Medieval English Submitted Surnames

These names were used by medieval English peoples.
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
à Beckett Medieval English, English (Australian)
Medieval Latinized form from Beckett. This surname is not used in modern Anglosphere. (But still exist in Austrailia.)
Adrienne Medieval English
The surname dervies from the Latin male given name "(H)adrianus", originally an ethnic name for someone from the seaport of Adria - which gave its name to the Adriatic Sea - who settled in Rome and became known as "the man from Adria" (in Latin, "Adrianus")... [more]
Agincourt Medieval English
Surname Agincourt was first found in Lincolnshire where "Walter de Aincourt, who came from Aincourt, a lordship between Mantes and Magny Normandy, where the remains of the ancient family castle still exists... [more]
Aimar Medieval English, Spanish
1. From the Old English pre 7th Century personal name "Æðelmær", meaning "famous noble." ... [more]
Atte Stone Medieval English (Archaic)
Archaic version of the surname Stone from Old English stan, 'atte' being an abbreviated version of "at the" used in several medieval surnames to denote where one lived, still seen in surnames like Attenborough, Atwood, Atwell, and Atteberry... [more]
Baldrick Medieval English
The name of Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson)'s much-hated slave in the comedy Blackadder.... [more]
Berryann Medieval English (Rare)
The name is pre 7th century Olde English and later Olde French. It derives from the word burri or berri, translating as a fortress or castle and means 'one who dwelt at the castle'. The suffix 'man' also indicates that it was job descriptive for a guard or keeper of the castle... [more]
Bisby Medieval Scottish, Medieval English, English (British), Scottish, English (Australian), Anglo-Norman
Either originating from the village Busby in historic county East Renfrewshire in Scotland, or Great Busby in Yorkshire. The place name is likely derived from the Norman buki, "shrub". See also Busby.
Blakewood Medieval English
Derived from the Old English words blaec, which means black, and wudu, which means wood, and indicates that the original bearer lived near a dark, wooded area.
Bliss Medieval English, Medieval English (Anglicized)
Originally a nickname for a cheerful person, derived from the Old English blisse, meaning "gladness" or "joy." Another origin of the surname is habitional, coming from from the village of Blay in Calvados (modern-day Normandy), spelled as Bleis in 1077, or from the village of Stoke Bliss in Worcestershire, first known as Stoke de Blez, named after the Norman family de Blez.... [more]
Bolas Medieval English
English: habitational name from Great Bolas in Shropshire, named in Old English with an unidentified first element (possibly an unattested word bogel meaning ‘bend in a river’) + wæsse ‘land beside a river liable to flood’.
Bowe Medieval English, English, Irish (Anglicized)
There are three possible sources of this surname, the first being that it is a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of bows, a vital trade in medieval times before the invention of gunpowder, and a derivative of the Old English boga "bow", from bugan "to bend"... [more]
Courtier French, Medieval French, Medieval English
French: habitational name from places called Courtier (Seine-et-Marne, Aples-de-Haute-Provence), Courtié (Tarn), or Courtière (Loir-et-Cher). ... [more]
de la Pole Medieval English, Anglo-Norman, Cambro-Norman
Meaning "from the pool", from Norman de la Pole. This name was typically given to families who lived near lakes or similar bodies of water.... [more]
Dugmore Medieval English
This habitational name is chiefly found in the West Midlands region of England. The origin is certainly Old English pre 7th Century and may be Ancient British i.e. pre Roman 55 A.D. The origins are lost but are believed to develop from "Dubh" meaning "black" and "mor" a morass or swamp... [more]
Elford Medieval English
From the Old English personal name Ella, from the word oelf meaning "elf" or from the Old English alor/elre, meaning "alder tree." The name in full would mean "alder tree by a ford" or "Ella who lives by a ford".... [more]
Elis Medieval English
A transition of the given name
Fish Medieval English, Jewish
From Middle English fische, fish ‘fish’, a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller, or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a fish.... [more]
Frostenden Medieval English
"White hill" in Old English. Parish in Suffolk; later shortended to Frost.
Fuckebegger Medieval English (Rare)
In 1286/1287 there is an individual with the surname Fuckebegger, recorded as one of King Edward I’s servants who managed his horses. It’s not clear from this name what the fucke- part was referring to, with the leading hypothesis being a “striker” of some sort.
Giel Medieval English
From a medieval personal name of which the original form was Latin Aegidius, from Greek aigidion "kid, young goat". Compare English Giles.... [more]
Goody Medieval English
From Middle English god dai ‘good day’, possibly applied as a nickname for someone who frequently used this greeting.... [more]
Herndon Medieval English
The surname Herndon was first found in Bedfordshire (Old English: Bedanfordscir), located in Southeast-central England, formerly part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, where they held a family seat from ancient times... [more]
Hews Medieval English
Means son of hewer (to chop away at; to shape).
