SouthwickEnglish An English/Scottish locational name from a variety of places, including, Southwick in Northamptonshire, England, and Southwick in Gloucestershire, Sussex, Durham, Hampshire. ... [more]
SowerbyEnglish Habitational name from any of several places in northern England, derived from Old Norse saurr "mire, mud, dirt, sour ground" and býr "farm, settlement".
SpannEnglish Derived from Old English spann meaning "span (of a hand)", a unit of measurement equaling about nine inches, possibly used to refer to someone who lived on a strip of land or by a narrow footbridge.
StanawayEnglish Possibly a variant form of English Stanway, a habitational name from any of the places called Stanaway, in Essex, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, all named with Old English stān ‘stone’ + weg ‘track’, ‘road’
StancilEnglish English habitational name from a place so named in South Yorkshire.
StancliffEnglish Habitational name from Scout in Northowram (Yorkshire) recorded as Staynclif in 1309 and Stancliff Skoute (the home of Edward Stankliff) in 1536. The placename derives from Old English stan 1 "stone rock" with influence from Old Norse steinn "stone rock" and Old English clif "cliff bank" later with Middle English scoute "projecting cliff overhanging rock" (Old Norse skúti).
StandenEnglish Habitational name predominantly from Standen in Pendleton (Lancashire) and Standean in Ditchling (Sussex) but also from other places similarly named including Standen in East Grinstead (Sussex) Standen in Biddenden (Kent) Standen in Benenden (Kent) Upper and Lower Standen in Hawkinge (Kent) Standen (Berkshire Wiltshire Isle of Wight) and Standon (Devon Hampshire Hertfordshire Staffordshire)... [more]
StandishEnglish Habitational name Standish (Lancashire Now Part Of Greater Manchester, and Yorkshire) meaning Old English Stān ‘Stone Rock’ + Edisc ‘Enclosure; or Enclosed Park’.
StanwickEnglish Habitational name from a place so called in Northamptonshire, named in Old English with stan ‘stone’ + wic ‘outlying dairy farm’.
StanwoodEnglish (American) From Old English stan meaning "stone, rock" and weald meaning "forest, wooded area".
StanwyckEnglish Variant spelling of Stanwick. This name was borne by the American actress, model and dancer Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990).
StaplefordEnglish Habitational name from any of a number of places, in Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Wiltshire, so named from Old English stapol meaning "post" + ford meaning "ford".
StapletonEnglish Habitational surname from any of various places in England.
StarbuckEnglish After Starbeck village in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. A famous bearer of this name was the fictional character, Starbuck, the first mate of the Pequod in Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick.
StartEnglish Habitational name from any of the various minor places named from Old English steort "tail".
StatherEnglish Habitational name derived from a place in England by the River Trent 1, derived from Old Norse stǫðvar "jetties, wharfs, landing stage".
StensonEnglish From the name of a hamlet (now called Twyford and Stenson) in Derbyshire, England. The name is a combination of the Old Norse name Steinn and Old English tun "settlement, enclosure".
SterleyEnglish This is an English locational surname. Recorded as Starley, Stearley, Sterley, Sturley, and others, it originates from a place called 'ster-leah', meaning "steer" or "cattle farm". However no such place in any of the known surname spellings is to be found in England, although there is place called Starleyburn in Fifeshire in Scotland... [more]
StifflemireEnglish (American) Derived from Old English words "stiff" and "mere," which together could have referred to a stiff or rigid body of water, perhaps a lake or pond.
StinchcombEnglish Habitational name from Stinchcombe in Gloucestershire, recorded in the 12th century as Stintescombe, from the dialect term stint meaning "sandpiper" + cumb meaning "narrow valley".
St MaryEnglish, French This name is probably used in reference to Mary, Mother of Jesus or one of the many places called St Mary.
St NicholasEnglish Indicated the original bearer was from a place named after Saint Nicholas.
StoakleyEnglish This is an English locational name of Anglo-Saxon origin. The meaning is either the wood from which stocks, that is to say tree stumps or logs were obtained and derived from the Old English pre 7th Century word stocc, meaning a stump and leah, "a wood or glade"... [more]
StoaksEnglish A name of unknown meaning that was brought to Britain as a result of the Norman Conquest.
