
or child. 

FAIRFAX (Sax.) Fair-hair; Faex, hair. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 127 

FAIRHOLM. Local. The fair island, or fair lands bordering 

on water ; also, where a fair or market is held. 
FAKE or FALKE. (Ger.) A falcon or hawk; figuratively, 

daring or enterprising. 
FALES. Local. Fale, a river of Cornwall, England ; also, a 

rough, rocky place. 
FALKLAND. (Sax.) From FokJc, the common people, and 

land the land of the common people, in the time of the 

Saxons. 
FALUN". Local. A town of Sweden. Falan, Gaelic, the 

son of Fale. 
FANE. From Fane, a temple, a church. Gaelic, Fann, faint, 

weak, feeble. 

FANNING. The son of Fann. 
FANSHAW. Local Fane, a temple or church, and sTiaw, a 

small wood or grove, a thicket the church in the grove. 
FAR. Fawr, same as Mawr, Gaelic and Welsh, great. 
FARMAN. (Ger.) Fahr^nann, master of a ferry-boat. 

FARNHAM. Local. From a town in Surrey, England, " so 
called from the Saxon Fearn, fern, and ham, a habitation or 
village the village hi the plaj3e overgrown with fern." 

FARQUHAR. (Gaelic.) From Fear, a man, and coir, just, 
honest, good, or car, friendly ; Fearciar, from Fear and ciar } 
dark-gray a dark-gray man. 

FARQUHARSON. The son of Farquhar. 

FARRADAY. (Gaelic.) From Farraideach, inquisitive, pry- 
ing, curious. 

FARRAR. A corruption of Farrier, a name of trade. Pfarrer, 
in German, a minister. 

FASSET and FAUCET. (Fr.) Fausette, falsehood, cheat^ 

forgery. 

FAULKNER. (Ger.) A catcher or trainer of hawks. 



128 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

PAY. (Spanish.) Fe, faith. In Normandy, plantations of 
beech were called Faye, Fayel, and Fautlaie. 

FEARAN. (Gaelic.) An estate. 

FELCH. Probably a corruption of Welch; Filch means to 
pilfer. 

FELL. Felj in the Dutch ; signifies fierce, furious, violent; also 
local, a rocky place, barren and stony hills ; any uninclosed 
place ; a moor, a valley. A short time since, a tradesman 
named James Pell migrated from Ludgate Hill to Fleet- 
street, and announced the event in the following manner : 
"I. Pell, from Ludgate Hill;" under which a wag wrote, 
" Oh what a fall was there, my countryman 1" LOWER. 

FELTON. Local. A small town in England; the rocky or 
stony hill. 

FENSHAW. Local The shaw or grove in the fen. 
FENTOK (Welsh or Br.) A well 

FERDINAND. (G-er.) From Fred, peace, and rand, pure- 
pure peace. 

FERGUS. (Gaelic and Celtic.) A fierce or brave chieftain, 
from Fear, man, and guth, a voice or word, that is, the man 
of the word, a commander of an army. Some suppose the 
first Fergus was so named from Fairghe, the sea, on account 
of his large navy; others, from his raging like the sea in 
battle. Feargach, fiery. 

FERGUSON. The son of Fergus. 

FERRER or FERRERS. Local. From Ferrieres, a small town 
of Gastinois, Prance, so called from the iron mines with 
which the country abounded ; or the name may have orig- 
inated from the occupation of a farrier or iron-dealer. 

FERRIS. A corruption of Ferrers (which see). Fferis, in the 

Welsh, signifies steel. 
FERROL, FIROL. (Gaelic.) Famous men. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 129 

FIELDING-. This family trace their descent to the Earls of 
Hapsburgh, in Germany. Geffery, a son of Edward of 
Holland, served with Henry HI. in the wars of England, 
and because his father had dominions in Lauffenburgh and 
Henfelden, he took the name of Felden or Fielding. 

FIFE. Local A shire or county of Scotland; lands held in 
H- 

FIFIELD. Local. Has the same signification as Manorfield, 
Lands held in/ee or faf, for which the individual pays serv- 
ice or owes rent 

FILEY and FILLEY. Local From a town in England by 
that name. Filid, Gaelic, the d silent, a poet, a bard. 

FILO. Mka, in the Gaelic, is a bard, poet, or historian. 
$Aof, in the Greek, a friend. 

FILMUE, and FZLMORE. This name, in all probability, arose 
from a residence near a lake or a fertile piece of ground ; 
Fitte, Sax., denoting fullness or plenteousness, and mere, a 
lake or moist piece of ground. The name has been spelled 
at different times Fylm&re, Fttmour, and Filmore. Several 
other derivations may be found for the etymology of this 
name. From Filea, Celtic and Gaelic, a bard, a historian, 
and mor, great, that is, the famous bard. The Fileas, among 
the Gauls, or Celts, were held in great esteem, and their 
office was honorable. They turned the tenets of religion 
into verse, and animated the troops before and during an 
engagement with martial odes, and celebrated the valorous 
deeds of the chieftains and princes who entertained them. 

FINCH. A small singing bird. 

FINNEY. Mnne, Gaelic, the genitive of Fionn, fair, sincere, 
true; bringing to an end, wise, a head, chief. The name 
may be local from Fines, a place in France. 

FIRMAN. F&rdmon, a soldier. 

FISK. (Fr ^ From Fisc, revenue, public funds. 

6 



130 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

FISTER. (Dan.) A fisherman. 

FITZ GERALD. (Nor. Fr.) The son of Gerald, Fitz, a son, 
Gerald (Teutonic), all-surpassing, excellent. 

This ancient and honorable family is traced from Otho or 
Other, a Baron in Italy, descended from the Grand Dukes 
of Tuscany. Walter, son of Otho, came into England with 
William the Conqueror, and afterward settled in Ireland. . 

Maurice Fitz Gerald assisted Richard Strongbow in the con- 
quest of that kingdom. 

FITZ GILBERT. (Nor. Fr.) The son of Gilbert; Fitz, a 
son, Gilbert, gold-like bright, or bright or brave pledge, 
from gisk, Saxon, a pledge. (See Gilbert.) 

FITZ HAMON. The son of Hamon, Hebrew, faithful, i. e^ 
the son of the faithful 

FITZ HARDING. The son of Harding (which see). 
FITZ HATTON. The son of Hatton (which see). 
FITZ HENRY. The son of Henry (which see). 
FITZ HERBERT. The son of Herbert (which see). 
FITZ HERVE Y. The son of Hervey (which see). 
FITZ HUGH. The son of Hugh (which see). 
FITZ JOHN. The son of John (which see). 
FITZ MORICE. The son of Morris (which see). 
FITZ ORME. The son of Onne (which see). 
FITZ PARNELL. The son of Parnell (which see). 
FITZ PATRICK The son of Patrick (which see). 
FITZ RANDOLPH. The son of Randolph (which see). 
FITZ ROY. The son of Roy (which see). 
FITZ SWAIN. The son of Swain (which see). 
FLACK. Local. (Dutch.) " TZafc," flat, low ground. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 131 

FLAHERTY. (Celtic.) A man of chieftain-like exploits. 
From flaith, a lord 6r chief, and oirbheartach, noble-deeded; 
the man of noble deeds. 

FLANDERS. Local. A name given to a native of Flanders, 
a County or Earldom of the Low Countries, or Nether- 
lands. It took its name either from Flandrina, the wife 
of Liderick II., Prince of Buc, or from Ftambert, the 
nephew of Clodion, King of France. 

FLANNAGAN. (G-aelic.) From flann, ruddy complexion. 

FLEMING. Local. A native or inhabitant of Flanders. See 
Flanders. 

FLETCHER. A maker of arrows, or superintendant of arch- 
ery. From the French fleche, an arrow. 

FLINT. Local. Derived from a market town of that name, 
near the sea, in Flintshire, Wales, which gives name to the 
county. 

FLOOD. Originally Fludd or Floyd (which see). 
FLOYD. The same as Llwyd, Welsh, brown, gray, hoary. 

FOLG-ER. Camden defines the name, "Foulgiers, Fearne" (fern). 
Fougeres, local, a town of France, near the frontiers of Nor- 
mandy. This town has given its name to a noble family. 
Raoul de Fougers fortified the town, and built the castle. 

FOLJAMBE. Full James, Fool James? 

FOLLET or FOLLIOT. (Fr.) Frolicksome, merry, gay. 
" Rightly named was Richard Folioth, Bishop of Hereford, 
who, when he had incurred the hatred of many for oppos- 
ing himself against Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, one cried with a loud voice at his chamber window at 
midnight : ' Folioth, Folioth, thy god is the Goddess Azaroth' 
He suddenly and stoutly replied : ' Thou liest, foul fiend, my 
God it the Gfod of Sdbaoth" Camden. 



132 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTION ART 

FONDA. Spanish, Fonda, bottom, foundation, the source or 
beginning. Fondi, a town of Naples, in Italy, so called from 
the Latin fundus, the bottom. 

FOOTE. Local A place at the bottom of a hill or mountain, 
the base. 

FORBES. Local. Lands free from military service, called 
Saor Forba, or free lands. The name of a parish in Aber- 
deenshire, Scotland. 

FORBISHER. A polisher of armoi or weapons. 

FQRDTTAM. Local So named from a town in England ; the 
house or village at the ford. 

FORRESTER and FORSTER. A woodman. 

FORSYTES. (Gaelic.) From Fear, a man, and Syfh, up- 
right, honest, stiff. 

FORTESCUE. Strong shield. Sir Richard Le Forte (the 
brave), one of the leaders in the army of William the Con- 
queror, who had the good fortune to protect his chief at the 
battle of Hastings, by bearing before him a massive shield, 
hence acquired the addition of the French word escue, a 
shield, to his name. 

FOSDYKE. Local. The name of a canal, cut by the order 
of Henry VIII., from the great marsh near Lincoln, Eng- 
land, to the Trent Fosse-dyke. 

FOSGA.TE. From fosse, a ditch, moat, or trench, and gate. 

FOSS. (Cor. Br.) The entrenchment, moat, or ditch. fbs t 
Danish, a waterfall, cataract. 

FOSTER. Probably a corruption of Forrester or Forster. 

FOTHERBY. Local. The town of provisions, food and fod- 
der, from Fother, the same as fodder, Saxon fodre, food for 
cattle, and by, a town. 

FOTHERG-ILL. Local From Father, as above, and gill, a 
brook. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 133 

FOTHERINGHAM. Local. The house or town supplying 
food for man and beast, from Fother, as above, and Tiam, a 
village. 

FOTJLIS. The surname of Foulis is of Norman extraction. 
Their first British ancestor came into England either at or 
before the Conquest, and his armorial bearings were three 
leaves, called "Feuilles" in the old Norman ; it is certain 
that the name was either given to the family while resi- 
dents of South Britain, or else assumed by him who first 
settled in Scotland in the reign of Malcom Canmore, when 
surnames were then first adopted. 

FOUNTAIN. Originally De Fonte or De Fontibus (Fountain), 
from the springs or fountains near which they resided. 

FOWLER. A sportsman who pursues wild fowL 

FOX. A name taken from the cunning animal ; about the year 
1333 the Shanachs in Ireland anglicised their name to Fox. 

FRAME. (Gaelic.) FreumTc or Freamk, a root, stem, stock, 
lineage. 

FRANK. A native of France, free; a name given by the 
Turks, Greeks, and Arabs, to any of the inhabitants of 
the western part of Europe, whether English, French, or 
Italians. 

FRANCIS. From the Saxon, Frank, free. The Franks were 
a people who anciently inhabited part of Germany, and 
having conquered Gaul, changed the name of the country 
to France. 

FRANKLAND. A name given by the Saxons to the land of 
the Franks. 

FRANKLIN. Anciently, in England, a " superior freeholder," 
next below gentlemen in dignity, now called country 
Squires. Fortescue says (De Leg. Ang.), " Moreover Eng- 
land is so filled and replenished with landed menne, that 
therein the smallest thorpe can not be found wherin dwell- 



134 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

eth not a knight or an esquire, or such a householder as is 
there commonly called a Franklin, enriched with great pos- 
sessions, and also other freeholders, and many yeomen, able 
for their livelyhood to make a jury in form aforementioned." 
So Chaucer, in his Canterbury Tales ; 

' ' A Franklin was in this companie, 
White was his beard, as is the dayesie." 

FRASER. Fraischeur, French, freshness, coolness, bloom r 
Friseur, a hairdresser, from /riser, French, to curl 

FREDERICK. (Germ.) Rich peace, or peaceable reign. 

FREEMAN. One who enjoys liberty, or is entitled to a fran- 
chise, or peculiar privilege, as the freeman of a city or state. 

FREER. French, Frere, a friar, a monk, a brother. 
FREIOT. (Dutch.) Fraaiheid, signifies prettiness, neatness. 

FREMONT. Local. From Framont, a place in France, near 
Lorraine, meaning the Franc or free mount, the Mattel hillj 
or the fresh, blooming, beautiful hill, from frais, French, 
blooming. 

FRENCH. Originally coming from, or belonging to France. 
FRERT. Contracted from Frederick (which see). 

FRIAR. (French.) From Frere, a brother, a member of a re- 
ligious order ; a monk who is not a priest, those friars who 
are in orders being called fathers. 

FRISB Y. Local (Danish.) The new, or fresh town ; Welsh, 
fres ; French, frais, fresh, new, recently built ; Danish frisk, 
and &y, a town. 

FRISKIN. (GTaelic.) From Fear, and skein, a sword; the 
man with the ready sword or hanger. * 

FROBISHER. The same as Forbisher (which see). 
FROST. (Welsh.) Ffrost, a brag. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 135 

FROTHINGHAM. Local. A house or village situated near 
a strait or arm of the sea. Frithingham, the house or vil- 
lage among the hawthorns ; frith, Cornish British, a haw- 
thorn, white thorn. Frith, Gaelic, a forest, a place of deer. 

FRY. (Cornish British.) Local. A hill, a town or house on 
the most prominent part of a hill or eminence. German^ 
Frei, free, Dutch, Vry } or Fry, free. 

FULHAM. Local. A village on the Thames, England, and 
derives its name from the Saxon Fatten, fowl, and ham, that 
is, the house or village of fowl. Either from the house 
noted for its good living, or from the neighborhood pro- 
ducing good poultry. 

FULKE. Dutch, Vallc, a hawk; German, Falke. 
FULKINS. The son of Fulke. 
FULLER. One who fulls cloth; a clothier. 
FULLERTON. Local. The town where cloth is dressed. 

FULSOM. Local. From Foulsham, a town in England, 
where, perhaps, were raised plenty of fowl, or the streets 
foul, or the population full and crowded. Saxon, Futten, 
foul. 

FURBUSHER. The same as ForUsher (which see). 



GADSBY. (Dan.) From gade, a street, and by, a town, i. e., 
street-town ; or the gate-town, if Webster is correct in giv- 
ing gade the Danish for gate. 

GAIRDEK (Gaelic.) An inclosed or fortified place; the 
beacon hill or hill of alarm, from gair, an outcry, an alarm 
and din, a hill or fortress. 

GALBRAITH. A compound of two Gaelic words, G-aU and 
Bhreatan, that is, strange Briton, or Low Country Briton. 
The Galbraiths in the Gaelic are called JBreatannich, or Clann- 
OrJBreatannich, that is, the Britons, or the children of the 



136 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

Britons, and were once reckoned a great name in Scotland, 
according to the following lines : 

" Bhreatanuich o'n Talla dhearg, 
Hailse sir Alba do shloinneadh." 

" Galbraith's from the Red Tower, 
Noblest of Scottish surnames." ^ 

The "Talla dhearg," or " Red Tower," was probably Dumbarton, 
that is, Dun Bhreatain, the hill or stronghold of the Britons, 
whence it is said the Galbraiths came. Galbraith, Welsh, 
the diversified plain. 

GALE. A Gael or Scot; a stranger. Fingal, the white 
stranger, Dugal, the black stranger, aEuding to the com- 
plexion or color of the hair. The root of Gall, or Gaul, 
is Hal, the sun, from which we have Gal, Gel, Gl, brilliant, 
bright, glorious. Greek, JyAiOf ; Welsh, haul, Cornish Brit- 
ish, houl, the sun. Ge, brilliant, and haul; Gehaul, Gaul, 
the ancient name of France still called " sunny France." 

GALGACHUS. In the chronicle of the kings of Scotland 
Galgachus is called Galdus, of which name and its etymol- 
ogy Garden gives the following account : 

Galgachus was Latinized by the Eomans, from the Highland 
appellations Gold and cachach ; the first, Gold, being the 
proper name, and the second, cachach, being an adjection to 
it from the battles he had fought ; it signifies the same as 
prceliosus; Gold the fighter of battles, which kind of nick- 
names are still in use among the Highlanders. Colgach, 
Gaelic, fierce, furious, and ach, battle, skirmish. 

GALL. A native of the Lowlands of Scotland; any one 
ignorant of the Gaelic language ; a foreigner, stranger. Gal, 
Gaelic and Cor. Br., battle, evil warfare ; Gal, Welsh, clear. 

GALLAGHER. (Gaelic.) From GaUach, valiant, brave, and 

er put for fear, a man. Air is a common termination of 

nouns, and changes inU eir, ir, or, oir, and uir, its etymon 
being fear, a man. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 187 

GALLIGAN. (Gaelic.) From Gealagan, white. 

GALLUP. (Ger.) A corruption of Gottlieb, from Qott, God, 
and tieb, love or praise God's praise. 

GALTorGUALT. A bush, of hair. Welsh, GwaUt. 

GAINNES. Gaelic, Gainne, a dart, an arrow, a shaft; given 
because of expertness in the use of these weapons of war. 

GANESVOORT. (Dutch.) From Gans, a goose, and voort, 
advanced, forward, that is, the forward goose or the gander; 
figuratively, a leader. 

GANG. Local Welsh, genau, an opening of a lake, river, 
dale or valley ; a place admitting entrance. Genau, in Ger., 
signifies short, alluding to stature. 

GARDENER and GARDNER. A name derived from the 
occupation. 

GARDINER. This name may be derived from the same roots 
as Gairden. It is probably, however, the same as Gar- 
dener, 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 Gar- 
dener 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 
9 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 



138 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

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. 

GARENNIER. (Fr.) A warrener, a keeper of a warren. 

GARFIELD. Local Sax., Garwian, to prepare; German 
and Dutch, gar, dressed, done, ready prepared, and field, a 
place where every thing is furnished necessary for an army. 

GARNET. LocaL Garnedd, Welsh, a tumulus; an ancient 
place of Druid worship. Carnedd, a cairn. Garnet, a 
precious stone. 

GARNIER. Fr., Garnir, to summons, warn, call out, furnish, 
supply. Italian, Chjarnire; Norman, Garner, to warn, to 
summon, to fortify. 

GARRAH. (Cor. Br.) LocaL The top of the hill; Garw, 
Welsh, rough. 

GARRET. A corruption of Gerard (which see). 

GARRISON. Local. A place where troops are stationed, for 
the defense of a town or fort, or to keep the inhabitants in 
subjection. 

GARROW, GAROW, and GARO, in the British, signifies 
fierce, keen, sharp, rough, a rough place; Gaelic, Garbh, 
rugged, mountainous. 

GARRY. Local. A town in Scotland. 

GARTH. (Welsh.) Local. A hill or promontory; Gart, 
Gaelic, a head. 

GASKELL. (Gaelic.) From Gaisgeil, valorous. 

GASTON. Local. From Gastein, a town in Bavaria. Also a 
brave or valorous man, ^m Gais, Gaelic, bravery, valor, 
and duin, a man. 

GATES. LocaL Gate, in Scotland, means a road or way. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 139 

G-AYET. Local A town in Savoy or Dauphiny, an old 
province of France. 

GAYER. A gray-hound ; a swift dog. 
GAYLOR. That is, Getter loud-voiced. 

GEAR and GEER. Gear signifies all sorts of wearing apparel 
and equipments for horses and men, from the Saxon gear- 
rian, to make ready ; and the name was probably given to 
one who took charge of and superintended the gear. John 
of the Gear, John O Gear, and at length John Gear. 

G-EDDES or GETTY. Local. Gaeta, a town of Italy, and 
signifies a stronghold. Gaelic, Caetigh ; Welsh, Caety, from 
Cae, surrounded, defended, shut up, and tigh or ty, a house. 
Geddes, the son of Gideon. 

GEOFFREY. (Belgic.) From gau, joyful, and fred, peace- 
joyful peace, 

GEORGE. (Greek.) A husbandman, a farmer, from Tsupydc. 

GERARD. (Teut.) From Gar, all, and ard } nature; apt> 
docile; one ready to do or learn, amiable, f ra-4 4 *w< 

GERMAIN". (Ger.) A name given to a native of Germany. 
German is derived from Werr-man, i. e., war-men, a name 
assumed by the Tungri, in order to strike terror into their 
Gaelic opponents. The Romans, for want of a W, for Werr- 
man wrote Gerrman. Yonhammer derives the word from 
the land of Herman, now Chorasin. 

GERRY. A corruption of Gerard (which see). Gairdeach, 
* the d silent, from Gairde, Gaelic, festive, joyful. 

GERYAS. (Ger.) Steadfast, honorable. 

GETMAK (Ger.) The same as Ketman, from Jcette, a chain, 
and mann a chain-man, one who used or carried a chain ; 
a surveyor ; a maker of chains. 

GIBBON. (Welsh.) Guiban, a fly. Gibean, in Gaelic, signi- 
fies a hunch-bff k ; Cfibb-ing, the son of Gilbert. 



140 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

G-IBBS. From Oil, a nickname for Gilbert. 
GIBSON. The son of Gib or Gilbert. 
GIDDINGS. The son of Gid or Gideon. 

GIFFORD or GIFFARD. (Sax.) Liberal disposition; the 
giver. The name is also local, a town on the water of Gif- 
ford, Haddington Co., Scotland, from Oaf, Celtic, a hook, a 
bend, and ford. 

GIHOIST. Local. Gien or Gtih&rt, a town of France, in the 
province of Orleans. 

GILBERT. (Ger.) Bright pledge, from Gisle, a pledge; or 
gold-like, bright, from the Saxon Geele, yellow. 

GILCHEIST. (Gaelic.) From gffle, a servant, and Chnosed, 
Christ the servant of Christ. 

GILKINSON. The son of CHMn. GJZkw is the child of &H 
or Gilbert, kin meaning child or offspring. 

GILL. Local. A valley or woody glen; a narrow dell with a 
brook running through it; a small stream. 

GILLAK Local. A town in Scotland. 

GILLESPIE. The Gaelic for Archibald, from GiUe, a youth 
or servant, and speoch, a word expressive of quickness and 
sharpness in battle ; spuaic, Gaelic, to break the head, to 
knock. 

GILLETT. From Quittot, the French diminutive for William. 
The family may have come with William the Conqueror 
into England, from GiUette, a town in Piedmont, France. 
GriUette } the son of Giles. 

GILLIES. (Gaelic.) Gill-Iosa, the servant of Jesus. 

GILLPATRICK. (Gaelic.) From gffle, a servant, and Patrick 
the servant of Patrick 

GILLT. (Cor. Br.) The wood or grove of hazel; Gaelic, 
Coitie. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 141 

GILLMAN. The Gillmans are said to have come from the 
province of Maine, in France, into England with William 
the Conqueror, and to have settled in Essex, England. 
Whether a Gaulman, a Gael, or Itrookman, from gift, a 
brook, the same as MU in Dutch, is uncertain. 

GILMOUR. Gtflemore, G-aelic, the henchman or follower of 
the chief, one who carried the chiefs broadsword, from gille, 
a servant, and mor, large, great. 

Q-ILROY. Gile-roimh, a running footman attendant on a 
Highland chieftain ; from giUe, a servant, and roimh, before, 
in respect of situation or place ; or CHUe-righ, the servant of 
the king. 

GILSOK The son of Gil or Gilbert. 

GIRDWOOD. Local. The green wood, from the Welsh 
gwyrdd or the inclosed wood, from the Danish gierde, a 
hedge ; girds, shoots of trees. 

GIRVAN. Local From the river and town of Girvan hi Ayr- 
shire, Scotland. In the Welsh, Gearafon or Gwyrddafon, 
implies the river flowing through the green flourishing place, 
from afon or avon, a river, and Gwyrdd, green, flourishing. 

GIYENS. (Welsh.) A smith, the same as Gove; Gaelic, gob- 
hain. 

GLANVILLE. 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 j as Glandeve, in France, on the 
banks of the Var. Glan or glen signifies also a narrow val- 
ley or dell 

GLASGOW. (Gaelic and Cor. Br.) Local From the city 
of Glasgow, Scotland. The green, fruitful place, from glas, 
green, and geu or gew, a " choice field," the stay or sup- 
port of the estate. 

GLASS. (Gaelic.) Gray, pale, wan; glas, Welsh, green. 

GLENTWORTH. Local. From Glyn, a valley, and worth, 
a habitation, dwelling, or farm. 



142 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

GLISTON. Local. Glaston, the green hill; Gliston, the shin- 
ing hill, the mineral or mica hill. 

GLOUCESTER. Local. From the city of Gloucester, Eng- 
land, the ancient Gkva, from the Welsh Glo, coal, coal- 
mines, and castrum, Latin, a Roman fort or camp ; Saxon, 
ceaster, a city, the city of coal. 

GLYK (Br.) The woody vale. 

GOADBY. Local This name is derived from the Danish 
word Gode, that is, good, fair, rich, fine, and by, the Danish 
for a town meaning the fair or handsome town. If the 
word is of British origin, it signifies the town by the wood, 
from Goed, in the Cor. Br., a wood. 

GODARD. (Ger.) God-like disposition. The name may be 
local, from Goddard, a mountain in Switzerland. 

GODENOT or GODENO'. (Fr.) "A Jack in the box," a pup- 
pet, a little ugly man. The name may be local, and come 
from Gudenaw, a town on the Lower Rhine, Germany. 

GODFREY. (Ger.) God's peace, godlike peace, from God 
Budfrid orfrede, peace, or from Gau-fred, joyful peace. 

GODOLPHIN. (Cor. Br.) A little valley of springs; from 
Godol, a little valley, and phin or phince, springs. 

GODWIN. Same as Goodwin or Gooden, derived from God 
or good, Sax., and win, conqueror, that is, a conqueror in 
God, converted or victorious in God. 

" In one of those battles fought between Edmund the Anglo- 
Saxon, and Canute the Dane, the Danish army being routed 
and forced to fly, one of their principal captains named Ulf 
lost his way in the woods. After wandering all night, he 
met at daybreak a young peasant driving a herd of oxen 
whom he saluted, and asked his /iame. ' I am Godwin, the 
son of Ulfhoth,' said the young peasant, ' and thou art a 
Dane.' Thus, obliged to confess who he was, Ulf begged 
the young Saxon to show him the way to the Severn, 
where the Danish ships were at anchor. ' It is foolish in a 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 148 

Dane,' replied the peasant, ' to expect such a service from a 
Saxon ; and besides, the way is long, and the country peo- 
ple are all in arms.' The Danish chief drew off a gold ring 
from his finger, and gave it to the shepherd as an induce- 
ment to be his guide. The young Saxon looked at it for an 
instant with great earnestness, and returned it, saying, 'I 
will take nothing from thee, but I will try to conduct thee.' 
Leading him to his father's cottage, he concealed him there 
during the day ; when night came on, they made prepara- 
tions to depart together. As they were going, the old peas- 
ant said to Ulf, ' This is my only son, Godwin, who risks his 
life for thee. He cannot return among his countrymen 
again ; take him, therefore, and present him to thy King, 
Canute, that he may enter into his service.' The Dane 
promised, and kept his word. The young Saxon peasant 
was well received hi the Danish camp, and rising from step 
to step by the force of his talents, he afterward became 
known over all England as the great Earl Godwin" 

G-OFR (Welsh.) Gof, a smith. 

GOLBURK (Cor. Br.) Local. The holy well 

GOLDSMITH. A name of trade; formerly in England, a 
banker. 

GOLLY or GOLLAH. Local. (Cor. Br.) The bottom, or 
low place. 

GOOD ALL. Good-hall, a fine hall or mansion ; or good-ale. 

GOODENOUGH. The same as Godenot or Godeno 1 (which 
see). 

GOODHUE. Compounded of good and Hugh. Good-Hugh. 

GOODRICH. (Saxon.) Goderick, from God, God or good, 
and rw, rich ; rich in God, or in goodness. 

GOODYEAR, GOODSIR, GOODSIRE. It is not difficult to 

derive these. 
GOOKIN. (Gaelic.) From Gugan, a bud, flower, a daisy. 



144 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

GORDON. Gwrtduine, Gaelic, a fierce man ; Gwrddyn, 
Welsh, a strong man ; Cawrdyn, Welsh, a hero, a giant 

Some have derived the Gordons from Gordinia, in Thessaly ; 
Others say they are descendants of the Gorduni mentioned 
by Caesar in his Commentaries. The name appears to be 
local, and may be derived from a town in France of that 
name, in the Department of Lot. It signifies in Gaelic the 
round hill, or the hill that surrounds, from Gour, round, 
and dun, a hill or fort. 

GORING. Local A battle field, a bloody place, from gore, 
bloody, and ing. A place in Sussex, England ; an angle, a 
corner. 

GORMAN. A native of Germany, the same as Germain (which 
see). 

GORTEN. Local (Gaelic.) From Qairtean, a garden, a 
small piece of arable land enclosed, dorian, signifies a hun- 
gry, stingy, penurious fellow. 

GOSPATRICK. Corrupted from the Latin " Comes Patrir 
cius" " Count Patrick," a title given to the Earl of March, 
of Scotland. 

GOSS. (Saxon.) A goose, from Gos, a goose. 

GOUDY. Local. From Gouda, a town in the Netherlands, 
in South Holland. 

GOUPIL. (Fr.) An obsolete French word for fox. 

GOWorGOWAN. (Gaelic.) A smith. The Gowan or 
smith of a Highland clan was held in high estimation. His 
skill in the manufacture of military weapons was usually 
united with great dexterity in using them, and with the 
strength of body which his profession required. 

The Gowan usually ranked as third officer in the chiefs house- 
hold. 

GOWER. Local (Welsh.) Gwyr, a place in Glamorgan- 
shire, a place inclosed round, encircled. This peninsula is 
mostly surrounded by the sea and rivers. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 145 

GRACE. Originally Le Gros [" the fat or large"], a name given 
to Raymond, one of the adherents of Strongbow, who was 
the ancestor of the family in Ireland. 

GRAHAM, GRAEME, GRIMES, From the Anglo Saxon 
Grim, Dutch, Grim, Germ., Grimm, Welsh, grem, Gaelic, 
gruaim, surly, sullen, dark, having a fierce and stern look, 
courageous. 

GRANGER. (Saxon.) One who superintended a large farm 
or Grange. 

GRANT. On this name Playfair remarks that it may be de- 
rived from the Saxon, Irish, or French. 

" In the Saxon, Grant signifies crooked or bowed. Thus Cam- 
bridge, the town and University in England so called, signi- 
fies 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 Brit- 
ish, and Grant in the Saxon, being of the same signification, 
crooked. 

1 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 al- 
ways retained the other name, Chiaran, and are called Clan 
Chiaran. In the French Grand signifies great, brave, val- 
orous, 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 
7 



146 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

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." 

GRANVILLE. Local. (Fr.) A town in France on the Eng- 
lish channel, Grande-viUe the great town or city. De 
GrandviXle. 

Q-RASSE. Local. From Grasse, a town in Piedmont, France. 
De Grasse. 

GRAY. Local. A town in Burgundy, France, on the banks 
of the Saone. Rollo, Chamberlain to Robert, Duke of Nor- 
mandy, received from him the castle and honor of Croy, in 
Picardy, whence his family assumed the name of De Croy, 
afterward changed into De Gray. 

GREELY. Local. Probably the same as GreUey or De Orel- 
ley, from GreiUy, in France. Leland, in his Roll of Battel 
Abbey, includes this name with those who came into Eng- 
land with William the Conqueror. Grele, French, slender, 
slim, delioate. 

GREENOUGH and GREENO'. Local. The green hill 

GREER. A corruption of Gregor. Gilbert McGregor, second 
son of Malcom, Laird of McGregor, who settled at tithes- 
dale, Dumfries Co., Scotland, in 1374, left issue, who as- 
sumed the short appellation of Greer. Welsh, Grewr, a 
herdsman. 

GREGOR. (Gaelic.) From Greigh a herd (Latin Grex), and 
fear a man, a herdsman. In the Cornish British Gryger or 
Gruffer signifies a partridge. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 147 

GREGORY. From the Greek Tpfyopos, watchftL. It may 
be derived from Greg or, as some of the Clan M'Gregor 
changed their name to Gregory, when the clan was pro- 
scribed and outlawed. 

GREIG. (Welsh.) From Cryg, hoarse. 

GREY. See Gray. 

GREW. (Br. and Welsh.) A crane. 

GRIER. A contraction of Gregor, the same as Greer (which 
see). 

GRIERSOK The son of Greer or Gregor; the same as 
McGregor. 

GRIFFIN". A name given to a noted man, whose qualities or 
disposition, in some respects, resembled this fabulous crea- 
ture. Griffwn, in Welsh, is applied to a man having a 
crooked nose, like a hawk's bill. Gryffyn, in the Cornish 
British, signifies " to give" It may be the same as Griffith. 

GRIFFITH. (Welsh and Cor. Br.) One who has strong 
faith, from Cryf, Welsh, strong, and /yd, faith. 

GRIMSBY. Local A borough in Lincolnshire, England, on 
the Humber, so named from the appearance of the place or 
the character of the people. Grim, Saxon, fierce, rough, 
ugly, and by, a town or the village or town of Grimm, the 
owner or founder. 

GRINELL. (Fr.) Local. From GreneUe, a town in France. 

GRISSELL. Grisyl, in the Cor. Br., signifies sharp, keen; 
Griis or Grys, in the Dutch, is gray; grissel, gray-haired. 
Grizzle is the old familiar abbreviation of the name Griselda. 

GROESBECK. (Dutch.) Local. Derived from the town of 
Groesbeck in Holland, so called from Groot, great, and beck, 
a brook. 

GROOT or GROAT. (Dutch.) Local. Large, great, the 
great man. Groot is also a name of a town in Holland, 
whence the surname may be derived the great town, 
De Groot. 



148 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

Q-ROSCTJP. (G-er.) From gross, big, and Jcopf, head big- 
head. 

GROSVENOR. A great hunter or the grand huntsman, from 
the French Gros veneur. The ancestor of the family as- 
sumed the name from holding the office of grand huntsman 
to the Dukes of Normandy. 

GROVER. Gfroover, Graver, one who carves or engraves. 

G-UELPH. A wolf; the surname of the present Royal Family 
of England. We have the following amusing tradition of 
the origin of the royal house of Guelph : 

" It is told in the chronicles that as far back as the days of 
Charlemagne, one Count Isenbrand, who resided near the 
Lake of Constance, met an old woman who had given birth 
to three children at once, a circumstance which appeared to 
him so portentous and unnatural that he assailed her with a 
torrent of abuse. Stung to fury by his insults, she cursed 
the Count, and wished that his wife, then enciente, might 
bring at a birth as many children as there are months in 
the year. The imprecation was fulfilled, and the countess 
became the mother of a dozen babes at once. Dreading the 
vengeance of her severe lord, she bade her maid go drown 
eleven of the twelve. But whom should the girl meet while 
on this horrible errand but the Count himself, who, suspect- 
ing that all was not right, demanded to know the contents 
of the basket. * WelfenJ was the intrepid reply (i e., the 
old G-erman term for puppies or young wolves). Dissatis- 
fied with this explanation, the Count lifted up the cloth, and 
found under it eleven bonny infants nestled together. Their 
unblemished forms reconciled the scrupulous knight, and he 
resolved to recognize them as his lawful progeny. Thence- 
forward, the-ir children and their descendants went by the 
name of Qudph or Welf" 

G-TJEY. Welsh, Gpwiw, good, excellent 

GUIAR. (Spanish.) A guide. 

GUIOT. The son of Guy; a guide. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 149 

Gt/ISCHARD or GTJISCAKD. (Nor.) A wily or crafty man, 
a shifter. 

GTJNTER. Supposed to be the same as Ingulphus, from In 
and golpe, Belgic, to swallow down, to devour. The 
name may be local, and given to a native of Gaunt or 
Ghent 

GUNN or GOON. (Br.) Local. From Gun, a plain, a down 
or common ; Welsh, gwaen. 

" A person whose name was Gunn complained to a friend that 
his attorney, in his bill, had not let him off easily. l That's 
no wonder,' said his friend, ' as he charged you too high /' 
But this is not so good as an entry in the custom-house 
books of Edinburgh, where it appears that ' J.,' meaning 
Alexander 1 A. Gunn was discharged for making a false 
report /' " LOWER. 

Lower also tells us of a German named Feuerstein (fire-stone 
the German for flint) who settled in the West when the 
French population prevailed in that quarter. His name, 
therefore, was changed into French Pierre d Fusil, but in 
the course of time, the Anglo-American race became the 
prevalent one, and Pierre a Fusil was again changed into 
Peter Gun. 

GUNNING. Belonging to Gunn, the son of Gunn. 

GUNSALUS. Gfoncalez, the son of Goncale, the supposed 
founder of Castile. Chnzales, Spanish ; Chnsalves (Port) ? 
consolation, in safety, in salvation. 

