For example, a child christened John Oliver might result in later generations adopting Oliver as their surname. Sometimes a middle name might become a surname. Many Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from ‘John’s son) being the most common. An ‘s’ at the end of a personal name also meant ‘son of’, for example Richards, Stevens, Williams and so on. Those derived from where the person lived might include Hill, Dale, Bridge, Forest and Wood also York, Lancaster, London etc.Īnother common way of distinguishing people would be ‘son of’, for example Johnson (son of John), Richardson, Wilson, Harrison etc. Some surnames derive from personal traits or looks, such as Armstrong, Swift, Red and Short. Irish, Welsh and Highland Scottish names mostly derive from Gaelic personal names whereas traditional English and lowland Scottish surnames also reflect society as it was in the mid to late Middle Ages.Ĭommon surnames such as Smith, Wright, Fletcher, Knight, Cook, Squire, Taylor and Turner are all based around medieval trades or occupations. Today there are perhaps as many as 45,000 different English surnames, derived from all kinds of sources: nicknames, physical attributes, trades, place names etc.
However it was still common in some parts of the country to find a person entered under one surname at baptism, married under another name and then buried under a third. The introduction of parish registers in 1538 helped establish the idea of hereditary surnames. For example, John Blacksmith might become John Farrier as his trade developed. To begin with, surnames were fluid and changed over time, or as a person changed his job. These descriptions would grow to form the surnames we recognise today.
As the country’s population grew, it became necessary to distinguish between people and so names began to include descriptions of the person, such as Thomas son of John, Peter the Baker, Richard the Whitehead, Mary Webster, etc. Surnames weren’t widely used until after the Norman Conquest in 1066. In England, surnames are also commonly known as last names due to the practice of writing the given names first and then the family name or surname last. Have you ever wondered where your surname comes from? Or when people start using surnames (last names) and why?
0 kommentar(er)
