indicate the level to which a name has been verified.Type Surname (from given name & from location)
Usage English
Meaning & History
Uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Thorferth, a variant of the Old Norse given name Þórfreðr (compare Tolfree), or perhaps from Torver, the name of a former village in Lancashire. The latter probably means either "Thor’s pasture" or "turf hut", from Old Norse torf "peat, turf" or the name of the Norse god Þórr combined with the loanword ergh from Gaelic àirigh "shieling, shepherd’s hut, summer pasture".