GTJRDIN. (Welsh.) A strong man, from gwrdd, strong, and 
dyn, a man ; also, gwyrdd-din, the green hill or inclosure. 

GTJRNEY. Local. From the town of Gournay, in Nor- 
mandy. 

GTJRR. Gur, in Welsh, signifies a man or husband. 

GUTHRIE. Warlike, powerful in war, from guth, Saxon, war. 
Guthmor, Gaelic, loud-voiced. Guthrie, a town in Scotland. 
Ghrtrie, Gotric, Gotricus, rich in goodness, rich in God. 



150 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

GTJY. A term given in Gaul to the mistletoe, or cure-all; also 
a guide, a leader or director, from Gkiia, Sp. and Port. 

GWYNNE, GUINEE, and WINKE. (Welsh.) From Gwyn, 

white. 
GY. Local A town of France. Gye, to guide. 

HACKER. (Dutch.) A chopper, a cleaver, hewer; figura- 
tively, a brave soldier. Danish, HakJcer, to cut in pieces, to 
chop, to hoe. Hekker, a hedge, from heJcke, a hedge, a pro- 
tection, place of security. 

HADLEY. Local. A town of Suffolk, and also of Essex, 
England, from houdt, a wood, and ley, a place or field. 

HAFF. (G-er.) A sea, bay, or gulf; in Cor. Br., jBo/j summer. 
Hof, G-er., a court ; Ho/, Welsh, dear, beloved. 

HAGADORK (Dutch.) Local Hawthorn. 

HAGAR. Eagar, Hebrew, a stranger ; one fearing. Sygar, 
in the Welsh, is amiable, pleasing. Hegar, Cor. Br., lovely; 
also, a bondman, a slave. 'Aigher, Gaelic, gladness, joy, 
mirth. 

HAOTEATJ. Local From Haineau, a city of Hesse Cassel, 
Germany. 

HADsTES or HAYNES. Camden derives the name from Am- 
ulph, 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. 
HOMI, German, a wood, forest, thicket, grove. 

HATNSWORTH and HAYNSWORTH. (Anglo-Saxon.) 
Local The farm or place in the forest or grove, from haine, 
German and Saxon, a wood, and worth, a place inclosed, 
cultivated. British and Welsh, the estate on the river. 

HAT/DEN". Local A contraction of ffaledon, a place in 
Northumberland, England, from the Saxon hatig, holy, and 
dun, a hill ; a place where Oswald got the victory of Cad- 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 151 

wallader, the Briton, and from this circumstance was called 
the Holy Hill, and also the Heavenly Field. 

HALE, HAYLE, or 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. 

HALIFAX. (Sax.) Local From the city of Halifax, in York- 
shire, England, so called from Halig, holy, and faex, hair 
holy hair ; from the sacred hair of a certain virgin whom a 
clerk beheaded because she would not comply with his de- 
sires. She was afterward canonized. From this circum- 
stance, the village was also called Norton, from HaeTj Sax., 
hah-, and ton, a town. 

HALKETT. The name of Halkett, in the writs of the family, 
is promiscuously written " de Hawkhead" and " de Halkett" 
It is territorial or local, and was assumed by the proprietor 
of the lands and barony of Hawkshead, in Renfrewshire, as 
soon as surnames became hereditary in Scotland. 

HALLAM. From Hall, Welsh, salt, and ham, a house or vil- 
lage, from its manufacture in that place, or being situated 
near the salt water. It may be derived from Hal or Hayle, 
a moor, and ham, the house on the moor. Halham, the 
house on the hill, from Hal, Cornish British, a hill 

HALLER. (G-er.) From Holler, a man belonging to a salt- 
work. 

HALLETT. Little Hal, or Henry, the diminutive termination 
ett being added, as Willett, Ellett. 

HALLIDAY. " Holy-day." It is said this name had its ori- 
gin in the Slogan, or war-cry of a Gaelic clan residing in 
Annandale, who made frequent raids on the English border. 
On these occasions they employed the war-cry of " A holy- 



152 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

day," every day, in their estimation, being holy, that was 
spent in ravaging the enemy's country. 

HALLO WELL. Holy well 

HALPEN. (Welsh.) The head of the moor or salt river. 
Gaelic, Alpin, the highest land, peak of a mountain, from 
Alp and ben. 

HALSE. Local (Dutch.) Hals, the neck, a narrow tract of 
land, projecting from the main body. 

HALSEY. Local. From Hals, and ey or ig, Saxon, an island, 
water, the sea ; the neck on the water, or running into the 
sea. The island neck. 

HALSTEAD. Local. A town in Essex, England, from Nals, 
as given above, and sted, a place. Hoisted, a town in North 
Jutland, that is, the low place; Hoi, Dutch, hollow, and stead, 
a place : a house or town in a hollow place. 

HAM. Local. A house, borough, or village, the termination 
of many names of places in England ; German, hem,, a home-; 
France. 

HAMILTON. Originally Hambleton, from the manor of Ham- 
bleton, in Buckinghamshire. William, third son of Kobert, 
third Earl of Leicester, took that surname from the place of 
his birth, as above. He was the founder of the family of 
that name in Scotland, whither he went about the year 
1215. The name is derived from HameU, a mansion, the 
seat of a freeholder, and dun, an enclosure, a fortified place, 
a town. 

HAMLIN. Local. A corruption of Hammelme, which was 
taken from Hamekn, 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. Sarnie, a river in Brunswick, Germany. 

HAMMOND. Ham-mowit, the town or house on the eleva- 
tion. It may come from Hamon. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 153 

HAMON. (Heb.) Faithful 

HAMPTON. Local. The town on the hill; a village in Mid- 
dlesex, England. 

HANNA. Local. From Sdnan, a strong city in Hesse Cassel, 
Germany. Hana, Saxon, a cock ; figuratively, a leader, a 
chief man. 

HANDEL. (Danish.) Trade, commerce; to trade, traffic; 
handel, Dutch, traffic, commerce, mechanic art, profession, 
business, or employment. 

HANDSEL. (Danish.) To deliver into the hand. An earnest 
money for the first sale. A New Tear's gift. 

HANFORD. Local (Welsh.) From hen, old, and ford, a 
way ; " the old way." 

HANHAM. (Welsh.) Hen, old, and Saxon, ham, a town; 
that is, the old town. 

HANKS. A nurse -name, or an abbreviation of John, the "s" 
being added for "son;" so "Sims," and " Gibbs," etc. 

HANLEY. Local. From the town of Hanley, in Shropshire. 
The old place or field, from Hen or Han, old, and ley, a 
place, a common. 

HANSEL. Local. (Saxon.) A free market or hall, from haunse 
or hanse, a society, hansa, Gothic, a multitude, and sel, a hall. 

HANSON. The son of Hans or John, same as Johnson. 
Bailey derives it from Han, the diminutive of Randall, the 
son of Randall. 

HANWAY. A native of Hainault, which country was called 

Hanway, in the time of Henry VIII. 
HARCOURT. Local. From the lordship of Harcourt, iQ 

Normandy. Har, from Saxon Here, an army, and court, jl 
HARDING. Local. Har, from here, an army, ard ing, $ 

meadow or common. The place where an army was 

encamped. 



154 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

HARDY. (Fr.) Bold, free, noble. 

HARGILL. Local Hartgill, a small river in Engla: tf. " The 
deer-brook." 

HARGRAYE. Saxon. The provider or commissary of an 
army, from Here or Har, an army, and grave, a steward or 
disposer. 

HARLEY, HARLEIGH, and HARLOW. Local. From a 
town in Essex, England; the place of the army. From 
Sere, Saxon, an army, and ley, a place, a field. 

HARM AN, says Yerstegan, " should rightly be Heartman, to 
wit, a man of heart and courage." Probably the same as 
Herman, from Here, an army, and man, a soldier. 

HAROLD. In old Anglo Saxon, signifies " The love of the 
army." From Har, an army, and hold, love. 

HARRINGTON. Local From the parish of Harrington, in 
Cumberland, corrupted from Haverington, so called from 
Haver, Dutch, Haber, Teut., oats, ing, a field, and ton. The 
town in or surrounded by oat fields. 

HARRIS, HARRISON, and HERRIES. The son of Henry. 

HARROWER. The subduer; from the French harrier, to 
harrass ; and this, perhaps, from the Anglo Saxon, hergian, 
to conquer or subdue ; one who harrows the ground. 

HARTFIELD. Local The deer field. 
HARTGILL. Same as HargUl (which see). 

HARTSHORN. The horn of the hart or male deer ; an em- 
blem or sign over a shop or inn, whence the name, " WIU at 
the Hartshorn:' 

HARTWELL. Local From a village in Buckingham, Eng- 
land, noted for being some years the residence of Louia 
XYIII. The well or spring frequented by deer. 

HARYEY. (Sax.) From here, an army, and wic, a fort. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 155 

HASBROTJCK. Local. Derived from the town of Hazebrouek, 
in the province of Artois, France. 

HASCALL or HASKELL. (Welsh.). From hasg, a place of 
rushes, or sedgy place, and hall or hayk, a moor. " The 
sedgy place." Asgall, in the Gaelic, signifies a sheltered 
place, a retreat, and with the addition of the aspirate " H," 
might make the name. 

HASWELL. (Dutch or G-erm.) Hasveldt, from Hose, 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. 

HASTINGS. Local. Derived from the borough of Hastings, 
in Sussex, England, which is memorable for the landing of 
William the Conqueror, and defeat and death of Harold II., 
in 1066. 

Camden derives this name from one Hastings, a Dane, a great 
robber, who either seized, or built, or fortified it. Somnerus 
derives it from the Saxon haeste, heat, because of the bub- 
bling or boiling of the sea in that place ; but as haste applies 
rather to voluntary beings, as men and other animals, the 
name more correctly signifies one who hurries, presses, 
drive's ; vehemency, quickness of motion. 

HATCH. Local. A kind of door or floodgate. These ancient 
stops or hatches consisted of sundry great stakes and piles 
erected by fishermen in the river Thames or other streams, 
for then: better convenience of securing fish. Also, a term 
for gates leading to deer-parks or forests. 

HATHAWAY. Local Derived from Port Haetbnry, in 
Wales. 

HATFIELD. Local From a town in Hertfordshire also in 
Essex and Yorkshire, England. Bailey says it is from Hat, 
hot, Sax., and field from the hot sandy soil. Houtfield, the 



156 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

field in the wood, from hout, Dutch, a wood. Perhaps the 
same as Heathfield. 

HATHORK Local. A dwelling near hawthorns. 

HATTOK Local. A town in Warwickshire, England. The 
town on the height ; haut, Fr., high. Haughton, the town 
in the meadow or vale. Houdt-ton, Dutch, the town in the 
wood. Shortly after the Conquest, Hugh Montfort's second 
son, Richard, being Lord of Hatton in Warwickshire, took 
the name of Hatton. 

HAUG-H. Local. A little meadow lying in a valley. 

HAVEMETER. (Danish and Dutch.) A garden-master. 

HA YENS. From Haven, a harbor. 

HAVERILL. Local. Derived from the town of Haverill, in 
Suffolk, England, so named from the Dutch Haver ; Teut., 
Saber, oats, and hill. 

HAW and HA WES. (Sax.) Haeg, a small inclosure near a 
house, a haugh, a close. The name of a town in England. 

HAWLEY. From Haw, a hedge, Saxon, Tiaeg, a small piece 
of ground near a house, a close, a place where hawthorns 
grow, and ley, a field or meadow. 

HAT. A hedge, an inclosure, to inclose, fence in, a protection, 
a place of safety. In Dutch, Haag ; Sax., Hege; G-er., 
Heck; Danish, Hekke; Swedish, Hagn; Fr., Haie ; Welsh, 
Cae; G-aelic, Ca; Cor. Br., Hay. 

' In the reign of Kenneth III. (says Douglass), about 980, the 
Danes having invaded Scotland, were encountered by that 
king, near Loncarty, in Perthshire. The Scots at first gave 
way, and fled through a narrow pass, where they were 
stopped by a countryman of great strength and courage, and 
his two sons, with no other weapons than the yokes of their 
plows. Upbraiding the fugitives for their cowardice, he 
succeeded in rallying them ; the battle was renewed, and 
the Danes totally discomfited. It is said, that after the 
victory was obtained, the old man, lying on the ground 



OF FAMILt NAMES. 157 

wounded and fatigued, cried l Hay, HayJ which word be- 
came the surname of his posterity. The king, as a reward 
for that signal service, gave him as much land in the Carse 
of Gowrie as a falcon should fly over before it settled ; and 
a falcon being accordingly let off, flew over an extent of 
ground six miles in length, afterward called Errol, and 
lighted on a stone still called Fakonstone or Ifawkstone" 

HAYCOCK. A name probably given to a foundling exposed 
in a hayfield. 

HAYDEN and HAYD YN. Local. Heyden, a town of Den- 
mark; a place built, made, inclosed, or cultivated, from 
daane, Danish, to form, to fashion, to make, cultivate. 

HAYFORD. Hay, an inclosure, and ford, a way the road or 
way inclosed, or the way through the inclosure or park 

HAYMAN. (Sax.) A high man, or may be the same as 
Hayward (which see). 

HAYNE or HAYNES. (See Haine.) 

HAYNER. (Ger.) From Hech or Hohe, high, and narr, a 
fool, a jester, a merry fellow, king's fool. Perhaps, like George 
Buchanan, who was so called, a wise and learned man. 

HAYNSWORTH. (See Hainsworth.) 

HAYWARD. Anciently in England the keeper of the com- 
mon herd or cattle of a town, from the Saxon hieg, hay, and 
ward, a keeper. 

HAZARD. (Br.) From ard, nature, and has, high of high 
disposition, proud, independent. 

HAZELRIGG. Local. The hazel-ridge. 

HAZELWOOD. Local. A wood where hazel-nuts grow. 

HAZEN or HASEK (Dan.) A hare. 

HEAD. Anciently written Hede or Hide, Probably from the 
place written Hede or Hide in Doomsday Book, now Hithe, 
in Kent, Englandj where the earliest traces of the Head 
family are found. From the Anglo-Saxon Hithe, a harbor, 
a shelter for boats. 



158 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

HEATON. (Saxon.) Local The high town or hill, from 
Hea, high, and ton. 

HEBER. (Heb.) Derived either from ffeber, one of the an- 
cestors of Abraham, or from the Hebrew word eber, which 
signifies " from the other side," that is, foreigners. 

HECKER. (Dan.) HeKker, a hedger, from hekke, a hedge, a 
protection. 

HEDD. (Welsh.) Peace ; haidd, barley. 

HEDGES. Local. A fence of thorn-bushes; a thicket of 
shrubs ; an inclosure of shrubs or small trees. 

HEDON. Local. From a town in England of the same name 
the high town. 

HELLIER or HILLIER. In the dialect of Dorsetshire, Eng- 
land, signifies a thatcher or tiler. 

HELLING. Local Heflan, in the Welsh, signifies the elms 
the place of elms. Helling, in the Dutch, means a slope or 
declivity. 

HELMER or ELMER. Contracted from Ethelmer, noble, re- 
nowned. Holmer, the low, shallow pond or lake, from JHol } 
Sax., low, and mer, a pond. Hdlemer, Cor. Br., the lake in 
the moor, or the salt water. 

HENDERSON. The son of Hendrik or Henry. 

HENLEY. Local. From a market-town in Oxfordshire, also 
a town in Warwickshire, England. From Hen, old, and ley, 
a field or common. 

HENRY. Verstegan derives this name from Mnrick, ever 
rich ; others from HerricJc, rich lord or master ; Camden, 
from the Latin Honoricus, honorable. Kilian writes it 
Heynrick Heymrick, i. e., rich at home. 

HERBERT. ' (Sax.) From Here, a soldier, and beorht, bright 
expert soldier, or the glory of an army ; famous hi 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 159 

HERIOT. A provider of furniture for an army. A fine paid 
to a lord at the death of a landlord. 

HERISSON. Local. From a town by that name in France. 

HERMAN". (Sax.) From Here, an army, and man. A man 
of the army; a soldier. Here and Hare signify both an 
army and lord. 

HERMANCE. (Germ.) A ruler. Heermensch, Dutch, a 
master, from Heer, a master, lord, or ruler, and mensch, a 
man. 

HERNDON. Local. From Herne, a cottage, and den, a val- 
ley. The cottage in the valley. 

HERNE. May come from the Saxon Hern, a cottage. 

HERNSHAW. Local. Frtmi hern, a kind of fowl, a hern, and 
shaw, a shady inclosure, a place where herns breed. 

HERON. (Welsh.) A hero. 

HERR. (German.) Sire, lord, master. 

HERRIOK. The same as Erick or Erricks (which see). 

HERRING-. Hirring, a town in the Diocese of Alburg, Den- 
mark. 

HERSEY. Local. From Herseaux, in the Netherlands. 

HEYDEN. Local. From a town in Westphalia, also a town 
of the same name in South Jutland, Denmark. 

HEYMAN or HAYMAN. (Sax.) A high man. 

HEWER, HUER, and ETJER. A person stationed en the 
sea-shore, to watch and notify the fishermen of the shoals 
of fish ; from the Saxon, JZarian, to show. 

HEWIT. The son of Hugh. 

HGBBARD. Same as Hubbard and Hubert (which see). 

HICCOCK. The son of Hig or Hugh ; cock signifying little, 



160 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

little Hig. It may be a corruption of Haycock (which 
see). 

HICKS. Hig(s) or Hick(s). The son of Hugh. Hig or Hick 
being a common nick-name for Hugh. Sick, in the Dutch, 
signifies a simpleton. 

HICKEY. The Huicci, Gwychi, a word signifying valiant 
men, anciently possessed Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and 
a part of Gloucestershire, England. 

HIERNE. (Dan.) Local. An angle, a corner. 

HIGGINBOTTOM. A corruption of the German name, Ich- 
eribaum, that is, oak-tree. 

BIGGINS. Little Hig or Hugh; the son of 'Hugh; from Hig, 
and the patronymic termination ings ; belonging to, or the 
son of. 

HLLDYAKD and HILYARD. Anciently Hildheard. Httd, hi 
Saxon, is a hero or heroine, as Hildebert, illustrious hero, 
and heard, in the same language, a pastor or keeper. 

HINCKLEY. Local. From Hinckley, a town in Leicester- 
shire, England. 

HINDMAN and HIKMAN. A domestic, a servant; one who 
has the care of herds. 

HINDON or HINTOK Local. A borough in Wiltshire, 
England. Welsh, Henton, the old town, from Hen, old. 

HIPPISLEY. Local. From the Saxon Hiope, a hip-berry, 
or wood-rose, and ley, a field. 

HIPWOOD. Local. The wood where sweet-briars or roses 
grow. 

HITCHENS. Local A town in Hertfordshire, England. 

HOAG. (Welsh.) Low in stature, small 

HO ARE. White, hoar, gray. 

HOBART. The same as Hubert (which see). 



OF FAMILY NAMES. ' 161 

HOBBS. From Hob, the nick-name for Robert. 

HOBBY. (Dan.) Local. From hob, a herd, and by, a town ; 
the town of herds or flocks. 

HOBKIN'S. From Hob, Robert, and the patronymic termina- 
tion Jcins; the same as Robertson or Hobson. 

HOBSOK The son of Hob, or Robert. 

HODD. From the Dutch Houdt, a wood j the same as Hood. 

HODGE. The same as Roger, which signifies quiet or strong 

counsel. 
HODGES. From Hodge, a nick-name of Roger, the " s" being 

added for son. 

HODGEKTNS. From Hodge, as above, and the patronymic 
termination Tans; changed now to Hotchkiss. 

HODSON. The son of Hod or Hodge. 

HOE. (Welsh.) A state of rest, a stay; ease, quiet Hoh, 
Saxon, the heel. Local, Haut, Fr., high, the top, summit, 
noisy, proud, haughty. 

HOFF. (Danish and Dutch.) A court, residence, palace. 
HOFFMAN". (Dutch.) From Eoofdman, a captain, a director, 

head or chief man. Hofman, from Hof, a court the man 

of the court. 
HOGAN". In the Cornish, mortal, in the Gaelic, a young man, 

from " Og" young. Hogyn, Welsh, a stripling. 
HOGARTH. (Dutch.) From hoogh, high, and a&rd, nature 

or disDOsition. 

HOGG. Same as Hoag (which see). 
HOGGEL. From the Norman, Hugel, a hill. 
HOLBECH. Local. A place in the county of Lincoln, Eng- 
land; the low brook, or the brook in the ravine or hollow. 

Holzbeck, the brook in the wood. 
HOLCOMBE, or HOLTCOMBE. Local (Saxon.) A woody 

vale, from Holt or Hultz, a wood, and combe, a valley. 



162 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

HOLDEN. (Danish.) Safe, entire, wealthy; a safe place 
held, protected, defended 

HOLLAND. Local A name given to a native of that coun- 
try, which was so called from Hollow-land, because it 
abounds with ditches full of water. Bailey is of opinion that 
the Danes who conquered Holland, so called it from an 
island in the Baltic of the same name, from ol, beer, drink. 
Why not from Hold land, the land taken and kept, held, 
governed ? 

HOLLENBECK. From Hollenbach a town on the Rhine, 
Germany. 

HOLM AN A corruption of Alkmand, a German, that is, a 
mixture of all men, AUe-mann. 

HOLME and HOLMES. Local. Meadow lands near or sur- 
rounded by water, grassy plains ; sometimes an island. 

HOLSAPPLE. Local. From Eolz, German, a wood, an 
apple, or apfel, an orchard ; apple-trees in or near a wood. 

HOLT. Local A small hanging wood, from ffutiz, Dutch, 
a wood; a peaked hill covered with wood; a grove of 
trees around a house. 

HOLYWELL. Local. A place of importance in Flintshire, 
Wales. Geraldus Cambrensis says that there was for- 
merly near this place a rich mine of silver. Wenefride's 
Well, from which the name of Holy Well was given to this 
place, springs from a rock at the foot of a steep hill. The 
well is an oblong square about twelve feet by seven. 

HOME and HUME. Same as Holmes (which see), 
HOMER. Greek, "0/j.ijpoe, a hostage, a pledge or security. 
HONE. Welsh. Hoen, joy. Honan, the son of Hone. 
HOMFRAY. From the French Homme-vrai, a true man. 
HOOD. (Sax.) Local From houdt, the wood. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 163 

HOOGABOOM. (Dutch.) High-tree, from Hoog, high, and 
boom, tree, either local or expressive of stature. 

HOOPER. A cooper. 

HOOGSTRATEN. (Dutch.) Local. High-street 

HOPE. Local The side of a hill, or low ground between 

hills. 

HOPKINS. Little Robert, or the child of Robert The same 
as Hobkins (which see). 

HOPPER. (Sax.) Hoppere, a dancer. 

HORE. Hoar, white, gray. Horr, Local a ravine. 

HORNBLOWER A musician, one that blows a horn. 

HORTON. Local. A town in Yorkshire England the hor- 
rible town, or the town in the ravine, from Horr, a ravine. 

HOSFORD. Local From Ouseford, hi England, the "o" 
being aspirated that is, the ford or way of the river Ouse. 

HOSKINS or HASKINS. (Cor. Br.) From Heschen or Hos- 
Jcyn, the place of rushes, the sedgy place. 

HOTCHKISS. The same as Hodgkins (which see). 

HOTHAM. Assumed from the place of residence, Hotham in 
Yorkshire, probably derived from the Saxon word Hod, a hood 
or covering, and ham, a house, farm, or village, or a piece 
of ground near a house or village, both of which terms are 
applicable to the situation of Hotham. Houtham signifies a 
place at or near a wood, from the Dutch Hout, a wood. 

HOUGH. Local. A place so named in the county of Lincoln, 
England. Saxon and Dutch, Hoch, Hoog, and How, high. 

HOUGHTAILING. (Dutch.) From Hoofd, head or chief, 
and telling, counting or telling, that is, head clerk or account- 
ant; a money-master, a money-collector. Hough, hau/ } 
haife, a pile, a lump; dell, to pay, give over. Sax., daelan; 
Dutch, deelen ; Ger., theikn, to separate, give, pay over. 



164 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

HOU&HTON. Local. A town in Lancashire, England. 
Sax., from hoog, or hoch, high, and ton, a hill, castle, or 
town. 

HOUSE. A covering, a dwelling place, a mansion. 

HOUSTON. Local Prom the parish of Houston, in Renfrew- 
shire, Scotland. There is an old tradition, that in the reign 
of Malcolm IV., A.D. 1153, Hugh Padvinan obtained a grant 
of the barony of Kilpeter, from Baldwin of Biggar, sheriff 
of Lanark, and hence called Hughstown, corrupted into 
Houstoun. These Houstons were of great consideration in 
Renfrewshire. 

HOWAED. William, son of Roger Fitz Valevine, took the 
name of Howard from being born in the Castle of Howard, 
in Wales, in the time of Henry I. Spelman derives How- 
ard from Hof-ward, the keeper of a hall ; Yestegan, from 
Hold-ward, the keeper of a stronghold; Camden, from 
Ebch~ward } the high keeper. 

HOWE or HOO. A high place, a hill; critically, a hill in a 
valley. JDe La Howe, " from the hill," was originally the 
name of the family. They came to England with William 
the Conqueror. (See AthilL) 

HO WELL. (Cor. Br.) From Houl, the sun; Greek, "HAof, 

Euhttl, high, exalted. 

HOWLETT. A night-bird, an owl 

HUBAND. Anciently Hubaude, from Hugh, and laude, bold 
60 Id Hugh. 

HUBBARD. (Anglo-Saxon.) A corruption of Hubert, i. e., 
bright form, fair hope. 

HUBBELL. Local. From Hubba, a Danish chief, and hiU 
Hubba's-hill or Hubhill. Hub means a heap or a lump, and 
may indicate a small round hill on the summit of another. 

HUBERT. Bright form, fair hope ; Saxon, hiewe, color, form, 
beauty, and beort, bright. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 165 

HUCKSTER A corruption of De Hoghstepe" from the high 
steep." 

HUDDLESTON. Local From a small parish by that name 
in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 

HUDSON. The son of Hod or Roger. 
HUGET. Little Hugh, the son of Hugh. 

HUGGINS. The same as Higgins, from Hug, the nickname 
for Hugh, and the patronymic termination ings, belonging 
to, or the son of. 

HUGHES. The son of Hugh. Aventinus derives Hugh from 
Hougen, that is, slasher or cutter. Alfred, in the year 900, 
used Hugh to denote comfort. Hugh hi the Gaelic, is 
Aoidhj which signifies affability, a guest, a stranger. Hu 
suggests the idea of elevation ; Ho, Hu, highness. 

HULET or HOWLET. A small owl. Heulaidd, Welsh, sun- 
like; heuledd, sunshine. 

HlAiL. Local. From the city of Hull, in Yorkshire, England, 
which comes from the Teutonic or Saxon Hulen or Heulen, 
to howl, from the noise the river Hull makes when it meets 
there with the sea. HuU is an old word for a hill ; HuU, 
Welsh, a rough, uneven place. 

The city of Hull was anciently famous for its good government, 
whence arose this old saying, called the Beggars' and Va- 
grants' Litany : 

"From Hell, Hull, and Halifax, 
Good Lord deliver usl" 

From Hull, because of the severe chastisement they met 
with there, and from Halifax, for a law there instantly be- 
heading with an engine, without any legal proceedings, 
those who were taken in the act of stealing cloth either 
being probably more terrible than Hell itself. 

HULSE. From the town and manor of Hulse, in Great Bud- 
worth, Cheshire, England. Holtz, Ger., a wood. 



166 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

HUMPHREY. (Anglo-Saxon.) From Hum/red, that is, 
house-peace a lovely and happy name. 

HUNQERFORD. Local A market-town in Berkshire, Eng- 
land, on the Kennet. Hunger's pass or way, so called from 
Hunger, a celebrated Danish leader who invaded England. 

HUNK A native of Hungary, or from the German Hune, a 
giant ; a Scythian. 

HUNT or HONT. It occurs in Chaucer for huntsman. 

HUNTING-TON. (Sax.) Hunter' s-don, the mount of hunters ; 
the name of a shire and town in England. 

HUNTLEY. Local. A town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland ; the 
hunting field. 

HURD. (Welsh.) From Hurdh, a ram. 

HURST. (Saxon.) Local. A wood, a grove; fruit-bearing 

trees. 

HUSTED. Local. Hus, Sax., a house, and sted, a fixed pfcice. 
HUTCHINS. The child of Hugh. (See Hitchins.) 
HUTCHINSON. The son of Hitchins or Hutchins. 
HUTTON. Local. A town in England'; the high town. 

Camden defines the name to signify a mutineer. Hutain, in 

French, is haughty, proud. 
HYDE. Local A farm ; as much land as can be cultivated 

with one plow; a town of Cheshire, England. Hyd, or 

ffithe, a landing place, a haven, harbor. 

IDE. The same as Hide or Hyde (which see), the "H" being 
.dropped in the pronunciation. Iden, a small town in Eng- 
land. 

ILSLEY. Local IsWs-ley, the place on the island. 

INCLEDON. Local. Ingleton, the beacon hill, the fire-hill, 
or hill of alarm, so named from an ancient custom of kind- 
ling a fire on an eminence, as a signal of invasion or danger. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 167 

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. 

INGLEBY or INGOLDSBY. Local Inglesty, the town of 
the English, or Angles ; perhaps the town was first named 
at the time the Angles first invaded Britain. Ing-gil-ly, 
Saxon, the town near the brook in the narrow valley. A 
town in Lincolnshire, England. 

INGLIS or INGLES. The name was given in Scotland, to 
distinguish the family of some English settler. The Eng- 
lishman. In the ancient records of the family the name 
Anglicus is often mentioned. 

INGHAM. Local. The town on the low ground, meadow or 
pasture. 

INGRAHAM or INGEAM. (Ger.) Camden derives this 
name from Engelramus, from Engel, Saxon, angel, and rein, 
purity. Pure as an angel. 

INNIS or INNES. The same as Ennis (which see). This 
family is of great antiquity in Scotland, and derives its sur- 
name from the lands of Innis, a word supposed to be de- 
rived from the Gaelic Inch, an island, part of that barony 
being an island, formed by the two branches of a stream 
running through the estate. 

IPEES. Local. A town in the Netherlands, and has its name 
from the small river Yperlee on which it stands. 

IEELAND. A name given to a native of that island. Ireland 
signifies West-land, from the Gaelic lar, the West, and the 
Teutonic land, Welsh, Llan, a clear place, a lawn. 

IEETON. Local. From Ireton, a manor in County Derby, 
England. In Gaelic, the west town or hill. 

IEISH. A native of Ireland, the country from which the 
nominal founder of the family came. 



168 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

IRON. A name taken from the mineral kingdom. 

IRVING- or IRVINE. Local From a river and town of the 
same name in Ayrshire, Scotland. 

ISAAC. (Heb.) Laughter. 

ISHAM. LocaL Isis-ham, that is, the town on the river 
Isis, in Northamptonshire, England. 

ISLIP. Local. A village near Oxford, England ; the name sig- 
nifies a place on the edge or brink of the water ; an island. 

ISRAEL. (Heb.) Prevailing in the Lord ; a name given to 
the Patriarch Jacob. 

IVES. Local. From a town named St. Ives, in the county of 
Huntingdon, England. O'Connor derives Ive from Iber, the 
place of Er, the land of heroes, now pronounced Ive or Hy. 
Gaelic, Ives. 

IVER. (Gaelic and Welsh.) A chief or leader, /ver, Danish, 
zeal, fervor ; ivre, to speak or act with zeal Gaelic, Ian 
Vhor, a hero ; Welsh, eon, brave, and mawr, great 

JACK. The same as John. 

JACKSON. The son of Jack, or John. 

JACOB: (Heb.) He that supplants. 

JACOBSON. The son of Jacob. 

JAMES. (Heb.) The same as Jacob, he that supplants. 

JAMESON or JAMIESON. The son of James. 

JANES. The son of Jane. 

JANEWAY. A Genoese. 

JASON. (Greek.) Healing. 

JEFFERS or JEFFREY. Corrupted from Geoffrey or God- 
frey, German, from God and fried, God's peace, or from 
Gau and fried, joyful peace. This name was borne by the 
chief of the royal house of Plantagenet. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 169 

JEMSE. Local. A town in Sweden. 

JENKINS. From Jenks or John, and the patronymic termi- 
nation ings, belonging to, or son of John. 

JENKINSON. The son of Jenkins. 

JENKS. The same as Johns; the son of John. 

JENNER. ^An old form for Joiner. 

JENNINGS. The same as Jenkins. 

JEROME. The same as Jeremiah. ' 

JESSUP. Giuseppe, Italian, the same as Joseph. 

JETTER. (Fr.) Jeter, to overthrow; Jouieur, a tilter, fencer, 
a swordsman. 

JEW. A contraction of Judah, Hebrew. 

JEWELL. Joy, mirth, precious ; a jewel, a precious stone ; a 
name expressive of fondness. 

JEWETT. The little Jew, the son of a Jew; Jouet, French, 
toy, sport 

JOB. (Heb.) Sorrowful; patient 

JOBSON. The son of Job. 

JOHN. (Heb.) Gracious ; God's grace. 

JOHNSON. The son of John. 

JOLLIE. ((Fr. and Sax.) Full of life and mirth. 

JONADAB. (Heb.) Liberal, one who acts a prince. 

JONAH and JONAS. (Heb.) A dove. 

JONATHAN, (Heb.) The gift of the Lord. 

JONES. (Heb.) The same as John or Johns, and signifies 
gracious. 

JORDAN or JORDEN. (Heb.) The river of judgment. Jaur- 
dain, Gaelic, the western river, with respect to the Euphra- 
tes. The name is derived from its two spring-heads, Jor 
and Dan. 

8 



170 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

w 

JOSEPH. (Heb.) Increase, addition. 

JOSSELYN and JOSLIK Local. Jocelin, a town in France. 
JOY. Gladness, exhilaration of spirits; to shout, rejoice. 
JOYCE. Joyous. 

JTJDD. (Heb.) From Juda, praise, confession, and signifies 
the confessor of God. Jode or Jood, in the Dutch, means 
Israelite, a Jew ; Jute, a native of Jutland. 

JUDSOK The son of Judd. 



KAUFMAN. (Ger.) A merchant, a trader. 

KAVANAGH. (Celtic or Gaelic.) Coamhanach, mild, be- 
nevolent, merciful ; a friend, a companion. Mr. John 
O'Donovan says, that Donnell Cavanagh was so called from 
having been fostered by the Coarb of St. Cavan, at Kilcavan, 
in the present county of Wexford, Ireland. 

KAY. Local In Cor. Br., signifies a hedge, inclosure, a place 
of security, a fortified place. Kai, German, is a quay, a 
wharf. 

KAYNARD or KIKNARD. Local. (Gaelic.) From Kin- 
naird, a place in Perthshire, Scotland, so called from Ceann, 
the head, the end, and aerd, a height or promontory, from 
its high situation. 

KEACH. Keech, a mass, a lump ; a short, thick-set man. 

TTRAN. (Gaelic.) Ceann, the head, the top, a chief, a com- 
mander. 

KEBBY, KIBBY. Local. (Danish.) Kiob-by, a market 
town, the place of buying, from Kiob, buying, purchase, bar- 
gain, and by, a town. 

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. 

KEELER. One who manages barges and vessels. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 171 

KEEK Bold, eager, daring; bright, fair; or may be the same 
as Kean. 

KEESE. (Dutch.) An abbreviation of Cornelius, among the 
Dutch. Keys, called Taxiaxia, were officers of justice, in 
olden times, in the Isle of Man. 

KEIGWTK (Cor. Br.) White dog, from Jcei, a dog, and 
gwyn, white ; figuratively, a hero. 

KEITH. Local. From the parish and lands of Keith, in Banff- 
shire, Scotland. The name Keith is said to be derived from 
the Gaelic Gfaoth } wind, pronounced somewhat similarly to 
Keith. The old village and kirk are called Arkeith, which 
may be a corruption of the G-aelic Ard Gaoth, signifying 
" high wind," which corresponds to its locality, which is 
peculiarly exposed to gusts of wind. In some old charters, 
Keith is written Gfith } which Still more resembles Gfaith. I 
think the name is derived from the Welsh Caeth, a place 
surrounded, shut up, inclosed, a deep hollow, a strait. The 
root of the word is the Welsh Cau, to close, to shut up. 
Concerning this family, the traditional account is, that they 
came from Germany in the reign of the Emperor Otho, and 
from the principality of Hesse, from which they were ex- 
pelled in some revolution. 

The first person of this family of whom our oldest historians 
take notice, is Robert De Keith, to whom Malcom II., King 
of Scotland, gave the barony of Keith, in East Lothian, as a 
reward for killing Camus, a Danish general, who then in- 
vaded Scotland with a numerous army. The battle was 
fought at Barry, seven miles from Dundee, where an obelisk, 
called Camus' stone, still preserves the memory of the vic- 
tory, and it is said the king, dipping his three fingers in the 
blood of the general, stroked them along the field of the 
Scotch champion's shield, to whom, besides the landed es- 
tate before mentioned, he gave the dignity of Great Mar- 
shal of Scotland. 



172 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

KELLOG-G-. From Chelioc, or Kvttiag (Cor. Sr.), a cock, coil- 
each, in G-aelic, and ceiliog, in Welsh, the C having the sound 
of K 

KELLY. (G-aelic and Welsh.) A grove, generally of hazel. 
SM or Cflle, in the G-aelic and Celtic, denotes a church. 

