Re: surnames not in database
by Sean Foglai (guest)
3/21/2005, 12:55 PM
Arnett
English: from a Middle English personal name, probably a pet form of Arnold, although Reaney has it as a survival of the Old English personal names Earngçat (male) ‘eagle Geat’ (a tribal name) or Earnḡ{dh} (female) ‘eagle battle’.
Variant of French Arnette.
Alltop
English: variant of Althorp, a habitational name from Althorpe in Lincolnshire or Althorp in Northamptonshire.
Possibly also an Americanized form of German Althoff ‘old farm’.
Rooks
English: nickname from the bird (Old English hrôc), most likely given to a person with very dark hair or a dark complexion or to someone with a raucous voice.
English: some early examples, such as Robert of ye Rook (London 1318) and Henry del Rook (Staffordshire 1332), point clearly to a local name of some kind. The first of these could be from a house sign, the second may be a variant of Rock 1.
German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with hrok, of uncertain origin; perhaps a cognate of 1 or from Middle High German rôhen ‘to cry or yell (in battle)’ or Old High German ruoh ‘intent’.
Perhaps an altered spelling of German Ruck.