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Re: Looking for the origins of these surnames!
in reply to a message by Kev
Davies, Lewis, Rogers and Williams are self-explanatory, denoting descent from a man named David, Lewis, etc. As there seems to be a Welsh background here I should add that Lewis can be for the Germanic Lewis/Louis, or in Wales, originally as a suitable replacement for Llewelyn.
Bonner, like Bonar, is from the French bon air. I think it meant that the bearer was a cheerful person, though I'm not sure. It's also found in Ireland as a substitute for an Irish name O Cneafsaigh. I may come back to that, and the other Gaelic names, otherwise I could be here for hours. I'm sort of hoping Sean takes a fancy to them.
Putting up a couple of names at a time might not be a bad idea.
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