Ingersoll Medieval English
habitational name from Inkersall in Derbyshire, recorded in the 13th century as Hinkershil(l) and Hinkreshill. The final element is Old English hyll ‘hill’. The first may be the Old Norse personal name Ingvarr or an Old English byname Hynkere meaning ‘limper’... [more]
Jourdemayne Medieval English
Likely from Old French jor de main meaning "day labourer". This was borne by Margery Jourdemayne, an English woman known as the "Witch of Eye" who was burned at the stake in 1441 for conspiring to kill the king with witchcraft... [more]
Lapsley Scottish, English, Medieval English
Combination of Old English læppa ”end of a parish” and leah ”woodland clearing”. Another meaning could be possible.
Limb Medieval English
Rare name of medieval English origin. A dialectal variant of the locational name 'Lumb', from places so called in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, and derives from the Old English pre-7th Century 'lum(m)'... [more]
Lorence Medieval English
Modern English variant of the French name Laurence
Mallet Anglo-Norman, Medieval English, French, Catalan
Originated in Norman France and spread to England following the Norman conquest of 1066. The surname comes from the given name Malle, an Old English diminutive of Mary or from the given name Malo, a popular form of the name of Saint Maclovius, a 6th-century Welsh monk who the church of Saint Maclou in Rouen is named for.... [more]
Noe Medieval English, Korean
A patronymic form of the biblical male given name Noah from the Hebrew word "noach" meaning long-lived. Possible origins could be ... [more]
Oddy Medieval English
Was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as the lords of the manor of Storkhouse, Gisbern and Withernsea in that shire. Believed to be descended from Count Odo.
Orange Medieval English, Medieval French, English
Derived from the medieval female name, or directly from the French place name. First used with the modern spelling in the 17th century, apparently due to William, Prince of Orange, who later became William III... [more]
Orrels Medieval English
Means "Ore hill", likely for iron ore miners. From the Old English ora, meaning "ore" and hyll, meaning hill.... [more]
Packard English, Norman, Medieval English, German (Anglicized)
English from Middle English pa(c)k ‘pack’, ‘bundle’ + the Anglo-Norman French pejorative suffix -ard, hence a derogatory occupational name for a peddler. ... [more]
Passelewe Medieval English
The medieval name is from Old French passe(r) ‘to pass or cross’ + l’ewe ‘the water’, hence a nickname, probably for a ferryman or a merchant who was in the habit of traveling overseas, or else someone who had been on a pilgrimage or crusade.
Plantagenet Medieval English, Medieval French
Borne by the House of Plantagenet, a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. It also originated as a nickname for Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (1113-1151), father of King Henry II of England (1133-1189), who ascended the English throne in 1154... [more]
Reeder Medieval English
This surname was given to people in Medieval England who thatched houses using reed
Scrimshaw Medieval English
Referring to one who was a fencing-master, coming from the old French "eskermisseour", meaning "fencer" and which came in turn from the old high German word "skirmen", which meant "to defend".
Seely Medieval English
Means "Blessed", "Happy", and/or "Lucky." By adding an Un- to Seely makes it "Unblessed", "Unhappy", and/or "Unholy." Used primarily in Northern England and Southern Scotland during the Middle English period but is derived from the Old English sǣl and gesǣlig... [more]
Shackleford English, Medieval English
Locational surname deriving from the place called Shackleford in Surrey, near the town of Farnham. The origin of "shackle" is uncertain. It could be derived from Old English sceacan "to shake"... [more]
Soule English, French, Medieval English
English: of uncertain origin; perhaps derived from the vocabulary word soul as a term of affection.... [more]
Stock Medieval English
English: A topographic name for someone who lived near the trunk or stump of a large tree, Middle English Stocke (Old English Stocc)... [more]
Threston Medieval English (Rare)
The surname of Threston is English in origin, and, means "to twist"** and, can be traced as far back as the 11th century where the name is found in the "Domesday Book." The name Threston is a variation of the name of the town of Threxton, Norfolk, UK, and, there are several variations of the name Threxton including:... [more]
Wylie Medieval English
It is of locational origin, and derives from the places called Willey in the counties of Cheshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Devonshire and Surrey.
Yohe Medieval English
The Yohe surname comes from the Old English word "ea," or "yo," in Somerset and Devon dialects, which meant "river" or "stream." It was likely originally a topographic name for someone who lived near a stream.
Yule Medieval English
Nickname for someone who was born on Christmas Day or had some other connection with this time of year, from Middle English yule ‘Christmastide’ (Old English geol, reinforced by the cognate Old Norse term jól).