MarlboroughEnglish From the name of the market town and civil parish of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Mǣrla and beorg meaning "hill, mound".
PettisEnglish From the possessive or plural form of Middle English pytte, pitte ‘pit’, ‘hollow’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a pit, or a habitational name from a place named with this word, as for example Pett in East Sussex.
WinsteadEnglish Perhaps derived from the town of Wanstead in Greater London, England (recorded in the Domesday Book as Wenesteda), named with Old English wænn meaning "wagon" and stede meaning "place, site", but it is more likely derived from the village of Winestead in East Yorkshire, England, named from Old English wefa meaning "wife" and hamstede meaning "homestead"... [more]
WalpoleEnglish Originally indicated a person from either of two places by this name in Norfolk and Suffolk (see Walpole). Famous bearers of the surname include Robert Walpole (1676-1745), the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, and his youngest son, the writer Horace Walpole (1717-1797)... [more]
BoldGerman, English English: nickname from Middle English bold ‘courageous’, ‘daring’ (Old English b(e)ald, cognate with Old High German bald). In some cases it may derive from an Old English personal name (see Bald)... [more]
WillowEnglish topographic name from Middle English wilwewilghewillowe "willow" (Old English wiligwelig) for a person who lived at or near a willow tree or in an area where willow trees grew... [more]
BisleyEnglish (British) Bisley is a locational surname from the village of Bisley in Surrey. It comes from the words biss meaning “water” and leah meaning “farm”.
HoughEnglish English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Cheshire and Derbyshire, so named from Old English hoh ‘spur of a hill’ (literally ‘heel’). This widespread surname is especially common in Lancashire... [more]
BeedenEnglish (British) Probably means "from Beeden", a village near Newbury in Berkshire. Ultimately coming from either Old English byden, meaning "shallow valley", or from the pre 7th century personal name Bucge with the suffix dun, meaning "hill of Bucge".
ProvostEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English provost; referring to the person who heads a religious chapter in a cathedral or educational establishment. It was also used as a nickname for a self-important person and is a French variant of Prevost.
TedderEnglish From the Middle English word Thedere or Teddere which either comes from the Old English name Thēodhere or the Germanic name Theudher. Alternatively, it could be an occupational name from the Middle English Teddere, meaning “one who teds”... [more]
LakeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Old English lacu, or a habitational name from a place named with this word, for example in Wiltshire and Devon. Modern English lake (Middle English lake) is only distantly related, if at all; it comes via Old French from Latin lacus... [more]
CorderFrench (Anglicized, Archaic), English (American) Linked to both English, French and Spanish origin. Cordier, Cordero, Corder- one who makes cord. Can refer to both the act of making cords (rope), cores of fire wood, or actual location names.... [more]
CarmichaelScottish, English From the name of a village in Scotland meaning "fort of Michael", from Welsh caer meaning "fortress" and the given name Michael.
TrippierEnglish This surname is derived from an occupation. 'a tripherd,' a goatherd, Yorkshire and Lancashire. 'Trip, a flock of sheep, a herd of swine or goats' (Halliwell).
AlfordEnglish, Scottish Habitation name found in Lincolnshire, Surrey and Somerset, England and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The name can be derived by combining the Old English female personal name Ealdg- and -ford meaning "water crossing" or can mean "from the alder tree ford".
BrinsonEnglish Habitational name from Briençun in northern France.
StoutScottish, English Probably a nickname for a brave or powerfully built man, from Middle English stout ‘steadfast’. A contrary origin derives from the Old Norse byname Stútr ‘gnat’, denoting a small and insignificant person.
WeekleyEnglish Originally meant "person from Weekley", Northamptonshire ("wood or clearing by a Romano-British settlement"). British philologist Ernest Weekley (1865-1954) bore this surname.
RivettEnglish, French English (East Anglia): metonymic occupational name for a metalworker, from Middle English, Old French rivet ‘small nail or bolt’ (from Old French river ‘to fix or secure’, of unknown origin).... [more]
BecksonEnglish (British) The name comes from having lived in an enclosed place, means dweller at the old enclosure or dwelling. The surname Aldeman was first found in Essex, Suffolk and Yorkshire at Aldham. In all cases, the place name meant "the old homestead," or "homestead of a man called Ealda," from the Old English personal name + "ham."
OldEnglish From Middle English old, not necessarily implying old age, but rather used to distinguish an older from a younger bearer of the same personal name.
