Municipal budget educational institution

«Secondary General Education School №5»

Subject: English

The origin of British surnames

Desiatkov Danil
student of 7th grade

Startseva T. N.
English teacher

Chernushka 2019
 Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………...3
1.Theoretical part ………………………………………………………………......4
1.1. Occupational Surnames………………………………………………………..4
1.2. Surnames from Personal Names……………………………………………….5
1.3. Surnames from Place Names…………………………………………………..6
1.4. Surnames from Nicknames…………………………………………………….6
1.5. Conclusions on the theoretical part…..………………………..………….…...7
2. Practical part ……………………………………………………….....................8
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………..11
List of literature ………………………………………………………………..…12
 Introduction
In England, surnames are also commonly known as last names due to the
practice of writing the given names first and then the family name or surname last.
However, this is not necessarily true of other cultures, where the family name may
be written first as part of a person's full name. Surnames were originally introduced
into England by the Normans in 1066, and the practice began to spread. Initially,
surnames were fluid and changed from generation to generation, or even as a
person changed his job – «John Blacksmith» may have become «John Farrier» as
his trade developed. But by 1400, surnames in England and lowland Scotland had
mostly settled down and become hereditary.
Actuality of the project is to study the surnames, or family names, that can
be a useful tool in genealogy as well as being a fascinating topic in its own right.
Known variously as anthroponymy, anthroponomastics or onomastics, surname
studies can give a rich insight into the development of human society.
Purpose of the project: to study the origin and meaning of surnames in the
English language, as well as the identification of the most common English
surnames.
Project tasks:
1. Formulate methods of formation of surnames in English;
2. Identify the most common English surnames;
3. Make a mini dictionary of the most popular English surnames with their
meaning;
4. Make a presentation of the leaflet.
Practical significance of the project. The results of the project will inform
students about the meaning and origin of surnames in the English language, the
material will be interesting and useful to all students who study English.
 1.Theoretical part
1.1. Occupational Surnames
Many surnames are taken from jobs e.g. if a man was a carpenter he might
be called John Carpenter. The Sons very often followed their father's occupation
that’s why the surname stuck. Some occupational surnames are obvious e.g. Smith,
Potter, Cooper, Mason, Tailor or Taylor, Spinner, Weaver (Webb was another
word for weaver, a webster was usually a female weaver), Dyer, Thatcher, Tyler,
Slater, Miller, Baker, Cheeseman, Spicer, Cook, Fisher, Shepherd, Carter, Clarke,
Skinner and Gardener (alternative spellings are Gardner and Gardiner). A fowler
caught birds. A waterman rowed a boat or a barge. A wheeler is another name for a
wheelwright. A hooper made hoops for barrels.
Some are less obvious. A sawyer was a man who sawed logs. A turner was a
man who turned wood on a lathe and made things like wooden bowls. A roper
made ropes. A shoesmith made horseshoes. A Mercer was a dealer in fine cloth.
Farmer may seem obvious but in fact in the Middle Ages a fermier was a tax
collector. Farmer took on its modern meaning much later. However a granger was
man who looked after a grange or farm. A frobisher polished swords or armour.
Under the feudal system most men were serfs or bondmen. That is where we
get the surname Bond. However some men were free so we have the surname Fry.
A franklin was a well-to-do farmer who owned his own land. Foster is a corruption
of Forester. A knatchbull was man who hit bulls on the head to stun them before
they were slaughtered. A bolter was a man who sifted meal although he could also
be a man who made bolts, either the ones you use with nuts or bolts for crossbows.
The surname bolt may be short for bolter but it has also been suggested it was a
nickname for a person who was short and fat and looked like a bolt.
There were also people who looked after certain things e.g. the hayward and
the woodward. Coward is derived from cowherd. There was also a hog-ward who
gave us the surname Hoggart. A stot was a young ox and the man who looked after
him was called a stot herd, which has become the surname Stoddard.
 The surnames Yates and Yateman are corruptions of gates and gate man i.e.
gatekeeper.
A burgess was a well off man who had certain rights in the borough where
he lived.
1.2. Surnames from Personal Names
Many people were given surnames like Robinson or Williamson. Other
