Looking for the origins of these surnames!
Please help me!
Bonner
Davies
Donnelly
Lafferty
Lewis
McAulay
McGill
Rodgers
Wason
Williams
Wise
vote up1vote down

Replies

Lewis=English

McAulay=ScottishIrish McGill ScottishIrish Rodgers [Roger; Usually a male given name; rare, 1 out of 5882 males. Also a rare surname; 1 out of 100000. Popularity rank; U.S.A., #11314. EnglishFrench :Famous spear. Williams= English Wise=EnglishIf I am wrong, do not be afraid to correct me. I will not be offended:)
vote up1vote down
Davies, Lewis, Rogers and Williams are self-explanatory, denoting descent from a man named David, Lewis, etc. As there seems to be a Welsh background here I should add that Lewis can be for the Germanic Lewis/Louis, or in Wales, originally as a suitable replacement for Llewelyn.
Bonner, like Bonar, is from the French bon air. I think it meant that the bearer was a cheerful person, though I'm not sure. It's also found in Ireland as a substitute for an Irish name O Cneafsaigh. I may come back to that, and the other Gaelic names, otherwise I could be here for hours. I'm sort of hoping Sean takes a fancy to them.
Putting up a couple of names at a time might not be a bad idea.
vote up1vote down