MaverickEnglish (Rare) Surname notably borne by Texas lawyer, politician and land baron Samuel Maverick (1803-1870) to whom the word maverick was coined.
OrganEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a player of a musical instrument (any musical instrument, not necessarily what is now known as an organ), from Middle English organ (Old French organe, Late Latin organum ‘device’, ‘(musical) instrument’, Greek organon ‘tool’, from ergein ‘to work or do’).
FlintEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who lived near a significant outcrop of flint, Old English, Low German flint, or a nickname for a hard-hearted or physically tough individual.
NethertonEnglish The Netherton surname is derived from the Old English "neothera," meaning "lower," and "tun," meaning "enclosure," or "settlement." It is a habitational name derived from any of several places so named, such as one in Northumberland, and one in Worcestershire.
BaskervilleEnglish Means "bush town", from Anglo-Norman French boschet (a little bush) and ville (town).
CardEnglish English: metonymic occupational name for someone who carded wool (i.e. disentangled it), preparatory to spinning, from Middle English, Old French card(e) ‘carder’, an implement used for this purpose... [more]
HadleyEnglish A habitational name from either a place named Hadley, or a place named Hadleigh. The first is named from the Old English personal name Hadda + lēah (means ‘wood’, ‘(woodland) clearing’), and the other three are from Old English hǣð (meaning ‘heathland’, ‘heather') + lēah.
AnsteyEnglish Means "person from Anstey or Ansty", the name of numerous places in England (either "single track" or "steep track"). F. Anstey was the pen-name of British barrister and author Thomas Anstey Guthrie (1856-1934).
PakenhamEnglish From the parish of Pakenham in Suffolk, meaning "Pacca's settlement" from Old English ham "estate, settlement".
BostwickEnglish From an English surname which was from a lost or unidentified place name. The second element is clearly Old English wic "outlying (dairy) farm".
BloodEnglish Evidently from Old English blod ‘blood’, but with what significance is not clear. In Middle English the word was in use as a metonymic occupational term for a physician, i.e. one who lets blood, and also as an affectionate term of address for a blood relative.
BeeEnglish From Middle English be meaning "bee", Old English beo, hence a nickname for an energetic or active person or a metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper.
NorthwayEnglish habitational name from one or more of the minor places called with Middle English bi northe weie "(place) to the north of the way or road" from the elements north "north" and weg "way" including Northway in Monkleigh Widecombe in the Moor and Parkham Norway in Whitestone Narraway in Drewsteignton (all Devon) and Northway in Halse (Somerset)... [more]
BenfieldEnglish habitational name from one or more of the numerous places in England called Benfield or Binfield which are named from Middle English bent "bent-grass" and feld "open country" or "land converted to arable use" (Old English beonet and feld).
DinnEnglish From a short form of the personal name Dinis, a variant of Dennis.
BlufordEnglish, American (South) Possibly an English habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. The name occurs in records of the 19th century but is now very rare if not extinct in the British Isles. In the U.S. it is found chiefly in TX and TN.
SavilleEnglish A habitational name from an uncertain place in Northern France. This is most likely Sainville, named from Old French saisne, 'Saxon' and ville, indicating a settlement.
ArnettEnglish Derived from Arnold, a pet name perhaps. Also could be from /arn/ "eagle" and /ett/, a diminutive.
HairfieldEnglish Probably a variant of Harefield, a habitational name from a place so named, for example the one Greater London or Harefield in Selling, Kent, which are both apparently named from Old English here ‘army’ + feld ‘open country’.
BythewoodEnglish (British) A nearly extinct habitational surname for one who lived near, by or around a wooded (forested) area.
CandyEnglish Unexplained.There was a family of this name in Roussillon, France, descended from a partisan of James II named Kennedy, who was exiled in France in the 17th century. The family died out in France in 1868, but may have had an American branch.
ThoreauEnglish Last name of famous American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, sage writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau.
SoulsbyEnglish Habitational name from either of two places called Soulby in Cumbria
FfelanEnglish Anglisized version of the Gaelic Ó Faoláin meaning "descendent of Faolán", a given name meaning "wolf".
BernerEnglish, Norman From the Norman personal name Bernier from Old English beornan ‘to burn’, hence an occupational name for a burner of lime (compare German Kalkbrenner) or charcoal... [more]
DursleyEnglish (British) Of English origin and is locational from a place so called in Gloucestershire, which was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Dersilege', in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195 as 'Derseleie' and in the Fees of 1220 as 'Dursleg'... [more]
FromentFrench, Walloon, English from French froment "wheat" (from Latin frumentum "grain") probably applied as a nickname for a peasant or as metonymic occupational name for a dealer in wheat... [more]
MonarchEnglish Origin unidentified. Perhaps a translation of French Monarque, Monarc, a nickname for a high-handed or haughty person, from Old French monarque 'monarch'.
