indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from location)
Usage English
Other Forms FormsFanshaw, Featherstonehaugh, Featherstonhaugh, Fetherstonhaugh
Meaning & History
Meant "person from Featherstonehaugh", Northumberland (now known simply as "Featherstone") ("nook of land by the four-stones", four-stones referring to a prehistoric stone structure known technically as a "tetralith"). Featherstonehaugh is traditionally pronounced as "Fanshaw". A fictional bearer is the pretty and vain Miss Ginevra Fanshawe of Charlotte Brontë's 'Villette' (1853).