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ArchivesRe: american surnames
in reply to a message by Chris Colombo
American surnames?
Pratt is English and comes from an old word meaning "cunning". The word pretty is the same, but the meaning has changed. Pretty is also an English surname.
Cochran is Lowland Scots, from a place-name. The first component is said to be the Ancient British (P-Celtic) for "red", equivalent to the Modern Welsh GOCH. It is alleged that some Cochrans adopted this surname as a substitute for the Highland Gaelic surname MacEacharn, but that's another story.
Pratt is English and comes from an old word meaning "cunning". The word pretty is the same, but the meaning has changed. Pretty is also an English surname.
Cochran is Lowland Scots, from a place-name. The first component is said to be the Ancient British (P-Celtic) for "red", equivalent to the Modern Welsh GOCH. It is alleged that some Cochrans adopted this surname as a substitute for the Highland Gaelic surname MacEacharn, but that's another story.
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