KELSO. Local. Derived from the town of Kelso, in Rox- 
burghshire, Scotland. Kelso was originally written Cal- 
chow, a corruption of Chalkheugh, the chalk-hill. 

KELSEY. Local. A town in Lincolnshire, England. Kelsey, 
in Cornish British, signifies the " dry neck," fromKel, a neck, 
and syck, dry. 

KEMBLE or KIMBLE. The same as Campbell, of which it is 
a corruption. 

KEMP. In old English, a sojdier, one who engaged in single 
combat. 

The name Kemp is derived from the Saxon word to Jcemp, or 
combat, which in Norfolk is retained to this day ; a foot-ball 
match being called a camping or lumping; and thus in 
Saxon a Kemper signifies a combatant, a champion, a man- 
at-arms. In some parts of Scotland the striving of reapers 
in the harvest-field is still called kemping. 

KEMPENFELT. Local The camping or kemping-field. 
KEMPHALL and KEMPSHALL. The soldiers' quarters. 

KEMPSTER From the Dutch kamp&n, to fight, or kamper, 
a champion. 

KEMPTON. The camp town ; place of the army. 

KEMYSS. (G-aelic.) Camus, " nez retrousse," a person whose 
nose is turned upwards ; crooked, from cam, G-aelic, crooked, 
not straight. 

KEKNAN. Gaelic, Ceanann or Ceanfhionn, white-headed, 
bald. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 1*73 

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. 

KENDRICK. From the Saxon KenricJe, from Kennen, to 
know, and ric, rich rich in knowledge. Bailey derives 
this name from cene, bold, and rick, a kingdom & valiant 
ruler. 

KENNARD. (Gaelic.) From Ceannwd, a chief, a chieftain, 
a leader, a commander-in-chief, from Ceann, head, chief, and 
Ardj high, lofty. 

KENNEDY. From the G-aelic or Celtic words Kean-nctrfy ; 
the head of the house, or chief of the clan. Ceannaide sig- 
nifies also a shopkeeper, a merchant. 

KENNICOT. (Cor. Br.) From Chennicat, a singer; Welsh, 
canu, to sing. 

KENT. Local. From the County Kent, in England. Camden 
derives this from canton, a corner, because England in thig 
place stretches itself into a corner to the north-east. Cantj 
in Welsh, signifies, round, circular, which is probably the 
true signification. 

KENWAKD. (Saxon.) A cow-keeper, Kine-ward. 

KENYON. (Welsh.) Ceinion, beautiful ; Cyndyn, stubborn, 
Concenn or Kynan, strong head, powerful, a leader. 

KERB. (G-aelic, Welsh, and Cor. Br.) Kaer, a castle; figura- 
tively, strong, valiant ; car } dear, a kinsman, a friend ; Dan- 
ish, Kier, dear, lovely. 

KERSWELL. Local. The well where water-cresses grow. 

KETMAN. (G-er.) From Kette, a chain, and mann^ a chain- 
man. 

KETTLE. Local. From the parish of Kettle, in Fifeshire, 
Scotland. 



174 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

KEVIN. (Celtic.) From Coemhghin, the beautiful offspring, 
aoibJiinn, pleasant, comely. Caomhan, a noble, kind, and 
friendly man. 

KEYS. Probably from Keyus, an old Roman word for a ward- 
en or keeper. 

KEYSER. (G-er.) An emperor. 

KID. A young goat ; also, Jfid, from the Saxon Cythan, to 
show, discover, or make known. 

KIDDER. A dealer hi corn, provisions, and merchandize ; a 
traveling trader. 

KIEF. (Dan.) Brave, valiant, stout, bold. 

KIEL. (G-er.) Local Derived from the town of Kiel, in 
Lower Saxony. 

KERCHER. Gaelic, carcar; Welsh, carchar, a prison; Anglo- 
Saxon, carJc, a prison; carker, a jailor. 

KTERNAN or KIRNAN. Carnan, Gaelic, a heap; figura- 
tively, a strong man, a thick-set, stout man. Cearnan, 
local, a square, a quadrangle. 

KTERSTED. (Danish.) Local The place near a marsh, from 
Kier, a marsh, and sted, a dwelling, a town. 

KILBURNE. Local. Derived from the village of KXburne, 
in Middlesex, England, famous for its fine well of mineral 
water. KOl, Dutch; Jcilde,- Danish, a channel or bed of a 
river, and hence a stream ; bourne, a fountain, a spring-well 

KILGOUR. (Gaelic.) Local The ancient name of a parish 
in Fifeshire, Scotland, so called from kill, a church, and gour, 
a hill the church on the hill, or surrounded by hills. 

KILHAM. Local A town hi England, from Kil, as above, 
and ham, a house or town. 

KILLIN. (Gaelic.) Local A place in Perthshire, Scotland, 
from CiU-Un, that is, the church or burying-place on the pool 



OP FAMILY NAMES. l75 

KIMBERLEY. Kemperlike, kemper, a veteran, a stout, war- 
like man, from the Dutch Jcamper, a champion, a fighting- 
man. The name may apply to the qualities of the person, 
or to the place of a camp or battle, that is, Camper-ley; 
Cumberley indicates a place among hilla in a narrow valley, 
from Cum, a vale, a dell 

KTNTCADE. (Gaelic.) From ceann, head, and cath or cad, 
battle the head or front of the battle. 

KING-. The primary sense is a head or leader. Gaelic, ceann ; 
Welsh, cun and cwn, a head, a leader. Saxon, cyng, and 
nearly the same in all the Teutonic dialects. 

KINGHORN. Local. A borough in Fifeshire, Scotland. The 
name is derived from the Gaelic Cean-gom or gorm, " the 
blue head," from the adjoining promontory. It is fancifully 
suggested by one writer that as the Scottish kings long had 
a residence in the neighborhood, the name may have been 
suggested by the frequent winding of the king's horn when 
he sallied out to the chase in this neighborhood. 

KINGSTON. Local. The name of several towns in England 
the king's town. 

KINLOCH. Local. From lands in Fifeshire. Emn Loch 
" the head of the lake " 

KINNAIRD and KENNARD. (See Kaynard.) 

KINNEAR. (Gaelic.) A head man or chief. Ceanneir, from 
Ceann, head, and eir, an abbreviation of fear, a man. 

KINNEY. Gaelic, Cine, kindred, a clan, a tribe. Keny and 
Cany, seeing, knowing; Welsh, cenio, to see. 

KINSLEY. (Gaelic.) From Ceannsallach, authoritative, com- 
manding, ruling. Walker, in his Historical Memoirs of the 
Irish Bards, relates the following story: Eochaidh, the then 
monarch, was defeated by Ena, King of Leinster, at the 
battle of Cruachan. In this engagement Ena killed Cet- 
mathch, laureate bard to the monarch, although he fled for 



176 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

refuge under the shields of the Leinster troops. For this 
base deed the ruthless king was stigmatized with the epithet 
Kinsedlach, that is, the foul and reproachful head, which 
name descended to his posterity. 

KIPP. Kippe, in the German, denotes a situation on or near a 
precipice, l&p, Dutch, a hen, a chicken. 

KIRBY. Local. The name of several small towns in England r 
whence the surname is derived; so called from Kirk, a 
church, and by, a village or town. 

KIRK. (Teut.) Kirche, a church. Gaelic, cearcatt, a circle, 
the primitive places of worship among the Celts were round, 
a symbol of eternity, and ^bhe existence of the Supreme 
Being, without beginning or end. 

KIRKALDY. Local. From Kirkcaldy, a town in Fifeshire, 
Scotland, from Kirk, a church, and culdee, the worshipers of 
God, the first Christians of Britain, who were said to have 
had a place of worship there in ancient times. 

KIRKHAM. Local. From Kvrk, a church, and ham, a village. 
The name of a small town in England, whence the surname 
originated. 

KIRKPATRICK. Local. A parish in Dumfriesshire, Scot- 
land, i. e., Patrick's Church. 

KIRTLAND. A corruption of Kirkland, that is, the church 
land, from kirk, a church. 

KIRWAK The name was 0' Quirivane until the time of 
Queen Elizabeth, when they, with many Irish houses, were 
compelled to drop the "O," and Quirivane was corrupted 
into KHrwan. 

KISKEY. (Cor. Br.) Blessed, happy, to bless. 

KtTSON. The son of Christopher or Kit. 

KITTS. The son of Kit or Christopher, " s" being added for 

son. 
KLING. German E^linge, a blade, a sword. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 177 

KNAPP. (Ger.) Knappe, a lad, boy, servant, workman; a 
squire, whence Knave and Knapsack. 

KNEVETT. A corruption of the Norman name Duvenet. 

KNICKERBACKER. (Dutch and Ger.) Cracker-baker, from 
knacker, a cracker, and backer, a baker. 

KNIGHT. A term originally applied to a young man after he 
was admitted to the privilege of bearing arms, by a certain 
ceremony of great importance called knighting, which was 
generally conferred by the king. 

KNIGHTLEY. From Knight, and ley, a place or field. 

KNOWLES or KNOLL. The top of a hilL Knowl, in Cor. 
Br., is a promontory, hill, or eminence, a projection of hilly 
ground. 

KNOX. Local Gaelic, Onoc, a little hill; figuratively, a 
stout man. 

KREBS. Local A town in Upper Saxony, Germany. 

KYLE. Local From a district of the same name in Ayr- 
shire, Scotland. Gaelic, Coiti, a wood. The river Coyk 
runs through the district, whence, perhaps, the name. 

LACKEY. A person sent, an attendant servant. 

LACY. Local. Derived from a place in France by that name 
Sire De Lacy came into England with William the Con- 
queror. The Lacys afterward settled in Ireland. 

LADD. (Welsh.) Lladd, to destroy. 

LAHEY. Gaelic, LeigJiiche, a physician. Lagh, Gaelic, law, 
order ; Fear Lagha, a lawyer. 

LAING. Scottish dialect for long. 

LAIRD. The same as Lord, from L, the, and ord or aird, 
Gaelic, supreme, high, eminence, highness; Lerad, Laird, 
from radh, Gaelic, saying, declaring, expressing, affirming an 
8* 



178 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

adage or proverb; giving or uttering law, from the verb 
dbair. (See Lord.) 

LAKE. A servant. Latin, lego, to send. 
LAM. (Danish.) Lame. 

LAMB. The name was probably taken from the sign of a lamb 
at an inn, the young of the sheep kind ; Welsh, Llamer, to 
skip; G-aelic, Leum. The primitive Celtic or Gaelic Lam 
signified armor, as a dart, a blade, or sword ; hence, to lam 
signified to disable, injure, maun, from which we have lame 
and limp. 

LAMBOTJRNE. Anciently written in the Cor. Br. Lambron, 
the inclosure of the round hill ; Ian being changed into lam, 
for the sake of the euphony or ease in speaking ; from the 
Welsh Llan, an inclosure, and bryn, a hill. 

LAMBERT. (Sax.) From lamb, and beorht, fair fan- lamb. 

LAMMA. Welsh, Llamu, to skip, leap, jump; to maim or 
lam. 

LAMPORT. (Cor. Br.) From lam or Ian, a place, and port, a 
harbor, a place for ships. 

LANCASTER. Local. A town and county of England, the 
castle or city on the Loyne or Lan river. The Britons called 
it Caerwerydd. (See Chester.) 

LANDER. Welsh, Llandir. Glebe lands belonging to a parish 
church, or land containing mineral ore. 

LANDON. (Cor. Br.) The inclosed hill or town, from Lan, 
an inclosure, and dun, a hill or town. Landen, a town of 
Belgium. 

LANDSEER. (Dutch.) From Landsheer, a lord of the manor, 
from land and heer, a master or lord. 

LANE. Old Gaelic, Llane, a plain ; barren, sandy, level lands. 
Lane, a narrow way between hedges, a narrow street, an 
alley. " John of the Lane." 



OF FAMILY NAMES, 179 

LANG-TON. Local. The long bill or towr., so called from its 
oblong form. 

LANHAM. A contraction of Laveriham, a town in Suffolk, 
England; wbence the family originally came. "Welsh, 
Ltyfn, a smooth, level place. 

LANMAN. A lance-man spear-man. 

LANPHEAR. " Lann-feur" Gaelic, grass-land ; Lanrrfear, a 
pike-man. Lann, an inclosure ; a house ; a church ; land ; 
a sword. Feur, grass ; /ear, a man. 

LANSING. Local (Dutch.) Low, flat lands ;"%," mead- 
ows ; alluvial lands. 

LANYON. (Cor. Br.) The furzy inclosure. 
LAORAN. (Gaelic.) A person too fond of the fireside. 

LARA WAY and LARWAY. (Fr.) A corruption of " Le 

roi" the king. 
LARDNER. A swine-herd. 

LARKINS. From lark, a sweet, shrill, musical bird, and kin, a 
child. Learcean or Leargan, a sloping, green, side of a hill, 
near the sea. from Lear, Gaelic, the sea. 

LAROCHE and LAROQUE. (Fr.) The rock, a lonely mass 
of stone. JDe La Roche, " from the rock." 

LARRY. Supposed to be an abbreviation of Lawrence (which 
see). 

LLARY. (Welsh.) Mild, easy. 

LATH. An old word for " barn," in Lincolnshire, England. 

LATTMER. An interpreter. This name was first given to 
Wrenoc ap Merrick, a learned Welshman, interpreter be- 
tween the Welsh and English. The name of his office de- 
scended to his posterity. 

LATTON. From Hlew, A. S., and ton; the town on the emi- 
nence or side of a hill. 



180 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

LAUD. From the same root as loud, widely celebrated, Latin, 
laus. laudis, praise; Welsh, clod; Gaelic or Irish, doth; Ger- 
man, laut. 

LAUDER. Local. A town in Berwickshire, Scotland. 

LAUREL. The laurel or bayberry-tree, dedicated to Apollo, 
and used in making garlands for victors. 

LAVENDER. A laundress ; Lavandiere, French, one who 
washes, from the Latin, lavo, to wash. 

LAVEROCK. A Scotch word for a lark; also Dutch and 
Saxon. 

LAW. (Scot.) A hill Laye, old French, a hill 

LAWLESS. " Lah-lios." Gaelic, Lagh, law, order, and lios, a 
court, a hall, a fortress, a place where law is administered. 
Lau, Cor. Br., praise, and Us, a court. Lawless, an outlaw. 

LAWLEY. (Saxon.) A place in the hundred of Blackburn, 
Shropshire, from Law, low, and ley, a place, lea, or pasture. 

LAWRENCE. Flourishing, spreading, from Laurus, the lau- 
rel-tree. Sir Robert Lawrence, of Ashton Hall, Lancashire, 
England, accompanied Richard I. to the Holy Land, 1191. 

LAWRIE. Lawrence. 

LAWSON. The son of Law, the familiar abbreviation of Law- 
rence. 

LAYCOCK. Local. A village on the banks of the Avon, in 

Wiltshire, England. The name may be the same as Lucock 

that is, little Luke. 

LEADBEATER. A name of trade, a worker in lead. 
LEARNED. Local. (Gaelic.) The green, sheltered place 

near the sea, from Lear, the sea, and nead, a sheltered place. 

Or it may be a name given for scholarship, "John the 

Learned." 

LEAVENWORTH. Local (Welsh.) Llyvngwerth, the 
smooth, level farm, castle or court, or the worth or place on 
the river Leven. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 181 

LEBY. Local. A town in Denmark. 

LECHMEKE. Local. This family originally came from the 
Low Countries. Lech is a branch of the Rhine, which parts 
from it at Wyke, and running westward, falls into the Maes, 
before Rotterdam; mere, a lake. 

LEE, LEA, and LEY. A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, 
a common, a sheltered place ; Lee, a river, a stream, from 
Lli, Welsh, a stream. 

LEECH. A physician. 

LEFERRE. (Fr.) Le Ferre, the smith. Latin, Faber. 

LEGARD. (Nor. Fr.) Le Gard, the guard or protector. 
Probably was first assumed from the possession of some 
trusty or confidential office. 

LEGATT. Legate, an ambassador ; Leggett, the son of Legge. 

LEIGH or LEGH. Local A town in England, a pasture 
or meadow, the same as Ley, or Lea. The frequency of 
this family name in Cheshire, England, led to the old 
proverb, " As many Leighs as fleas, Masseys as asses, and 
Davenports as dog's tails." 

LEICESTER. From Leicester, a borough town in England. 
Saxon, Leagceaster, from Leag or Ley, a field or common, 
and cester, a camp or city, from the Latin Castrum; because, 
says Bailey, it was probably built hard by a leag or com- 
mon ; a camp of the Roman legion. (See Chester.) 

LEIR or LEAR. Originally German, and derived from the 
town of Lear, on the Ems, in Westphalia. 

LELAND. Local. Laland, an island in Denmark, the same 
as Leylande, the ancient manner of spelling the name, and 
denotes Low lands. In Welsh, Lie is a place, and Lan a 
church. Lan may signify any kind of inclosure, as Gwin- 
lan, Perlan, an orchard, a word applied to gardens, houses, 
castles, or towns. 

LEMON. (Fr.) A corruption of Le Moin, the monk. 



182 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

LENNON. (G-aelic.) Leannon, a lover, a sweetheart. 

LENNOX. (Gaelic.) Local. From the County of Lennox, 
Scotland. The original name was Leven-ach, the field on 
the Leven, from the river Leven, which flows through the 
county, called in Latin Levinia. The river was so called 
from Llyfn, in the Welsh, which signifies a smooth, placid 
stream. Leven-achs, for a while spelt and written Levenax, 
and finally Lennox. Arkil, a Saxon, a baron of Northum- 
bria, who took refuge from the vengeance of the Norman 
William under the protection of Malcom Canmore, appears 
to have been the founder of the Lennox family. 

LENT. Some names were given from the festivals and seasons 
of the year in which they were born, as Noel, Holiday, 
Pascal, Lent, &c. 

LEONAED. The disposition of a lion ; lion-hearted ; from 
leon, a lion, and ard, Teutonic, nature, disposition. 

LEPPARD. A name probably taken from a coat of arms, a 
leopard. 

LESLIE. This family, according to tradition, descended from 
Bartholomew de Leslyn, a noble Hungarian, who came to 
Scotland with Queen Margaret, about the year 1067. He 
was the son of Walter de Leslyn, who had assumed this 
surname from the castle of Leslyn, in Hungary, where he 
was born. Bartholomew being in great favor with Malcom 
Canmore, obtained from that prince grants of several lands 
hi Aberdeenshire, which it is said he called Leslyn, after his 
own surname. Malcom de Leslyn, who succeeded him, was 
the progenitor of all the Leslies in Scotland. 

Kobert Yerstegan, in his Antiquities, remarks on the word ley : 
11 A combat having taken place in Scotland between a noble 
of the family of Leslie and a foreign knight, in which the 
Scot was victorious, the following lines in memory of the 
deed, and the place where it happened, are still extant : 

"Between the Less-Ley and the Mair, 
He slew the knight and left him there." 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 183 

The name may be derived from Lesslo, a maritime ( jrritory 
in Denmark. 

LESTER, LEICESTER, and LEYCESTER. Local. A bor- 
ough town in England ; a camp of the Roman legion. (See 
Leicester.) 

LEYEN. Local. A river in Lancashire, England, also a town, 
lake, and river in Lennox, Scotland, whence the county 
derives its name. (See Lennox.) From the Welsh Llyfn, 
smooth, placid the smooth river. The G-aelic Liomha- 
abhainn, pronounced Le-avon, signifies the same thing. 

LEYEEWORTH. (Welsh.) Local. From l&ven, the open or 
bare place, and worth, a farm, castle, or mansion, or the 
worth on the river Leven. 

LEYEQIIE. (Fr.) A bishop. 

LEYERET. A hare in the first year of its age. 

LEYY. (Heb.) The same as Levi, joined, united, coupled; 
Jacob's third son. 

LEWES. Local. An ancient town in Sussex, England, de- 
rived from the Welsh Lluaws, a multitude, a populous place. 
This town was formerly surrounded by walls, vestiges of 
which are still visible, and on the summit of a hill are the 
remains of its ancient castle. 

LEWIS. In the Fr., Louis; Latin, iMdovicus ; Teutonic, Lud- 
wig or Leodwig, from the Saxon Leod, the people, and wic, 
a castle the safeguard of the people. Lluaws, Welsh, sig- 
nifies a multitude. 

LEWKNOR. Local. -A corruption of L&vechenora, the de- 
nomination of one of the hundreds of Lincolnshire, England. 

LEWTHWAITE or LOWTHWAJTE. (Anglo-Saxon.) From 
thwaite, a piece of ground cleared of wood, and lowe, a hill, 
law, a hill or eminence ; in Saxon, Hkwe. 

LIGHTBODY. A writer, somewhere, derives this name from 
Licht, a dead body, a tomb, and Bodee, contracted from 



184 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

JBoadicea, meaning the tomb or grave of this British 
Queen ; a locality. The name, however, is more likely to 
have originated from bodily peculiarity. 

LIG-HTFOOT. A name given on account of swiftness in run- 
ning, or expertness in dancing ; one who is nimble or active. 

LILIENTHAL. (Ger.) Local The vale of lilies, from Me, a 
lily, and thai, a vale ; so JBlumenthal, the vale of flowers. A 
town in Bremen, Hanover. 

LILLY. A beautiful flower. Llilk, in the Welsh, the place by 
the river or stream, from Lli, a stream, and Lie, a place. 
Liu, an army, a troop ; Llellu, the place of the army. In 
the Cornish-British Lhy is a troop, a company of horsemen, 
and le or li } a place. 

LINCOLN. Local. From Lincoln in England. The name is 
derived from Lin in the Gaelic, Welsh, and Cor. Br., which 
signifies a pool, pond, or lake, and coin, the ridge or neck of 
a hill, so called from its situation, as it occupies the top and 
side of a steep hill on the river Witham, which here divides 
into three streams. 

LIND. Local. (Swedish, Sax., Dan., and Dutch.) A place 
where the lime or linden-trees grow. 

LIND ALL. Local From Lin, a brook, a lake, and dcd, a 
dale. 

LINDFIELD. Local. The field of linden or lime-trees. 
LINDO. (Spanish.) Neat, spruce, fine. 

LUNG. (Teutonic.) English, long, heath; also, a species of 
long grass ; a long, slender fish. 

LINDSAY or LINDSEY. Local Sir William Dugdale says 
this surname is local, and was first assumed by the proprietors 
of the lands and manor of Lindsay, in the county of Essex, 
England. One of the Lindsays having contracted a friend- 
ship with Malcom Canmore, when in England, went with 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 185 

him to Scotland, and was the progenitor of the Lindsays in 
that country. 

The eastern part of Lincolnshire was originally called Lindsey, 
from the place abounding with linden-trees. 

LINN or LINNE. Local. A pool, pond, or lake. Welsh, 
Uyn; Cor. Br., tyn; Gaelic, linne, a pond. 

LINNET. A singing bird. 

LINTON. Local. From Lin, a lake or pool, and ton, a town. 
A parish in Eoxburgshire, Scotland. 

LIPPENCOT. Local Lippe, a German principality and town 
on the river Lippe. Cote, side or coast. Liban, Saxon, 
Leben, German, to abide, to dwell, and cot, a cottage. 

LISLE. (Fr.) Local. L'isle, an island. 

LISMOEE. Local. A parish in Argyleshire, Scotland. The 
name signifies the large gardens. Lis or I/ios, Celtic, a gar- 
den, and mor, large. 

LITCHFIELD. From the Saxon lich, a dead carcase, and 
field, because a great many suffered martyrdom there in the 
time of Diocletian. The name of a bishop's see in Stafford- 
shire. 

LITTLER. Derived from the town, village, or hundred of Lit- 
tle Over, corrupted to Littler, in the county of Cheshire, 
England, where the family resided in the time of Edward I. 

LIVERMOKE. (Welsh.) From Ueufer, a light, and mawr, 
great the great light. A name given to the first Christian 
king of Britain, hence called by the Romans I/utius, which 
has in the Latin the same signification. 

LIVINGSTONE. Local A barony in West Lothian, Scot- 
land, so named from one Livings living there in 1124; 
hence Livingston. 

LIZARD. (Gaelic.) Local. The high fortress, from lios, a 
fort, an inclosure, or garden, and ard, high. 



186 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

LLARY. (Welsh.) Mild, easy. 

LLOYD or LHUYD. (Welsh.) Gray or brown. 

LOBDALE. (G-aelic.) Local. Lu~b, bending, curving, and 
dailj a narrow vale or meadow. 

LOCKMAN. A Scottish word for the public executioner. 

LOGAN. (G-aelic.) An inclosed plain or low-lying place. If 
the residence of a Briton was on a plain, it was called Lann, 
from Lagen or Logen ; if on an eminence, it was termed dun. 

LONSDALE. Local. Derived from the town of Lonsdale, in 
Westmoreland, England, so named from the river Lon on 
which it is situated, and dale the dale on the Lon. 

LOOMIS or LOMMIS. (Welsh.) Local. From lorn, bare, 
naked, exposed, and maes, a field, a name of place the 
place in the open field. 

LOPPE. Local An uneven or winding place, a bend. 

LOED. A term of civil dignity, a master, ruler, the proprietor 
of a manor, derived from the Anglo-Saxon ord, which comes 
from ored, a governor, with the prefix of the letter L, le, 
denoting the person or place. G-aelic, ard, ord, high, lofty, 
the prime chief, superior. Lord has been derived from Hla- 
ford, which is compounded of Hlaf, a loaf, and ford, to 
give, a bread-giver. 

LORIMER. A maker of bits or bridles. 

LOSSIE. Local A river of Scotland, in Elgin or Moray- 
shire. 

LOUDOUN. From the parish of Loudoun in Ayrshire, 
Scotland. The name is compounded of Law acd dun, a 
pleonasm, as both words signify a hill. The hill-hill. 

LOUGHLIN. The ancient Britons or Welsh called the Baltic 
Sea Lychlyn, and the Scandinavian sea-pirates who infested 
the coasts of Britain received the same appellation. Norway 
is called Llychlyn. 

LOUTH. (Br. and Welsh.) From lowcth, a garden. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 187 

LOVE. (Danish.) A Hon. 

LOVEL. The original family name of Lovel was, in olden 
times, Percival, so called from a place in Normandy, until 
Asceline, its chief, who flourished in the early part of the 
twelfth century, acquired from his violent temper the sou- 
briquet of Lupus (the Wolf). His son William, Earl of 
Yvery, was nicknamed Lupellus, the little wolf, which in 
after times was softened into Lupel, and at last to Luvel or 
Lovel. 

LOWE. AhilL 

LOWER. The same as JBurder. Louw or low is a Scotch 

word for flame or fire. 
" Low-bellers," according to Blount, " are men who go with a 

light and a bell ; by the sight thereof birds sitting on the 

ground become somewhat stupefied, and so are covered 

with a net, and taken." 

LOWRY or LOURY. Signifies in Scotch a crafty person, or 
one who lowers, that is, contracts his brow; hence a "lowry 
day" cloudy. 

LUCAS. The same as Luke, luminous. Lucas, arising to him f 
LUDBROCK. (Dutch.) Leather or hairy breeches. 

LUDLOW. Local. From the ancient town of Ludlow, in 
North Wales. Llud, in Welsh, signifies whatever connects 
or keeps together, the same as caw. Lkbd, a prince of the 
Britons, a commander ; Welsh, Llywydd, and lowe. 

LUMLEY. (Gaelic and Welsh.) The bare place, from lorn, 
bare, and He, a place. 

LUSHER. (Dutch.) Lauscher, a hider, a skulker. 

LUSK or LOSCE. (Welsh.) A burning or searing. Gaelic, 
Loisg, to burn. 

LUTHER. The widely famed or celebrated, derived from the 
German loth or laut, loud, famed, fortunate, and er, honor 
" fortune and honor" Lauter, Ger., bright, clear, pure. 



188 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

LYNCH. A strip of greenwood between the plowed lands in 
the common field ; a small hanging wood. 



MABAN. (Welsh.) A child, a bairn. 

MACATJLEY or MACAULA. (Celtic.) The son of the 

rock. 

MACE. A staff borne as an ensign of office. 
MACKLIK The same as McLean (which see). 
MACLAY. (Gaelic.) The son of Clay (which see). 

MACONOCHIE. The son of Conochie or Duncan, a name 
borne by the chieftain of the Campbells. 

MADDOCK. (Welsh.) The same as Madoc, a proper name 
common among the Welsh, from mad, good, and the termi- 
nation oc or og, the same as the termination y or ous in 
English. The terminations c and ac, denote fixedness, force, 
plenitude. Og, in its simple form, signifies animation, activ- 
ity; also, possessing that which precedes it; oc, greatness, 
grandeur; ox, quickness, promptitude. 

MADISON. The son of Mathew or Matilda. 

MAG-OON. (Gaelic.) 'A corruption of Macgowan, which sig- 
nifies the son of the smith, from Mac, son, and gow, a smith ; 
or it may be the same as McCoun, from Mac, son, and 
oeann, a head or chief the son of the chief. 

MAGUIRE or M'GUIRE. (Gaelic.) The son of Guaire, 
which is the Gaelic for Godfrey. Guaire was son of AJpin, 
King of Scotland. 

MAHOMET. (Turkish.) Glorified. 
MAHON. (Celtic or Gaelic.) A bear. 

MAIGNY. (Fr.) Local. An old province of Prance lying to 
the east of Bretagne, whence the name came. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 189 

MAINARD or MAYNARD. (G-er.) Of a powerful disposi- 
tion, stout-hearted. Maynhard was one of the barons who 
went into England with William the Conqueror, and whose 
name is in the roll of Battle Abbey. 

MAIN or MAYNE. Local. From a French province of that 
name. Magne, great, large, rich, powerful, the same as 
magnus in Latin. 

MAITLAND. Local. A tract of flat, meadow laud. 
MAJOR. An officer next hi rank above a captain. 

MALLARD. (Belgic.) A wild drake. Meattard, local, Gaelic, 
a high mound, a hill or eminence, from meatt, a hill, and ard, 
high. 

MALLERY. (Fr.) A corruption of the French MaZlieure; in 
Latin, Mains Leporarius a name given for ill hunting the 
hare, according to Camden. 

MALLET or MA LET. This name has been ascribed by some 
to a place so termed in Normandy, and by others to the 
courageous blows of the family in battle. Malleus, Maule, 
Matt, and Mallet was one of the offensive weapons of a well- 
armed warrior, being generally made of iron, and used to 
destroy by pounding or bruising the enemy through or 
under the armor, that could not be penetrated by edged or 
pointed weapons, Edward I. was called Malkus Scotorum. 
All the families of this name in England trace their descent 
from the renowned William Lord Mallet de Graville, one of 
the great barons who accompanied William the Conqueror. 

MALMESBURY. From the town of Malmesbury in Wilt- 
shire, England, said to be so called by Malmutius, a king 
of the Britons. It was anciently called Maidulphesburgh, 
from Maidulph, a Scottish saint and hermit who built an 
abbey there, and opened a school. Bede writes it Addmes- 
birig, from Adelm, the scholar of Maidulph ; others derive it 
from a part of the names both of the scholar and teacher. 



190 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

MALONE. One of the descendants of the house of O'Connor, 
Kings of Connaught, being tonsured in honor of St. John, 
was called Maol Eoin Bald John, from Maol, bald or ton- 
sured, and Eoin, John, and this was corrupted into Malone. 

MANDEVILLE. From the Latin JDe Magna villa, that is, of 
or from the great town. 

MANN. (Ger.) Gentleman or master, the same as fferr. 
Man, in the Welsh, signifies freckled or spotted; also, a 
spot, a place. 

MATTERING- or MANWARING-. A corruption of Mesnil- 
warin, Welsh, from Mesnil or Maenol, a farm. 

MANNERS. (Fr.) From Manoir, and that from the Latin 
Manere, to stay or to abide. Lands granted to some mil- 
itary man or baron by the king, a custom brought in by the 
Normans. 

Manners, first Earl of Rutland, soon after his creation, told Sir 
Thomas More that he was too much elated by his prefer- 
ment, and really verified the old proverb, " Honores mutant 
Mores" 

" Nay, my lord," retorted Sir Thomas, " the proverb does much 
better in English, ' Honors change Manners.' " 

It is the opinion of Camden that this family received its name 
from the village of Manor, near Lanchester, in Durham, 
England. 

MANNUS. A god celebrated among the G-ermans as one of 
their founders. 

MANSER. (Dutch.) From Mansoir, a male issue, a boy. 
Mansaer, in the Welsh, is a stone-mason 

MANSFIELD. Local. From a town in Nottinghamshire, 
England, of the same name, so called from the Saxon man- 
rian, to traffic, and field a place of trade. 

MANSLE. Local. A town of France in the province of 
Angoumois. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 191 

MAT*.. Local. From the district of Mar, in Aberdeenshire, 
Scotland. Mar, Welsh, activity; Maor, Gaelic, an officer 
of justice. 

MARCH. A boundary, a limit; the boundary-lines between 
England, Scotland, and Wales, were called " The Marches." 
Lords Marches were noblemen who anciently inhabited, 
guarded, and secured these marches. 

MARCHANT. Fr., Marchand, a merchant. 
MARK. The same as Marcus, a field ; polite, shining. 

MARSHALL. A name of office master of the horse, an- 
ciently, one who had command of all persons not above 
princes. Teut., Marschalk ; French, Mareschal. 

MARSH. (Teutonic.) Maresche, Morass, a fen, a tract of 
low, wet land. 

MARSHMAN. One dwelling near a marsh. 

MARTIN. This name may be derived from the Latin martius, 
warlike, from Mars, the God of War. In the G-aelic, mor is 
great, and duin, a man. Morduin, a chief, a warrior. 

MARVEN. Gaelic, Morven, a ridge of very high hills. 

MASENFER. German, Messenfer, a great fair or market for 
merchants. 

MASSEY or MASSIE. Local. From the town and lordship 
of Massey, near Bayeux, in Normandy. 

MASSENGER. A corruption of the French messager, a mes- 
senger or bearer of dispatches. 

MASTEN or MOSTYN. (Welsh.) Local A place or house 
inclosed, from Maes, a field, and din, inclosed, fortified. 
Moestuin, in the Teutonic and Dutch, signifies a garden, a 
place cultivated. The Gaelic dun, and the Welsh din, a 
fortified hill or fort, are synonymous. The Saxon tun sig- 
nifies an inclosure, a garden, a village, a town, and tun or 
turn, in Dutch, a garden, a protected place. 



192 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

Camden relates, that in the time of Henry VIII., an ancient 
worshipful gentleman of Wales being called at the panel of . 
a jury by the name of Thomas- Ap- William- Ap-Thomas-Ap- 
Hoel-Ap-Euan Vaughn, etc., was advised by the judge to 
leave that old manner. Whereupon, he afterward called 
himself Mostyn, according to the name of his principal house, 
and left that surname to his posterity. Mostyn, a village hi 
Flintshire, Wales. On Mostyn hill, in Flintshire, Wales, is 
a remarkable monument to the sun, a place of Druid wor- 
ship. 

MATHER Welsh, Madur, a benevolent man. Medwr, & 
reaper. Mathair, in G-aelic, is a mother. 

MATTHEW. (Beb.) The gift of the Lord. 

MATTISON. The son of Matthew. 

MATTER. (Ger.) A wall. 

MAXWELL. One Macchus, in the eleventh century, obtained 
lands, on the Tweed, in Scotland, from Prince David, to 
which he gave the name of Macchus-viUe, since corrupted to 
Maxwell. Maxwell is Macsual, in Gaelic, from Mac, son, 
and sual, small, little. 

MAY. Probably given to a child born in that month. May, 
in the Saxon, is a daisy, a flower ; the fifth month in the 
year, beginning with January. Gaelic, mai or maith, good, 
pleasant, fruitful ; Mad, Welsh. From Ma we have mai, 
the earth, the producer ; ma, mother, tender, kind. 

MAYO. Local The name of a county and town in Ireland, 
the plain near the water, from Moi or Moy, Gaelic, a plain, 
Moy, a river, and ai, a region or territory ; the region or 
tract on the river Moy. 

MCALLISTER or MCCALLISTER. The son of Aiister, the 

Gaelic, for Alexander. CaUester, in the Welsh, signifies a 
flint, figuratively, an invincible man. G-allmter, in Cor. Br., 
expresses might, power. 

McAKDREW The son of Andrew. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 193 

McARDLE or McCardle. (Gaelic.) From Mac, son, and ardal, 
literally, the son of the high-rock, figuratively, high prowess 
or valor. 

McBAEsT. The son of Bain. Sean or Ban, white, Donald 
Bean, Donald the white. 

McBKIDE. The son of Bride (which see). 

McCABE. The son of Cabe. Caob, Gaelic, a bough, branch, 
a clod, lump, a bit or piece of any thing. Ceap, the top of a 
hill, a sign set up in time of battle. 

McCAMUS. The son of Camus (which see). 

McCALLEK The son or descendants of Callen or Colin. This 
name was given to the descendants of Sir Colin Campbell, 
or Colin the Great, who flourished toward the end of the 
thirteenth century, at Lochore, Scotland. 

MCCARTHY. The son of Carrthach, an Irish chieftain, who 
lived in the eleventh century. 

McCLIS. From Mac, son, and Olis, active, quick, ingenious. 

McCOUN. (Gaelic.) From Mac, son, and Ceann, head or 
chief; the son of the chief. 

