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ArchivesRe: English New England names
in reply to a message by Caitlin
I now have access to the Oxford University Press "American Family Name Origins"
Olmstead - "English: habitational name from Olmstead Green in Cambridgeshire."
Albee - "Variant spelling of English Alb(e)y, a habitational name from Alby in Norfolk or Ailby in Lincolnshire, both named with the Old Norse personal name Áli + Old Norse býr ‘farmstead’."
Westcott - "English (Devon): habitational name from any of various minor places named with Old English west ‘west’ + cot ‘cottage’, ‘shelter’, for example Westcott in Surrey, Westcot in Berkshire, or Westcote in Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and Warwickshire."
Littleton - "English: habitational name from any of various places, mostly in southwestern England, named in Old English as ‘small settlement’, from lȳtel ‘small’ + tūn ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’."
Granville - "English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Grainville, from the Germanic personal name Guarin (see Waring) + Old French ville ‘settlement’."
Downes - "1. English: Topographic name for a downland dweller, from Old English dūn ‘down’, ‘low hill’. 2. English/Scottish/Irish: nickname for a man with dark hair or a swarthy complexion, from Middle English / Gaelic dunn ‘dark-colored, brown’. 3. Scottish: habitational name from Dun in Angus, named with Gaelic dùn ‘fort’. 4. Scottish: possibly a habitational name from Doune in Perthshire. 5. Irish (Counties Clare and Limerick): reduced Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Dubháin. ‘descendant of Dubhán’, meaning ‘the little black one’, a common name in the 16th century in southern Ireland, or Ó Damháin ‘descendant of Damhán’ meaning ‘fawn’, ‘little stag’, a rare Ulster name."
Arscott - "English (mainly Devon): habitational name, perhaps from Arscott in Shropshire, which is named from an unexplained first element + Old English cot ‘hut’, ‘cottage’."
Holliman - "English: nickname, perhaps ironic, from Middle English holy ‘holy’ + man ‘man’."
Sheldon - "English: habitational name from any of the various places so called. The main source is probably the one in Derbyshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Scelhadun, formed by the addition of the Old English distinguishing term scylf ‘shelf’ to the place name Haddon (from Old English hǣð ‘heath(er)’ + dūn ‘hill’). There are also places called Sheldon in Devon (from Old English scylf ‘shelf’ + denu ‘valley’) and Birmingham (from Old English scylf + dūn ‘hill’)."
Colvin - "Scottish and English: variant of Colville, probably reflecting a local pronunciation." Colville is "Scottish (of Norman origin): habitational name from Colleville in Seine-Maritime, France, named with the Scandinavian personal name Koli (English: from a Middle English personal name derived from the Old English byname Cola (from col ‘(char)coal’, presumably denoting someone of swarthy appearance), or the Old Norse cognate Koli.) + Old French ville ‘settlement’, ‘village’."
Still unknown: Busecot, Quartermain, Collacutt, Stukely, Cottington, Oxston, Maplett
Olmstead - "English: habitational name from Olmstead Green in Cambridgeshire."
Albee - "Variant spelling of English Alb(e)y, a habitational name from Alby in Norfolk or Ailby in Lincolnshire, both named with the Old Norse personal name Áli + Old Norse býr ‘farmstead’."
Westcott - "English (Devon): habitational name from any of various minor places named with Old English west ‘west’ + cot ‘cottage’, ‘shelter’, for example Westcott in Surrey, Westcot in Berkshire, or Westcote in Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and Warwickshire."
Littleton - "English: habitational name from any of various places, mostly in southwestern England, named in Old English as ‘small settlement’, from lȳtel ‘small’ + tūn ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’."
Granville - "English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Grainville, from the Germanic personal name Guarin (see Waring) + Old French ville ‘settlement’."
Downes - "1. English: Topographic name for a downland dweller, from Old English dūn ‘down’, ‘low hill’. 2. English/Scottish/Irish: nickname for a man with dark hair or a swarthy complexion, from Middle English / Gaelic dunn ‘dark-colored, brown’. 3. Scottish: habitational name from Dun in Angus, named with Gaelic dùn ‘fort’. 4. Scottish: possibly a habitational name from Doune in Perthshire. 5. Irish (Counties Clare and Limerick): reduced Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Dubháin. ‘descendant of Dubhán’, meaning ‘the little black one’, a common name in the 16th century in southern Ireland, or Ó Damháin ‘descendant of Damhán’ meaning ‘fawn’, ‘little stag’, a rare Ulster name."
Arscott - "English (mainly Devon): habitational name, perhaps from Arscott in Shropshire, which is named from an unexplained first element + Old English cot ‘hut’, ‘cottage’."
Holliman - "English: nickname, perhaps ironic, from Middle English holy ‘holy’ + man ‘man’."
Sheldon - "English: habitational name from any of the various places so called. The main source is probably the one in Derbyshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Scelhadun, formed by the addition of the Old English distinguishing term scylf ‘shelf’ to the place name Haddon (from Old English hǣð ‘heath(er)’ + dūn ‘hill’). There are also places called Sheldon in Devon (from Old English scylf ‘shelf’ + denu ‘valley’) and Birmingham (from Old English scylf + dūn ‘hill’)."
Colvin - "Scottish and English: variant of Colville, probably reflecting a local pronunciation." Colville is "Scottish (of Norman origin): habitational name from Colleville in Seine-Maritime, France, named with the Scandinavian personal name Koli (English: from a Middle English personal name derived from the Old English byname Cola (from col ‘(char)coal’, presumably denoting someone of swarthy appearance), or the Old Norse cognate Koli.) + Old French ville ‘settlement’, ‘village’."
Still unknown: Busecot, Quartermain, Collacutt, Stukely, Cottington, Oxston, Maplett
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