Behind the Name: Surnames Categorized "place names"

AYERS (3)English
Indicated a person from the town of Ayr in Scotland. The town was named for the river which flows through it, itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".

BOON (2)English
Originally indicated a person from the town of Bohon, in Manche in France. The town's name is of unknown origin.

BUCKLEY (1)English
From an English place name derived from bucc "buck, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

BURNHAMEnglish
From the name of various towns in England, typically derived from Old English burna "stream, spring" and ham "home".

HOGARTHEnglish
Variant of HOGGARD.

HOLMWOODEnglish
Variant of HOMEWOOD.

HORTONEnglish
From the names of various places in England which are derived from Old English horh "dirt, mud" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

KEITHScottish
From a place name which is probably derived from the Brythonic element cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles.

LANGDONEnglish
Derived from an Old English place name meaning "long hill" (effectively meaning "ridge").

LANGLEY (1)English
From any of the various places with this name, all derived from Old English lang "long" and leah "woodland, clearing".

LATERZAItalian
Typical of southern Italy: it comes from the place name Laterza, a town near Taranto in the Puglia region.

LYNDONEnglish
Originally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.

MEDINASpanish
From the name of a Spanish city, whose name is derived from the Arabic word for "city".

MILANOItalian
Originally indicated someone who came from MILAN.

MONROEScottish
Designated a person who had originally lived near the mouth of the Roe River in Derry, Ireland.

MURRAY (1)Scottish
Derived from the region in Scotland called Moray meaning "seaboard settlement". A notable bearer of this surname was General James Murray (1721-1794), who was the first British Governor-General of Canada.

NORTHROPEnglish
From the name of a town in England meaning "north farm".

PEAKEnglish
Means "dweller by the pointed hill" from Old English peac. It could also denote a person from the Peak District in Derbyshire, England.

PRESCOTTEnglish
From an English place name meaning "priest's cottage".

RHODESEnglish
Topographic name derived from Old English rod meaning "cleared land", or a locational name from any of the locations named with this word.

SANDOVALSpanish
Derived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin saltus "forest, glade" and novalis "unploughed land".

SUTTONEnglish
From various English place names meaning "south town".

TRENTEnglish
Denoted one who lived near the River Trent in England.

ZELLWEGERGerman (Swiss)
Originally denoted a person from the Appenzell region of Switzerland. The place name is derived from Latin abbatis cella meaning "estate of the abbot". A famous bearer is actress Renée Zellweger (1969-).

	Usage
	Initial letter
	Source
	Meaning	expand search to ancestral names the meaning is anything from the name's write-up that is surrounded by "double quotes" separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to ancestral names: meanings for names further up the family tree will be included in the search
	Description	ignore name meanings the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" will match names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus will match Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored
	Origin
	Length
	Syllables	syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results
	Pattern	the pattern will be compared to the name * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters example: oo will match names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter example: __z will match names which have two letters and then a z
	Sound	case sensitive see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee will match names which end with the sound lee* (s) will match exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)rah will match names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) will match a consonant (k) will match a consonant or consonant cluster (v) will match a vowel (p) will match a plosive or stop consonant (p) will match a fricative consonant (n) will match a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
	Related name
	Relationship	expand search to ancestral names the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive will return Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* will exclude peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree will be included
	Popularity
	Namesake
	User list	enter a behindthename.com username to search that user's public personal name lists to limit your search to a specific list, put the name of the list in brackets after the username
	Category	separate multiple categories with a comma * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the category
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