McCRACKIST or McCHARRAIGIK The son of the rock, 
figuratively, the son of the brave, 

McCREE. (Gaelic.) From Mac, son, and High, king, the 
king's son; or from cridhe, the heart, figuratively, brave, 
bold, generous ; also a term of endearment 

McCULLOUGH. The son of Cullough. Cuttach, Gaelic, a 
boar, figuratively, a brave man. 

McDHOIL or McDOWELL. (Gaelic.) The son of Dowell or 
Dougall, the dark stranger. From dhu, black, and gall, a 
native of the low country of Scotland ; any one ignorant of 
the Gaelic language ; a foreigner, a stranger. The same as 
McDougalL 

McDERMOT. The son of Dermot (which see). 
9 



194 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

McDONALD or MCDONELL. This family was for many cen- 
turies reputed the most powerful of any in the Highlands of 
Scotland, being styled " King of the Isles," for many gener- 
ations, during which they were successful in asserting their 
independence. Somerled, Thane of Argyle, nourished about 
the year 1 140, and was the ancestor of all the McDonalds. He 
married the daughter of Olans, Lord of the Western Isles, 
whereupon he assumed the title of u King of the Isles" He 
was slam, in 1164, by Walter, Lord High Steward of Scot- 
land. Donald, from whom the clan derived then- name, was 
his grandson. 

McDOKNOUGH. (Gaelic.) The son of Donnach, the same 
as Duncan, safe, able to defend. 

McDOUGALL. The son of Dougall, that is, the black stranger, 
the foreigner, or native of the Lowlands. 

McDUFR (G-aelic.) The son of the captain, from Mac, son, 
and Duff, a captain. 

McFADDEN. (Celtic.) The son of Faddan. Fada, Gaelic, 
tall ; Phaudeen, Gaelic, " little Patrick," and Mac, son ; Mac 
Phaudeen, the son of little Patrick. 

McFARLAND. The son of Pharlan, or Partholan, the Gaelic 
for Bartholomew. Malcom McFarlane, descended from 
Alwyn, Earl of Lennox, founder of the clan McFarlane, 
lived about 1344, in the reign of Malcom IV., King of Scot- 
land. 

Tradition gives the following fabulous origin of the name. A 
nephew of one of the old Earls of Lennox, having killed, in 
a quarrel, his uncle's cook, was obliged to flee the country. 
Returning after many years, he built a castle upon an island 
above Inversnaid, in the Highlands, where he, and the island 
after him, received the appellation of Farland. Hence 
McFarland, the son of him who came from the Far-land. 

McFERSOK The same as McPherson. 

McGINNIS. (Gaelic.) The son of Ginna,, cine, a race, ow, 
numerous, gen or gin, to beget, a numerous clan or race. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 195 

McGOOKEN or McGTJCKEK (Gaelic and Celtic.) From 
Mac, a son, and Gugan, a bud or flower. This name is the 
same in the Welsh or Cor. Br. 

McGOWAN. (Gaelic.) Eron Gow, a smith; the son of a 
smith, Smithson. 

McGEATH and McGRAW. (Celtic or Gaelic.) From Gradh, 
love, fondness, virtue, prosperity. Mac and rath, the son of 
prosperity. 

McGREGOR. The descendants of G-regor, who was the son 
of Alpin, King of Scotland. A family of great antiquity, 
and of distinguished ancestors. (See Gregor.) 

McGUIRE. The son of Guaire or Godfrey. Gmire was a 
son of Alpin, King of Scotland. 

McHARD or McHARG. (Welsh, Cor. Br., and Gaelic.) The 
son of the brave or the handsome. Mac 'Arg. 

McILDOEY. From Mac, son, giUe, a youth, and dhu, black; 
the son of the black youth. 

McILDOUNEY. (Gaelic.) From Mac, son, gille, a youth, and 
doinne, brownishness ; the son of the brown-haired youth. 

McILHEKNT. (GaeHc.) The son of the old man. 

McILRO Y. (Gaelic.) From Mac, gitle, and ruadh, red-haired ; 
the son of the red-haired young man. 

McmNTS. The son of Innis. 

McIlTTOSH. The son of the leader or first. Tosh, and Toshich, 
signify the beginning or first part of any thing ; so Toshich 
came to denote the general or leader of the van. The 
Mclntoshes derive themselves from McDuff, who obtained 
his right from Malcom Canmore. 

MoINTYRE. (Gaelic.) The son of Kintyre ; a promontory, 
or headland, from Cean, head, and tir, land. Also the son 
of the carpenter. 

McKAY. The same as McKie (which see). 



196 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

McKELLY. The son of Kelly (which see). 

McKENSIE. (Gaelic.) The son of the chief, head, or first. 
Same as McKenneth ; the son of Kenneth, signifying, chie^ 
head, or first. 

McKIBBEK (Celtic.) From Mac, son, and Ceoblinn, the 
top of the hill. 

McKIE. (Celtic or Gaelic.) The son of a dog; figuratively, 
the son of a champion. The Britons, Celts, and G-auls, ap- 
plied the names of various animals to their heroes, indicative 
of strength, endurance, courage, or swiftness. This name 
is derived from Mac, son, and cu, Jcei, or H, a wolf-dog. The 
common hound was called Gayer. 

McKINlS[OiST. Originally McFingon, the son of Fingon, who 
was the youngest son of Alpiu, King of Scotland. 

McKIRNAK The son of Kiernan. Karnon, Cor. Br., the 
high rock ; Cuirnin, Celtic, a bush ; Guirnean, G-aelic, a 
small heap of stones. 

McLAUGHLIN. The son of Laughlin, or the expert sailor. 
See Laughlin. 

McLAURIN. The son of Ldbhruinn, or Lawrence. 

McLEAN. MacGillean. From a Highland chieftain of the 
name of Gillean, who was the progenitor of this family. 

This Gillean was a celebrated warrior, and was called Gillean- 
ni-Tuoidh, from his ordinary weapon, a battle-ax, which in 
the Gaelic is Tuoidh, which his descendants wear to this 
day in their crest, betwixt a laurel and a cypress branch. 
The posterity of this QiUean were therefore called Mac Gil- 
lean, in all ancient documents, and now of modern date 
McLeans. " Magh Leamhna" in the County of Antrim, the 
estate of the McLeans or Macklins. 

McLEOD or McCLEOD. From Mac, son, and Olode, from 
Claudius, the second emperor who invaded Britain. Church- 
ill says he was named Claudius because, through fear of 
death, he buried himself alive, being plucked by the heels 
out of a hole to be set upon the throne. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 197 

McMAHON. (G-aelic.) The son of a bear ; a hero. 

McMANUS. The son of Manus or Magnus, the great, or re- 
nowned. 

McMARTIK The son of Martin, or the warlike. 

McMASTER. The son of Master. 

McMULLIK .The son of the miller. 

McMURROUGH. The son of Murrough or Murrach; MOT, great^ 
strong, and ach, battle. Mur, a wall, bulwark, and ach. 

McMURTAIR. (G-aelic.) The son of a murderer. 

McNAB. The son of Nab. Nab, the summit of a mountain or 
rock. The son of the Abbot ? Nab, Persic, a chief, a prince. 

McNAMARA. (Celtic.) Prom Mac, son, and cu-marra or 
or con-marra, " the hero of the sea." Con-marra was de- 
scended from Cos, King of Thomond, from whom came 
McConmara, or Macnamara. This family were anciently 
hereditary lords in the County of Clare. 

McNEVIK (Gaelic.) The son of Nevin. Cnamhin, Naomh, 
holy, sacred, consecrated ; a saint 

McNIEL. The son of Niel (which see). 

McNAUGHTOK McAn Achduinn. The son of the expert 
and potent, from Mac, Gaelic, son, an, ofj and achduinn, 
tools and instruments of all kinds j able, expert, potent. 

McPHERSON. The son of Pherson. Pherson is the son of 
JPfarrer, German, a parson, and that from Pfarre, a parish, 
a benefit, or living. Pfarre is derived from the Gaelic 
Faire, a watcher, to watch, an overseer, Episcopus. 

McQUADE. Quad. Danish, a song, air, lay ; a species of nar- 
rative poetry among the ancient minstrels. The son of the 
Poet. 

McQUARIE or McGUAIRE. Son of Guaire or Godfrey. 
Guaire was son of Alpin, King of Scotland. 

McQUEEN. That is, McOwen, the son of Owen. Originally 
McSweene. 



108 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

McWILLIAM. The son of William. (See William.) 

McWITHY. The son of the weaver, from the G-aelic Mac, a 
son, and guithe, Cor. Br., a weaver. In the Welsh, 
gwehydd, a weaver, quethy, Cor. Br., to weave. 

MEAD. Local. A meadow, a tract of low land ; the sense is, 
extended or flat, depressed land. 

MEADOW. Local. Land appropriated to the culture of grass. 
MECHANT. (French.) Mechant, bad, wicked. 

MEDCAF. Local The inclosed cell or church, from midd, 
Welsh, inclosed, and caf, a cell, a religious house. 

MEEK. Mild of temper, soft, gentle. Mac, G-aelic, a son. 
MEERS. Shallow water, or lake ; a name of place. 
METTTN". (Welsh.) Mochyn, a pig; G-aelic, Muc, a wild boar. 
MEIKLE. A lump or mass, much, big. 
MEIKLEHAM. The large vilkge ; the great house. 

MEICKLE JOHN. (Scottish.) Large John, to distinguish him 
from wee John, or little John. 

MELOE. (Welsh and G-aelic.) A soldier, from mdwr, Welsh. 

MELLIS. Sweet, from Mel, honey, or Gaelic, milis, sweet, 
or from Milidh, a soldier. 

MELtTN". Local From the town of Melun, in France. 

MENAI. Welsh. So called from Menem, a strait which di- 
vides the island of Anglesea from the coast of Wales. The 
Mena or Mona, worshiped by the Sequani, was the moon. 
The Gaels blessed the beams of this luminary that saved 
them from the danger of precipices, and Augustine says that 
the Gaelic peasants invoked Mena for the welfare of their 
women. 

MENKO. Beardless; defective. 

MENTETH or MONTEITH. Local From a district in 
Scotland so called, through which the river Teth runs. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 199 

MENZTES. Said to be originally Maynoers, Meyners, then 
Menys afterward Meynes or Mengies, and now Menzies a 
branch of the family of Manners, in England, the name being 
originally the same. I think, rather, the name is derived 
from the parish of Monzie, in Perthshire, Scotland. 

MERGER. One who deals in silks and woolen goods. 
\ 

MEREDITH. This family is of British origin. Old chronicles 
relate that the first settlement of the family was situated 
on the Welsh shore, where the sea washed in with great 
impetuosity and noise, from whence it is added they took 
the name of Meredyth, or Amerediih. Maredydd, Welsh, 
the animated one. 

MERLE or MERRIL. (Fr.) A blackbird. Herd, local, a 
town in Savoy. 

MERTON. Local. From Merton, a town in Sussex, England, 
so called from mere, a lake or marsh, and ton. 

MESHAW. (Fr.) Mechant, bad, wicked. 

MESICK. (Dutch.) From Maesyck, a town on the river 
Maes, in the bishopric of Liege, Netherlands. 

METCALF. In the Welsh, medd signifies a vale, a meadow, 
and caf, a cell, a chancel, a church, i. e., the church in the 
vale. 

The origin of the name, however, is given by tradition in this 
wise. In those days when bullfights were in vogue, in 
merry England, one of the enraged animals broke away from 
the combat, and was hotly pursued by horsemen. A certain 
John Strong happened to meet the bull on the top of a hill, 
and when attacked by the furious beast, he seized him in 
the nostrils with his left hand, and killed him. As he came 
to the foot of the hill, meeting several persons in the pur- 
suit, he was inquired of whether he had met a bull; he 
replied he " Met a calf" and from this circumstance was 
called afterward John Metcalfe. 



200 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

METTERNICH. (Dutch.) From Metier, middle or in, and 
naght, night middle of the night; born in the middle of the 
night. Metternach, local, the town next to the middle place, 
from nach, next) after, behind, at, or by. 

MEYER. (G-er.) The magistrate of a city or town. 

MEYEUL. Local Came into England with William the 
Conqueror. The name is derived from a place hi France. 

MICHAEL. (Heb.) Who is like God ? 

MICKLE. From the Saxon Muchel ; Scottish, Muckle, big. 

MIDDLEDITCH. Local The middle trench for draining 
wet land or guarding inclosures. 

MIDDLETON. Local From Middleton, a small town in 
Dorsetshire, England the middle town. 

MILBOTJKNE. Local. The mill brook, from MiU, a mill, and 
borne or bourne, a brook. 

MILDMAY. Said to be derived from the Saxon Mild, soft 
or tender, and dema, a judge, and was given to one of the 
early ancestors of the family from his tempering the severity 
of the law with mercy. 

MILFORD. Local. The ford by the mill 

MILLER. One who attends a grist-mill. MeiZlear, Gaelic, 
having large lips; malair, Gaelic, a merchant; maittor, 
Gaelic, from maille, armor, and fear, a man a man hi 
armor, having a coat of mail, a soldier. 

MILLMAK A man belonging to a mill. 

MILLS. Local. Living near a mill. Gaelic, MiUdh, a soldier, 
the d being silent. 

MILNE. A mill. In Gaelic Muileann also signifies a mill; in 
Welsh, Mttain implies firmness, fixedness of purpose. 

MILltfER. A miller. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 201 

MUTHOEPB. Local. From a village of that name in West- 
moreland, England, so called from mill, and thorpe, a village 
the mill-village. 

MILTON. Local. From the town of Milton, in Kent, Eng- 
land. The mill- town, from the Saxon miln, a mill, and ton; 
or the middle town. 

MINSTER (Sax.) An abbey. 

MINTURN. (Welsh.) Local. The round stones or circle of 
stones, from min, stones, and turn, a round, a circle ; trwn 
and iron, Welsh, a circle. 

MITCHELL. A corruption of Michael, or from the Saxon 
Muchel, big. 

MIXE. Local An ancient territory of France. 

MOCHRIE. (Celtic.) My beloved, from mo, my, and chree, 
dear; a term of endearment, a sweetheart. 

MOE. (Old English.) Large, tall, great. 
MOEL. Maol, in the Q-aeh'c, signifies bald. 
MOELYN. (Welsh.) Bald-pate. 

MOFFATT. Local. Derived from the town of Moffat, in 
Dumfriesshire, Scotland. 

MOLEN. (Dutch.) A mill 

MOLLOY. (Cor. Br.) The dusty or hoary mill. 

MOLYNEUX. (Fr.) Local. From Normandy, De Moulins, 
De Moulines, De MolineuS. From Moulins, a town on the 
river Allier, in France, so called from the great number of 
water mills there. Fr., Moulin, a mill. 

MONGER. Anciently an extensive merchant, now used to 
denote those who traffic in a single article. 

MONK. Greek, ^ovoq\ Welsh, mon, sole, separate, alone; 
G-aelic, moanach. A man who retires from the ordinary con- 
cerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion. 



202 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

MONROE. Local. Monadh Roe or Mont Eoe, from the 
mount on the river Roe, in Ireland, whence the family came. 
Moine Roe, a mossy place on the Roe ; M'unroe, from, of, 
or about the Roe. The river is sometimes written Munree. 

MONSON. Derived, according to antiquarians, from the Ger- 
man word Muntz, but probably the son of Mon or Mun, a 
nickname for Edmund. 

MONTAGUE. (Fr.) De Mont digue from the sharp or steep 

mountain. 
MONTFORD. From the Latin "De Monte Forte," that is, from 

the strong or fortified hill or mountain. 
MONTGOMERY. A corruption of the Latin "Mons Gomeris," 

Gomer's mount. Gfomer, the son of Japhet, the hereditary 

name of the Gauls. 

MONTMORICE. The mount of Morris; or from the Moorish 
mountains, perhaps natives of Morocco ; some bearing this 
name went with William the Conqueror into England. 

MOODY. A name given from the disposition. Meudwy, Welsh, 
an anchorite, a recluse, hermit, a monk. 

MOERS. Derived from the town of Moers, in the Nether- 
lands. Moer or Moeras, in Dutch, signifies a fen, marsh, or 
moor. 

MOON. A corruption of Mohun, or it may be local, from the 
island Anglesey or Mono,, so called, as some suppose, from 
mwyn, Welsh, mines, from its stone-quarries and mines; 
others derive it from mon or mona, alone, separated. Mwyn, 
Welsh, affable, pleasant. 

MOONEY. Meunier, Fr., a miller. 

MOORE or MORE. (Gaelic.) Mor, great, chief, tall, mighty, 
proud. Moar, a collector of manorial rents in the Isle of 
Man. Moore, from moor John o' the Moor. 

MORAN. A multitude. Moran, a contraction of Morgan, 
which signifies of or belonging to the sea. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 203 

MORETON. (Gaelic.) Local From mor, large, high, and 
dun, ton, a hill. 

MORGAN. From Mor, the sea, and gan, born ; the same as 
Pelagius born on the sea, from the Greek Tre/lcyof, the 
sea. Mor, the sea, and gan, by or near near the sea, a 
locality. 

MORIARTY. (Gaelic.) Noble, illustrious, from Mor, great, 
and artach, exalted. 

MORLEY. Local. From Morlaix, in Brittany, France, and 
derived from the "Welsh or British word mor, the sea, and 
ley, a valley. It is situated near the sea, on a river of the 
same name. 

MORSE. Probably a contraction of Morris. Mors, the name 
of a large island in Denmark, a marsh. 

MORREL. Having yellow hair. 

MORRIS. (Welsh.) From Mawr and rys, a hero, a warrior, 
a brave man. Marih, the great, the warlike, same as 
Mavors. 

MORTON. (Gaelic.) Local. From the parish of Morton, in 
Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Mor, big, great, and 
dun, ton, a hill. 

MOSELEY. Local Moss-ley, Sax., Moose, Moyes, or Moss, 
a mossy field or pasture. 

MOTT. (Fr.) A round artificial hill 

MOULTON. Local A small town in Devonshire, England. 

MOUNTAIN. A name of place. This name once gave occa- 
sion to a pun which would have been excellent, had the 
allusion been made to any other book than the Holy 
Scriptures. 

Dr. Mountain, chaplain to Charles II., was asked one day by 
that monarch to whom he should present a certain bishopric 
just then vacant " If you had but faith, sire," replied he, 
" I could tell you to whom." " How so," said Charles, " if I had 



204 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

but faith." " Why, yes," said the witty cleric, "your maj- 
esty might then say to this Mountain, lye ihou removed into 
that sea" The chaplain succeeded. 

MOUNTJOY. A name adopted probably by one of the cru- 
saders, from a place near Jerusalem, which, according to Sir 
John Mandeville, " men clepen Mount- Joy e, for it gevethe 
joye to pilgrymes hertes, be cause that there men seen first 
Jerusalem * * * a full fair place, and a delicyous." 
Lower says, " Some religious houses in England had their 
Mbuntjoys, a name given to eminences where the first view 
of the sacred edifice was to be obtained. This name is still 
retained in a division of the hundred of Battel, not far from 
the remains of the majestic pile reared by William the Con- 
queror. Boyer defines i Mont-joid as a heap of stones made 
by a French army, as a monument of victory." 

MOXON. The son of Moggie or Margaret. 

MOXLEY. Local. Probably Mugasley, from the Saxon muga, 
much, great, large, and ley, a field. 

MULLIGAN. (Gaelic.) Local MuUechean, the top or sum- 
mit, a height. 

MULLINS. (Fr.) A miller. "De Moulin," from the mill 

MUMFORD. The same as Montfort (which see). 

MUNDY. Local. Derived from the Abbey of Mondaye, in 
the dukedom of Normandy. 

MUNGE Y. A corruption of Mountjoy (which see). 

MUNN. A familiar abbreviation of Edmund. 

MUNSEL. Local. From MonsaU, a dale of Derbyshire, or a 
person originally from Mansle, in France. 

MURRAY, MORAY. De Moravia. Some deduce this family 
from a warlike people called the Moravii, who came from 
Germany into Scotland, and affixed their own nomenclature 
to that district now called the shire of Moray. The root of 
the name is the same whether Moravian or Gaelic, and sig- 
nifies the great water, from mor, great, and an or av, water. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 205 

MTJRRELL. (Fr.) A sea waH or bank, to keep off the water ; 

a name of place. 
MUSGRAVE. King's falconer, from Menu, Sax., the place 

where the hawks were kept, and grave, keeper. 
MYERS. The same as Meyer, the magistrate of a city or 

town ; a very common name in Germany. 

NAB. In the Persic, signifies a chief, a prince. Nab, English, 
the summit of a mountain, the top. 

NAFFIS or NEFIS. (Fr.) From Nefik, that is, born son, 
from Ne and fits. Nwyfus, in the Welsh, signifies brisk, 
sprightly, active. 

NAIRNE. Local. The name of a shire, river, and town in 
Scotland, whence the surname is derived. The name was 
taken from the river, which was called in Gaelic uisge- 
rifhearn, from uisge, water, and rifhearn (pronounced nearn, 
the " f h" having no sound), " the alders" " the water of the 
alders," from the great number of alder-trees which grew on 
its banks. 

NANCE. Local. From Nance or Nancy, a city of France, capi- 
tal of the department of Meurthe, and signifies a valley ; nans 
or nantZj in the Cornish British, is a plain, a dale, a leveL 

NAPIER. It is said that Donald, a son of the Earl of Lennox, 
for his bravery in battle, had his name changed by the king 
to Napier. After the battle, as the manner is, every one ad- 
vancing and setting forth his own acts, the king said unto 
them, " Ye have all done valiantly, but there is one among 
you who hath l Na Pier,' " and the king gave him lands in 
Fife and Goffurd. The name came, however, from taking 
charge of the king's napery. or linen at the coronation of 
English kings, an office held by William De Hastings, in 
the time of Henry I. 

NASH. Supposed to be a corruption of "Atten-Ash" at the ash. 
Naish, a place near Bristol, England. Naisg, Gaelic, made fast, 
bound, protected Probably an old fortress or watch-tower. 



201 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

NAYLOR. A maker of nails. 

NEANDER. Newman, Greek, veof-dvjjp, the new man. 

NEEDHAM. Local From Needham, a market-town in Suf- 
folk, England the village of cattle; Sax., neat, Danish, 
nod, a herd, and ham, a village. In another sense it may 
denote the clean, fair town. 

NEAL. The same as Neil (which see). Neal may be some- 
times a contraction of Nigel. 

NEFF. French, Naif, artless, candid. : Nef t a water-mill; the 
nave of a church. 

NEFIS. Welsh, Nwyfus, sprightly. Nefils, French, a son 
born, descendant from. 

NEIL and NEL. In the Cor. Br. signifies power, might, that 
is, the powerful or mighty. Neul or Nidi, in the Gaelic, sig- 
' nines a cloud or hue ; figuratively, a dark complexion. 

NELSON or NEILSON. The son of Neil or NeL 
NELTHROPE. From Nehwl, Gothic for near or nigh, and 

thorpe, a village ; given to an individual living at such a spot 

near the village. [PLAYFAIR.] 
NEQTJAM. (Latin.) Dishonest, lazy. Alexander Nequam, of 

St. Albans, wishing to devote himself to a monastic life, in 

the abbey of his native town, applied to the ruler of that 

establishment for admission. The abbot* s reply was thus 

laconically expressed : 
" Si bonus sis, venias, si Nequam, nequaquam." If good, you 

may come ; if wicked, by no means. 
It is said he changed his name to Neckham, and was admitted 

into the fraternity. 
NESS. A cape or promontory. 
NETHERWDOD. Local. The lower wood. 
NEVEU. (Fr.) A nephew. 
NEVILLE. (Fr.) "De Neuve vitte" of the new town. Neu- 

ville, a town in Poitou, France. 



CF FAMILY NAMES. 207 

NEVET. (G-aelic.) Ndomh, holy, sacred, consecrated. Welsh, 
Nefj heaven; Nsfanedig, heaven-born; Nefddawn, heaven- 
gifted. 

NEWBURY. (Sax.) New-town. A place in Berkshire 
raised out of the ruins of an old town called Spingham. 

NEWTH. Nuadh, in the Gaelic, signifies new, fresh, recent 

NEWTON. Local The name of several small towns in 
England the new town. 

NISBETT. Local. From the lands of Nisbett, hi the shire of 
Berwick, Scotland. 

NO AXES or NOKES. A corruption of Atten Oak, "at the 
oak;" en was added to at when the following word began 
with a vowel, as " John Atten Ash" John Nash, that is, 
John at the Ash. Mr. John Nokes is a celebrated person- 
age in legal matters, as well as his constant antagonist 
Mr. John Styles (John at the Style). The names are so 
common, that "Jack Noakes and Tom Styles" designate the 
rabble. 

NOBLE. Great, elevated, dignified. 

NOEL. (Fr.) Christmas ; a name given probably to a child 
born at that time. 

NOGENT. Local. From the town of Nogent, in the province 
of Champagne, France. The Nugents went from England 
into Ireland in the time of Henry II. 

NORBURY. Local. The north town or village. 

NORCUTT or NORTHCOTE. Local. The north-cot; so 
Eastcott and Westcott. 

NORFOLK. Local A county of England. Nord-folk, the 
north people, so called with regard to Suffolk, or the south 
people. 

NORMAN. A native of Normandy, a northman. The inhab- 
itants of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were anciently so 
called. 



208 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

NORRIS. Nbrroy, or north-king ; a title given, in England, to 
the third king-at-arms. Norrie, French, a foster-child. 

NORTHAM. Local The north house or village Norfaham. 

NORTHOP. Local A place hi England; the north thorp or 
village. 

NORTHUMBERLAND. Local A county of England. 

North-Sumber-land, the land on the north side of the river 

Humber. 

NORTON. Local From Norton, a town hi Yorkshire, Eng- 
land. The north-town. 
NORWICH. Local From the city and seaport of Norwich, 

in Norfolk, England. The north-harbor, from north, and 

wick, a harbor or port. 
NOTT. Hnott, Saxon, smooth, round, a nut. Notted, an old 

word for shorn, polled. The name may have come from 

wearing the hair short and smooth. 

" A nott Tied had he, with a brown visage." CHAUCEB. 

The following, it is said, was penned by the first wife of the 
Rev. Dr. Nott, on his asking her hand in marriage : 

" "Why urge, dear sir, a bashful maid, 

To change her single lot, 
When well you know, I've often said 

In truth, I love you, Nott. 
For all your pain I do, Nott, care, 

And trust me on my life, 
Though you had thousands, I declare, 

I would, Nott, be your wife." 

NOTTINGHAM. Local From the borough town of Notting- 
ham, in England. Bailey says the name is corrupted from 
Snottmgham, from the Saxon Snottenga, caves, and ham, a 
village, from the many caves and places of security found in 
that county. 

NO WELL. The same as Noel (wMch see). 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 209 

NOX. Local Cnoc, in the Gaelic, is a little hill, a hillock. 

NOTES. Noy is an abbreviation for Noah. " In England, in the 
seventeenth century, Attorney-General Noy was succeeded 
by Sir John Banks, and Chief-justice Heath being found 
guilty of bribery, Sir John Finch obtained the office ; hence 
it was said : 

" Noy's flood is gone, 

The Banks appear, 
Heath is shorn down, 
And Finch sings here." LOWEB. 

In the Cornish British, ^oi is a nephew, and Noys night 
NUGENT. (See Nogent) 

NYE. The familiar abbreviation of Isaac, among the Dutch. 
Note, Danish, exact, precise, nice. Ny, Danish, new, re- 
cently produced. Lower gives the name from 
at the island. 



OAKES. Local. From a dwelling near the oak-trees. 
OAKHAM. Local From the town of Oakham, in Rutland- 

shire, England, so called from Oak, and ham, the village by 

the oaks. 
OAKLEY. Local The fields or pasture abounding in oaks. 

O'BIERNE. The same as O'Byrne. 0, or Ui, signifies grand- 
son, descendant. The descendants of Byrne. In the Welsh, 
Bryn is a hill ; Brenin, a chief, a king. 

O'BRIEN. The descendant of Brien, i. e., exalted, noble. 

O'BYRNE. Originally O'Bran, the descendants of Bran, an 
ancient king of Leinster ; which signifies a raven; he was 
usually called Bran Duv, the black raven, from the color of 
his hair, and his thirst of prey. 

O'CALLAGHAN. (Celtic or Gaelic.) The descendants or 
tribe of Callaghan, from Ciattach, prudent, judicious, discreet 



210 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

OCHIERN or OIGTHIERNA. (Gaelic.) A term applied to 
the heir apparent to a lordship, from Oig, young, and tierna, 
a lord. 

OCKHAM. Local From ock or ac, an oak, and ham } a vil- 
lage, a town in Surrey, England, so called from the abun- 
dance of oaks growing there. 

OCKLEY. (Sax.) From ock or ac, an oak, and leag, a field. 
The oak field. 

O'CONOR or O'CONNOR. The descendants of Conor or Con- 
covar, an Irish chieftain, who died in the year 971. (See 
Conor.) 

O'DEYLIN. The descendant of Develin (which see) 

O'DONNELL. The descendants of Donal, an ancient Irish 
family, who trace their descent through Donal to NiaUus 
Magnus, the ancestor of the O'Neills, known as Nial Nia- 
gaMach, Nial of the nine hostages. The O'Donnells ruled 
the territory of Tirconnell, for thirteen generations. (See 
Donald.) 

O'DONOGHUE. The descendants of Donogh (which see). 

O'DONOVAN. The descendants of Donovan, which is de- 
rived from Dondubhan, the brown-haired chief. This name 
was given to a celebrated Irish chieftain of the tenth cen- 
tury, who was killed by the famous Brian Boru. 

O'DORCY. The descendant of Dorcy. Dorcy is a corruption 
of De Orsay, from Orsay, a town in Cleeve, Germany. 

O'DOUGHERTY. The chief of the oak habitation, from 0, 
high or chief, doire or darach, the place of oaks, and tigh, a 
habitation. 

O'DUGAN. The descendant of Dugan (which see). 
O'FLAHERTY. The descendant of Flaherty (which see). 

OGDEN. Local. (Sax.) From ock, oak-tree, and den, a val- 
ley ; the oak vale, or shady valley. Ogduine, in the Gaelic 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 211 

signifies a young man, from Og, young, and duine, a man j 
Ogdyn, in the Welsh, has the same signification. 

OG-ILVIE. Local. From the lands of Ogilvie, in Scotland. 
It may come from the Welsh Ochil, a high place. 

O'GOWAN. The descendant of Gowan (which see). 

O'HAKA. The descendant of " Sara" Chaldee form of ara, a 
mountain. In Gaelic, arra signifies a pledge, treachery; 
arr, a stag, a hind ; arradh, an armament ; ara, plural of ar, 
slaughter, battle, Hara, Saxon, a hare. 

O'KEEFE. The descendant of Kie Kief, in the Danish, sig- 
nifies brave, stout, courageous. 

OLIFANT. An elephant. 

O'LEARY. The descendant of Lary; Uary, Welsh, gentle, 

easy. 
OLIVER. So named from the. olive-tree, an emblem of peace. 

OLLENDORFF. Local. From Oldendorf in Germany, so 
called from Olden, old, and dorf, a village. 

OLMSTEAD. Local A place or town by the green oaks, 
from Holm, an oak, and stead, a place. Holme, low lands 
on a river, an island. 

O'MAHONT. The descendant of Mahon, which signifies a 
bear. 

O'MALLEY. The descendant of Malley; Mala, Gaelic, the 
brow of a hill Maitte, smooth, placid, gentle. 

ONDERDONK. (Dutch.) Under grace or pardon, from onder, 

under, and dank, thankfulness, gratitude. 
O'NEIL. The descendants of Neil, that is, the powerful or 

mighty. 
ONSLO W. Local. From the manor of Onslow, in Shropshire, 

England. Aunslow signifies a place on a river or stream. 
O'QTJIN. Anciently O'Con. The descendants of Con Cead- 

cah-%, one of the early monarchs of Ireland. 



212 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

ORCHARD. Local. An inclosure of fruit-trees. Orchecvrd, 
Gaelic, a goldsmith. 

ORME. (French.) Local An elm-tree. 
ORMISTOK Local The town or village of elms. 

ORMSBY. From orme, an elm, and by, a town; a name of 
a place surrounded by elms. 

ORR. Local Derived from the river and town of Orr, in 
Scotland. Or, in Welsh and G-aelic, signifies a border, a 
boundary. 

ORTON. Local From the town of Orton, in Westmoreland, 
England. Gaelic, Ord, a hill of a round form and steep, 
and ton, a town a fortress. 

ORVIS. Urfhas, in the Gaelic, signifies fair offspring. Arvos, 
Cor. Br., local, a place on or near an entrenchment, from Ar 
and /oss. 

OSBORN. (Sax.) From hus, a house, and beam, a child A 
family-child, an adopted child. 

OSMUND. (Sax.) From hits, a house, and mund, peace. 

OSTERHOUDT. (Dutch.) The east wood, from oost or oster, 
east, and houdt, a wood. 

OSTHEIM. (Ger.) From Ost, east, and heim, a home, habi- 
tation or village. From the east habitation or village. 

OSTRANDER. (Dutch.) The lord of the east shore, from 
oste, east, strand, the shore, and heer, lord or master ; he that 
must have his due of a stranded ship. 

OSWALD. (Sax.) From hus, a house, and wold, a ruler a 
house-ruler or steward ; a king of Northumberland. 

OTIS. (Greek.) From &rbf, the genitive singular of 6ve, the 
ear, a name given from quick hearing. 

O'TOOLE. Originally O'Tuathal the descendants of Tuathdl, 
which signifies " the lordly." 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 213 

OTTER Local Oitir, Gaelic, a low promontory jutting into 

the g3a, a shoal. 
OUDEKIRK. (Dutch.) Local. From a town of the same 

name in Holland, and signifies the old church, from oude, 

old, and JcerJc, a church. 
OUSELEY. Local. From the river Ouse, in England, and 

ley, a field or place a place on the river Ouse. The name 

Ouse is derived from the Gaelic uisge, water. 
OUTHOUDT. (Dutch.) Local. The old wood. 
OWEK (Celtic.) The good offspring. Oen, Welsh, and 

Gaelic, uan, a lamb. 
OXFORD. Local. From Oxford, in England, on the Isis, 

'the seat of the celebrated university founded in 806; from 

Ox, Anglo-Saxon, water, corrupted by the Angles or Danes 

from the Gaelic uisge or isJc, and ford, a pass or way the 

ford across the Isis. 
Bailey derives it from Oxen-ford, " the ford of the oxen," like 

the Greek Eosphorus, or from the river Ouse, and ford. 

The name of the river Ouse is derived from uisge, water. 

PADDOCK. (Old English.) A meadow, croft or field; an 

inclosure in a park. 
PAGE, Child, and Varlet, were names given to youths between 

seven and fourteen years of age while receiving their educa- 
tion for knighthood. 
PAINE. Paon, Fr., a peacock. Payne, a pagan, unbaptized ; 

a rustic. 
PAISLEY. (Welsh.) Local. From Plas, a pass, and Hi, a 

stream the place of crossing the river. 
PALMER. A pilgrim, so called from the palm-branch, which 

he constantly carried as a pledge of his having been in the 

Holy Land. 

" Here is a holy Palmer come, 
Fmn Salem first, and last from Rome." 

SCOTT'B MARMION. 



214 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

PANCOST. A corruption of Pentecost, the fifteenth day after 
Easter, a name probably given to a child born on that day. 

PANG-BOUKK Local. A town in Berkshire, England; 
bourn, a brook, a river. 

PAKDIE. A name given to one who was in the habit of 
swearing Par-dieu. Lower says, it is not a little curioua 
that the French oath, "Par Dieu" has become naturalized 
among us, under the various modifications of Pardew, Par- 
doe, Pardow, and Pardee. So also we have the Norman 
name Bigot, from the habit of swearing "Hi- God" 

PARS ALL. Local. ParJc-haU, the same as Parshall. Par- 
cell may be from par-del, " by heaven," a name given for the 
same reason as the preceding one. 

PARIS. Local The metropolis of France, on the Seine, an- 
ciently called "Lutetia Parisiorum" Lutum, mud, from its 
situation in a marshy place. A place where the Pars or 
Peers met in Congress. Paro, to make civil or military 
arrangements ; Paries, a wall, a walled town ; Peri, an 
island. 

PARKE. A piece of ground inclosed, and stored with deei 
and other beasts of chase. 

PARKER. The keeper of a park. 
PARKMAN. The same as Parker. 

PARNELL. The same as Pernell, from PetroniUa, Italian, 
pretty stone. A wanton, immodest girl 

PARRET or PERROT. Local. From Peraidd, Welsh, the 
sweet or delicious river, now the Dee. 

PARRY. (Welsh.) Probably a contraction of Ap Harry, the 
son of Harry. In the Welsh it also signifies ready, prepared, 
equal, like ; Para, endurance, one capable of enduring. The 
name may be local, from Parys, a mountain in Wales, so 
called from parhtus, inexhaustible (mines) ; or Pres, brass, 
copper, ore. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 215 

PARSHALL. Local. Par7c-7taU } the hall, or mansion in the 
Park. 

PARSON". We suppose that its first founder was a clerical 
character or parson. From the Latin Persona, that is, the 
person who takes care of the souls of his parishioners. 

