Medieval English Submitted Surnames

AIMAR Medieval English, Anglo-Saxon, Spanish
1. From the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Aethelmaer", meaning "famous noble." ... [more]

BALDRICK Medieval English
The name of Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson)'s much-hated slave in the comedy Blackadder.... [more]

BECC Medieval English
Variant spelling of Beck

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.

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 pre 7th Century 'boga', bow, from 'bugan' to bend... [more]

CALLOW Medieval English

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]

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]

EMOR Anglo-Saxon, Medieval English
This unusual surname has two origins. ... [more]

EYMER Anglo-Saxon, Medieval English
This unusual surname has two origins. ... [more]

EYMOR Anglo-Saxon, Medieval English
This unusual surname has two origins. ... [more]

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.

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]

HOLLOWAY Anglo-Saxon, English, Medieval English
Variant of Halliwell, from Old English halig (holy) and well(a) (well or spring)... [more]

HOLLY Medieval English

IMMERS Anglo-Saxon, Medieval English
This unusual surname has two origins. ... [more]

IMORE Anglo-Saxon, Medieval English
This unusual surname has two origins. ... [more]

JOPLIN Medieval English

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]

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
Borne by the House of Plantagenet, it originated as a nickname for Geoffrey Plantagenet (1113-1151), Count of Anjou, father of King Henry II of England (1133-1189), who ascended the English throne in 1154... [more]

PRITCHETT Medieval English (Rare)

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). In some cases the reference may be to a primitive foot-bridge over a stream consisting of a felled tree trunk... [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]

WILD Medieval English, English, German, Jewish
English: from Middle English wild ‘wild’, ‘uncontrolled’ (Old English wilde), hence a nickname for a man of violent and undisciplined character, or a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of overgrown uncultivated land.... [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).