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ArchivesRe: Origin of Surnames Jack, Nalls,Towns, and Hunt
in reply to a message by Alma-Vera
Nalls - this is a new one on me. I don't think it is English or Irish in origin. The ancestry.com website has something to report, but seems to be hedging its bets:
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?fid=10&ln=Nalls
Jack - this is a Scots surname, meaning John (diminutive), or James, via the French Jacques. A Native American might just have taken the name by which her father was known in English. Same process as in Scotland, but occurring later. With the Lakota it's also possible that the name started out as Jacques, as, I believe, some of that nation were given names by French missionary priests.
Towns - English and Scottish, someone whose home was a farm, the old meaning of town.
Hunt, same meaning as hunter, occupational.
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?fid=10&ln=Nalls
Jack - this is a Scots surname, meaning John (diminutive), or James, via the French Jacques. A Native American might just have taken the name by which her father was known in English. Same process as in Scotland, but occurring later. With the Lakota it's also possible that the name started out as Jacques, as, I believe, some of that nation were given names by French missionary priests.
Towns - English and Scottish, someone whose home was a farm, the old meaning of town.
Hunt, same meaning as hunter, occupational.
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Replies
Very helpful information. I'm doing research on my maternal grandmother's family and one of her ancestors was a Towns. I wondered what the origin of that surname was. Thank you!
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