LOOKING FOR MEANINGS IN MY FAMILY NAMES
MY FAMILY NAMES ARE VAN OVER, SOWARDS, JUSTICE, RAY, PLYMALE, PETERS AND BLACKBURN.
DOES ANYONE KNOW THE MEANINGS OF THESE NAMES AND WHERE THEY ARE FROM?
NESR@ATT.NET
WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP.
THANKS
NANCY
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Replies

Van Over - don't know for sure, possibly from the same source as the English surname Over which means "dweller on the bank of a river" from the Old English 'ofer'. Van means "of".Sowards - possibly means "sow herd". Can't find it at the moment, I will look it up properly tomorrow.Justice - Means "justice" sometimes applied as an occupational surname to a judge. From the Old French, Middle English 'justice'.Ray -Click here - http://surnames.behindthename.com/php/search.php?terms=Ray&type=n&operator=orPlymale - no clue off hand.Peters - "son of Peter"Blackburn - "from Blackburn, England".---------------------------------------
770555
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The Plymales of the US claim that their ancestor(s) migrated from Brittany, in France. However I think the name may be French rather than Breton. There is a French surname, Plumail,which might be the original. The letter U in French is thin and might become an I or a Y when pronounced by English speakers. The surname derives from the word plume, and Jean Tosti speculates that it might be a nickname for someone who wore a feather in his hat.
Plumail is found most frequently in the Mayenne region of France, which is next door to Brittany.
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