StockdaleEnglish Habitational name from a place in Cumbria and North Yorkshire, England. Derived from Old English stocc "tree trunk" and dæl "valley".
StockholmDanish (Rare), English (American) Danish variant of Stokholm. English usage could be a habitational name for someone from Stockholm, Sweden (see Stockholm), but this etymology does not apply to Scandinavian usage of the name.
StockingEnglish Topographic name from Middle English stocking 'ground cleared of stumps'.
StockleyEnglish Derived from Old english stocc (tree bark) and leah (clearing), indicating that the original bearer of this name lived in a wooded clearing.
StocktonEnglish Habitational surname for a person from any of the places (e.g. Cheshire, County Durham, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and North and West Yorkshire) so called from Old English stocc "tree trunk" or stoc "dependent settlement" + tun "enclosure", "settlement".
StockwellEnglish An English boy's name meaning "From the tree stump spring"
StonorEnglish Locational name from a village in Oxfordshire, England. The name comes from Old English stán "stony" and the place was named for a stone circle on the land.
StrattonEnglish English: habitational name from any of various places, in Bedfordshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Surrey, and Wiltshire, so named from Old English str?t ‘paved highway’, ‘Roman road’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
StreamEnglish English topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream, Middle English streme. Americanized form of Swedish Ström or Danish Strøm (see Strom).
StreteEnglish Strete is derived from Old English "Straet" which, in turn is derived from the latin "strata". This surname has spelling variants including, Streeter, Street, Straight, and Streeten. The first occurrences of this surname include Modbert de Strete of Devon (1100), AEluric de Streitun and his heir Roger (at the time of Henry de Ferrers) and Eadric Streona, Ealdorman of Mercia.
StuckeyEnglish Stuckey was first found in Devonshire where they held family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence diminished after the battle of Hastings in 1066. For the next three centuries the Norman ambience prevailed... [more]
StudleyEnglish From any number of places called Studley in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and North Yorkshire. The name comes from Old English stod "stud farm" + leah "pasture".
St VincentEnglish Most likely referring to Vincent Ferrer, a friar and preacher or one of the many places called St. Vincent.
SullyEnglish English: of Norman origin a habitational name from any of the three places called Sully in Calvados (Normandy), Aisne (Picardy), & Loiret (Centre)... [more]
SummerhaysEnglish Probably means "person living by a summer enclosure (where animals were grazed on upland pastures in the summer)" (from Middle English sumer "summer" + hay "enclosure").
SummerleeEnglish (Rare) This surname is originated from Old English sumer meaning "summer" and leah meaning "clearing, meadow."
SummersetEnglish Regional surname for someone from Somerset, an area in England. The name is derived from Old English sumer(tun)saete meaning "dwellers at the summer settlement".
SunderlandEnglish Habitational name from any of the locations with the name 'Sunderland', most notably the port city County Durham. This, along with other examples in Lancashire, Cumbria and Northumberland derives from either Old English sundor 'seperate' and land 'land' or Old Norse suðr 'southern' and land 'land' (see Sutherland)... [more]
SurreyEnglish Regional name for someone from the county of Surrey.
SurridgeEnglish Originally meant "person from Surridge", Devon ("south ridge").
SussexEnglish Derived from an English county name meaning "region of the Saxons from the south" in Old English.
SutcliffEnglish From Old English sūth, meaning "south, southern" and cliff.
SwaileEnglish Recorded in the spellings of Swaile, Swale and Swales, this is an English surname. It is locational, and according to the famous Victorian etymologist Canon Charles Bardsley, originates from either a hamlet called Swallow Hill, near Barnsley in Yorkshire, with Swale being the local dialectal pronunciation and spelling... [more]
SwanwickEnglish Habitational name from Swanwick in Derbyshire, possibly also Swanwick in Hampshire. Both are named from Old English swan, "herdsman," and wic, "outlying dairy farm."
SwinburneEnglish habitational name primarily from Great and Little Swinburne (Northumberland) but perhaps also occasionally from one or other places similarly named from Old English swin "pig" and burna "stream" meaning "pig stream".
SwintonEnglish, Scottish From various place names composed of Old English swin "pig, wild boar" and tun "settlement, enclosure".