PATRICK. From the Latin Patritius, noble, a senator; the 
name of the tutelary saint of Ireland. 

PATTERSON or PATTISON. Patrick's son, the son of Pat- 
rick. 

PAUL. Signifies little, small Latin, Paulus, Greek, TravAoj-. 

PAXTON. Local From the town of Paxton, in Berwick- 
shire, Scotland. 

PAYNE. Local From a place called Payne, in Normandy. 

PEABOD Y. There is an ancient tradition (we give it for what 
it is worth), that this name was derived from one Boadie, 
a kinsman of Queen Boadicea, who assisted her hi her re- 
volt against the Romans. After the Britons were subdued 
by the Romans, Queen Boadicea dispatched herself by 
poison, and Boadie, with a remnant of the Britons, escaped 
to the mountains of Wales. Boadie, among the Cambri or 
Britons, signified a man or a great man, and Pea signified a 
large hill, a mountain, from which Boadie came to be called 
Peabodie, or the Mountain man, which became the name of 
the tribe. 

PEACOCK. Taken from the name of the well-known fowl ; 
pea, contracted from the Latin, pavo, Saxon, pawa, French, 
paon, a name given from a fondness of display. 

PEARSON or PIERSON. Pierre-son, the son of Pierre or 
Peter. 

PEDIN. Local. Pedn, Cor. Br., is a hill ; the head of any 
thing. 

PEEBLES. Local. From the town and shire of Peebles, in 
Scotland. Pdbl, Welsh, people, and lie, a place ; Pobutt, 
Gaelic, people, and eis, many ; the place of many people. 



216 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

PEELE. Local. A tower, a castle, a spire, a steeple, as Came- 
pek, the spire rock. Pele, Fr., a bald-pated man. 

PELHAM. Local From the lordship of Pelham, in Hertford- 
shire, England, either from peele, a tower, castle, or from 
pool, a small lake, and ham, a village. 

PELL, according to Bailey, is a house ; in the Welsh it signi- 
fies, far off, at a distance. 

PELLETIER (Fr.) A furrier, or skinner. 

PELLYN, now PILLINGrS. (Cor. Br.) The distant pool 
Pyling, an old word denoting a superstructure. 

PENDLETON. Local. The summit of the hill, Gaelic, from 
pendle, the summit, and dun, a hill Pen-dal-ton, the town 
at the head of the valley. 

PENGrlLLY. (Cor. Br.) The head of the grove. 
PENN. (Cor. Br.) The' top of a hill; the head. 

PENNANT. (Cor. Br.) From Pen, a head, and nant, a vale, 
or dingle ; the head of the dingle ; the principal mansion of 
the family, Bychton, in Wales, being situated at the head of 
a considerable dingle on the old family estate. 

PENNING-TON. Local. Derived from the manor of Pen- 
nington, in Lancashire, England, anciently Penitone, written 
in the Doomsday-Book, Pennegetum. 

PENEY. Local A town in Savoy ; the head of the water, 
from pen and eau ; also a pinnacle. 

PENNY or PINNY. The top of a mountain or hill. A 
mountain in Spain is called by the inhabitants " La Penna 
de los Enamorados," or the Lover's Rock. The word has 
the same meaning as the English pinnacle. 

PENNYMAN or PENNYMON. (Welsh.) Local. Pen-y- 
mon, the top of the mountain. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 217 

PERCY, PIERCY, PEROEY. Local The renowned family 
of Percy, of Northumberland, England, derived their name 
from Percy Forest, in the Province of Maen, Normandy, 
whence they came, which signifies a stony place, from 
pierre. It may signify a hunting place, from pirsen, Teu- 
tonic, to hunt ; percer, French, to penetrate, to force one's way, 

PERKINS. From Peir or Peter, and the patronymic or di- 
minutive termination ins, little Peter, or the son of Peter. 

PERRIGO. Local. From Perigeux, a town of France. 

PERRY. If not synonymous with Parry, it is local, from 
Pierre (Fr.), a stone, signifying a stony place, abounding 
in rocks. 

PEYENSEY. Local A village in Sussex, England, the land- 
ing place of William the Conqueror, in 1066, derived from 
Pau, Welsh, a tract of pasture land, and aven(s), a river, and 
aig, the sea, standing at the mouth of a river, near the sea. 
The name is also Gaelic, and has the same meaning. Biad- 
hdbhainisg, or Pababhainisg. 

PEYTON. Assumed by the proprietors of Peyton, a small 
town near Boxford, in Suffolk, England. They were de- 
scendants of William Mallet, one of the favorites of William 
the Conqueror. 

PHELPS. Supposed to be the same as Phillips (which see). 
The name may come from the Danish, Hvalp / Swedish, 
Valp, a whelp. 

PHILIP. (Greek.) A lover of horses, from ^o^ and tinrof. 
PHIPPEN. A corruption of Fitz Penn, from the Norman, 

Fitz, a son, and Penn. The son of Penn, 
PHYSICK. The art of healing diseases. A name given to a 

physician. 
PICKERING. Local A market town of north Yorkshire, 

England, with the remains of a castle. 
PICKERSGILL. Local. The stream inhabited by pike or 

pickerel 

10 



218 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

PIERCE. The same as Piercy or Percy (which see). 

PIERPONT. (Fr.) De Pierre Pont, from the stone bridge ; 
in Latin, De Petra Ponte. 

PIGGOT and PICKETT. Pitted with the small-pox, spotted 
in the face, from the French Picote. 

PIG-MAN. A dealer in pigs. A man by the name of John- 
son, in Staffordshire, England, who followed this occupation, 
was generally called Pigman, and he willingly recognized 
this cognomen. 

PILCHER. A maker of pilches, a kind of great coat or upper 
garment, in use in the fourteenth century. 

" After gret heat cometh cold, 
No man cast his pylch away." CHAUCER. 

FILLINGS. Same as Pellyn (which see). 

PITTMAN, PUTMAN A man living near a well or spring; 
Saxon, pit; Danish, put, a well or spring. 

PLAYFAIR. Local The play ground, a place where fairs 
were held, and holidays kept. 

PLAYSTED. The place appropriated to amusement, or any 
exercise intended for pleasure. 

PLEASANTS. Local. From a suburb of the city of Edin- 
burgh, called " The Pleasants," where anciently was a priory 
of nuns, which was dedicated to St. Mary of Placentia, of 
which the name " Pleasants" is a corruption. 

PLYMPTON Local. (Cor. Br.) From Plym, a river, and 
ton, a town. The town situated on the river Plym, in Dev- 
onshire, England. 

POLK. An abbreviation of Pollock (which see). Mr. Polk, the 
late President, is third in descent from a Mr. Pollock. 

POLLARD. A tree having its top cut off; a fish; Poularde, 
French, a fat chicken ; Pol, Dutch, a loose or lewd man, 
and ard, disposition. Poule-ard, chicken-hearted. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 219 

POLLEY. Local. From Poilley, in the province of Orleans, 
France, whence the family originally came. 

POLLOCK. Local Derived from the parish of PoUock, in 
Eenfrewshire, Scotland. The name is from the Gaelic Pol- 
lag, "a. littie, pool, pit, or pond," a diminutive of pol, a pool. 
It is vulgarly pronounced Pock or Polk. 

POMEROY. (Fr.) Pomme-roi, a kind of apple, the royal 
apple, king's apple, or king of apples; a name probably 
given to a gardener for his skill in raising them, or a name 
of place where such apples were raised. 

POIKDEXTER. (Fr.) The same as Hotspur, or spur the 
steed; poin being derived from pungo, to pierce, to prick, 
and dexter, right, as opposed to left ; a word expressive of 
readiness of limbs, adroitness, expertness, and skill. 

POITEYIN. A name given to a native of Poitou, France. 

POOLE. Local. A small collection of water in a hollow place, 
supplied by a spring ; a small lake. " John at the Pool," be- 
came " John Pool." A town in Dorsetshire, England. 

POPE. Greek and Latin, Papa, father. 

PORCHER. This name originated with Simon Le Porcher, 
hereditary grand huntsman to Louis Capel, King of France, 
from whose official duty of slaying the boar, the name is 
derived. 

PORSON. The same as Parson, or a corruption of Power-sor 
the son of Power. 

POWERS. (Welsh.) From Powyr, a descendant of Leod, 
who was the father of Mandebrog or Mandubratius. 

POWELL. A contraction of the Welsh Ap HoweU, the son of 
Howell. It may also be deduced from Paul, of which it was 
a former orthography : 

" After the text of Crist, and Powel, and Jon." 

WEIGHT'S CHAUCER, 7229. 

POTTER. One who makes earthen vessels. 

POTTINGER. An apothecary is so called in Scotland. 



220 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

POULTON. Local From the town of Poulton, in Lancashire, 
England, also a place near Marlborough, in Wiltshire, so 
called from Pool, a small lake, and ton, a town. 

POYNDER. A bailiff, one who distrains. 

PRATT. From the Latin Pratum, a meadow. Prat, in the 
Dutch, signifies proud, arrogant, cunning. 

PRESCOT. (Welsh.) Local. From Prescot, a small town hi 
England, so called from Prys, a coppice, and cwt, a cottage. 

PRESSLEY. Local. A coppice, from the Welsh Prys, 
shrubs, brushwood ; G-aelic, precis, bushes, shrubs, and He, a 
place, meadow or pasture lands. 

PRESTON. Local A town in Lancashire, England. The 

town in the coppice, or the bushy hill, from Prys and ton ; 

also, Preston, the town where brass is found or manufac- 
tured, from Pres, brass, Welsh. 

PRICE. (Welsh.) A corruption of Ap Rice, the son of Rice. 
PRICHARD. (Welsh.) A contraction of Ap Richard, the 

son of Richard. 

PRIDEAUX. (Fr.) From Presd'eaux, near the water. 
PRINDLE. A croft or small field. 
PRING-LE. Local PrencyU, a hazel-wood, fcompren, Welsh, 

a wood, and cyU or coll, hazel Pringle, an obsolete Scottish 

coin. 
PRODQERS, PROGKERS, or PROGER. A contraction of Ap 

Roger, the son of Roger. 
PROVOOST or PROOST. A name of office, a president of a 

college ; the chief magistrate of a city. 
PUG-H or P YE. A contraction of Ap Hugh, the son of Hugh, 

" u" having in Welsh the sound of " y." 
PUTNAM. (Dutch.) From Put or Putten, a weU, and ham, 

a house or town. Welltown, or the house by the well. 
PUTZKAMMER. (Qer.) A dressing-chamber, a room for 

dress and ornaments ; a c lamberlain. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 221 

PYE. A contraction of Ap Hugh (see Pugh) ; also, a bird ; 

there was an old sign of a pye over an inn in London called 

Pye Corner. 
QUACKENBOSS. (Dutch.) Quickeaibosck, a thicket, a grove 

of roan-tree, mountain-ash, a species of service-tree. 

QUENTIN or QUINTIK From the Latin Quintus, " the 
fifth," a name given to the fifth son. Quentin, a town in 
Cotes du Nord, France, so called from St. Quentin, who died 
there. 

QUIG-LY. Gaelic, Cuigecdach, of or belonging to a distaff or 
hand rock ; perhaps a thrifty person, or from resembling a 
distaff in bodily peculiarity. 

QUIN. Local. From Quin, a village in Clare county, Ireland- 

KADCLIFF. Local. A place in Lancashire, England, so 
called from a cliff of red rock. 

KADFORD. (Cor. Br.) The fern way. 
RADLANTD. (Cor. Br.) The fern land. 
RADNOR (Cor. Br.) The enclosure of ferns. 

RAFFLES. (Danish.) From Raefel, long-lubber, lath-back, 

inactive, sluggish. 
RAINSFORD. Local. A corruption of Ravensford. 

RALEIGH. Rhawlaw, in the Welsh, signifies a lieutenant^ a 
vicar; and Rheoti, to govern, to rule. It may be local, from 
Ral, Raoul or Ralph, and leigh, or ley, a field or place. 

RALPH. (Sax.) From Rod, counsel, and ulph, help, French, 
Raoul, Latin, Rodolphus, a helper, a counselor. 

RALSTON. Local. Ralph, one of the descendants of Mao 
Duff, Thane of Fife, obtained a grant of land in Renfrew- 
shire, and, as was common in those days, called "he place 
after himself, Ralphstown, which was softened into Ralston. 

RAMAGE. Branches of trees ; a coppice where birds sing. 



222 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

RAMSEY. Local. From Ea, Saxon, water, or an isle, and 
Ram, Ram's Isle, a place in Huntingdonshire, England; 
where the family originated, and afterward settled in Scot- 
land. Ramus, Latin, branches, young trees the isle of un- 
derbrush, branches, or young trees ; a place where cattle 
browse. Reomasey, Saxon, from Reoma, the rim, edge, ex- 
tremity, a border, and &y, an island. 

RAMSDEN. (Sax.) Local The winding valley, or the ex- 
tremity of the valley. 

RAN. (Sax.) Pure, clear. 

RAND. (Dutch.) The border, a borderer. 

RANDAL, RANDOLPH, or RANDULPH. (Sax.) These 
names have the same signification. Fair-help, from Ran, 
fair, and ulph, help. 

RANDER. Local (Gaelic and Welsh.) A tract of land on 
a point or promontory. Rand, Danish, the rim, border, 



RANKIN. This name may be derived from the Danish Rank, 
right, upright, erect If the name is Gaelic, it would come 
from Roinn, a promontory, share, or division, and Ceann, 
head ; the head of the promontory, a name of place. Ran- 
Teen, in the Dutch, signifies pranks, tricks. 

RANNEY. Local. Renaix, R&inow, or Renais, a town of 
Switzerland. Reni (Latin, renatus), renewed, born again, 
regenerated. 

RANSOM, RANSOME. The price paid for redemption from 
captivity or punishment. 

RATHBONE. (Sax.) An early gift. 

RAPP. Rap, in Danish, is swift, nimble. Rap, Dutch, nimbly 
quick ; " rap gasten" a nimble fellow. 

RAWDON. Local. From the lands of Royden, near Leeds, 
in Yorkshire, England. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 223 

RAWLEY. (Welsh.) Rhawlaw, a vicar. (Evans.) 

RAWLINGS. From Raoul, French for Ralph, and the pa- 
tronymic termination ings ; Ralph's son. 

RAWLINSON, The son of Rawlings. 

RAWSOK A corruption of Ravenson, or it may be Ralph's 
son. 

RAY. This name may have several origins. Ruadh and 
Reagh, Gaelic, swarthy, red, sandy complexioned. Re, the 
moon. Ray, a, beam of light, luster. Re, from ruo, to rush, 
applied to a stream, rapids, whence the river Reay, in Caith- 
ness, Scotland. Rea, Cor. Br., wonderful, strange. Rhe, 
Welsh, a run, Rhedu, to run. Rhae, Welsh, a battle, the 
place of a battle ; a chain. 

RAYMER. (Dutch.) Roemur, one who extols, praises, boasts. 
Raumer, German, a person employed in clearing or cleaning. 

RAYMOND. (Teut.) From Rein, pure, and mund, mouth; 
pure mouth, one who abstains from wanton discourses. 
Raymund, German, quiet peace. 

RAYNER. (Danish.) Raner, a leader of the Danes, who in- 
vaded Britain ; a pirate, a robber, a term given to a warrior. 

RECORD. The same as Rikerd, or Richard, of which it is a 
corruption, liberal-hearted, rich in disposition. 

REDDEN or RODDEN. Local. (Cor. Br.) A place of ferns. 
Rodon, a town in Bretagne, France. 

REDDENHURST. Local. Reddon, Cor. Br., fern, and hurst, 
Saxon, a wood or grove. 

REED and READ. (Sax.) From Rede, advice, counsel, help, 
or from the fenny plant, a reed. 

REESE, RHEESE. (Cor. Br.) Pushing, violent; a strong or 
powerful man. Riese, in German, signifies a giant. Welsh, 
Rhys, a rushing. Rees, a town of Germany, on the Rhine. 



224 ETYMOljOGUCAL DICTIONARY 

REEVES. From Reeve, a bailiff, provost, or steward, Shire- 
reeve, Wood-reeve, (Sheriff, Woodruff.) 

REINARD and REYNARD. (Teut. or Sax.) From Rein, 
pure, and ard, nature, disposition ; honest, incorrupt. 

REINHART. (Dutch.) A pure heart, from rein, pure. 
RENARD. (Fr.) A fox, cunning. 
RETZ. Local. A town in Moravia. 

REYNOLDS. (Sax.) Sincere or pure love from, Rhein, pure, 
and hold, the old English for love. It also may signify 
strong or firm hold. 

REYNOLDSON. The son of Reynolds. 

RHEFELDT. The deer-field, from the Dutch rhee, a roe, and 
feldt, a field. 

RHODES. Local From the island of Rhodes, hi the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. Rhodes, a town in Guienne, France. 

RIAN. Graelic, Ria, a provincial chief. Rian, manner, order,, 
arrangement, sobriety, good disposition. 

RICE. Another form of Rys, Welsh, to rush, a rushing ; figur- 
atively, a hero, a brave, impetuous man. The same as 
Rees. 

RICH. Wealthy, opulent ; anciently, great, noble, powerful 

RICHARD or RICARD. (Sax.) Of a powerful, rich, or gen- 
erous disposition, from ric, rich, and ord, nature or disposi- 
tion. 

RICHARDSON. The son of Richard. 

RICHMOND. (Sax.) F-om ric, rich, and rrwnd, mouth 
rich-mouth; figuratively, eloquent 

RICKETTS. A corruption of Ric^rds, from Richard (which 

see). 
RIDDELL. Local. From lands in the county of Yorkshire, 

formerly called the Ryedxles. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 225 

BIDDER and BITTER. The same as Ruyter, a knight, a 
chevalier. 

BIGrGrS. From the Danish rig, wealthy, rich; or the name 
may be local, and denoting a steep elevation, a range of 
hills, or the upper part of such a range. 

RING-. (Dutch.) Local. A Canton; a district of an eccle- 
siastical congregation. 

RINGE. (Danish.) Mean, low, small, little; a ring, circle. 
Local, a round place. 

RINGGOLD. (Welsh.) Local. Rhingol, a cleft, cliff, or 

steep bank. 

RIPLEY. Local. A market-town in west Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, from the Saxon rypan, to divide or separate, and ley, 
uncultivated lands, a pasture. 

ROBERTS. (Sax.) From Rod, counsel, and bert or bericht, 
bright or famous famous in counsel. 

BOBY. (Danish.) From Ro, rest, repose, and ly, a town 
the peaceful town. 

ROCHESTER. Local. From a city in Kent, England, so 
called from Roche, French, a rock, and Chester, from the 
Latin castrum, a city or castle ; an uneven, rough, and stony 
place. Reoli, Saxon, and Rauh, German, signify rough, rug- 
ged, uneven. (See Chester.) 

ROCHFORT. Local A town of France " the strong rock." 
BOE. (Gaelic.) Red-haired. Nor. Fr., Ron, Rufus. 

ROEMER. (Dutch.) From Roem, glory, renown; a praiser, 

a boaster. 
ROGER. (Teutonic.) Rhu, rest, quiet, peace, and gard, a 

keeper; or Rhu-geren, one desirous of rest; Rodgarus, all 

counsel or strong counsel. 
ROLAND, ROLLIN, and RODLAND. (Sax.) Counsel for 

the land. 

20* 



226 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

ROMA1JSTE. The same as Roman, from Rome ; also, strong. 

ROMANNO. Local. From lands in the county of Peebles, 
Scotland, so called from a Roman military way, leading from 
the famous Roman camp at Line to the Lothians, which 
passed through the middle of those lands, from which they 
were called Romanno. 

ROOF. Probably the same as Reeve, an officer or steward. 
Ruf, German, reputation, famous, renowned. 

ROORBACK. (Dutch.) Noisy brook. A town in Bavaria, 
Germany. 

ROOT. Local. A place lying low, the base, foot, or bottom 
of a mountain, the lower part of land. 

ROSENCRANS. (Danish.) Rosenkrands, a garland of ro^es ; 
in Dutch, the place of rose-trees. 

ROSEVELDT. (Dutch.) The field of roses. 

ROSS. (Gaelic.) Local. A shire of Scotland. Ros, a penin- 
sula, an isthmus, a promontory. Rhos, in Welsh, is a moor, 
a bog. Ros, in Cor. Br., is a mountain, a meadow, a com- 
mon. Rose and Rosh signify a valley or dale between hills. 

ROSWELL, Rosveldt, the rose-field; Rosville, the town on 
the heath or promontory. 

ROTH. (German.) Red color. 

ROTHSCHILD or ROSCHILD. From a town in Denmark, 
which is said to take its name from a river with which it is 
watered that drives several mills. Roe, in the ancient 
Danish language, signifies a king, and Jcitte, a stream of 
water or brook, i. e., the king's brook. Some have given 
the signification " Red-shield" to the name, from Roth, red. 

ROUSE. (Fr.) Red, red-haired, same as Rufus. 

ROUSSEAU. (Fr.) One having reddish hair, carrot color. 
Ritisseau, local, a brrok. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 227 

ROWE. Local. A river that overflows its banks. Rowe, 
Rue, Fr., a street ; Roe, Gaelic, red-haired. 

ROWEL. Local. From the river Rouel, in the Netherlands. 

ROWEN. Local. A town in Bohemia; Rou&n, a town in 
France ; Rowan, a tree, the mountain-ash. 

ROWLE. (Cor. Br.) Rule, order, law; Rheol, Welsh, rule, 
law. 

ROWLEY. (Sax.) Local. From Row, sweet or pleasant, 
and ley, a field. 

ROWNTREE. Rowan-tree, the mountain-ash, so named from 
that kind of tree growing near the premises. 

ROY. (Gaelic.) Ruadh, Roe, Roy, red-haired ; also Roye, a 
town in England. Roi, French, king, whence Le Roy. 

RUFUS. (Fr.) Red, from the color of the hair. 

RUE. Local. From Reaux, in Hainault, Netherlands. Fr., 
Rue, a street. 

RUG-G-LES. Local. A town of France, on the Eure. 

RUNDELL. A contraction of Arundle (which see). Rundle 
also signifies a sparrow. 

RUNNION or RUNOK (Gaelic.) A smaU hill. 

RUSBRIDGE. Local. From the town of Rousbrugge, in 
Germany. 

RUSS. A Russian, so called in Holland. 

RUSSELL. (Fr.) Red-haired, somewhat reddish; carrot- 
color. 

RUSSEY. Local. A town in Doubs, France. 

RUTGERS. (Dutch.) Rudgert, the same as Roger, quiet, 
tranquil; one desirous of rest, a keeper of rest; Rodgarus, 
strong counsel. 



228 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

KUTHERFORD. Local. From the lands of Rutherford on 
the river Tweed, in the parish of Maxton, Roxburgshire, 
Scotland. The name is derived from the Welsh Ruihr, 
rushing, swift, and jjford, a ford or way. 

RUTHVEN. From the lands and barony of Ruthven, in 
Perthshire, Scotland ; a river of the same name ; " Ruifhab- 
hainn" i. e., the rushing or swift stream. 

RUYTER. A knight or chevalier, in the Dutch or German, 
and sometimes written Ritter, having the same signification 
as the English Rider. 

RYDER. A forest officer, being mounted, and having the 
supervision of a large district In the ballad of William of 
Cloudesly, the king, rewarding the dexterity of the archer 
who shot the apple from his child's head, says : 

"I give thee eightene pence a day, 
And my bowe thou shalt bere ; 
And over all the north countre 
I make theechyfe rydere." 

RYE. (French.) Local From Rive, a coast, a shore, a bank, 
border. 

RYNDERS. Local. A town in North Jutland; the same as 
Rander. 



SACKVILLE. A corruption of the Latin De Sicca vitta, that 
is, from the dry town. 

SAFFORD. Local. A corruption of Seaford, a town of Sus- 
sex, England. 

SALES. Sahl, or saol, in German, signifies a hall or court. 
French, salle. The name may be local, and derived from 
the river Sale, in France, or Saal, a river in Bavaria. 

SALISBURY or SARISBURY. (Sax.) Local. A city and 
capital of Wiltshire, England. Th : town of health ; the dry 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 229 

town. The old town of Salisbury anciently stood upon a 
hill where there was no water, but it is now situated in a 
valley, and a little brook runs through the streets. The 
name was sometimes written Salusbury, that is, the healthy 
hill or town. 

SALTER. A name of trade, one who sells salt. 

SANDFORD. Local From Sandford, a place in Westmore- 
land, England the sand-ford. 

SANDS. (Danish.) Sense, wit; or it may be from Sand, 
Sandy, a Scottish abbreviation of Alexander. 

SANGSTER. (Scottish.) A song-maker or singer. 

SANXAY. (Fr.) Local. From the town of Sanxay, in 
Poitou, France. 

SATERLEE. Local. A place in England where Saturn was 
worshiped by the pagan Saxons. 

SAXE. A Saxon, so called in Holland. In Athelstan's song 
of victory, given in the Saxon Chronicles, A.D. 938, secce sig- 
nifies a fight; secga, a warrior; seax or secce, a sword, any 
sharp instrument. Latin, sica, a dagger. 

SAXTON. An under officer of the church, the same as Sexton. 
Local, Sax-town, a town of the Saxons. 

SCARBOROUGH. (Sax.) Local. From the seaport and 
borough of Scarborough, in Yorkshire, England, from scear, 
a sharp rock or hill, and burgh, a town or fort ; literally, a 
hill, from bergh. The town or fort on or by the sharp- 
peaked rocks. 

SCARRET. Local. Scear, a rocky cliff. Scarard, the high 
cliff; LesJcerret, a market-town in Cornwall, England. The 
old part of the town stands upon rocky heights. 

SOARDSDALE. A valley in Devonshire, England, so called 
from the Saxon scearres, indented or sharp disjointed rocks 
called scars, and dale, a valley. 



230 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

SCHAFFER. (Dutch.) He that dishes up or provides vic- 
tuals. Shaffer, G-erman, a shepherd, a pastor, a swain. 

SCHELL. (Old English.) A spring. 

SCHELLDEN. (Old English.) The spring in the valley, from 
schell, a spring, and dene, a valley. SkeU is also a well, in 
the old northern English. 

SCHENCK. (G-er.) From schenke, an inn or public house ; a 
name of place. 

SCHERMERHORK (Dutch.) From Shermer, a fencer, and 
hoorn, a horn, which emblematically expresses strength or 
power. 

SCHOONHOVEK (Dutch.) From the name of a town in 
South Holland, and signifies fine gardens or courts, from 
schoon, beautiful, and hof, plural, hoven, gardens or courts. 

SCHOONMAKER. (Dutch.) From SchoenmaJcer, a shoe- 
maker. / 

SCHUYLER. (Dutch.) Van Schuykr, from the place of 
shelter. Schuiler, a hiderj Schuil, a shelter, a hiding- 
place. Schuler, German, a scholar. 

SCOTT. A native of Scotland. Nennius uses both Scythce 
and Scotti indifferently. Strabo considers Scythce and No- 
modes synonymous terms. The original word in Ossian is 
Scuta, which literally signifies ' " restless wanderer," hence 
the propriety of the name Scuite or Scot. 

SCRANTON. (Dutch.) From schrantsen, to tear, seize, or 
break, so named, perhaps, from his warlike propensities. 

SCROGrG-S. Local. From Scrog, a stunted shrub, bush, or 
branch, given probably from the location of the dwelling. 

SEAFORD. Local. From a seaport town of that name in 
Sussex, England. 

SEAFORTH. Local. The name of a projection of the sea on 
the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland " the 
*brth or frith of the sea." 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 231 

SEAYER. (G-aelic.) Saibher, rich; Sever, local, a town in 
Trance. 

SEAMAN. A sailor, one who follows the sea. 

SEARS. (Cor. Br.) From sair, a carpenter or sawyer ; 
Welsh, saer / Gaelic, saor, a carpenter. 

SEATOK Local. That is, sea-town, a parish in Perthshire, 
formerly called Errol. (See Seton.) 

SEBRIG-HT. From Se, Saxon, used the same as the article 
the, and bright. The illustrious, the renowned. 

SEDG-WICK. The town or harbor abounding with sedge, 
wick, a town or harbor. 

SEG-TJR. (Grer.) Powerful, victorious, from sieg, victory. 
Dutch, zege. 

SEIX. Local. A town in Arriege, France. 

SELBY. Local. A market-town in west Yorkshire, England, 
on the Ouse. Danish, Seile, to sail, to navigate, and by, a 
town, fleil, a sail. A place of boats or sails. 

SELKIRK. Local. A borough town of Scotland. CettkirJc, 
a religious house. A cell was anciently that part of a tem- 
ple within the walls. SeLcarrik, Cor. Br., the high rock ; 
Sel, a view, a prospect, Welsh, syllu, to look, and carrik or 
craig, a rock. 

SELLENGER. A corruption of St Leger, and that from St 
Leodeger. 

SELLICK. (Cor. Br.) Local. A name of place, and signifies 
in open view, remarkable, conspicuous. Crugsellick, in 
Yerian, the barrow in open view, from sel, a view. 

SEMARD. A corruption of St. Medard. 
SEMPLE or SAMPLE. A corruption of St. Paul 



232 ETYMOLOGICAL 'DICTIONARY 

SETON. Local From lands of that name in Haddingtonshife, 
Scotland, which were so called because the town thereof 
was situated close upon the sea, and which gave name to 
the family of Seton, so renowned in Scottish annals. 

SEVERN. Local A river rising in the mountain Plynlimmon, 
in Wales. 

SEYJERINS. Local Mountains in Languedoc, France. 

SEWARD. High admiral, who kept the sea against pirates, 
from sea, and ward, a keeper. 

SEWALL and SEWELL. Probably from sea and wati, a 
structure of stone or other materials intended for a defense 
or security against the sea. This name, though seemingly 
local, may have various significations ; suil } in the G-aelic, is 
a willow ; suail, small, inconsiderable. Su, south, and wold, 
wald, wild, well, an uncultivated place, a wood, a plain, a 
lawn, hills without wood : Suwold, Suwatt, Suwell 

SEYMOUR. A corruption of St. Maurus. 

SHADDOCK or SCHADECK. Local. The name of a lord- 
ship in Germany. 

SHAN. (Celtic.) Old ; shanty, an old house. 
SHANACH. (Gaelic.) Sionnach, a fox. 
SHANE. The Celtic for John. 

SHANNON. (Gaelic.) From the Shannon, a river of Ireland. 
The tranquil, gentle river, from sen, gentle, and dbhain, a 
river. Shan-eon, the tranquil river. S before a vowel, in 
the Gaelic, has the sound of sh. The river Seine, in France, 
has -the same signification. Shanon the ancient river, from 
sean, old, and oun or obhain, a river. 

SHAW. (Scotch.) A lawn, a plain surrounded by trees, or an 
open space between woods. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 238 

SHELDON. (Cor. Br.) Local. The spring in thv/ valley, 
from scheU, a spring, and dene, a small valley. 

SHELLEY. Local Derived from Shelley, in Essex, Suffolk, 
and Yorkshire, England, from ScheU, a spring, and ley, a 
field. 

SHEPPY. Local. From an island in the county of Kent, so 
called from the Saxon Sceap-Ea, or Sceap-Ige, that is, the 
Sheep's Isle, because sheep abundantly multiplied there; 
called also Ovini, from the Latin ovis, a sheep. 

SHERARD. Said to be derived from one Scirrard, who came 
with William the Conqueror, and obtained lands in Chester 
and Lancaster, England. As a local name, it may signify in 
Anglo Saxon, a high cliff ; rocky heights, from Scearard. 

SHERLOCK. (Gaelic.) From Saor, pronounced as with " h n 
after the "S" signifying clear, and loch, a lake, the clear 
lake. 

SHERMAN". A shearman, one who used to shear cloth. 

" Yillain, thy father was a plasterer, and them thyself a shearman. 11 
Stafford to Jack Cade. Shaks. Henry VI. 

SHERWOOD. From the Saxon sher (scir), clear, and wood, a 
clearing in the wood, or the cleared woods; or as Bailey gives 
the word, "Sheer-wood, in Nottinghamshire." It may be 
derived from shire, (Sax.) scire, (G-er.) schier, to divide, a 
portion or division of land; of which divisions there are 
forty in England, twelve in Wales, and twenty-four in Scot- 
land. 

SHIEL. Local. A river and loch or lake, in the south-west 
of Inverness-shire, Scotland. Shiels were shepherd's huts, a 
term used by the Northumbrian Saxons, to denote the tem- 
porary shelters of shepherds. 

SHOLTIS. (G-er.) Schultheiss, a mayor, magistrate. 
SHORT. Alluding to stature, not tall 



234 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

SHREW SBUEY. Local. A town in Shropshire, England, 
from the Saxon Scrube, a shrub, a small tree, and burgh, a 
town. 

SHEIEVES. A sheriff, from scir and reeve, the bailiff of a 
shire or division. The shire-reeve. 

SHUCK. (Dutch.) Signifies twelve or a dozen, and is ap- 
plied to sheaves in a harvest field. 

SHUCKBURG-H. Local. A place in Warwickshire, England. 
From Saxon, soc, an immunity, privilege, baronial or royal 
court, and burgh, a town or city a privileged place, or 
place possessing a particular court or jurisdiction. 

SHURTLIFF. Local. The " short cliff;" separated, cut off, 
from the Saxon, sceort, short, and cliff. 

SHUTE. Local From the castle of Shute, in Normandy, 

France. 

SIDDONS. (Welsh.) From syddyn, a farm a farmer. 
SIGURD. The same as Segur, powerful 
SIKES. Local A small spring well 
SIMEON. (Heb.) Hearing. 
SIMMONS. A corruption of Simeon or Simon. 
SIMS. A contraction of Simeon or Simon, the son of Sim. 

SINCLAIR. A corruption of St Clair, and that from St 
Clara, from the Latin clarus, pure, renowned, illustrious. 

SINGEN and SINDEN. A corruption of St. John, which is 
generally pronounced Singen. 

SISSON. Local Derived from Sissonne, a town in France. 

SKEFFING-TON. (Sax.) Local. From sceap, a sheep, and 
ton, a town. The sheep-town. The name of a small village 
in England. 

SKELTON. (Sax.) Local The hill of separation or bound- 
ary. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 235 

SKEKE. Some derive their names, as well as their arms, from 
some considerable action, and thus, it is said, a second son 
of one Struan Robertson, for killing a wolf in Stocket Forest, 
Athol, Scotland, with a dirk, in the king's presence, got the 
name of Skene, which signifies a dirk, Gaelic, Sgian, and 
three dirk-points in pale for his arms. Skians, Cor. Brit, 
implies witty, skillful, knowing. 

SKIDMORE or SCUDMORE. (Cor. Br.) From scoudh, or 
scuth, the shoulders, and raor, big, large. Broad shoulders. 
Scheidmuur, Dutch, a partition or division wall. 

SLACK Local A valley, or small shallow delL 

SLADE. Local A long flat piece or slip of ground between 
hills. 

SLA YIJN". (Celtic.) From slidbh, a mountain, a mountaineer. 

SLEEPER. (Dutch.) A cartman, or one who carries goods 
on a sledge. 

SMITH. The most common of all surnames, and might of 
itself furnish matter enough for a volume. The word is de- 
rived from the Anglo-Saxon Smitan, to smite or strike. 

" From whence comes Smith, all be he knight or squiiD, 
But from the Smith ih&tforgeth at the fire ?" 

YERSTEGAN. 

Among the Highland clans, the smith ranked third in dignity 
to the chief, from his skill in fabricating military weapons, 
and his dexterity in teaching the use of them. 

In Wales there were three sciences which a villain (tenant) 
could not teach his son without the consent of his lord, 
Scholarship, Eardism, and Smithcraft. This was one of the 
liberal sciences, and the term had a more comprehensive 
sense than we give to it at this time. The smith must have 
united in this profession, different branches of knowledge 
which are now practiced separately, such as raising the ore, 
converting it into metal, etc. 



236 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

The term was originally applied to artificers in wood as weD 
as metal, in fact, to all mechanical workmen, which accounts 
for the great frequency of the name. 

The New York City Directory for 1856 (in which the names 
of the heads of families only, are given,) contains the names 
Df more than eighteen hundred Smiths, of whom seventy- 
four are plain James Smiths, and one hundred and seventeen, 
John Smiths ! 

We see in the papers, that John Smith dies, is married, hanged, 
drowned, and brutally murdered, daily ! John Smith doesn't 
identify anybody, and is therefore no name at aU. 

This numerous family is the subject of many laughable anec- 
dotes and witty sallies. A wag, on a certain occasion, 
coming late to the theater, and wishing to get a seat, 
shouted at the top of his voice, " Mr. Smith's house is on 
fire !" The house was thinned five per cent., and the man 
of humor found a snug seat. 

In many neighborhoods the name is so frequent that it is neces- 
sary to append some soubriquet to identify the person. 

" Can you tell me where Mr. Smith lives, mister ?" " Smith 
Smith what Smith ? there are a good many of that name 
in these parts my name is Smith." " Why, I don't know 
his t'other name, but he's a sour, crabbed sort of fellow, and 
they call him ' Crab Smith.' " " Oh, the deuce ! s'pose I'm 
the man." 

But the best piece of humor relating to the name is the fol- 
lowing which we take from Lower, which appeared some 
years since in the newspapers, under the title of 

"THE SMITHS. 

