English New England names
These are names of New England ancestors that trace mostly back to England. What do they mean?Busecot
Quartermain
Collacutt
Stukely
Cottington "cottage town?"
Oxston "ox town?"
MaplettThanks!
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Mainly surnames from English place names, apart from Quartermain, and, possibly, Maplett, which is a mystery to me.
Quartermain - nickname from the French quatre mains, meaning "four hands", denoting a busy (and dextrous?) person.
Busecott - probably a village name, e.g., Buscot in Oxfordshire or Burscot, Devon. Cott means "cottage",the first component probably from a personal name.
Collacutt - probably from the place name Collacott which occurs in Devon and Cornwall, similar explanation as Busecott. The surname is best represented in Devon.
Cottington - there is a Cottington Hill in Kent, and a Cottington Court Farm. the -ton ending meant "farm" originally. The surname is well represented in Soth-East England.
Oxston - Oxton without the S is a frequent place name, mainly northern, "ox farm". The name is strong in Lancashire.
Maplett - looks like "maple" is the basis, a word which does occur in English place names, but there doesn't seem to be a place called Maplett. There is a French surname, Maple, said to denote a cloth-merchant, and Maplet might be diminutive of that, but a lost English place name seems more likely.
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One I missed -
Stukely - probably from (Great and Little)Stukeley, Cambridgeshire. Meaning a clearing with tree stumps.
Also a correction. According to Reaney and Wilson Quartermain means, metaphorically, "mail-fisted"; two hands plus two mailed gauntlets, I suppose.
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Thanks!
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