SykesEnglish English Surname (mainly Yorkshire): topographic name for someone who lived by a stream in a marsh or in a hollow, from Middle English syke ‘marshy stream’, ‘damp gully’, or a habitational name from one of the places named with this word, in Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
TarverEnglish 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... [more]
TatlockEnglish Probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place in Lancashire or Cheshire, where the surname occurs most frequently.
TauntonEnglish Habitational name from Taunton in Somerset, Taunton Farm in Coulsdon, Surrey, or Tanton in North Yorkshire. The Somerset place name was originally a combination of a Celtic river name (now the Tone, possibly meaning ‘roaring stream’) + Old English tūn ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
TawneyEnglish, Norman Habitational name from either of two places, Saint-Aubin-du-Thennay or Saint-Jean-du-Thennay, in Eure, Normandy, both so named from an uncertain first element (possibly a Gallo-Roman personal name or the Gaulish word tann ‘oak’, ‘holly’) + the locative suffix -acum.
TeasdaleEnglish From Teesdale, the name of a valley of the River Tees in northern England, derived from the river's name (meaning "warmth" in Old English) combined with dæl meaning "valley".
TebayEnglish From the name of a village in Cumbria, England, derived from the German name element theod meaning "people".
TelfordEnglish From the words taelf meaning "plateau" and ford meaning "river crossing"... [more]
TempleEnglish, French Occupational name or habitational name for someone who was employed at or lived near one of the houses ("temples") maintained by the Knights Templar, a crusading order so named because they claimed to occupy in Jerusalem the site of the old temple (Middle English, Old French temple, Latin templum)... [more]
TempletonEnglish Derived from Templeton, from the English words 'temple' and 'town'.
TetleyEnglish habitational name from Tetlow in Manchester. The placename derives from the Old English male personal name Tetta or female Tette annd Old English hlaw "mound hill"... [more]
TewksburyEnglish Derived from Tewkesbury, a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is named with the Old English given name Teodec and burg meaning "fortification".
ThackerayEnglish Habitational name for a person from the place named Thackray in Yorkshire, from Old Norse þak "thatch, roof" and rá "corner, nook".
ThackeryEnglish English (Yorkshire) habitational name from Thackray in the parish of Great Timble, West Yorkshire, now submerged in Fewston reservoir. It was named with Old Norse þak ‘thatching’, ‘reeds’ + (v)rá ‘nook’, ‘corner’.
ThamesEnglish Derived from the name of the River Thames, a major river in England. It is thought to have derived from Celtic Tamesis, which may have meant "dark, cloudy" or "turbid, turbulent".
ThistlethwaiteEnglish Habitational name for a person from Thistlewood in Castle Sowerby, or from a lost place named Thistelthuait in Lancashire. The placenames derive from Old English þistel "thistle" and Old Norse þveit "clearing" (cf... [more]
ThornburgEnglish The name Thornburg comes from the Old English thorn broc, because the original bearers lived near a "stream by the thorns" in Buckinghamshire and North Yorkshire.
ThornhillEnglish Habitational name from any of various places named Thornhill, for example in Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Dorset, and Wiltshire, from Old English þorn "thorn bush" + hyll "hill".
ThornleyEnglish Derived from Thornley, which is the name of three villages in England (two are located in the county of Durham, the third in Lancashire). All three villages derive their name from Old English þorn "thorn" and Old English leah "clearing (in a wood), glade", which gives their name the meaning of "the thorny glade"... [more]
ThorsbyEnglish habitational name from North and South Thoresby (Lincolnshire) Thoresby in Carperby (North Yorkshire) or Thoresby in Perlethorpe cum Budby (Nottinghamshire). The Lincolnshire and Yorkshire placenames derive from the Old Norse personal name Thorir (genitive Thoris) + Old Norse býr "farmstead village"... [more]
ThurlesEnglish Today's generation of the Thurles family bears a name that was brought to England by the migration wave that was started by the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Thurles family lived in Suffolk, at Thurlow which was in turn derived from the Old English word tryohlaw, meaning dweller by the hill.
ThursbyEnglish habitational name from a place in Cumbria so named from the Old Norse personal name Thorir a derivative of Thor and Old Norse býr "farmstead settlement"... [more]
TiddEnglish This Old English Surname was derived from a hill named after its resemblance to a teat or tead (mammary gland) of which Tidd is a variant. That name became a name for the locale and further by extension for its people.