" Some very learned disquisitions are just now going on in the 
journals touching the origin and extraordinary extension of 
the family of ' the Smiths: 

" Industrious explorers after derivatives and nominal roots, they 
say, would find in the name of John Smith a world of mys- 
tery; and a philologist in the Providence Journal*, after 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 237 

having written some thirty columns for the enlightenment 
of the public thereanent, has thrown down his pen, and de- 
clared the subject exhaustless. 

" Erom what has hitherto been discovered, it appears that the 
great and formidable family of the Smiths are the veritable 
descendants, in a direct line, from Shem, the son of Noah, 
the father of the Shemitish tribe, or the tribe of Shem ; and 
it is thus derived Shem, Shemit, Shmit, Smith. Another 
learned pundit, in the Philadelphia Gazette, contends for the 
universality of the name John Smith, not only in Great Britain 
and America, but among all kindred and nations on the face 
of the earth. Beginning with the Hebrew, he says, the He- 
brews had no Christian names, consequently they had no 
Johns, and in Hebrew the name stood simply Shem or 
Shemit; but in the other nations John Smith is found at 
full, one and indivisible. Thus, Latin, Johannes Smithius ; 
Italian, Giovanni Smithi; Spanish, Juan Smithas; Dutch, 
Hans Schmidt ; French, Jean Smeets ; Greek, 'lov 2/c/urov ; 
Russian, Jonloff Skmittowski ; Polish, Ivan Schmittiwciski ; 
Chinese, Jahon Shimmit; Icelandic, Jahne Smithson; 
Welsh, lihon Schmidd ; Tuscarora, Ton Qa Smittia ; Mex- 
ican, Jontli FSmitti. 

"And then, to prove the antiquity of the name, the same 
savant observes, that ' among the cartouches deciphered by 
Rosselini, on the temple of Osiris in Egypt, was found the 
name of Pharaoh Smithosis, being the ninth in the eight- 
eenth dynasty of Theban kings. He was the founder of the 
celebrated temple of Smithopolis Magna.' We heartily con- 
gratulate the respectable multitude of the Smiths on these 
profound researches researches which bid fair to explode 
the generally received opinion that the great family of the 
Smiths were the descendants of mere horse-shoers and 
hammer-men !" 

SNELL. (Dutch.) Snel, agile, swift nimble. 
SNODGRASS. Local. Grass trimmed and smooth; short 



238 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

SNOW. (Dutch.) From Snoo, cunning, subtle, crafty, sly. 
SNYDER. (G-er.) From schn&ider, a tailor. 
SOLDEN. Local A town in Westphalia, Germany. 

SOMER. Alluvial land. G-aelic and Welsh, so for swl or sal, 
soil, and mer, a lake, water, the sea. 

SOMERYILLE. The village near a marsh or lake ; So mer, a 
marshy soil, near water or the sea. /So, for swl, sal, the 
earth, soil, land. Samhradh, Gaelic, summer, from Sarnh, 
the sun. Somerset may have been so called because the 
primitive inhabitants had an altar to the sun, samh, or 
because the country lay to the south. 

SOMMER. (Fr.) From sommer, to sum or cast up ; one who 
directs or commands. Summere, Dan., to sum up. 

SOULS. Local. A small territory in France, between Beam 
and the Lower Navarre. 

SOUTHCOTE. The south cot; so East-cott and West-cott. 

SOUTHWELL. Local. A town in Nottinghamshire, Eng- 
land. The south well or plain. 

SPALDING-. Local. From the town of Spalding, in Lincoln- 
shire,- England. Spalding, a ravine, from the German spalte, 
a ravine. 

SPARK. To disperse, to scatter, to sparkle. 
SPAAREN. Local. A river" in North Holland. 

SPELMAN. (Danish.) From SpiUemand, a fiddler. Spitte, 
to game, to play. 

SPENCE. An abbreviation of Spencer. 

SPENCER. (Nor. Fr.) Le Despenser, a steward. The an- 
cestor of the family assumed the name Le Despenser (Latin, 
dispensator), from being steward to the household of Wil- 
liam the Conqueror. 

SPICER. A name of trade, a grocer. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 239 

SPIEGEL. (Dutch.) A looking-glass. 

SPIER. Spere, to ask, to inquire ; a word used formerly in 
Scotland and the north of Ireland. The name may be from 
spear, a long-pointed weapon used in war, and given for 
some exploit in battle, or taken from a sign over an inn. 
" John at the Spear." 

SPINK. A bird, a finch. 

SPOOR. (Dutch.) A spur ; that which excites ; a locality, as 
the spur of a mountain; whatever projects; the track or 
foot-prints of beasts. 

SPOTTEK (Ger.) To mock, deride, ridicule. 

SPRAGUE. From Spraak, Dutch, speech, language, figura- 
tively, eloquent. 

ST. ALBAN"S. Local. A town in Hertfordshire, England, so 
named from a Pagan deity, Alban, which name signifies a 
high hill, the Verulam of the Romans. OfFa dedicated a 
church to Alban, the proto-martyr of Britain, in the time 
of Diocletian. 

STAATS. Stoats is the nick-name in Dutch for Eustace, or 
Eustatius, which is derived from the Greek etf, and larrjfj.1, 
well-established, firm, unyielding. 

STACY. A seeming form of the Latin Statins, from Sto, to 
stand, stationed, standing still, fixed. a 

STAINES. An old word for stones ; a market town hi Mid- 
dlesex, England. 

STAIR. Local. (Gaelic.) Stepping stones in a river ; a path 
made over a bog. 

STAIRN. (Gaelic.) Din, noise. Stym, Saxon, stubborn, se- 
vere. 

STALKER. A fowler who goes warily and softly in pursuit 
of his game ; one who walks on stilts over ditches in pursuit 
of moor-fowl. 



240 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

" The fowler is employed his limed twigs to set, 
One underneath his horse to get a shoot doth stalk, 
Another over dykes upon his stilts doth walk." DRAYTON. 

STANHOPE. Local From the town of Stanhope, in the 
bishopric of Durham, England. From stan, stone, and hope, 
the side of a hill, or low ground amid hills. 

STANLEY. Local A market-town in Gloucestershire, Eng- 
land. The place of a tin mine, stan, tin, Welsh, ystaen, and 
ley ; or from the Saxon, stan, a stone, and ley the stony 
place. 

STANTON. From stan, a stone, and ton, a hill or town. 

STANWOOD. (Saxon.) From stan, a stone, and wood the 
stony wood. 

STAPLETON. (Saxon.) From stapel, stapol, stapula, a staple, 
fastening, stake, and ton, a town inclosed or fenced round 
with stakes. 

STARK. Anglo Saxon, Stare, German /Starch strong, firm, 
confirmed to the utmost degree, 

STAKKEY. Strong of body, from StarJe. 
STARR. (Ger.) Stiff, rigid, inflexible. 

STEAD. A place enclosed, a station or standing place. Stad, 
and stede, in Dutch, signifies a town. 

STEANE or STEEN. (Danish and Dutch.) A stone. 

STEARNS or STERN, Severe hi look, harsh, bold. Sti&rne, 
Danish, a star. 

STEBBINS or STUBBINS. Local From a town of the 
same name called Stebbings, originally Stubing, in Essex, 
England. So called from stub, Saxon, styobe, Latin stipes, 
the stump of a tree, and ing, a field or meadow. 

STEELE. A name given, in all probability, to a person who 
* 'as inflexible, hard, firm, or enduring. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 241 

STEIN". Local. A town in the isle of Sky, Scotland. Stein, 
German and Danish, a stone. 

STELL. (G-er.) A place, station, office. 

STEMME. (Dan.) Voice, vote, suffrage; also to tune, to 
agree, to accord. 

STENNETT. (Dan.) Local From stenet, stony, rocky. 

STETSON. Stedson, in Danish, is a stepson. 

STEVENS. From Stephen, from the Greek Sretfovof, a crown. 

STEWART. Walter, the son of Fleance, and grand-son of 
Banquo, was created, by Malcom III. Lord High Steward 
of Scotland, from which office his family afterward took and 
retained 'the name of Stewart, and from them descended the 
royal family of /Stuart.' 

STILL. Quiet, calm, silent-. A vessel used in the distillation 
of liquors. " John at the Still." 

STIMANDS. (Dan.) From Stimand, a robber, highwayman. 

STIRLING. Local. From the city of Stirling, the Gaelic 
name of which is Strila, by some supposed to signify " the 
place of strife," from Stri-tliratta. 

A Mr. Stirling, who was minister of the barony church of Glas- 
gow, during the war maintained against the insatiable am- 
bition of Louis XIV., in that part of his prayer which re- 
lated to public affairs, used to beseech the Lord that he 
would take the haughty tyrant of France, and shake him 
over the mouth of hell , ' but good Lord" added the worthy 
man, " dinna let Mm /a' in" This curious prayer having 
been mentioned to Louis, he laughed heartily at this new 
and ingenious method of punishing ambition, and frequently 
afterward gave as a toast, " The good Scotch parson." 

STOCKER. One who stocks, stores, or supplies. Stalker, one 
who stalks, a fowler who goes warily and softly in pursuit 
of his game. 

11 



242 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

STOCKING-. Local From Stoc, Saxon, a place, and ing, low 
land, a meadow. 

STOCKTON. Local. A town in Durham, on the Tees, Eng- 
land, from stoke, a place, a settlement, and ton, a town. 

STODDARD. Concerning the origin of this name there is 
a tradition, that the first of the family came over with 
William the Conqueror, as standard-bearer to Viscompte De 
Pulesdon, a noble Norman, and that the name is derived 
from the office of a standard-bearer, and was anciently writ- 
ten De La Standard, corrupted to Stodard or Stodart. 

STOKES. Local. A parish in Buckinghamshire ; also, towns 
in Suffolk and Gloucestershire, England. The name signifies 
a place, a settlement. Stuge, Danish, a ravine. 

STOKESBY or STUKEBY. Local. Stogeby, the village in 
the ravine. 

STONE. Local A town in England. The name was proba- 
bly given to an individual who resided near or by some re- 
markable stone, or at a place called Stone. " Will at the 
Stone." 

STORR. (Dan.) From storre, greater, larger, stout, strong. 

STOUGHTON. Local. This family derive its name from 
Stoche or Stoke, a place in Surrey, England, and tun, a word 
signifying an inclosure. 

STOVER. (Dan.) A fleet hound, a name given for swiftness 
or love of hunting. 

STO WE. A fixed place or mansion ; a town, a garrison. 

STRACHAN. (Gaelic.) Local. From the parish of Strachan 
in Kincardineshire, Scotland, formerly Straihaen. The 
name may come from stra or strath, a vale, from the root 
strath, a valley, through which a river runs, and chan or 
ceann, the head, meaning " the head of the valley," or " a 
little valley," from Strathan. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 243 

STRAIN. Local A town in the north of Scotland, written 
Strane. It may be a contraction of Strachan, a little strath 
or valley. 

STRATTON, STRETTON. (Cor. Br.) Local. The hill full 
of fresh springs. 

STRICKLAND. This name came from Strick-land or Stirfc. 
land, that is, " the pasture ground of young cattle," called 
stirks or steers, in the parish of Moreland, Westmoreland Co., 
England, where the family once had considerable posses- 
sions. 

STRINGER. One who made or fitted the strings to the bows 
in the time of archery. 

" In war if a string break, the man is lost and is no man, and 
his weapon is gone, and although he have two strings put on 
at once, yet he shall have small leisure and less room to bend 
his bow, therefore, God send us good stringers both for war 
and peace." ASCHAM. 

STRYKER. (Dan.) From strige, to strike, to roam, to travel, 
hence a worker at a trade, a traveler. 

STUKLEY or STUKLY. (Gaelic.) Local. From stuc, a lit- 
tle hill jutting out from a greater, a cliff, and ley, a place. 
Stugley, Danish, a ravine, a place near a cliff. 

STYLES. A very common name " At the Style" John Atte 
Style John Styles. (See Noakes.) 

SULLIVAN. (Celtic.) From suil, eye, and ban, fair the 
fair-eyed. 

SULLY. (Fr.) Local. From the town of Sully, in the prov- 
ince of Orleans, France. 

SULT. (Gaelic.) Suilt or Suit, comeliness, beauty, fat. 

SUMMER. So called, probably, from the season summer. The 
word is derived from the Saxon Sumer ; Celtic or Gaelic, 
samh, the sun. Summer, one who casts up an account 
The name may be a corruption of Sumner. 



244 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

SUMKER, SOMKER, SOMPNOURE. One whose duty con- 
sisted in citing delinquents to the ecclesiastical courts ; an 
apparitor ; literally, a summoner. 

" Sim Somnor, in hast, wend thou thi way, 
Byd Joseph and his wyff, be name, 
At the coort to apper this day, 
Hem to pourge of her defame." 
.'.'. * COVENTRY MYSTERIES. 

Chaucer gives us a description of the Sompnour in his Canter- 
bury Tales. 

SUMPTER. A teamster or groom who drives beasts of bur- 
den. A " sumpter-horse" a horse which carries necessaries 
for a journey. 

SUNDERLAND. Local A seaport town in the county of 
Durham, England. Land separated, divided, parted. 

SURTEES. Local. From Sur-Tees, that is, on the river Tees 
or Tay, in the county of Durham, England, where the first 
of the family settled. 

SUTPHEN. (Dutch.) Originally Yan Zutphen, that is, from 
the city of Zutphen, in Germany. 

SWARTWOUT. (Dutch.) The same as the English Slack- 
wood, from Zwart, black, and woud, a wood. 

SUTER, SUTTER, and SHUTER. A shoemaker, one who 
sews or stitches. 

STJTTOK Local. A town in Devonshire, England the 
south town. 

SWAIM. Local From Schwaim, a town in Lower Bavaria. 

SWANT3. (Dan.) A swan. Swain, a youth, a servant, a 
herdsman. 

SWEET. Swede, a native of Sweden. Switj of Switzerland. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 245 

SWETTENHAM. A name of place, from sweete, pleasant or 
agreeable, and ham, a village. 

SWEYNE Gaelic, Sean; Cornish, Swoen ; Welsh, Swyn, a 
charm. 

SWIFT. Local. A name given for swiftness in moving. It 
may be local, from Swift, a river of England. 

SWIITBTJRISr. Local. Sweynds burn or boundary, from bourn, 
a boundary. 

SWITS. A native of Switzerland, so called in Holland.' 
SWITZER. A Swiss, a native of Switzerland. 

SYLVESTER. Belonging to the forest, a woodman, from 
Sylva, Latin, a wood. 

SYMES. Supposed to be a variation of Sims, from Simon or 
Simeon. 

SYMINGTON. Local. From a parish by that name in the 
north-west of Kyle, Ayrshire, Scotland ; originally Symons- 
town, so called from Simon Lockard or Lockart, who held 
the lands under Walter, the first Stewart. 



TABOR. Local. Tabur or Tobar, Gaelic, a spring-well, water, 
a river. Tabor, a city in Bohemia, which the Hussites for- 
tified and made the seat of their war for twenty years ; on 
this account they were called Tdborites. The family may 
probably derive their name from this city. 

TAGGART. Tycwrdd, Welsh, a meeting-house. Tagaxr, 
Gaelic, to plead a cause, claim as a right, to reason, to 
debate. 

TAITE or TATE. (Gaelic.) Pleasure, delight. Tate, learned. 
Tad, in Welsh, is a father, and Taid, a grandfather. 

TALBOT. A mastiff. 



246 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

TAPPAN. (Welsh.) Local. The top of the hanging rock, 
from tap, a hanging rock, and pen, top or head. 

TASKER. A thrasher. 

TATTERSALL. Local. From the town of Tattersall, in Lin- 
colnshire, England. 

TAYLOE. A name of trade. We find this name modified to 
T&yleure, the orthography having been changed by the 
bearers to hide what they thought the lowness of its origin. 
So Smith is changed to Smyth, Turner to Tumour, etc. 
as Camden says, "Mollified ridiculously lest their bearers 
should seem vilUfied by them." 

A Mr. Taylor, who, from this false pride, had changed his name 
to T&ykure, once haughtily demanding of a farmer the name 
of his dog, the man replied, " Why, sir, his proper name is 
Jowler, but since he's a consequential kind of puppy, we 
calls him Jouleure /" 

TEDDINGTOK Local. A place on the Thames, so caUed 
from the tide ending there, before the building of London 
bridge " tide-ending town," corrupted to Teddington. 

TEFFT or TEFT. Local A piece of ground where there has 
been a house. 

TELFAIR. (Italian.) Tagliaferro, pronounced Tollifer. Fr., 
tailler, to cut, and fer, iron. It is said that the first of the 
name was so called from having cut a bar of iron in two 
with his sword. A smith. 

TELFORD. Local. The narrow or straightened pass or way, 
from the Welsh tel, tight, and ford, a way. Anglo-Saxon, 
TiUford, at the ford or shallow place in a river. " At-ill- 
ford," corrupted to Tilford. 

TEMES. Local. Thamesis, the Thames, so called from the 
meeting together of the rivers Tame and Isis, the chief river 
of Britain. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 247 

TEMPLE. From the manor of Temple, in Wellesborough, 
Leicestershire, which name was given by the old Earl of 
Leicester, one of the Knights Templars, who usually gave 
the name of Temple to their lands. 

TENBROOK. (Dutch.) Ten, at, and brock, a brook, a stream, 
or marsh the house or place at the brook. 

TENEYCK. (Dutch.) Ten oaks, or at the oaks. 

TENNANT. Tenant, a person holding lands under another, 
from Teneo, Latin, to hold. Local, Tyn, Welsh, a stretch, 
and nant, a ravine. 

TENNISON and TENNYSON. From Tenesone, a place in 
Gottespunt or Cazdee, in Switzerland. If the name be not 
local, it is probably a corruption of Dennison. 

TERRIL, TIRREL. Local The little tower. 

TERWILLIGER. Dutch, "Der Wittikeur," a by-law, a stat- 
ute. " Der wittige-waar" serviceable ware, or ware that 
seUs well 

TEW. (Welsh.) Fat, a corpulent person. 

THEOBALD. God's power; but in the Saxon llieobdld signi- 
fies powerful or bold over the people. In the Saxon Psalter 
theod is the same as gentes, and the English nation is often 
called Engla-Theod. See Tibbits. 

THOMAS. (Heb.) A twin. 

THOMLIN, and THOMLINSON. From Thorn or Thomas, 
and ing or ling, a child or descendant the son of Thomas. 

THOMS. An abbreviation of Thomas; Tom, local, Gaelic and 
Welsh, a round hillock or knoll, a rising ground, an emi- 
nence, any round heap, a tumulus. 

THOMSON. The son of Thomas. 

THORN. Local. A town in England ; a tree or bush armed 
with spines or sharp shoots. " Will at the Thorn." 



248 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTION AEI 

THORPE. A village. Dutch, Dorp. 
THRASHER. One who thrashes grain. 

THROCKMORTON. A corruption of At Rock-moor-town, " a 
town on a rock in a moor," hi the vale of Evesham, Flad- 
bury, Warwickshire, England, whence the name was de- 
rived. 

THURSTOK Local. The hill or town where the Saxon god 
Tlwr was worshiped by the Anglo-Saxons. 

THWAITE and THWAYTES. Local. A piece of ground 
cleared of wood, from the Anglo-Saxon thweotan, to cut. 
In some places in England the word signifies a rivulet; 
marshy ground ; also, a meadow. 

TIBBITS. Has the same signification as Theobald, of which it 
is a corruption. Theobald is in the French Theobaud, pro- 
nounced Tibbo, whence Tibbauds or Tibbitts. Theobald is 
derived by Camden from Theod, the people, and bald, brave 
. or bold, that is, powerful or bold over the people. B. Rhe- 
nanus derives it from Theos, God, and bald God's power. 

TICE. (Dutch.) A familiar abbreviation of Matthias. 

TICHBOTJRNE. Anciently At Itchen-lourne, that is, a person 
settled at the head of p, fountain of the river Itchen. The 
river Itchen is in Southampton county, England. At the 
head of the river, near ALresford, the first ancestor of this 
family resided, long before the Conquest. 

TICHENOR. Local. Probably a corruption of At Itcherior, 
'T Itchenor, from the river Itchen; the name of a village in 
Sussex, England. s. . 

TIERNAT. (Gaelic.) Tighearna, a lord, a judge, a landed 
proprietor. (See Tournay.) 

TIFFANY. A maker or vender of silk. Tiffany was a sort 
of light silk used by painters to trace the outlines of a picture 
through. 

TILMAN. One who works a farm. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 249 

TILL. Local The name of a river in England. 

TILLINGHAST. Local. A place where auctions are held ; 
buying, selling, dividing, paying over. German, theil&n; 
Dutch, deelen, to separate, divide, pay over. A dealing 
house. 

TILLY. Local. A town of France. 

TILMONT. Local. A town hi Brabant, Netherlands. 

TILTOK Local. Derived from Tilton, a village in England, 
probably an ancient place of tilting, or tents. Tilt, Saxon, 
a tent. 

TING-. Local. Among the ancient Gaels or Celts the place 
where courts were held, and justice administered, was called 
Ting, i. e., to surround; the circle, the temple, or round 
hill. The Tings at first were only judicial, but, hi process 
of time they became legislative. The most remarkable ob- 
ject of this kind is the Tynwald, in the Isle of Man. Thing, 
Saxon, a cause, meeting, a council; German, ding, a court. 
Dutch, Dinger, a pleader. 

TEESDALE. Local. The dale on the Tees, a river of Eng- 
land, that separates the counties of Durham and York, and 
enters the German ocean below Stockton. 

TOBY. The Welsh for Thomas. 
TODD. Tod, a Scotch word for a fox. 
TOLLMACHE. (Nor. FT.) Tolling of. the bell. 

TOLMAK A collector of toll In Dutch, Taalman is an in- 
terpreter, from Tool, language, tongue. " Constantine Tol- 
maen," in Cornwall, is an ancient place of Druid worship. 
Tolmaen is usually applied to a stone that is perforated, 
from tol, a hole, and maen, a stone ; twll mwn, Welsh, a 
mine, shaft, or pit. 

TOKRY. Local. Torr, Gaelic, a conical hill or mountain, a 
mound, a grave, a tower ; piled up, formed into heaps ; to 
heap up, to bury. 

11* 



250 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

TOUCET. Local. From the town of Toucey in the province 
of Champagne, France. 

TOURNAY. Local. From Tournay, a town in Artois, France, 
and may signify the tower or castle near the water. Tierna, 
in Gaelic, written TigJiearna, means a landlord, a lord, or 
judge, and was applied to all great men, and is derived, ac- 
cording to Dr. MacPherson, from te or ti, an old word for 
one, and eren, land, as implying a landed gentleman; I 
think the root of the name is Tir, land, and earr or earran, a 
division, share, or portion. 

TOWERS, Peels, and Castles, were places of defense. Tower 
is derived from tor, Gaelic and Saxon, French tour, Welsh, 
twr, a heap or pile, applied to conical hills, and to round 
buildings erected for strength or security. 

TOWKER. A dweller in a town. 

TO WNSEND. Local. One who lived at the end of the town. 

TRACY or TRACEY. Local. A village in the Department 
of Oise, France. E. Tracy came with William the Con- 
queror into England. Sir William Tracy was most active 
among the four knights that killed Thomas a Becket, on 
which account tradition reports, it is imposed on the Tracys 
for miraculous penance, that whether they go by land or 
water, the wind is always in their faces, hence an old say- 
ing, 

"The Tracys have always the wind in their faces." 

"If this were so," says Dr. Fuller, " it were a favor in a hot 
summer to the females of that family, and would spare them 
the use of a fan." The word may signify a rampart, a ter- 
race. 

TRAILLE. (Gaelic.) A servant, sloven, slave. 
TRAIK (Gaelic.) Treun, brave, valiant, bold. 
TRAINEUR. (Fr.) A straggler. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 251 

TRELAWNEY. Local (Cor. Br.) The open town near the 
water ; from Tre, a town, lawn, open, and ey, water. 

TREMAINE. Local. (Cor. Br.) The town on the shore or 
sea-coast^ from Tre, a town, and mayne the stone town, 
the river or passage town. 

TRENOR, TRAINOR, 'TRAINER. (Gaelic.) Treunmhor, 
very brave ; Treun, Gaelic, brave, valiant ; er or or, the ter- 
mination of fear, a man. 

TREVELYAN. Local (Cor. Br.) Trevellyan, the town of 
the mill. Welsh, Tremdin, or Trevelin. 

TREVOR Local. (Cor. Br.) From Trevear, the great town. 

TRIPP. According to tradition, this name was given to Lord 
Howard's fifth son, at the siege of Boulogne. King Henry 
V. being there, asked how they took the town and castle. 
Howard answered, " / tripp'd up the walls" Saith his ma- 
jesty, " Tripp shall be thy name, and no longer Howard," 
and honored him with a scaling-ladder for his coat of arms. 

This tradition, as well as many others I have given, is not very 
probable, but I give them insertion because they are curious 
and amusing, and some of them may be founded on actual 
occurrences. 

TROTTER (Fr.) Trotteur, a person always on the trotj a 
rambler. 

TROUBLEFIELD. Local. A corruption of the Norman 
name TuberviUe. 

TROWBRIDGE. Local A town hi England. The name 
signifies " through the bridge ;" perhaps given for some feat 
of daring, or bodily courage. 

TRUAX. (Cor. Br.) The place on the waters, from Tre, a 
town, and aux, waters ; or, if from the French, " the three 
waters" 

TRUE. Local. From Trieu, a river in Bretagne, France. Tr& 
signifies a town. 



252 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONA.br 

TRULAN. (Gaelic.) TruaiUean, a pitiful person, a sneak. 

TRULL. A slut, a vile wench, a strumpet ; a name derived 
from the mother. 

TUDOR. The Welsh for Theodore, or in old English, pious, as 
Tudor Belin, the pious king. 

TUPMAN. A breeder of rams, which are called, in some 
places in England, Tups, 

TUPPER. According to the celebrated poet by this name, 
Martin Farquhar Tupper, it is a corruption of part of the 
motto of the family, " Tout perdie." 

TUROOTTE. (Welsh.) Turcwt, a craggy, abrupt pinnacle, or 
tower, from Tur, a tower, and cwt, abrupt, cut off, implying 
defense. Tor, or Tur, a Saxon deity, and cot, a house, 
Thorcot. 

TURNBULL. This name had its origin in some feat of per- 
sonal strength or courage. There is the following tradition 
of its origin : A strong man of the name of Ruel, having 
turned a wild bull by the head, which violently ran against 
King Robert Bruce in Stirling Park, received from the king 
the lands of Bedrule, and the name of Turnbull. 

TURNOUR. There is a tradition that this family derive their 
name from their ancient place of settlement in Normandy, 
which being a black castle, was called Le tour noir, whence 
the lords thereof were called Les Sires de Tournoir, and by 
contraction Tournor. One of the family went with William 
the Conqueror into England. It is probably the same as 
Turner, a name of trade, the orthography being changed, 

TURTOK From Turton, in the hundred of Shelfold, in Lan- 
cashire, probably so called from Saxon, Tur or Tor, a tower, 
or Thur, or Thor, one of the Saxon deities., and ton either 
a town having a tower, or sacred to Thor. 

TUTHILL or TUTTLE. Local A town in Caernarvon, 
Wales, near the coast. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 253 

TWICKENHAM. Local. A village of Middlesex, England. 
Tweywicken, the " two wickens" or wares on the river, and 
ham, a village. 

TWING-. (Danish.) From Twinge, to force, master, subdue ; 
or a name perhaps given from his dexterity in archery. At 
Wing, may be abbreviated to Twing. 

TWOPENNY. From the Flemish Tupigny, from Tap, a ram, 
and ign or ine, quality, disposition, the same as ignus, in 
Latin. 

TYNGr. (See Ting.) 

TYNTE. Tradition gives the following derivation: In the 
year 1192, at the celebrated battle of Ascalon, a young 
knight of the noble house of Arundel, clad all in white, with 
his horse's housing of the same color, so gallantly distin- 
guished himself on the field, that Richard Cceur de Lion re- 
marked publicly after the victory, that the maiden knight 
had borne himself a lion, and done deeds equal to those of 
six croises (or crusaders). Whereupon he conferred upon 
him for arms, a lion on a field, between six crosslets, and 
for his motto, 

"Tinctus crurore Saraceno." "Stained with Saracen blood." 

Whence his descendants assumed the name of Tynte, and 
settled in Somersetshire, England. 

TYSON. The son of Tys, an abbreviation, among the Dutch, 
of Matthias. 

TJDINE. Local. A town in the north-east of Italy. 

UHLAN or ULINE. May come from Ukn or Ulens, a place 
now called Flensburgli, in Denmark; a name given from 
the sound made by the ebbing and flowing of the sea. 

ULMAN. (Ger.) All man. 

ULMER. AUmer, all famous, renowned. Ottmor, Welsh, the 
whole sea. 



254 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

UNDERBILL. Local Under the hill. 

UNDERWOOD. Local. Under the wood. 

UNWIN. (Dan.) Invincible. 

UPHAM. Local The house or town on a height / 

UPTON. Local The high hill, or the town on the height. 

URRAN. (Cor. Br.) From urrian, the border, boundary, or 
limit of a country. 

USHER. An officer of a court who introduces strangers ; the 
under-master of a school. 

USTICK. Studious, affectionate, learned. 

VACHER. (Fr.) A cow-herd; a keeper of cows. 
VALE. Local Low land between hills, a valley. 

VALENTINE. From the Latin Valentinus, a name derived 
from valenSj able, puissant, brave. 

VALK. (Dutch.) A hawk, a falcon. 

VAN ALSTYNE. Local From the old or high stone, 
Dutch. 

VAN AMEE, VAN NAMEN, and VAN NAME. Local 
From the city of Namen or Namur, in the Netherlands. 

VAN ANTWERP. (Dutch.) Local. From the city of Ant- 
werp, which signifies the wharf, or the place of wharfing, 
casting anchor, or tying up the ships. 

VAN ARDEN, VAN AERDEN, and VAN ORDEN. Local 
From Aerden, a town in Holland. 

VAN ARNHEM, VAN ARNUM, VAN ORNUM. Local 
From Arnheim, a city in G-uilderland, Holland. 

VAN BUREN. (Dutch.) Local. From the town of Buren, 
in Holland. 



OP FAMILY NAMES. 255 

VAN" BUSKIRK. From the church in the wood, from Bos, a 
wood, and kerk, a church. 

VAN CLEVE or VAN KLEEF. From the city of Cleve or 
Cleves, in Westphalia, Germany. 

VAN CORTLANDT. (Dutch.) From the short land; Jcort, 
short, and landt, land. 

VAN CUREN or VAN KEUREN. (Dutch.) Local. From 
the territory of an elector in Germany. Keur, German, an 
elector. 

VAN DAM. Local From the town of Dam, in Holland, 
which signifies a mole or bank to prevent inundations, and 
where towns were frequently built, as Amsterdam (Am- 
stel-dam), Rotterdam. 

VANDENBURGH. (Dutch.) From the hill. 

VANDENHOFF. (Dutch.) From the garden ; hof also sig- 
nifies a court as well as a garden, so that it may be, from the 
court. 

VANDERBILT. (Dutch.) Byl, in Dutch, signifies a hatchet 
or bill. Byltye, a little hatchet or bill Die Byltye was a 
nickname given to ship-carpenters at Amsterdam, hence 
Van de Bylt. 

VANDERBOGART. (Dutch.) From the orchard. 

VANDERHEYDEN. So named from Heyden, an ancient 
town in Holstein, Denmark. 

VANDERLINDEN. Corrupted to Van O Linda from the 
linden-trees or grove of linden. 

VANDERLIPPE. Local. From the town of Lippe, in Ger- 
many. 

VANDERMARK. (Dutch.) From the Mark. Mark was 
the denomination of a kind of county which made the 
bound or limit of a country like the British marches. 
Hence mark-graaf, marquis, the keeper of the marks or 
marches. 



256 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

YANDERPOEL. From the marsh or lake. 

YANDERSPEIGTLE. (Dutch.) From the looking-glass ; fig- 
uratively, neat, fine, spruce. 

VANDERYEER. (Dutch.) From the ferry ; Veer signifying 
a ferry. Ve&re, or Ter Veere, is the name of a town in Hol- 
land, whence probably the name originated. 

YANDERWERKEN. (Dutch.) From the workers ; werJcen, 
plural of werk ; luerfor, a worker. 

YANDERZEE. (Dutch.) From the sea; a child being born 
at sea during a violent storm, his parents gave him the name 
of Storm Vanderzee. 

VAN DOUSEN and VAN DUZEN. (Dutch.) From the 
town of Doesen, in Lower Saxony. 

YAN DYCK. (Dutch.) From the dyke j a bank or mound 
thrown up to prevent inundations from the river or sea. 

YAN EPS. Local. From the town of Eep, in Holland. 
YAN HOOYEN. Local. From Hoeven, a town in Holland. 

YAN HORN 'and YAN HOORN. Local From the town of 

Horn or Hoorn, in Holland. 
YAN HUISEN, YAN HOOSEN, and YAN HUSEN. Local 

From Huizen, a town on the Zuyder Zee, in Holland. 

YAN ING-EN. Local From Ingen, a town in Holland, near 
the river Lech. 

YAN LOON. Local. From Loon, a town on the river Maes, 

in Holland. 
YAN NESS. Local. Naze, a cape or promontory. Yan 

Naze or Yan Ness, from the Cape. 

YAN NORDEN.. Local. From Naarden, a town in Holland. 
YAN NOSTRAND. Properly Van Ostrand (which see). 

YAN OSTRAND. From the east shore ; oost, east, and strand, 
shore or coast. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 257 

YAN PATTEN. Local. From Putten, a town in Holland. 

VAN RENSSELAER. Local. Van rand goleure, i. e., from 
the border of Soleure, a canton of Switzerland ; Van, from, 
rand, border, margin. 

YAN STANTYOORDT. Local. From Zandvoort, a town in 

North Holland. 
YAN SCHAACK, YAN SCHAICK, YAN SCHEYK. Local 

From the town of Scheyk, in Holland. 

YAN SCHOONHOYEN. (Dutch.) Local. From the town 
of Schoonhoven, in South Holland, which signifies " fine 
gardens;" from schoon, fine, and hof, a garden or court, plural 
hoven. 

YAN SLYCK. Local. From the channel called Het Slaeck, 
in the Netherlands, which makes Tokn an island." Style, 
Dutch, signifies dirt, mire. Van Slyk, " from the dirt." 

YAN STEINBURG-H. (Dutch.) From the stone-hill. 

YAN TESSEL or YAN TASSEL. (Dutch.) From Tessel or 
Texel, an island in North Holland. 

YAN TIEL. Local From the town of Tiel, in Holland. 

YAN YECHTEN. (Dutch.) From Yechten, on the river 
Yecht, in Holland. 

YAN YLECK. (Dutch.) From the town of Yleck, hi Hol- 
land, which signifies a little open town. 

YAN YOLKENBURa. Local. From Yalkenburgh, a town 
on the river G-euse, Netherlands. 

YAN YORST or YAN YOORST. Local. From the town of 
Yorst, in Holland. Vorst, in Dutch, signifies a prince; 
Forst, German, a forest, 

YAN YRANKEN. (Dutch.) From FmnkenburgJi, an old 
town of the Frariki, or free men. 

YAN WINKLE. Local. From the town of Winkel, in Hol- 
land. 



258 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

VAN WOERT and VAN WORT. Local From Woert, a 
town in Holland. 

VAN WORDEN. Local. From Woerden, a town in Hol- 
land. 

VAN WYCK. Local From Wyck, a town on the river 
Lech, in Holland. 

VAN ZANDT. (Dutch.) From the sand ; or from Zante, an 
island in the Mediterranean. 

VASSER. (Fr.) A corruption of Vavasour, one who holds 
an estate next to a lord. 

VAUG-HAN. (Welsh.) The same as Bychan or Vychan, little, 
small in stature. 

VEDDER or VEEDER. (Dutch.) Father, or literally begetter, 
feeder. 

VENTON. (Cor. Br.) A spring well 

VERBECK. (Dutch.) From ver, far, distant, and leek or leek, 
brook. The distant brook. 

VERNON. Local From Vernon, a place in Normandy. 

VESEY. Local Wet or fenny land, near the water, subject 
to inundation ; the same as Fossey. Cor. Br., Vosey, the 
ditch or fort near the water. 

VIBBARD. (Dutch and Danish.) From vi, or wi, holy, sa- 
cred, and bard, a poet. 

VICKERS. Vicar, the incumbent of a benefice ; one who per- 
forms the functions of another. Vicar, Cor. Br., a sovereign 
lord. 

VIELLE or VELAY. Local . A town of France, in Langue- 
doc, the ancient Velannia. 

VILLIERS. Local. From a place so called, in France. 

VINE. Local Taken from the plant that bears the grape ; a 
vineyard. " Will at the vine." " Will Vine." 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 259 

VIPOOT. De Veteri Ponte, from the old bridge. 

VIRGO. (Latin.) A maid, a damsel. Virago, a stout woman. 
Virgo, local, Latin, a Roman aqueduct. 

VIVIAN. (Welsh.) Vyvian, the small water. 

VOGEL. (Dutch.) A b*ird, a duck; figuratively, a cunning 
fellow, a fine young blade. 

VOORHEES or VOORES. (Dutch.) From voorhuis, the 
fore-room of a house below, a hall. 

VROOMAN. (Dutch.) From vroom, honest, valiant, religious, 
and man an honest or valiant man. 



