the origin of Jory?
I found out a short time ago that my father's family is from Cornwall, England, and discovered that the surname "Jory" is predominantly found in that area, with only a few exceptions in the rest of Great Britain (at least as far as the early 19th century census information can tell us). We were told, years ago, by one of those outfits that charge you money to find the origin of your name, that "Jory" was Scottish, from "deorighe" [sp?], meaning "pilgrim." Supposedly it was a variant of another Scottish surname, variously spelled Deor or George, and belonged to Clan MacNab. Does anyone know whether the origin actually is Scottish, or is it more likely to have a Welsh origin (since Wales and Cornwall are so closely connected ethnically and historically)? Any help would be much appreciated.
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This is listed in G. Pawley White's "Handbook of Cornish Surnames" where it is explained as a Cornish form of George. It's also listed in Reaney and Wilson's dictionary of English surnames with examples of the name elsewhere in Southern England in the 13th Century. Here the name is said to be from Jore, a Northern French form of George.
There is (or was) also a Scottish surname, Jorie, which is explained as you were informed.
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do we know whether it came originally from scotland?
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I don't think so in the case of your family. If Jory is a Cornish surname and your family hails from Cornwall it's a safe bet that they were living there when hereditary surnames were becoming fashionable.
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