TilsleyEnglish Derived from the place name Tyldesley, which in turn derives from Old English personal name Tīlweald with the suffix lēah “clearing, meadow”. Notable bearers of this name include Canadian salvationist and writer Bramwell Tillsley, as well as Welsh poet and Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales Gwilym Tilsley known under his bardic name of "Tilsli".... [more]
TinsleyEnglish From a place name in England composed of the unattested name Tynni and Old English hlaw "hill, mound, barrow".
TisdaleEnglish Variant spelling of Teasdale. Famous bearers or this name include the actress and singer Ashley Tisdale (1985-), basketball player and bass guitarist Wayman Tisdale (1964-2009) and the engraver, miniature painter and cartoonist Elkanah Tisdale (1768-1835), all Americans.
TollEnglish A surname given to a person who lived near a clump of trees.
ToltonEnglish, Irish habitational name possibly from either of two places called Tollerton in Nottinghamshire and North Yorkshire. The first is named from the Old Norse personal name Þórleifr and Old English tun "settlement, enclosure"; the second is from Old English tolnere "tax gatherers" and tun.
ToneEnglish Was first found in Leicestershire where Ralph de Toni received lands of the Lordship of Belvoir for his services as Standard bearer at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
TorgEnglish Possibly from the Old Norse word “torg” meaning “marketplace”.
TorkingtonEnglish From the name of a place in Greater Manchester, originally meaning "Tork's settlement" (Tork being a name or nickname combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town").
TownEnglish topographic name from Middle English toun(e) th one tun(e) "town village settlement" (Old English tun) often in the senses "primary settlement within an area" "manor estate" and "hamlet farm" for someone who lived in such a place.
TraffordEnglish Habitational name derived from either Trafford, Lancashire (an Anglo-French variant of Stratford), from Bridge Mickle and Wimbolds Trafford, Cheshire (derived from Old English trog "trough, valley" and ford "river crossing"), or from the now-lost settlement of Trafford in Northamptonshire (derived from Old English traeppe "trap, fish trap" and ford).
TranmerEnglish Habitational name from Tranmere, a district within the borough of Birkenhead, Cheshire, or Tranmires, an area in Hackness, North Yorkshire. Both toponyms derive from Old Norse trani "crane (bird)" and melr "sandbank, dune".
TrevathanEnglish, Cornish Habitational name from one or more places in Cornwall named Trevethan, from Middle Cornish tre "estate farmstead" with a second element of uncertain meaning. It could be an unrecorded Old Cornish personal name Buthen.
TrollopeEnglish Locational surname derived from Trolhop, the original name of Troughburn, a place in Northumberland, England. The place name means "troll valley" from Old Norse troll "troll, supernatural being" and hop "enclosed valley, enclosed land"... [more]
TruettEnglish English habitational name from Trewhitt in Northumbria, named from Old Norse tyri ‘dry resinous wood’ + possibly an Old English wiht ‘river bend’.
TulipEnglish Habitational name for a person who lived in an area abundant with tulips.
TungateEnglish habitational name from Tungate a minor place near North Walsham named from Old English tun "farmstead estate" and Old Norse gata or Old English gæt "way path road street gate".
TunstallEnglish Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations in England named Tunstall, derived from Old English tun meaning "enclosure, garden, farm" and steall meaning "position, place, site".
TurnbowEnglish, German (Americanized) Americanized spelling of German Dürnbach, from a habitational name from any of several places so named or from places in Austria and Bavaria named Dürrenbach (meaning "dry stream").
TurneyEnglish, Norman Habitational name from places in France called Tournai, Tournay, or Tourny. All named with the pre-Roman personal name Turnus and the locative suffix -acum.
TurtonEnglish From Turton, an historical area in Lancashire, England (now part of Greater Manchester); it was originally a township in the former civil parish of Bolton le Moors. It is derived from the Old Norse given name Þórr (see Thor) and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town"... [more]
TwiningEnglish From the name of the village of Twyning in Gloucestershire, derived from Old English betweonan meaning "between" and eam meaning "river".
TwyfordEnglish English habitational name from any of the numerous places named Twyford, for example in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Derbyshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, and Norfolk, from Old English twi- ‘double’ + ford ‘ford’.