WADE. (Dutch.) From weide, a meadow or pasture. 

WADSWORTH. The same as Woodsworth, the farm or place 
in the wood. 

WAITE. Local. The same as Thwaite, a piece of ground 
cleared of wood, a meadow. 

WAKEFIELD. Local. A market-town in west Yorkshire, 
England the watch-field. 

WAKEMAN. A title given to the chief magistrate of Rippon, 
in Yorkshire, England ; a watchman. 

WALDGRAVE. (Sax.) From wald, a forest, and grave, a 
ruler or lord. 

WALDEK (Sax. and Ger.) A wood, a woody place. 
WALDROK Wald, Saxon, a wood. 

WALES, WALLIS, WALSH. A native of Wales, a name 
given by the Anglo-Saxons to the Britons who originally 
came from Gaul, which the Saxons pronounced Wealas, 
Wales, Welsh, and Wallia. A principality of Great Britain, 
on the west of England, one hundred and twenty miles 
long, and eighty broad. 



260 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

WALKER In the north of England and south of Scotland a 
fulling-mill is still called a walk-mill. This name may signify 
either a fuller or an officer whose duty consisted in walking 
or inspecting a certain space of forest ground. 

WALL. " John at the Wall" John Wall 

WALLACE or WALLIS. The same as Wales or Welch, and 
formed thus Gaulish, Wallish, Wallis, and also Welsh or 
Welch, a name given to the Britons by their Danish and 
Angles invaders, because they originally came from GauL 

WALLER. A Gauler or Waller, a foreigner, from the Anglo- 
Saxon " waller-went^ foreign men, strangers. 

WALLOCK. In Gaelic, Guala is a mountain projection, and 
loch, a lake. ' WaUock, a highland dance. GruallaJc, Cor. Br., 
a brag, a boaster. 

WALLOP. Lociil. From the town of Wallop, in Hampshire, 
England. 

WALPOLE. Local. From Walpole, a town in Norfolk, 
England. 

WALSH. A Gaul, which the Germans pronounce with a 
"w," asWallic for Gaulic. Wallis, Wallish, Walsh. The 
Welsh were originally from Gaul. (See Wales and Wal- 
lace.) 

WANDS. Local A place where Woden was worshiped by 
the Anglo-Saxons, from which we have Wodensday or 
Wednesday. Wand, Danish, water; wansted, Danish, a 
watering-place. 

WALTER. A wood-master or keeper of the wood. 

WALTON. Local. The name of several villages in England, 
from wald, a wood, and ton. 

W AMPLE orWEMPLE. Local. A river of England, from 
wem or uiam, a cleft, a cave, a low place, Gaelic ; and poll, a 
small lake, a pond, and the same in Welsh. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 261 

WARBURTON. Local. From a township in Cheshire, Eng- 
land, spelled in the Doomsday Book WerburgTitune, so called 
from a monastery there situated dedicated to St. Werbergh. 

WARE. Local. A town in Hertfordshire, England, so named 
from the wear in the river Lee, at that place. 

WARD. A keeper, one who guards or defends. 

WARDLAW. Local. The parish of Kirkhill, in Moray, Scot- 
land, was formerly called Wardlaws, because the garrison 
of Lovat were accustomed to keep watch or ward on the 
law or hill. 

WARNE. An alder-tree, a ship's mast. 

WARRED. From Quarenna or Varenna, in the county of 
Calais, in Normandy, whence they came into England with 
William the Conqueror. The primary sense of the word is 
to stop, hold, or repel, to guard, keep off. 

WARRENDER. From Warren, and der, from the old British 
dour, water, probably given to a Warren who lived near 
some water or river. 

WARWICK. Local The county town of Warwic*. 

England. Camden derives it from guarth, Cor. Br., a safe- 
guard, a garrison, and wick, Saxon, a port or city. Sornner 
says it was formerly called " wearing-wick" from wear and 
wick, a harbor. 

WASHING-TON. Local. Originally Wessyngton or De Wes- 
syngton. The name was taken from the place in England 
where the family originated; from weis, a wash, a creek 
setting in from the sea, the shallow part of a river, ing, a 
meadow or low ground, and ion, for dun, a lull or town 
the town on the wash or salt river or creek. 

WASSEN. Local. From Wessen, a town in Switzerland, 
Wassen, in Dutch, signifies to grow, increase. 

WATCOCK. The son of Wat or Walter, cock signifying, little. 



262 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

WATERS. Local. A name given to one who navigated the 
waters, or resided near them. 

WATKINS. From Wat, and the patronymic termination Teins; 

the son of Wat or Walter. 
W ATKINSON. The son of Watkins. 
WATSON and WATTS. The son of Walter. 

WAY. Local A road or passage of any kind ; a name given 
to one who resided there. " Will o' the Way." 

WAYLAND, WEYLAND. Local. From the Dutch, "WeU- 

and," pasture-ground, meadow-land. 
WEBSTER. A maker of webs, a weaver. 

WEBDEK Local. So named from Weedon, a town hi North- 
amptonshire, on the river Nen. Chvid-ton, the woody hill 

WEIDMAK (Dutch.) From Weid, a pasture or meadow, 
and man, a herdsman. 

WELBY. Local. From Weald-by, which signifies a habita- 
tion in a wood or grove. 

WELD. A wood, sometimes written Weald, the woody part 
of a country. 

WELDEN. Local. From Weald, woody, a wood, and den, a 
valley. 

WELLER. (Ang. Saxon.) WeUere, a hollow or gulf. Prob- 
ably the same as Waller (which see). 

WELLS. Local. A name given to a person who resided 
there. " John, at the Wells" John Wells. A bishop's see 
in Somersetshire, so called from the wells or springs there. 

WEMPEL. Wampull, a river in England. Wimpole, a place 
in London, a flag-staff. Wem, a town in England, also in 
Scotland, and signifies a hollow place, a cave ; Wempool, the 
pool in the hollow or low place. 

WEMYSS. Local. First assumed by the proprietors of the 
lands anciently called Wemyss-shire, hi Fife-shire, Scot- 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 263 

land, which contained all that tract of ground lying between 
the lower part of the waters of Ore, and the sea. These 
lands received their name from the great number of caves 
that are there, all along the sea-coast. A cave in the old 
Graelic or Celtic, was called vumhs or uamh / from that these 
lands received the name of Vumhs-shire Wemys-shire. 
The family of Wemyss derive their origin from the family 
of Macduff, Maormor of Fife, hi the reign of Malcom Can- 
more. The lands now forming the parish of Wemyss, are 
said to have been part of the estate of Macduff, Shakespeare's 
well-known Thane of Fife. 

WENDELL. (Dutch.) Wandelaar, a walker, hence a travel- 
er. The name may be local, and derived from Wandle, a 
river in Surrey, England. 

WENTWORTH. Local The Worth, farm, or place, on the 
river Went, in Northumberland, England. 

WERDEN. (Grer.) Local. From Wehr, a fortification, and 
den, a hill ; a town in the Netherlands called Woerden. 

WESTALL. Local. The West-Hall 

WESTCOTT. The west cot; so Eastcott, and Southcote. 
Westmacott, Saxon, a banker, a money lender. 

WESTMORELAND. Local. A county of England; the 
" West^moor-land." 

WESTERVELDT. (Dutch.) The west field, from Wester, 
west, and veldt, a field. 

WESTON. The west town. Derived from a small village in 
England. 

WETHERBY. Local. A town in west Yorkshire, England ; 
the wide or extended village ; Weider, Dutch, a herdsman, 
Weideri, the place of fattening cattle, and by, a village. 

WETHERSPOON, WITHERSPOON, WODDERSPOON. 
Local. A grazing-place in the spur of a mountain or hill ; 
Weider, Dutch or Saxon, and span, to unite, bend, extend. 



264 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

WETHERWAX. (Dutch.) Weiderwacht, from weider, a 
herdsman, and wacht, a watch, a guard ; weide, a pasture, a 
meadow ; weideri, a pasture for fattening cattle. 

WETSEL. Local. From Wezel, a town on the lower Rhine. 

WHALLEY. Having greenish white eyes ; wall-eyed. This 
name is also local, and is the name of a village in Lan- 
cashire, England. 

WHEADEN and WHEDEK An old English west country 
term for a silly fellow. Also the name of a small village iu 
England, whence the name may be derived. 

WHEALDON or WHIELDON. Local (Cor. Br.) A place 
where mines are worked. Wheal is frequently applied to 
signify a mine, and dun or din, a hill. 

WHEATOK Local So called from a place of the same 
name on the river Nen, Northamptonshire, England. 
Whitton, Saxon, the white hill Whiddon, Cor. Br., white. 

WHEELER. A name of trade. 

WHEELOCK. From a village in Cheshire, England, of the 
same name. 

WHITBY. That is "White-town," or bay; a town in York- 
shire, England. 

WHITE. A name given from the color of the hair, or com- 
plexion. The name may be also local, derived from the Isle 
of Wight, on the coast of Hampshire, so called from the 
Welsh, Owydd, wood, from its primitive forest. 

WHITING-. (Sax.) The white or fan- offspring. The Saxon 
termination ing, denoted offspring or child, as CutMng, the 
child of Cuth, Dun-ning, the brown offspring, &c. 

WHITLOCK. (Sax.) Fair hair. 
WHITFIELD. Local. The white field. 
WHITFORD. Local The white ford. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 265 

WHITMAN. From wight, in old English, lively, quick, and 
may,, or from the Dutch, wight, weighty, ponderous, Wight- 
man, a stout man, or it may be, after all, simply White-man. 

WHITNEY. (Sax.) From Hunt, white, and ea, watei, or ige, 
an island ; a town in Oxfordshire, England. 

WHITTAKER. Local The north part of a graveyard allot- 
ted to the poor was called whittaker, from wite, a penalty, and 
acre, a place of burial for criminals. A culprit who could 
not discharge the penalty or wite became a " witetheow," and 
was buried in the wite-acre. Bailey defines Whittaker " the 
north-east part of a flat or shoal the middle ground." 

WICKER A man of the creek or bay, from Wide, a creek, 
bay, a village, Uakher, Danish, valiant, brave. 

WICKHAM. (Sax.) From wic, the winding of a river or 
port, and comb, a valley. A town in Buckinghamshire, 
England the sheltered, place, house, or town. 

WICKLIFF. (Sax.) From Hwic, white, and Uif, a rock or 
cliff; or rather from wic, a Saxon word for borough or vil- 
lage, the town on the cliff; a village six miles from Rich- 
mond, in Yorkshire, England, from which the family derive 
their name, and of which they were possessed from the 
time of the Conquest by William the Conqueror till the 
year 1606. Wycliffe translated the Bible hi 1338, and one 
half of the nation before his death are said to have em- 
braced, in a greater or less degree, his opinions, which 
spread with rapidity over Europe. 

WIG-AN and WiaG-IK Local. From Wigan, a town on 
the river Douglass, Lancashire, England. 

WILBERFORCE. Local. That is, Wild-boar-foss, a dike, a 
ditch. Wil-burgh-foss. 

WILBRAHAM. For WHburgham or Wild-burgh-ham. Local 
A town in Kent, England. 

WILBUR or WILBOR. A contraction of Wildboar. 

12 



266 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

WILCOX. From Will, and cock, which signifies, little. Will's 
son, Williamson. " A willcock," one rather obstinate^ 

WILDER. A traveler, foreigner, or pilgrim, the same as 
Waller, from the Saxon wealh, a traveler, or one who in- 
habits the forest or grounds uncultivated. 

WILKINS. From Wtt,. and the patronymic termination kins, 

the son of William. 
WILKINSON. The son of Wilkins. 

WILLARD. One who has a determined disposition, from 
will, choice, command, and ard, the Teutonic of art, strength, 
nature, disposition. 

WILLET. Little William, or the son of William. 

WILLIAM. From the Belgic Guild-helm, harnessed with a 
gilded helmet; or, as others say, from Welhelm, the shield 
or defense of many. 

WILLIAMSON. The son of William. 

WILLIS. Willy's, the son of Willy, the " s" being added for 
son. 

WILLOUG-HBY. Local From the lordship of WiUoughby, 
in Lincolnshire, England, given to a Norman knight by 
William the Conqueror. The town or habitation by the 
willows. 

WILMOT. May be a corruption of Guillemot, a name frequent 
in France in early times, derived from Guillaume, William. 

WILSON. The son of William or Will 

WILTON. Local. From a town in Wiltshire, England, so 
called from the river WiUey, and ton, a town. 

WILTSHIRE. Local. A county in England ; Welsh, gwyUt, 
a wild, forest, a desert, and shire, a division, a county. 

SIMPLE. (Dutch.) A streamer, pendant 

WINCH. Local. A place in the county of Norfolk, England. 
Ynyis, Welsh, an island. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 267 

WINCHCOMBE. (Sax.) Local From wincel, a corner, and 
somb, a valley a valley encompassed on each side with 
hills. 

WINCHEL. (Dutch.) From Winschaal, a wine-bowl, a wine- 
shop ] German, Weinsall, a wine-hall or shop. 

WINCHESTER. Local. A city of Hampshire, England, 
called Caerwynt by the Britons, from Caer, a city, town, or 
fortified place, and gwint, wind, from its being a windy place. 
The Welsh gwin signifies wine, as if called the " Wine City" 
So Howel, in his Londonopolis, quotes from old Robert of 
Grlo'cester : 

" In the country of Canterbury most plenty of fish is; 
And most chase of beasts about Salisbury I wis, 
And London ships most, and wine at Winchester, 
Soap about Coventry, and iron at Glo'cester ; 
Metal, lead, and tin hi the county of Exceter, 
Euorwick of fairest wood, Lincoln of fairest men, 
Cambridge and Huntingdon most plenty of deep venne, 
Ely of fairest place, of fairest sight, Rochester." 

Bailey defines it the "White City," from the Welsh "Caer 
giienif" because it is built upon a chalky soil. 

WINDHAM. Local A town in the county of Norfolk, Eng- 
land, said to be a corruption of Wimund-han, " the home or 
village of Wimund." 

WINDSOR. Local A town in Berkshire, England. The 
name is a corruption of Wind-shore, from the winding shore 
of the Thames in that place. 

WINEGAR. (Dutch.) From Wyngaard, a vine. 

WINEKOOP. (Dutch.) Something to drink upon the bar- 
gam. 

WING. Local. A village in the county of Buckingham, 
England. 



268 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

WING-FIELD. Local From the manor of Wingfield, in Suf- 
folk, England. 

WINNE. (Welsh.) The same as Gwynne, white. 

WINSHIP. Probably the same as Wineshop. Saxon, Win, 
German Wein, and JSceapian, Saxon, to make, furnish; a 
maker or vender of wine. 

WTNSLOW. Local From the town of Winslow, in Bucking- 
hamshire, England. 

WINTERTON. Local From the village of Winterton, in the 
county of Norfolk, England, so called from its cold situation. 

WINTHROP. Local. A corruption of Winthorp, or Wine- 
thorpe, the wine village, from win, wine, and thorp, a village. 

WIRE, WEIR, WARE. Local A market town of Hertford- 
shire, England. Saxon Waer, to defend, to hold, protect. 
Wear, a fence of stakes or rods set in a stream for catching 
fish; a dam. 

WISE, and WISEMAN. A name given for the quality of 
wisdom. 

WISHART. Some ancient writers say, that Robert, son of 
David, Earl of Huntingdon, took on him the cross, and dis- 
tinguished himself in the Holy Land, where, from his gallant 
exploits against the Saracens, he received the name of Quis- 
hart, that is, Wise-heart, now Wishart. 

WISWALL. Local From Weisweil, a town in Baden, on the 
Rhine, Germany. 

WITHERINGTON. A contraction of Wooderington. From 
Saxon wyderian, to wither, and dun, a hill. The withered 
or dry hill. A place in Northumberland, England. Weid- 
erington, the place of pasturing cattle, Dutch, Weide, a pas- 
ture, weider, one who takes care of cattle, a herdsman. 

WITTER. (Dutch.) A whitener, a fuller, bleacher. 



OF FAMILY NAMES. 269 

WOLSEY or WOOLSEY. Local That is, the Wolds-ley, 
from wold, a wood, a lawn, and sometimes a plain, and lie, 
or ley, a place. 

WOOD. A surname very ancient in Scotland, first called De 
Bosco. The family bore trees in their coat of arms. 

WOODRUFF. Woodroof, from Wood-reeve, the governor or 
keeper of a wood, a forester. 

WOODWARD. Wood-ward, a forest-keeper or omcer, who 
walked with a forest-bill, and took cognizance of all offenses 
committed. 

WOOD WORTH. Local The farm or place in the wood.. 

WOOL. One having short, thick hair. It may be a corruption 
of Wolf, or Will 

WOOLLEY. Local. Wold-ky, uncultivated lands hills with- 
out wood. 

WOOSTER. A corruption of Worcester (which see). 

WORCESTER. Local A county and city of England, which 
Bailey derives from Sax. Were, a forest, and Cester, a camp or 
city. I prefer deriving it from Worcester, the city or castle 
of strife, from the Saxon Woer, war, strife, with which the 
ancient British name agrees, called Caerwrangon, the castle 
or fort of strife and contention. It was a boundary for 
many years between the Britons and Saxons. (See Chester.) 

WORTH. (Sax.) Local. A court, farm, possession, place, 
field or way ; the place valued, sold, or granted. 

WYLIE. A form of Willie or William ; or wily, artful, sly. 

WYMAN. (Dutch.) From Weiman, a huntsman, a hunter; 
one who shoots the game. 



YAGER. (G-erman and Danish.) Jager, a huntsman. Yogere, 
also Dignifies a sweet-heart. 



270 DICTIONARY OF FAMILY NAMES. 

TALE. Local. From a lordship of the same name in Walea. 
TARE. (Sax.) Ready, dexterous, eager. 

TARROW. A plant; the millfoil, or plant of a thousand 
leaves. 

TATES. An old word for Gate. The same as Gates. 

TEOMAN. A man free-born, a freeholder ; one next in order 
to the gentry. 

TETT. A gate, a way, a passage, the same as Tates. 

TORK. Local. A city in England next in esteem to London. 
Verstegan derives its name from Eure-ric or JHouer-ric, of 
JSuere ) a wild boar, and rye, a refuge ; a retreat from the 
wild boars which were in the forest of Gautries. The 
Romans called the city JEboracum; it is memorable for the 
death of two emperors, Severus and Constantius Chlorus, 
and for the nativity of Constantino the Great. 

TOUNGHUSBAJSTD. A surname borrowed from the social 
relations. 

TOUNGLOVE. Given on account of his age, and tender af- 
fection. 

TULE. (Sax.) Christmas, borrowed from this festival, or the 
time of nativity. T Ae, Greek, a wood, a forest. 



CHRISTIAN NAMES. 



CHRISTIAN NAMES, 



NAMES OF MEN. 

AARON. (Heb.) Signifies a mountaineer, a mount of 

strength. 

ABDALLAH. (Turkish.) The servant of God. 
AEEL. (Heb.) Signifies vanity, breath. 
ABIATHAR. (Heb.) Excellent father. 
ABIEZER. (Heb.) My father's help. 

ABI JAH. (Heb.) The will of the Lord, or the Lord is my 

father. 

ABISHUR. (Heb.) My father's attention. 
ABNER. (Heb.) The lamp or son of the father. 
ABRAHAM. (Heb.) The father of a great multitude. 
ABSALOM. (Heb.) A father of peace. 
ADAM. (Heb.) Taken out of red earth. 
ADIEL. (Heb.) The witness of the Lord. 
ADOLPHUS or ADOLPH. (Sax.) From Had, happiness, 

and ulph, help happy help. 

ADRIAN. (Latin.) Local From the city of Hadria. Gesner 
derives it from the Greek adpoe, great or wealthy. 

AENEAS. (Lat.) Laudable. 

12* 



274 ^ ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

AGKRIPPA. (Lat) ^Eger-parfus, one that causeth pain at 
his birth, who is born with his feet foremost. 

ALAN". Is thought by Julius Scaliger to signify a hound in 
the Sclavonian, and Chaucer uses Aland in the same sense. 

ALBERT. (Ger.) All bright or famous. 

ALEXANDER. (Greek.) An aider or benefactor of men, a 
powerful auxiliary, from eUe&j, to aid, assist, and dvijp, a 
man. 

ALFRED. (Sax.) All peace. 
ALMOND. Alkmand, a German. 
ALPHONSO. (Gothic.) Our help, from Helpuns. 

ALWIN. (Sax.) From aUe } all, and win, a victor all vic- 
torious. 

AMASA. A forgiving people. 

AMBROSE. (Greek.) From 'Apppfotof, immortal 

AMOS. Loading, weighty. 

ANDREW. (Greek.) A brave man. 'Avdpeia, courage, 
bravery, manhood, from 'Avrjp, a man. 

ANTHONY. (Greek.) From *Av0oj-, a flower, flourishing, 
beautiful, graceful. 

APOLLOS. One that destroys or lays waste. 

ARCHIBALD. (Ger.) A powerful, bold, and speedy learner 
or observer. 

ARIEL. (Heb.) Light or Zion of God. 

ARNOLD. (Ger.) According to Camden, signifies honest, 
but the Germans write it Ernold. Prdbus in Latin. 

ARTEMAS. Holy, agreeable. 

ARTHUR. (Br.) A strong mar (See fuller derivation in 
Dictionary of Surnames.) 



OP CHRISTIAN NAMES. 275 

ASA. Physician or cure. 
ASAHEL. The work or creature of God. 
ASENATH. (Heb.) Peril or misfortune. 
ASHER. (Heb.) Happy, blessed. 
AUGUSTUS. (Lat.) Noble, royal, imperial 

AUGUSTINE and AUSTIN. (Latin.) A contraction of 
Augustine, from Augustinus, imperial, royal, great, or re- 
nowned. 

AZARIAH. Assistance. 

BALDWIN. (Ger.) The speedy conqueror or victor, from 
laid, quick or speedy, and win, an old word signifying 
victor or conqueror. 

BAPTISTS. (Greek.) * BoTmarfo, a baptizer, the title of St 
John. 

BARDULPH. (Ger.) The same as Bertulph, fair help. 
BARNABT and BARNABAS. (Heb.) Son of consolation. 
BARNABAS. Son of the prophet, or consolation. 

BARTIMEUS. (Heb.) The son of Timeus. Timeus signifies 
perfect, honorable, admirable. 

BARTHOLOMEW. (Heb.) The son of him who maketh the 
waters to mount 

BARZILLAL (Heb.) Made of iron, or the son of contempt 
BASIL. (Greek.) From Bacifai)?, a king ; royal, kingly. 



BENEDICT. (Latin.) From Benedict, blessed, well spoken 
of, or a person wishing all good. 

BENJAMIN. (Heb.) The son of the right hand. 

BENNET. A contraction or rather a corruption of Benedict, 
from the Latin, Benedictus, blessed. 



276 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

BENONI. (Heb.) Son of my grief, sorrow. 

BERIAH. (Heb.) In fellowship. . 

BERNARD. (Teutonic.) Of a child-like disposition. 

BERTRAM. (Sax.) Fair and pure. 

BEULAH. (Heb.) Married. 

BOAZ. (Heb.) In strength, a pillar. 

BONIFACE. (Lat.) Well-doer. 

BOTOLPH. (Sax.) Help-ship or sailor. Sailors in that age 
were called JBotescarles. 

BRIAN and BRIANT. (Fr.) Shrill-voiced. 

(LESAR. (Latin.) From ccecfo, to cut, a name said to have 
been given to one who was cut from his mother's womb. 
Ccesaries, a head of hair. 

CAIUS. Parents' joy. 
CALEB. A dog, cow, or basket 
CALISTHENES. (Greek.) Beautiful and strong. 
CARADOC. (Br.) Dearly beloved. 
CARLOS. The same as Charles. 

CHARLES. (Ger.) From carl, strong, stout, courageous, 
valiant. 

CHESTER. A surname, now used as a Christian name. From 
the city of Chester, so called from the Latin castrum, a forti- 
fied place, a camp. Chester was the principal encampment 
of the Romans in Britain. 

CHRISTIAN". The derivation of this name is evident 

CHRISTOPHER. (Greek.) From Xptorof, Christ, literally, 
anointed, and <t>epu, to bear; Christ's carrier. 

OLJ J3ENCE. (Lat) From Clarus, clear, bright 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 277 

CLAUDIUS. (Lat.) From Clauda, the name of an island 
near Crete. A name given to a native of that island. It 
signifies a broken or a weeping voice. 

CLEMENT. (Lat.) Clemens, meek, gentle, kind. 

CONRAD. (Ger.) Able counsel. 

CONSTANTINE. (Lat.) Constantinus, fast, firm, unyielding. 

CORNELIUS. (Latin and Greek.) From cornu, a horn, and 
^/Uof, the sun. 

CRISPIN. (Lat.) Crispinus, from crispuA, having curled hair. 
CUTHBERT. (Sax.) Famous, bright, of clear skill or knowl- 



CYPRIAN. (Greek.) From the isle of Cyprus. 
CYRUS. An heir, or miserable. 

DANIEL. (Heb.) Judgment of God. 
DAVID. (Heb.) Beloved, dear. 
DEMETRIUS. (Greek.) Belonging to Ceres. 

DENIS, or DENNIS. A contraction of Dionysius (which 

see). 
DERRICK, DERIOK, and DIRK. (Dutch.) An abbreviation 

of Theodorick (which see). 

DIODORUS. (Greek.) From Art f , Jove or Jupiter, and 
tJwpof , a gift the gift of Jove. 

DYONYSIUS. (Greek.) A name of Bacchus, the god of 
wine. 

DIOTREPHES. (Greek.) Nourished by Jupiter, from Atdf, 
genitive of Zetff, Jupiter, and rps<po, to feed, to nourish. 

DOMINICK. (Lat.) From Dominica, the Lord's day ; Sun- 
day, from Dominus, the Lord. A name given to a child 
born on Sunday. 



278 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

DUNSTAN. (Sax.) From dun, a hill, and stan . 
name of place. 



EBENEZER. (Heb.) The stone of help. 

EDMUND. (Sax.) From Mtd, blessed, and mund, peace- 
blessed peace. 

EDWARD. (Sax.) From Had, blessed, and ard, nature or 

disposition. 

EDWIN. (Sax.) From Ead, blessed or happy, and win, a 
conqueror. 

ELD AD. (Heb.) Loved or favored of God. 
ELEAZER. (Heb.) The help or court of God. 
ELI. (Heb.) The offering or lifting up. 
ELIAB. (Heb.) G-od, my father. 
ELIAS. (Heb.) God the Lord, or the strong Lord. 
ELIHU. (Heb.) He is my God himself 
ELIJAH. (Heb.) The same as Elias (which see). 
ELIPHALET. (Heb.) The God of deliverance. 
ELISHA. (Heb.) Salutation of God. 
ELIU. (Heb.) The same as Elihu. 
ELIZUR. (Heb.) G-od is my rock, or strength. 
ELON. (Heb.) Oak, or grove, or strong. 
ELYMAS. In Arabic signifies a magician. 
EMMANUEL. (Heb.) God with us. 

ENEAS. (Greek.) Laudable, from alveu, I praise, prudent, 
discreet, in Gaelic, Aongaos. 

ENOCH. (Heb.) Dedicated, disciplined, well-regulated. 
ENOS. (Heb.) Faller man. 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 279 

EPAPHRAS. (Heb.) Covered with foam. 
EPHRAIM. (Heb.) That brings fruit, or that grows. 

ERASMUS. (Greek.) 'Epdat/nog, amiable, lovely, same as 
Erastus. 

ERASTUS. (Greek.) From 'Epaarbe, lovely or amiable. 
ERNEST. (Sax.) Earnest, earnest. 
ESEK. (Heb.) Contention, violence, or force. 
ETHELARD. (Sax.) Noble disposition. 
ETHELBERT. (Sax.) Noble-bright, or nobly renowned. 

ETHELSTAN. (Sax.) Noble-jewel, precious stone, or most 

noble. 

ETHELWARD. (Sax.) Noble keeper. 
ETHELWOLD. (Sax.) Noble governor. 
ETHELWOLF. (Sax.) Noble helper. 
ETHAN. Strength. 

EUGENE. (Greek.) From Edyewfc, nobly born. 
EUSTACE. (Greek.) From E&rra%, standing firm, resolute. 
EVERARD. (Sax.) Always honored. 
EZEKIEL. God is my strength. 
EZRA. A helper. 

FABIAN. (Lat.) From FaUus, a kind of bean. 
FELIX. (Lat) Happy. 

FERDINAND. (Ger.) From Fred, peace, and rand, pure, 
that is, pure peace. 

FRANCIS. From Franc, free, not servile, or bond. 
FRANKLIN. A freeholder. (See Dictionary of Surnames.) 
FREDERICK. (Ger.) Rich peace, or peaceable reign. 



280 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONAKY 

FULLBERT. (Sax.) Full-bright 

FULKE, (Sax.) Some derive it from the German Vbttg, 
noble and gallant, but Camden from Folc, the English-Saxon 
word for people, folk ; like the Koman Publius, beloved of 
the people and commons. 

GABRIEL. (Heb.) A man of God, or God is my strength. 

GAIUS. (Greek.) Earthly. From TaZof , corruptible, mortal 

GALLIC. Milky. 

GAMALIEL. (Heb.) Recompense of God. 

GARRET. A corruption of Gerard (which see). 

GEDEON. (Heb.) He that bruises and breaks. 

GEFFREY. (Ger.) From Gau, joyful, and /red, peace; joy- 
ful peace. 

GEOFFREY. (Sax.) From Gau, glad, and fred, peace. 
GEORGE. (Greek.) A husbandman, from Tewpydf. 
GERARD. (Sax.) From Gar, all, and ard, nature. 
GERMAIN. (Ger.) All victorious. 
GERYAS. (Ger.) All sure, firm, or fast. 
GIFFORD. (Ger.) Liberal disposition. 

GILBERT. (Ger.) Bright pledge, from Gisle, a pledge; or 
gold-like bright, from the Saxon, Geele, yellow. 

GILES, ^Egidius, Latin of Afyif, Greek, a goat's skin; so the 
old writers derive it, but it is more probably from the Ger- 
man Gisel, or Gesel, a companion. 

GODARD. (Sax.) From God, God or good, and ard, nature 
endowed with a divine disposition. 

GODFREY. (Ger.) God's peace, godly. 
GODWIN (Sax.) Converted, or victorious in God. 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 281 

GRACCHUS. (Lat.) Thin. 

GREGORY. From the Greek Tpeyopew, to watch, watchful, ft 
shepherd. 

GRIFFITH. (Br.) Strong faith. 
GUILBERT. The same as Gilbert 
GUY. A guide, leader, or director. 

HADRIAN", and ADRIAN. (Lat.) From the city Hadria, 
whence Hadrian the Emperor had his origin. Gesner de- 
rives it from the Greek "Afyof, wealthy. 

HAMON. (Heb.) Faithful. 

HANNIBAL. Gracious lord. 

HAROLD. (Sax.) Leader of the army, or love of the army. 

HAZEL. (Heb.) One that sees God. 

HEBER. One that passes, anger, wrath. 

HECTOR. (Greek.) Defender. 

HEMAN. (Heb.) Their trouble, tumult, in great numbers. 

HENGIST. (Sax.) Horseman. 

HENRY. (Sax.) From Mnrich, ever rich, or from Honori- 
cus, honorable. 

HERBERT. (Sax.) From Here, an army, and beorht, bright, 
the glory of the army. Yerstegan derives it from Sere, 
an army, and the Teutonic lericht, instructed, an expert 
soldier. 

HERMON and HARMON. (Ger.) General of an army. 

HERCULES. (Greek.) Glory or illumination of the air. 

HEZEKIAH. (Heb.) Strong in the Lord. 

HIEL. (Heb.) God lives, or the life of God. 

HILDEBERT. (Ger.) Bright or famous lord. 

HIRAM. (Heb.) Exaltation of life. 

HOMER. (Greek.) "O^pos. A hostage, a pledge or security. 



282 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

HOEACE. From Latin, Horatius. (See below.) 

HOEATIO. (Lat.) Horatius, from the Greek, fydrfy or 
opart/coe, of good eyesight. 

HOSEA. (Heb.) Salvation. 

HUBERT. (Sax.) Of clear, bright color. 

HUGH. High, or exalted. 

HUMPHREY. (Sax.) From Sum-fred, house-peace. 

ICHABOD. (Heb.) Where is the glory. 
IRA. (Heb.) City watch, or heap of vision. 
ISAAC. (Heb.) Laughter. 
ISAIAH. (Heb.) Salvation of the Lord. 
ISRAEL. (Heb.) A prince of the strong God. 
IYAK The same as John in Gaelic and Welsh. 

JACOB. (Heb.) He that supplants, a supplanter. 
JAEL. (Heb.) A kid, ascending. 
JAMES. (Heb.) The same as Jacob. 
JARED. (Heb.) One that rules or descends. 

JASPER. (Greek.) From 'laain^ a precious stone of a green 
color, transparent, with red veins. 

JASON. (Greek.) 'Itiauv. He that cures, from 'Idopcu, to heal 
JEDEDIAH. (Heb.) Beloved of the Lord. 
JEREMIAH. (Heb.) Exaltation or grandeur of the Lord. 
JEREMY. (Heb.) High of the Lord. 
JESSE. (Heb.) My present, or who is to be. 
JOAB. (Heb.) Paternity. 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 283 

JOB. (Heb.) He that weeps. 

JOEL. (Heb.) One that wills or commands. 

JOHN. (Heb.) Signifies the grace or gift of the Lord. 

JONADAB. (Heb.) Liberal, one who acts as a prince. 

JONAH and JONAS. (Heb.) A dove. 

JONATHAN. (Heb.) The gift of the Lord 

JOSCELIN. A diminutive from Jost or Justus, just. 

JOSEPH. (Heb.) Increase, addition. 

JOSHUA. (Heb.) The Lord, the Saviour. 

JOSIAH. (Heb.) The fire of the Lord. 

JUDAS. (Heb.) Same as Judah, praise of the Lord. 

JULIUS. (Greek.) Soft haired, or mossy-bearded. 

JUSTIN. (Lat.) From Justus, just, virtuous. 

KENARD. (Sax.) Kind disposition. 
KENHELM. (Sax.) Defense of his kindred. 
KENNETH. (G-aelic.) From Ceann, the head a chieftain. 

LAMBERT. (Sax.) Fair lamb. 
LAWRENCE. (Lat.) Flourishing. 
LAZARUS. (Heb.) Lord's help. 
LEG-ER. (Ger.) Leodegar, gatherer of peoples. 
LEMUEL. (Heb.) God is with them. 
LEO. (Lat.) A lion. 
LEOFSTAN. (Sax.) Most beloved. 
LEOFWIN. (Sax.) Win love, or to be loved. 



284 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

LEONARD. (Sax.) Lion-like disposition. 
LEOPOLD. (Ger.) Defender of the people. 
LEVI. (Heb.) One who is held and associated. 

LEWIS. A contraction of Ludovicus, Latin for the Teutonic 
Ludwig, from Leod or Lud, the people, and wick, a castle 
the safeguard of the people. 

LINUS. Nets. 

LIONEL. (Lat) LioneUus, little lion. 

LOUIS. (Fr.) Contraction of Ludovicus or Ludwig. (See 
Lewis.) 

LUCIUS. (Lat.) From lux, light A name first given to 
children born at the dawning of the day. 

LUKE and LUCAS. (Greek.) Luminous. 

MADOC. (Br.) Good. 

MALICHI. (Heb.) My messenger or angeL 

MANOAH. (Heb.) Best, or a gift. 

MARCELLUS. (Lat.) From Mars, the god of war martial, 
warlike. 

MARCUS and MARK. (Lat.) A name first given to chil- 
dren born hi the month of March. Marcus also means 
polite, shining. 

MARMADUKE. (Ger.) From M&rmachtig, which in old 
Saxon signified more mighty. 

MARTIN. (Lat.) From Martins, Mars, the god of war. 
MATTHEW. (Heb.) The gift of God. 
MATTHIAS. (Heb.) The gift of the Lord. 

MAXIMILIAN. A name devised by the Emperor Frederic 
the Third, who composed it for his son and heir from the 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 285 

names of the two Romans whom he most admired, Q. Fab' 
ius Maximus, and Seipio ^milianus, with the hope that his 
son would imitate their virtues. 

MICHAEL. (Heb.) Who is like God? One of the names 
of Christ. 

MILES. (Lat) Milo t from Milium, a kind of grain called 
millet. Some think it to be a contraction of Michael. 

MORDECAI. (Heb.) Bitter contrition. 

MORGAN". (Br.) A seaman, from mor, the sea; like the 
Latin, Pelagius, Marius. 

MORICE. From the Latin, Mauritius, and that from Maurus, 
a moor. 

MOSES. (Heb.) Drawn forth. 



NAOMI. (Heb.) Beautiful, comely. 
NATHAN. (Heb.) Given. 
NATHANIEL. (Heb.) The gift of God. 

NEAL. (Fr.) From the Latin nigeUus or nigel, black or 
swarthy. 

NERO. (Lat.) Strong. 

NICHOLAS. (Greek.) Victorious, from v^ao, to conquer. 
NIGEL. From the Latin NigeUus, black, swarthy. 
NOAH. (Heb.) A ceasing or rest. 

NOEL. (Fr.) The same as the Latin natdlis, given first in 
honor of the feast of Christ's birth to such as were born on 
Christmas day. 