obvious ones are Benson, Stevenson, Dickson, Robertson, Richardson, Jackson,
Wilson and Johnson. Wat was short for Walter so we also have the surname
Watson.
An 's' at the end of a personal name also meant 'son of' so we have surnames
like Andrews, Stevens, Rogers, Hughes, Jacobs and Williams.
The surnames Davies and Davis are both derived from Davy's son. (Davy
was short for David).
Some people had pet names ending in 'kins' or 'kin' So we have Atkins from
Ad-kins (Adam-kins) and Wilkins. We also have Dawkins. (Daw was a pet name
for David so we also have the surname Dawson). Huggins is from Hugh-kins.
Jenkins is from Jan-kins.
However some people were just given their father's name as a surname like
Arnold, Henry, Howard or Thomas.
Fitz is a corruption of the Norman-French 'fils de' (son of).
The ending 'cock' meant young man. So we have Hitchcock (Hitch was a pet
name for Richard). We also have Wilcock.
Men called Nicholas were sometimes called Nicol. Surnames like Nichols
and Nicholson are derived from there.
Bartlett meant little Bart and Willett meant little Will. Hewett meant little
Hugh. Elliott was a diminutive of Elias. Ellis was also a form of Elias.
Almond has nothing to do with nuts! It comes from the Old English name
Ealhmund.
1.3. Surnames from Place Names
Sometimes people were given a surname because they lived near a certain
geographical feature such as Heath, wood or woods. Other surnames are Hurst (an
old word for a wooded hill), Green or Greene (for somebody who lived by the
village green), Hill, Banks, Brooke, Beck and Bywaters. Shaw is a northern word
for a wood. A bradshaw was a broad shaw. A holt was a small wood. Hollis means
a dweller by the holly trees. We also have the surname Warboys from ward bois
(bois is the French word for wood).
Valleys were sometimes called bottoms. The surname Botham comes from
there. So does Longbottom and Ramsbottom.
A wade was another name for a ford. Thorpe is a Danish word meaning a
hamlet dependent on a larger settlement nearby.
Some people take their surname from a particular town or village. The name
Middleton comes from the village name middle tun, which meant middle farm or
settlement. Milton is a corruption of Middleton. Other common surnames are
Weston from west tun and Ashton (the tun by the ash trees). The Saxon word
worth meant enclosure so we have surnames like Ashworth (the enclosure by the
ash trees).
Another surname taken from the name of a village is Compton. It is a
corruption of the Saxon words 'cumb tun', which meant farm or hamlet in a valley
(cumb).
Some surnames come from place names in Normandy e.g. Bone, Boon and
Boone are believed to be derived from Bohun. Quincy or Quincey is also from a
place name in France. So is Villiers.
1.4. Surnames from Nicknames
Many English surnames are derived from nicknames People who were
arrogant might be called king, prince, bishop or abbot. (Although surnames like
Bishop and Abbot may have come about because somebody worked for a bishop
or an abbot. They may also have been children of clergymen).
 Some people might get a surname from their physical appearance such as
little, small, and cruikshank (crooked legs). Other such surnames are Strong and
Armstrong. A pollard was a bald man. A longman was a tall man. Crippen meant
curly haired.
Other people were given surnames because of the way they walked like
Swift, Golightly, and Steptoe.
Some people were nicknamed fox or todd (an old English word for a fox).
(Although it has been suggested that this surname was given to somebody
who hunted foxes rather than somebody who was cunning). A loved person might
be given the surname Dear or Deare.
Some people were given flattering surnames like Makepeace, Wise, Smart,
Trueman or Young. Others were given surnames like Wilde (because they were
wild!). However Bragg is derived from a word meaning bold or daring. It was not a
nickname for a person who bragged! Moody might also seem straightforward but it
actually comes from the old word modig, which meant bold. Some people were
given the nickname sharp or sharpe because of their temperament. Tait meant
cheerful. Unwin meant an unfriendly man while Darwin meant dear friend.
A very big person might be called Bull. The surname Peacock may have
been a nickname for a vain person!
Some people were nicknamed magpie or pie for short. They might also be
called pyatt, which meant little pie (magpie). That is where the surname Pyatt
comes from.
1.5. Conclusions on the theoretical part
Having studied the theoretical part of the project, I've learned a lot of
interesting information about the origin and meaning of surnames in the English
language, as well as the identification of the most common English surname.
 2.Practical part