TysoeEnglish Denoted the bearer was from the parish of Tysoe, Warwickshire, England. The name of the parish is derived from Old English Tīges hōh, meaning "spur of land belonging to the god Tiw." (Tiw was the Old English name for the Roman deity Mars, and also inspired the name of Tuesday.)
UmplebyEnglish Originally given to people from the village of Anlaby in East Yorkshire, UK. Written as Umlouebi in the Domesday Book, the place name is from Old Norse given name Óláfr + býr, "farmstead" or "village".
UnthankEnglish From a place name meaning "squatter's holding" from Old English unthanc (literally "without consent").
UpchurchEnglish habitational name from a place called as "the high church" or possibly the higher of two churches from Middle English up "up high higher" and chirche "church" (Old English upp and cirice)... [more]
UpshawEnglish Probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place named with Old English upp meaning "up(per)" and sc(e)aga meaning "copse", or a topographic name with the same meaning.
UpsherEnglish Habitational name denoting someone from the hamlet Upshire in County Essex, derived from Old English upp "up, upper" and scir "shire, district".
UpshurEnglish Most probably an altered spelling of English Upshire, a habitational name from Upshire in Essex, named with Old English upp "up" and scir "district". Alternatively, it may be a variant of Upshaw.
UseltonEnglish Perhaps a variant of Osselton, a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place, probably in northeastern England, where this name is most common.
UtleyEnglish Derived from the Old English elements ote, or "oats" and leah, meaning "a clearing."
ValeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, Middle English vale (Old French val, from Latin vallis). The surname is now also common in Ireland, where it has been Gaelicized as de Bhál.
VallanceEnglish Means "person from Valence", southeastern France (probably "place of the brave").
ValletFrench, English French topographic name from a diminutive of Old French val "valley" (see Val ) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France and French and English occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English vallet "manservant groom".
ValleyEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, Middle English valeye.
VarnellEnglish Variant of Farnell. This form originated in southwestern England, where the change from F to V arose from the voicing of F that was characteristic of this area in Middle English.
VarneyEnglish From the French place name Vernay meaning "alder grove, alder wood", derived from Gaulish vern "alder (tree)" and the Latin locative suffix -etum "place of; plantation, grove" (-aie in modern French).
VenablesEnglish Derives from Latin venabulum "long hunting spear".
VerdierFrench, Norman, English Occupational name for a forester. Derived from Old French verdier (from Late Latin viridarius, a derivative of viridis "green"). Also an occupational name for someone working in a garden or orchard, or a topographic name for someone living near one... [more]
VerneFrench, English As a French surname refers to someone who lived where alder trees grew. While the English version can mean someone who lived where ferns grew, Verne can also mean a seller of ferns which in medieval times were used in bedding, as floor coverings and as animal feed.
ViceEnglish May come from "devise", an Old French word that means "dweller at the boundary". It may also derive a number of place names in England, or be a variant of Vise.
ViseEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a boundary, Old French devise.
WaddellEnglish Habitational name from Wadden Hall in Waltham, Kent, derived from either the Old English given name Wada or from wæden "made of woad, woaden, bluish" combined with halh "nook, recess".
WaddellEnglish Possibly derived from Woodhill in Wiltshire, England, derived from Old English wad "woad" and hyll "hill". Alternatively, could be from the Middle English given name Wadel.
WaddellEnglish Variant of Odell, derived from the toponym’s older spelling Wadehelle.
WaddingtonEnglish Habitational name from any of various places called Waddington. One near Clitheroe in Lancashire and another in Lincolnshire (Wadintune in Domesday Book) were originally named in Old English as the "settlement" (Old English tūn) associated with Wada.
WadleyEnglish From a place in England named with Old English wad "woad" or the given name Wada combined with Old English leah "woodland clearing".
WadlowEnglish Habitational name from a lost place, Wadlow in Toddington.
WadsworthEnglish Location name from Yorkshire meaning "Wæddi's enclosure or settlement" with Wæddi being an old English personal name of unknown meaning plus the location element -worth. Notable bearer is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) for whom the middle name was his mother's maiden name.
WakehamEnglish, Cornish A locational surname for someone who lived in one of three places called Wakeham in various parts of England, including Cornwall and/or Devon.
WakeleyEnglish Habitational name from Wakeley in Hertfordshire, named from the Old English byname Waca, meaning ‘watchful’ (see Wake) + Old English leah ‘woodland clearing’.