NORMAN. From Normandy, so called from the Northmen 
who settled there from the north of Europe. 



286 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

OB ADIAH. (Heb.) Servant of the Lord. 

OLIVER. From the Latin Oliva, an olive-tree, an emblem of 
peace. 

OSBERN. (Sax.) House-child. 

OSBERT. (Sax.) Domestic brightness. 

OSMUND. (Sax.) House-peace. 

OSWOLD. (Sax.) House-ruler or steward. 

OTHO. A faithful reconciler, according to Petrus Blesensis. 

OWEN. (Celtic.) The good offspring. 

PASCAL. From Pascha, the passover. 

PATRICK (Latin.) From Patriciw, a peer, a noble, a name 
given first to senators' sons. 

PAUL. (Lat.) From pauliis, little, humble, small in stature. 

PAYNE. From the Latin Paganus, now out of use, meaning 
a man exempt from military service. 

PELATIAH. (Heb.) Deliverance or flight of the Lord. 
PERCIYAL. (Nor.) From Percheval, a place in Normandy. 
PEREGRINE. (Lat.) A stranger, a foreigner. 
PETER. (Greek.) From Trerpof, a stone or rock. 
PHILEBERT. (Ger.) Much bright fame, very famous. 
PHILEMON. (Greek.) Qtijpuv. A kiss or loving. 

PHILIP. (Greek.) From ^tAof, a lover or friend, and 
a horse a lover of horses. 

PHILETUS. (Greek.) fci^r&f. Beloved or amiable. 
PHINEAS. (Heb.) Face of trust or protection. 
PIUS. (Lat.) Pious. 
POMPEY. (Lat) Pomposus, full of pomp. 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 287 

QUTNTIN. (Lat.) From guintus, the fifth, a name given to 
he fifth born. 



KALPH. (Sax.) Contracted from Eodolph or Rodolphus, from 
Rode, counsel, and ulph, help. 

RANDAL. (Sax.) Corrupted from Randulph, from rein, pure, 
and ulph, help. 

RANDOLPH. The same as Ranulf or Randal 

RAPHAEL. (Heb.) The healing of God. 

REUBEN. (Heb.) The son of vision. 

REUEL. (Heb.) Shepherd or friend of God. 

REYNOLD. (Sax.) Sincere or pure love, from rein, pure, and 
hold, love. 

RICHARD. (Sax.) From ric, rich, and ard, nature or dispo- 
sition of a liberal disposition. 

ROBERT. (Sax.) Famous in counsel, from Rode, counsel, 
and beorht, bright. 

ROBIN. Same as Robert 

RODERICK. (Sax.) Rich in counsel, from Rode, counsel, and 
ric, rich. 

ROGER. (Ger.) Quiet, desirous of rest 

ROLAND. (Ger.) Counsel for the land. 

RUFUS. (Nor. FT.) Red. 

RUPERT. Probably the same as Robert 

SALATHIEL. (Heb.) I besought God. 
SALMON. (Heb.) Peaceable. 
SAMSON. (Heb.) His sun or his ministry. 
SAMUEL. (Heb.) Heard of God, a prophet. 
SAUL. ' (Heb.) Asked or lent of the Lord; also a grave. 
SEBASTIAN. (Greek.) From Zepaarbe, reverend or majes- 
tical, the same as the Latin Augustus. 



288 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

SETH. (Heb.) Set as a foundation. 

SIGISMUND. (Sax.) From sige, victory, and mund, peace, 
one who procures peace yet so as by victory. Yerstegan 
and Junius derive it from the Teutonic Siege, victory, and 
mund, mouth, one who conquers by good words : so Sig- 
helm, victorious defense ; Sigebert, victorious fame. 

SIMEON. (Heb.) Hearing, obeying. 

SIMON. Same as Simeon. 

SOLOMON. (Heb.) Peaceable, perfect, or that recompenses. 

STEPHEN. (Greek) From 2rc>avof, a crown or garland; 
honor, distinction. 

SWITHIN. (Sax.) From the old English swtiheahn, very 
high, like the Latin Celsus. 

S YLYANUS. (Lat) Wood-man, or rather wood-God. 
SYLVESTER. (Lat) Woodman. 

TERENCE. Lat, Terentius, tender. 
TERTULLUS. A Ear or impostor. 

THEOBALD. (Sax.) From theod, the people, and bald, bold, 
bold over the people ; sometimes corrupted to Tibald of 
Thibald. 

THEODORE. (Greek.) From 6eof, God, and 6&pov, a gift 
the gift of God. 

THEODORIC. (Sax.) From Theod, the people, and ric, rich 
powerful or rich in people ; contracted to Terry with the 
French, and Derick and Dirck with the Dutch. 

THEOPHILUS. (Greek.) From Oeor, God, and #/lof, a 
lover or friend a lover of God. 

THOMAS. (Heb.) A twin, double, called in Greek AZdi^of, 
of two hearts, because of his doubting. 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 289 

TIMEUS. (G-r.) From /wof, perfect, honorable, admirable. 
TIMON. (Gr.) Honorable, worthy, from TY//wv. 

TIMOTHEUS. (Greek.) An honorer of God, from T^wv, 
one who honors, and 0edf, God. 

TIMOTHY. (Greek.) Same as Timotheus, an honorer of 
God. 

TITUS. (Lat.) Honorable. 

TOBIAS and TOBIAH. (Heb.) The goodness of God. 

TOBY. A corruption of Tobias. It is also the Welsh for 
Thomas. 

TEISTKAM. (Lat.) From Tristus, sad, sorrowful 

UCHTRED. (Sax.) High counsel. 
URBAN. (Lat) Civil, courteous. 
URIAH. (Heb.) The fire of the Lord. 

VALENS. (Lat.) Puissant brave, able. 
VALENTINE. (Lat.) The same as Valens. 
YICTOR. (Lat) A conqueror. 
YINCENT. (Lat.) Victorious, a conqueror. 

WALTER. (Sax.) Waldher, from Wold, a wood, and Tieer, a 
master the master or lord of the wood, like the Latin, Syl~ 
vanus, or Sylvester. 

WIBERT. (Sax.) From Wi, holy, and bert, brightholy, 
and bright or shining. 

WILDRED. (Sax.) Much fear. 

WILFRED. (Sax.) Much peace. 
13 



290 DICTIONARY OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 

WILLIAM. (G-er.) WiThdm. Some derive it from the Bel- 
gic, Ghiild-lielm, harnessed with a gilded helmet, and others, 
with more probability, from WH-hehn } the shield or defense 
of many, wel, and wil } being used by the Germans in the 
sense of many or much, as in Wildred and Wilfred above ; 
Wilibert, and Wilwald. 

WIMUND. (Sax.) Sacred peace, or holy peace, from Wt, 
holy or sacred, and mund, peace. 

.WISCHARD. (Nor.) Wily, crafty, a shifter. Sometimes 
written, Cfuiscard. 

WOLFERT. A corruption of Wulph&r, helper. 
WOLSTAN. (Sax.) Comely, decent 
WULPHEB. (Sax.) Helper. 



ZACHARY and ZAOHAEIAH. (Heb.) The memory of the 
Lord. 

Z ADOC. (Heb.) Just, justified. 
ZERAH (Heb.) East or brightness. 
ZOPHAR. (Heb.) Kismg early. 



NAMES OF WOMEN. 



ABIGAIL. (Heb.) The father's joy. 

ADA. (Sax.) A corruption of JSade, an old Saxon name, sig- 
nifying happiness. JEadith, now Edith, and Ida, are from 
the same. (See Edith) 

ADELAIDE. (Sax.) Noble, from Addiz, the same as Alice. 
ADELINE. (Sax.) Noble, descending from nobles. 
AGATHA. (Greek.) Good, from ' 
AGNES. (Greek) Chaste, from 
ALETHEIA. (Greek) Truth, from ' 

ALICE. (Sax.) Abridged from Adeliz, noble, the same as 

Adeline and Adelaide. 

The French make it defendress, by turning it into Alexia, in 
their language. 

AMY. (Fr.) Amie, beloved, from the Latin, amata. 

ANASTASIA. (Greek.) Given in remembrance of Christ's 
glorious resurrection, and ours in Christ, from dvdordai f, the 
act of rising up the resurrection. 

ANNE and ANNA. (Heb.) Gracious or merciful 
ANNETTE. A diminutive of Ann ; little and pretty Ann. 

ANTOINETTE and ANTONIA. Feminine of Antony or 
Anthony, from the Greek, dvdoc, a flower. 

ARABELLA. (Lat.) A fair altar, from ara, and Idla. 



292 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

AURELIA. (Lat.) Feminine of Aurelius, golden little 
golden dame. 

AURORA. The morning, the dawn; as if " Aurea hora" the 
golden hour. 

BARBARA. (Greek.) Strange, of unknown language, a bar- 
barian. 

BEATRICE. (Latin.) From beatrix, blessed, happy. 
BERTHA. (Sax.) Bright and famous. 
BLANCHE. (Fr.) White or fair. 

BRIDGET. (Gaelic.) Brighid, "fiery dart." The name of 
the muse who was believed to preside over poetry in pagan 
times, in Ireland. righid } in the Gaelic, also signifies a hos- 
tage, a pledge of security. 



CAROLINE. (Ger.) The feminine of Karl, or Charles, the 
manlike, the strong, the daring. 

CASSANDRA. (Greek.) Inflaming men with love. 
CATHERINE. (Greek.) Pure, chaste, from Ko%df. 
CECILIA (Latin.) Grey-eyed. 
CHARLOTTE. The French feminine of Charles. 

CHLOE. (Greek.) The verdant, springing, blooming; an 
epithet of Ceres, the goddess of husbandry, from Chloe, 
springing grass or corn. 

CHRISTINE. Feminine of Christian. 

CLARA. (Lat.) Clear, bright, renowned, illustrious the 
feminine of Clarence. 

CLAUDIA and CLAUDINE. (Latin.) Feminine of Claudius. 

CLEMENTINE. (Lat) Feminine of Clement, kind, gentle, 
merciful, from Clemens. 



OP CHRISTIAN NAMES. 293 

CONSTANCE. (Lat.) Constant, firm, unyielding. 

CYNTHIA. (Or.) An epithet of Diana. Apollo was called 
Cynthius, and Diana Cynthia, from Cynthus, a mountain in 
the island of Delos, in which they were born. She was 
called also Delia, from the name of the island. 

DEBORAH. (Heb.) A bee. 

DELIA. (Lat) A name given to the goddess Diana from 
being born on the island of Delos (manifest, conspicuous), so 
called because having previously been hidden under water, 
it was brought to the surface and made manifest, in order 
that Apollo and Diana might be born upon it. 

DIANA. (Greek.) Jove's daughter, from Aof, the genitive 
of Zedfj Jove, the ancient name of the moon or the moon- 
goddess. She was called also Delia, Phoebe, and Cynthia. 
Some have derived it from* Dianus, Janus, fern., Diana, a 
Roman god with two faces, symbolizing the sun and moon. 

DIDO. A Phoenician name signifying a manlike woman. 

DORCAS. (Greek.) A doe, a roe-buck. Lucretius says that 
by that name amorous knights were wont to call freckled, 
warty, and wooden-faced wenches. 

EDITH. (Sax.) From Eadith or Eade, an old Saxon name 
signifying happiness or blessed, from Eadig, happy, blessed, 
honorable. It has been corrupted to Ada and Ida. 

ELEANOR. The same as Ellen or Helen, pitiful, compas- 
sionate. 

ELIZA. A contraction of Elizabeth. 

ELIZABETH. (Heb.) The oath of God, or God hath sworn. 

ELSIE. A corruption of Alice. 



294 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

EMMA. (G-er.) From Amme, a nurse, one who nurses, cares 
for, and watches over another, tender, affectionate, the same 
as Eutrophine, among the Greeks. Emma, daughter of 
Richard, the first Duke of Normandy, was called in Saxon 
Elgiva, help-giver. It was sometimes written Imma } the 
name of the daughter of Charlemagne. Some have derived 
it from imme } a bee, busy, industrious. 

EMMELINE. A diminutive of Emma, little Emma. 
EMILY. The same as Emmeline. 
ESTHER. (Heb.) Secret or hidden. 
ETHEL. (Sax.) Noble. 

EUGENIA. The feminine of Eugene, which is from tiie Greek 
tvyevye, nobly born. 

EVE and EYA. (Heb.) Life-giving. 

FANNY. A corruption of Frances. 

FELICIA. The feminine of Felix (Lat,), happy, fortunate. 

FLORENCE. (Lat.) Flourishing, prosperous, from Florens. 

FRANCES. The feminine of Francis, from Frank, free, not 
servile or bond. 

GEORGINA and GEORGIAN A. Feminine of George, which 

see. 

GERTRUDE. (Ger.) All truth, amiable. 

GILLIAN. A corruption of Julian, feminine of Julius, Greek, 
soft-haired. 

GOODITH and GOODY. Contracted from Good-wife. King- 
Henry the First was nicknamed G-oodifh, in contempt. 

GRACE. The signification of this name is well known. 
GRISHILD. Gray lady. 



OP CHRISTIAN NAMES. 295 

HAG-AB. (Heb.) A stranger. 
HANNAH. (Heb.) Gracious, merciful 

HARRIET. The feminine of Harry or Henry; the samj as 
Henrietta. See Henry. 

HELEN. (Greek.) Pitiful, compassionate. Ellen is a differ- 
ent form of the same name. It is often contracted to Nelly 
and Nell. 

HENRIETTA. The feminine of Henry, which is derived from 
the German Einrich, ever rich. 

HONORA. (Lat.) Honorable, graceful, handsome. 
HULDAH. (Heb.) The world. 



IDA. The same as Ada and Edith. From JEJade, or Eadith, 
Saxon, happy, blessed. 

IONE. (Greek.) From the island Ionia. 

ISABEL. (Spanish.) The same as Elizabeth with the Span- 
ish, as they always translate Elizabeth into Isabel. It is 
also said to signify olive-complexioned or brown. 



JANE. Anciently Joane, the feminine of John, gracious. 
JANET. A diminutive of Jane, little and pretty Jane. 
JEMIMA. (Heb.) Handsome as the day. 

JOSEPHINE: (Heb.) The feminine of Joseph, which signi- 
fies increase, addition. 

JUDITH. (Heb.) Praising, confessing. 

JULIA and JULIANA. (Lat.) The feminine of Julius, 
Greek, soffc-haired. 



296 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

KATHARINE. (Greek.) Pure, virtuous, from Ka0apo ? . 
KATHLEEN. (Celtic.) Little darling. 

LAURA. (Lat) Bay or laurel, crowned with laurel, from 
laurus; corresponding to the Greek name Daphne. The 
feminine of Lawrence. 

LETITIA. (Lat.) From Icetitia, joyfulness, mirth. 
LETTICE. A corruption of Letitia. 
LETTY. A corruption of Lettice and Letitia. 
LOUISA. The feminine of Louis or Lewis. (See Lewis.) 

LUCRETIA. (Lat.) The feminine of Lucretius, from lucrum, 
gain, a name proper for a good housewife. 

LUCY. (Lat.) From lux, light, lightsome, bright, a name 
given first to children that were born when daylight first 
appeared. 

LYDIA. (Greek.) From Lydia, in Asia, because bom in that 
region. 

MABEL. From the French ma belle, my fair maid. Camden 
thinks it a contraction of the Latin, amdbilis, lovely, amiable, 
as it used to be written in old deeds, Amabilia, and Mabilia. 

MADELINE. The same as Adeline (which see). 
MAGDALEN. (Heb.)" Majestical. 

MARGARET and MARGERY. (Greek.) From Mapyapiref, a 
pearl, precious. 

MARIA^and MARIAN. The same as Mary, exalted. 
MARTHA. (Heb.) Bitter. 

MARY. (Heb.) Exalted. It is a famous name in both sacred 
and profane history ; in all ages it has literally been exalted. 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 297 

Some derive the name from maria, bitter, a drop of salt 
water, a tear. 

MATILDA. (Ger.) A noble or honorable lady. (See Maud.) 

MAUD. A corruption of Matilde or Matilda. From the Ger- 
man Matildis or Mathildis, Latin, Matilda, noble or honor- 
able lady. 

MELICENT and MILICENT. (French.) Honey-sweet 

MIRIAM. (Heb.) Bitterness of affliction, exalted, bitterness 
of the sea. 



NANCY. A corruption of Ann. 

NANETTE and NINON. (Fr.) Nan, Nancy, same as Ann, 
little Ann. 

NICIA. (Greek.) Victorious, from VIKTJ, a victory, a triumph. 



OLIVIA and OLIVE. (Lat) The feminine of Oliver. From 
the Latin Oliva, the olive tree, an emblem of peace. 

OLYMPIA. (Greek.) Heavenly, from 'O^Trof, heaven. 



PAULINE. The feminine of Paul, from the Latin, Paulas, 
little, small in stature. 

PENELOPE. (Greek.) The name of a kind of bird, with a 
purple neck. The name of the most patient, true, constant, 
and chaste wife of Ulysses, given to her because she care- 
fully loved and fed those birds. 

PERNEL. (Fr.) From PetroniHa, pretty stone. 

PHCEBE. (Greek.) The feminine ofPhcebus, from the Greek 
0cu/3of, light, splendid, radiant, a name of Diana. Phoebus, 
denoting Apollo, or the sun; Phcebe, Diana, or the moon. 



298 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY 

PHTLLPPA. (Greek.) Feminine of Philip (which see). 
PHTLLIS. (Greek.) Lovely, dear, cherished from <j>ity. 

POLYXENA. (Greek.) One that will entertain many guests 
and strangers, from TroAAo}, many, and Zevoi, strangers, 
guests. 

PRISCA. (Lat) Ancient 

PEISCILLA. (Lat.) A diminutive from Prisca, Kttle, ancient 
dame. 

PRUDENCE. (Lat) Prudentin, wisdom, corresponding to 
the Greek name, Sophia. 

RACHEL. (Heb.) A sheep. 
REBECCA. (Heb.) Fat and full 
REGINA. (Lat) The queen, queen-like. 
RHODA. (Greek.) A rose, from /56<Jov. 
ROSALIA. (Lat) From Rosa, fair as a rose. 
ROSALIND. The same as Rosalia, from Rosa, a rose. 

ROSAMUND. Rose of the world, from rosa, and mundi; or 
from rosa, Latin, and mii/nd, Saxon, a mouth, from her rosy- 
colored lips ; a name made famous by Fair Rosamund, mis- 
tress of Henry the Second. 

ROSE. (Lat.) From that fair flower, like a rose. 

ROWENA. (Sax.) From Rouw, Dutch, peace, and rinnan, 
Saxon, to acquire. The name of the beautiful daughter of 
Hengist, a renowned leader of the Saxons, " who, having 
the Isle of Thanet given him by King Vortigern for assisting 
him against the Picts and Scots, obtained as much ground 
as he could encompass with an ox-hide, on which to build 
a castle, which being finished, he invited King Yortigern to 
a supper. After supper Hengist calls for his daughter Row- 



OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 299 

ena, who, richly attired, enters Jie room with a graceful 
mien, with a golden bowl full of wine in her hand, and 
drinks to King Yortigern in the Saxon language, saying, 
'Be of health, lord, king,' to which he replied, ' Drink 
health,' which, I think, is the first health we find in history, 
and claims the antiquity of about 1400 years. Yortigern, 
enamored with her beauty, married her, and gave her and 
her father all Kent." 

RUTH. (Heb.) Satisfied. 



SABINA. (Lat.) As chaste and religious as a Sabine, a peo- 
ple who had their name from their worshiping of God. 

SARAH. (Heb.) Lady, mistress, or dame. 
SOPHIA. (Greek.) Wisdom, from co&a. 

SOPHRONIA. (Greek.) Modest and temperate; prudent, 
from ao<j>poavvrj, modesty, chastity. 

SYBIL. God's counsel; others derive it from the Hebrew, 
signifying divine doctrine. 

SYLYIA. (Lat) From Sylva, a forest belonging to the 
forest. 



TABITHA. (Heb.) Roe-buck. 

THEODORA. The feminine of Theodore, Greek, the gift of 
God. 

THEODOSIA. The same as Theodora, the gift of God. 



URANIA. (Greek.) Heavenly, from Qvpavde, heavenly. 

URSULA. (Lat) A little bear. The name of the virgin 
saint of Britain, martyred under God's scourge, Attila, king 
of the Huns. 



800 DICTIONARY OF CHRISTIAN NAMES. 

VENUS. (Lat.) Coming to all, as Cicero derives it, from 
veniendo. In Greek, Venus was called Aphrodite, some say 
from the foam of the sea whence she sprung, but Euripides 
says from Aphrosune, mad folly. 

VIOLA. (Lai) Viola, a violet, pretty and modest. 
VIRGINIA. (Lat.) Virgin-like, chaste, maidenly. 



WILHELMINA. (Ger.) The feminine of Wilhelm or Wil- 
liam. (See William.) 

WINIFRED. (Sax.) From Win, and fred, get peace. 



THE END. 



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LIFE IN ISRAEL; 

OR, 

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BY 
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COMMENTARIES 

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LATE PROFESSOR OP THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OP ERLANGEN. 

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The present edition will be superior to all others, embodying as it does all of Eberhard't 
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THE REV. A. C. KENDRICK, D.D., 

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" THE MODERN WHITFIELD." 

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" Never, since the days of George Whitfield and Edward Irving, has any minister of 
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ers." Correspondent of the Independent. 

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From the Christian Herald. 

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be satisfied." 

From the New York Sun. 

"With a boyish countenance and a figure under the middle size owing nothing to his 
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extraordinary influence: OQO ascribes it to the rich melody and perfect modulation of his 
voice; another to his rare powers of observation and assimilatioa-or to his knowledge 
of nature, and his attainments in literature and science ; another to his mastery over the 
graces of elocution. He himself says: 'I am a child, having little education, little learn- 
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to you. 1 " 

From the Christian Times, Chicago. 

"These Sermons show evidence of a wonderful power of illustration and appeal, as welt 
as a clear conception and profound experience of evangelical truth. Cue reads them with 
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manner of the true orator. A likeness of the preacher faces the title page. We hope 
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hope that, as their delivery was the means of conversion to great numbers, so their peru- 
sal may be equally blessed to numbers more." 

From the Albany State Re.giste>\ 

'It cortainly is refreshing to get hold of a book of Sormons like this. The old, worn-out aim 
stereotyped phrases that are met with in ninety-nine out of a hundred of every book of 
sermons you take up are here lacking. Instead of which you find fresh, piquant laiigunge, 
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THE 

BAPTIST DENOMINATION: 

Its Origin, Rise and Identity with the Primitive Church ; Its Doctrines 
and Practice ; its Polity ; its Persecutions and Martyrs ; Facts and 
Statistics of its Missionary Institutions ; Schools of Learning ; Peri- 
odicals and Churches ; the obligation of the World to Baptists, and 
the duty of Baptists to the "World ; designed to exhibit its condition in 
all ages of Christianity. 

BY REV. E>. C. HAYNUS, 

OP PHILADELPHIA. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY REV. JOHN DOWLING D.D 



One Vol. 1 2 mo, Muslin, Price One Dollar. 



WE QUOTE A FEW COMMENDATION'S OF THE BOOK. 

From REV. DK. BELCHER, of Philadelphia. 

"I thank you for an opportunity to examine your valuable manuscript, and for the 
talent and care shown in its preparation. While entirely different ft'im anything yet 
published, it presents facts and principles which the members of our churches noed to 
understand, and which would tend to increase their piety and usefulnes-s. May ample 
success follow your labors." 

F.'om HF.V. DR. DOWLING, of P/dlculelpltia. 

" As a book for popular reading and reference, I think it would be very valuable, ana 
meet with a ready sale. The Catena Baptista?nim (as it may be called), or connected 
chain of Baptists from John the Baptist down to the British and American Baptists, i a 
well done, as complete as the proposed brevity of the book would admit, and will be 
prized by the mass of our Baptist people, who have not access to the voluminous author- 
ities which have been consulted. The book, when published, by its comprehensiveness 
of plan and compactness of execution, will be /in admirable specimen of u Baptist 'mul- 
tum in parvo.'" 

From EEV. M. G-. CLARK, of Philadelphia. 

" Tt fills an important place, for which we have no other book. The style Is clear, the 
spirit is kind, the reasoning careful, and the argument conclusive. Wo need it ns a 
manual of Baptist polity and history. Baptists have done a great and good work already, 
p.nd have a greater and more glorious one in the future, and our churches need to be 
instructed both in the principles of their faith, and in the greatness of their achieve- 
ment?. I am persuaded that this book will render important aid." 

Fi'om EEV JOSEPH BANVABD, of New York. 

" Your history of tho Baptists is an interesting and eminently useful -work, just such 
an one as every minister and every intelligent Christian ought to have in his library. It 
presents in a condensed form the results of extended research, with reference to tha ori- 
gin, the history, the persecutions, the polity, and the present condition of our denomi- 
nation, in a manner which makes a refi-rcnce to any of the-e subjects perfectly easy. I 
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HISTORY OF THE BONAPARTE FAMILY ; or the Napoleon Dynasty. 
An entirely new work by the Berkeley Men. With 22 authentic portraits. 1 vol. 
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A very handsome volume, in paper, typography and plates, greets us under the title liert. 
given ano after the numberless books heretofore published in the shape of memoirs, bio- 
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parte it will be fonnd fresh and new in many of its details, and attractive by its dashing 
style and rapid narrative. All the members of the family, including the young brevet lieu- 
tenant in the U. S. Army, who has just been graduated from West 1'oint, and who bears tlie 
name both of his grand-father and his grand-uncle Napoleon Jerome Bonaparte are duly 
chronicled here ; and among the documents new to us, and we believe before unpublished, 
outained in this work, is the correspQndence between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII., rH:t- 
ive to the divorce which Napoleon urged the Holy Father to pronounce between Jerome an.l 
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THE ROMISH CONTROVERSY. Being a Series of Essays on some 
of the Leading Doctrines of the Church of Rome, as f Minos : 

THE DOCTRINE OF TRANSUBSTANTIATIOX, subversive of the foundations of Human Belief, 
therefore, incapable of being proved by any Evidence, or of being believed by Men under 
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THB RIGHT AND Durr of all men to read the Scriptures. 

The echeme of Salvation by Law and Grace irreconcilable with itself. 

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HOME LIFE. Twelve brilliant lectures on the duties and relations of 
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The following is the table cf contents, and will indicate the character and scope of tho 
iook: 

LECTURE I. THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION. 

LECTURE II. DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND. 

LECTURE III. DUTIES OF THE WIFE. 

LECTURE IV. DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN. 

LECTURE V. DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS. 

LECTURE VI. DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 

LECTURE VII. MUTUAL DUTIES OF HOUSEHOLDERS AND SEBVANTS. 

LECTURE VIII. DUTIES OF PKINCIPALS TO CLERKS AND APPRENTICES 

LECTURE IX. DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN TO THEIR EMPLOYEES. 

LECTURE X. THE USE AND ABUSE OF AMUSEMENTS. 

LECTURE XL THE FAMILY LIBRARY. 

LECTURE XII. THE SELF GOVERNED MAN. 

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EGYPT, ARABIA. PETR^EA, AND THE HOLY LAND. A Journa, 

of Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land. By DAVID MILLARD, Professor 
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" JOURNAL OF TRAVELS IN EGYPT, ARABIA PETR^A AND THE HOLY LAXD, BY DAVID MILLARD. 
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the writer here, however, we find the whole happily condensed within reasonable limits, 
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the author. The writer ihinks, and we agree with him, ' that no volume of equal dimen- 
sions can be found to contain more information on the countries of which it treats than 
this.' We have no personal acquaintance with the author, and know not his religious sen 
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Religious Ktxordf.r. 

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From the New York Examiner. 

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"The work is not only an admirable sketch of the early English versiors and revisions 
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"The Chapter on the Martyrdom of Frith, is among the most thrilling and powerful 
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" A more comprehensive and gratifying record of the religious progress of the Anglo- 
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From the New York Tribune. 

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volume." 

From the Cambridge Chronicle. 

" The work shows on almost every page, the evidence of learned investigation, and thor- 
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" The style is free from the dry and harsh characteristics which render the volumes or 
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" Airs. Conant's style is easy and elegant ; she seizes the strong points and presents them 
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Fourth Edition, Just Published. 

ASPIRATION : An, Autobiography of Girlhood. By MRS. MANNERS. 

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This book has been pronounced by reviewers one of the most unique and admirable 
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ments of the critics : 

" Nothing more graphic has appeared since ' Jane Eyre.' " N. Y. Herald. 

" No young lady who glances through half a dozen pages of this volume, will throw it 
aside unread. If a real autobiography, it is also a work of brilliant imagination moro 
interesting than romance, more exciting than fiction. It is a drama of youthful life, 
joyous and sad by turns, sprightly, restless, exhibiting the passions of more ardent na- 
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"We have seldom read a book which has pleased us more. It should be welcome to 
every Christian home." Christian Secretory. 

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it will produce a good effect.'' N. T. Day Book. 

"This is a good story, of good tendency, and very gracefully penned. It has our hearti- 
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or more sublime passage in the whole range of English literature." Boston Traveller. 

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"This charming story is from the pen of Mrs. William C. Eichards, of Providence, E. I. 
The interest awakened by the announcement of its forthcoming has been more than gra- 
tified, as is fully proven by the increasing demand for the book." Journal. 

' In an easy style she has written a book that will please and profit all who read it, and 
we shall be glad to hear that many thousands have done so. 1 ' N. T. Examiner. 

IRYING'S ONE THOUSAND RECEIPTS ; or, Modem and Domestic 
Cookery. A complete direction for carving, pastry, cooking, preserving, pickling, 
making wines, jellies, &c., <fcc. With a complete table of Cooking for Invalids. By 
LTTCBBTIA IBTTNQ. 218 pp. 12mo. Muslin. Price 75 cents. 

ANECDOTES: RELIGIOUS, MORAL, AND ENTERTAINING. Alpha- 
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by the late Rev. CHAELES BUCK. Illustrated with a steel plate frontispiece. 14 pages 
12mo. Price $150. 

We have pleasure in commending this volume to the notice of heads of families ; it is 
choice in matter, elevated in tone, and altogether admirable. The Anecdotes are various, 
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are advised to purchase it. A work more entertaining generally has seldom isputd from 
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Books Published by Sltcldo?i, Blakeman $ Uv. 



' ' A Most Absorbing Book. ' ' 
MRS. LINCOLN PHELPS' .NEW ROMANCE, IDA NORMAN ; or, Triali 

and Iheir Uses, is one of the most popular books issued this season. Published in one 
volume, 12mo, cloth, beautifully illustrated in tint. Price, $1 25. 

. READ WHAT THE CRITICS SAY OF IT. 

" It is a work of that rare and peculiar kind, of which there has always been too few." 
Osweg-o County Gazette. 

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popularity as it increases in age." Albany Spectator. 

"A work of no ordinary ability." Boston Transcript. 

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Ambassador. 

" Few books that we have ever seen combine in an equal degree the highest moral and 
religious sentiments with the highest dramatic interest. Parents who reject the mass of 
books as too light for their children to read, may place this work in their hands with 
safety." New York Recorder. 

" We entered upon its perusal at the early dawn of a beautiful day. We were soon lost 
to every thing else but the story of Ida Norman, and the trials and vicissitudes of life, as 
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influences that reform and refine the heart." Daily National Democrat. 

GILFILLAN'S NEW WORK. A Third Gallery of Portraits, by George 
Gilfillan. One volume, 12mo. Cloth. Price $1 25. 



CONTENTS 



Fik of French Revolutionists. 



Jl Cluster of New Poets. 



SYDNEY YKNDYS, 
ALEXANDER SMITH, 
J. STANYON BIGG, 
GERRALD MASSEY. 



HAZLITT AND HALLAM, 

JKFFREY AND COLERIDGE, 

DELTA, 

THACKERAY, 

T. BABINGTON MACAULAY. 



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EMERSON, 

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EDGAR A. POE, 

EDMO.VD BURKE, 

SIR EDW. LYTTON BULWBB, 

BENJAMIN DISRAELI. 

PROF. WILSON, 

HENRY ROGER3, 

AESCHYLUS, PROMKTHETTS 

BOUND AXD UNBOUND, 
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MIRABEAU, 

MARAT, 

ROBESPIERRE, 

DANTON, 

VERGNIAUD, 

Modern Critics. 
Constellat'n of Sacred Authors. 

EDWARD IRVING, 

ISAAC TAYLOR, 

ROBERT HALL, 

DR. CHALMERS. 

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" He has imbued them all with his own superabundent vitality ; we never fall asleep 
while we walch the as yet undeveloped likeness leap into light and life beneath the trtist's 
uand. Gilfillan is a passionate and rapid writer ; his quick and impetuous thought hai 
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Buuks Ptibl is/ied bij S/tddon, BUikcman fy Co. 

COMMENTARIES ON THE FEW TESTAMENT, 
BY REV. AUGUSTUS NEANDER, D.D. 

Translatec from the German by 
MKS. II. C . CONANT. 

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. Practically explained by Dr. AJ- 
GT76TU8 NBANDER. Translated from the German, by Afrt. H. C. Conant. 12mo. 
319 pp. Price 85 cents. 

THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS, and THE 
EPISTLE OF JAMES. In one vol. 12mo, cloth. Price 85 cts. 

THE SCRIPTURAL EXPOSITIONS of Dr. NEANDER, complete. Com- 
prising the above books, bound in one volume. Price $1 75. 

Of these books the Eev. FKANCIS WAYLAND wrote: 

"Neander was learned in philosophy, and in the history of the Church, beyond any 
man of his age, perhaps of any age. Take up now his Commentary on John's First 
Epistle th< best of his works of this character with which I am acquainted. The excel- 
lence of this exposition is not at all owing to his marvellous learning, but to the childlike 
and loving temper which places him in so delightful harmony of spirit with the beloved 
Apostle." 

From the Hartford Religions Herald, March 6. 1S5C. 

"Neander is best known to our readers as the Historian of the Church, and his Eccle- 
siastical History, brought down to the period of the Reformation, has secured for him the 
reputation of being one of the most profound scholars and thinkers of the age. The 
evangelical Strauss, bis friend and colleague, says of him in his funeral discourse: 'He 
did not despise human knowledge; he sought for it with unwearied diligence; he was a 
master in it ; but he laid all his surprising treasures of bis learcing at the foot of the 
cross.' 

44 While, however, Neander was an historian, he excelled also as an Expounder of tho 
Bible ; and we have, as his dying legacy to the people of God, his exposition of the Epistle 
of Paul to the Philippians; the General Epistle of James; and the First Epistle General 
of John. These expositions are not as German Expositions usually areworks of learned 
criticism merely, but are pop.ular practical Commentaries on Divine truth, rich in the 
results of study, and glowing with the light and warmth of a deep personal experience of 
the gospel. Neander, -with all his accumulated stores of learning, sat as a docile pnpil 
at the fee.t of Christ, and his Christian humility was beautifully illustrated in the fact, 
that when applied to for his autograph, to be placed under his engraved portrait, he gave 
it, and appended thereto the words : 'Now we see through a glass daikly, but then face 
to face.' " 

4 'This work is exactly what it professes to be, not learned criticism, but a practical 
explanation of the Epistle to the Philippians. It comprises two popular lectures, which 
will not fail to interest any intelligent Christian who will read them with care. Clergy- 
men will find this work eminently suggestive of new trains of thought which may be 
profitably used in the sacred task." Literary Adverlistr. 

"The friends of religious truth will be glad to see this Commentary on the Epistle of 
James, following so soon on the Philippians. Perhaps no book of the New Testament has 
been more misunderstood than this Epistle, on account of a supposed contrariety between 
its teachings and the 'doctrines of grace.' A more comprehensive aad philosophical 
exegesis, however, sees in the Epistles of James and Paul only the same system of truth 
set forth from different points of view. The work of Neander is a most valuable assist- 
ance in the elucidation of this epistle. By looking at it from his own eminently historical 
point of view, we are able to see, at a glance, how it falls beautifully into its place in the 
system of Christ, confirming rather than weakening the great doctrines, the inculcation 
of which the Holy Ghost seems to have intrusted to Paul. The translation is clear and 
Idiomatic, and almost entirely free from the abstract and cumbrous phraseology that too 
ofton marks translations from the German. No clergyman or Sunday-School tf.- uer can 
fail to feel his mind invigorated and his heart enlarged by the study of this work." New 
York Recorder. 

" Mrs. Conant has devoted her accomplished skill as a translator, to a good purpose, in 
rendering into English this charming production of Neauder. This fir.all volume suc- 
ceeds a similar one on the Epistle to the Philippians. and is itself to be followed by ano- 
ther on the First Epistle to John a work published since the Author's death. "Y\"e cannot 
doubt that these volumes will be desired by ministers generally, and we commend them 
to all thoughtful students of the Bible." Watchman and fiej/fctor. 



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PICTURE PLAY-BOOK. By PETER PARLEY. Large 4to. 365 cuts. Illu- 
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FACTS FOll BOYS. Selected and Arranged by JOSEPH BELCHER, D. D. 

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FACTS FOR GIRLS. By the same Author, and uniform with the above. 

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GAMBLING IN ITS INFANCY AND PROGRESS ; or a Dissuasive 

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CS Arthur, William 
2309 An etymological dictionary 
A78 of Family and Christian 
names