I started my work with the following. First of all I chose 28 most popular
English surnames. Then I proceeded to determine their origin.
1. Occupational Surnames:
 Smith (Смит) – кузнец
 Miller (Миллер) – мельник
 Taylor (Тэйлор) – портной
 Cook (Кук) – повар
 Walker (Уокер) – любитель много и быстро ходить, вероятно, среди
предков были бродячие торговцы или ремесленники
 Turner (Тернер) – токарь
 Baker (Бейкер) – пекарь
I found some famous English people. Their surnames are occupational
surnames. For example:
 James Cook (Джеймс Кук) – английский мореплаватель.
 Adam Smith (Адам Смит) – шотландский экономист и философ.
2. Surnames from Personal Names:
 Johnson (Джонсон) – сын Джона
 Williams (Уильямс) – потомок Уильяма
 Anderson (Андерсон) - сын Андерса
 Jackson (Джексон) – сын Джека
 Harrison (Хэррисon) - принадлежащий к роду Гарри
 Lewis (Льюис) - происходит от древнеизраильского имени Леви,
одного из сыновей патриарха Иакова (Израиля)
 Edwards (Эдвардс) – измененное Edward’s, т.е. потомок Эдуарда
I found some famous English people. Their surnames are personal names.
For example:
  Percival Harrison Fawcett (Персивал Харрисон Фосетт) – британский
топограф и путешественник.
 Clive Staples Lewis (Клайв Льюис) – английский писатель, поэт,
учёный, богослов.
3. Surnames from Place Names:
 Moore (Мур) – болото
 Wood (Вуд) – предок жил в лесу (woods)
 Scott (Скотт) – шотландец
 Hill (Хилл) – предки жили среди холмов (hills)
 Morgan (Морган) - валлийское имя, которое значит «морской»
 Wells (Уэлльс) – предки жили в княжестве Уэлльс
 York (Йорк) – предки жили в городе Йорк
I found some famous English people. Their surnames are place names. For
example:
 Bobby Moore (Бобби Мур) – футболиcт и капитан сборной Англии.
 Walter Scott (Вальтер Скотт) – писатель.
4. Surnames from Nicknames:
 Brown (Браун) – загорелый
 White (Уайт) – белый
 Great (Грейт) – великий
 Martin (Мартин) - воинственный, относящийся к Марсу
 King (Кинг) – буквально «король», хотя обычно предки людей с такой
фамилией не имели отношения к королевским династиям
 Green (Грин) – зеленый
 Fox (Фокс) – лис (хитрый)
I found some famous English people. Their surnames are nicknames. For
example:
 Alfred the Great (Альфред Великий) – король Англии.
 Gordon Brown (Гордон Браун) – премьер-министр Великобритании.
 I completed my work of compiling a leaflet with a dictionary of popular
English surnames with their origin. I used the following algorithm to make this
leaflet:
1. I formulated the contents of the leaflet.
2. I included in it a dictionary of popular English surnames with their origins.
3. I formulated the number of pages and the format of the leaflet. For this I used
the Microsoft Office Publisher program.
4. I chose the font and the base color for the illustrations and decorative elements.
5. I determined the number of leaflet (circulation). I released 10 copies.
The material in the leaflet will inform students about the meaning and origin
of surnames in the English language, the material will be interesting and useful to
all students who study English.
 Conclusion
Having finished my project, I came to the conclusion that the study of
surnames can give a rich insight into the development of human society.
I think I was able to achieve the purpose of the project, as during this work I
studied the history of the names in the English language, formulated the main ways
of their formation, identified the most common English surnames, compiled a
dictionary of the most popular English surnames and their meanings.
 List of literature

1.https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/interesnoe-ob-anglijskom-yazyke/samye-
populyarnye-anglijskie-familii-s-perevodom.html
2. https://britishsurnames.co.uk
3. http://www.localhistories.org/surnames