DownEnglish Derived from Old English dun meaning "down, low hill".
PennyworthEnglish From Old English pening, penig meaning "penny (the coin)" and worþ meaning "enclosure". A notable fictional bearer is Alfred Pennyworth, a DC Comics character notable for being the butler of the superhero Batman.
ConverseEnglish Originally a nickname for a Jew converted to Christianity or an occupational name for someone converted to the religious way of life, a lay member of a convent, from Middle English and Old French convers "convert".
RollUpper German, German, English German: from Middle High German rolle, rulle ‘roll’, ‘list’, possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a scribe.... [more]
DobyEnglish From a diminutive of the given name Dob or Dobbe, itself a medieval diminutive of Robert (one of several rhyming nicknames of Robert in which the initial letter was altered; compare Hobbs).
ShinglerEnglish An occupational name for someone who laid wooden tiles, or shingles on roofs, from an agent derivative of Middle English schingle ‘shingle’. ... [more]
WriothesleyEnglish (British) Name is of unknown origin, deriving from older Wrotteslega, who were a family that held estates in Staffordshire in the late 1100s. Possibly a combination of wrot "snout" and leah "meadow, cleaning", suggesting it's origin as a pig farm.
RedfordEnglish Variant of Radford. A famous bearer is American actor Robert Redford (1936-).
GreenlandEnglish (Germanized) Greenland Name Meaning. English: topographic name for someone who lived near a patch of land left open as communal pasturage, from Middle English grene 'green' + land 'land'. Translated form of German Grönland, a topographic name with the same meaning as 1, from Low German grön 'green' + Land 'land'.
SalthouseEnglish Salthouse and other variants come from the place name in Northumberland.
LillywhiteEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with very fair hair or complexion. It was borne by English cricketers James Lillywhite (1842-1929), first captain of England, and William Lillywhite (1792-1854), pioneer of overarm bowling, uncle of James... [more]
SherrellEnglish This surname is of English locational origin, from the place in Devonshire called Shirwell. The placename is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sirewelle, and by 1242 as Shirewill... [more]
MarinerEnglish, Catalan Occupational name from Middle English mariner "sailor seaman boatman" (Anglo-Norman French mariner Old French mariniermarniermerinier) Catalan mariner (from Late Latin marinarius a derivative of marinus "marine").
BayerstoweEnglish From a locational name from Bairstow in West Yorkshire, probably so-called from the Old English elements beger "berry" and stow place.
ChurchillEnglish From English, meaning 'church hill'. Denoted one who lived by both a church and a hill. A famous bearer is Sir Winston Churchill, the famed Prime Minister of Britain during WW2.
WatneyEnglish Probably means "person from Watney", an unidentified place in England (the second syllable means "island, area of dry land in a marsh"; cf. Rodney, Whitney)... [more]
WilbrahamEnglish Denoted a person hailing from Wilbraham in Cambridgeshire, England. The place name itself means "Wilburg's homestead or estate" in Old English, Wilburg or Wilburga allegedly referring to a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon princess who was given the lands later called Wilbraham by her father, King Penda of Mercia.
LuxtonEnglish English habitational name from a minor place, probably one of two in Devon, so called from the possessive form of the Middle English personal name or surname Lugg (from Old English Lugga) + Middle English tune, tone ‘settlement’ (Old English tun).
HensleyEnglish Probably a habitational name from either of two places in Devon: Hensley in East Worlington, which is named with the Old English personal name Heahmund + Old English leah ‘(woodland) clearing’, or Hensleigh in Tiverton, which is named from Old English hengest ‘stallion’ (or the Old English personal name Hengest) + leah... [more]
DunkinsonEnglish (British) Derives from the Scottish surname of Duncanson with the same meaning of "son of Duncan". Likewise, it may derive further from the Gaelic male given name "Donnchad", related ultimately to "Donncatus", a Celtic personal name of great antiquity.
DaveyEnglish, Welsh Derived from the given name David. Alternately, it may be a variant spelling of Welsh Davies or Davis, which could be patronymic forms of David, or corrupted forms of Dyfed, an older Welsh surname and the name of a county in Wales.