What's in a name?

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EASLEY: "Ley" is another spelling of "lea," a now uncommon word meaning "meadow" or "pasture." No doubt most names ending in "ley" intend its original Old English meaning: "a clearing in the wood." The word reminds us that in early medieval times, England had a very small population. A traveler looking for dwellings would find only a few here and there, in clearings hewn with hard labor out of the wilderness. The literally hundreds of names ending in "ley" cover every imaginable way of describing a space prepared for habitation. There was the western lea (Wesley), the eastern lea (Easley), and the southern lea (Sulley). http://www.themoorings.org/poetry/essays/names.html

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Last Names Explained

Except for Romans during a period of the Roman Empire, hereditary surnames, the last names passed down through the males of a family, didn't exist until about 1000 years ago. While it may be hard to believe in today's hustle and bustle, surnames just weren't necessary before that. In a world that was much less crowded than it is today -- a world where most folks never ventured more than a few miles from their place of birth and every man knew his neighbors -- first, or given names, were the only designations necessary. Even kings got by with a single name.

During the middle ages, as families got bigger and villages got a bit more crowded, individual names became inadequate to distinguish friends and neighbors from one another. One John might be called "John son of William" to distinguish him from his neighbor "John the smith" and his friend "John of the dale." These secondary names, weren't quite yet the surnames as we know them today, however, because they weren't passed down from father to son. "John son of William," for example, might have a son known as "Robert the fletcher (arrow maker)."

True surnames, hereditary names used to distinguish one person from another, first came into use in Europe about 1000 A.D., beginning in southern areas and gradually spreading northward. In many countries the use of hereditary surnames began with the nobility who often called themselves after their ancestral seats. Many of the gentry, however, did not adopt surnames until the 14th century, and it was not until about 1500 A.D. that most surnames became inherited and no longer transformed with a change in a person's appearance, job, or place of residence.

Surnames, for the most part, drew their meanings from the lives of men in the Middle Ages, and can be divided into four main categories: 

Patronymic Surnames
Patronymics, names derived from a father's name, were widely used in forming surnames, especially in the Scandinavian countries. Rarely, the name of the mother contributed the surname, which is referred to as a matronymic surname. Such names were formed by adding a prefix or suffix denoting either "son of" or "daughter of." English and Scandinavian names ending in "son" are patronymic surnames, as are many names prefixed with the Gaelic "Mac," the Norman "Fitz," the Irish "O," and the Welsh "ap."
Examples: The son of John (JOHNSON), son of Donald (MACDONALD), son of Gerald (FITZGERALD), son of Brien (O'BRIEN), son of Howell (ap HOWELL). 

Place Names
One of the most common ways to distinguish one man from his neighbor was to use a geographical designation, creating a class of local surnames derived from the place of residence of the bearer. Such names denoted some of the earliest instances of surnames in France, and were quickly introduced into England by the Norman nobility who chose names based on the locations of their ancestral estates. If a person or family migrated from one place to another, they were often identified by the place they came from. If they lived near a river, rock, hill, or other geographic feature, this would be used. Some surnames can still be traced back to their exact place of origin, such as a particular city or county, while others have origins lost in obscurity (ATWOOD lived near a wood, but we don't know which one). Compass directions were yet another common geographic identification in the Middle Ages (EASTMAN, WESTWOOD). Most geographic-based surnames are easy to spot, though the evolution of language has made others less obvious, i.e. DUNLOP (muddy hill).  Examples: NORMAN was from Normandy; BROOKS lived along a brook; CHURCHILL lived near a church on a hill; NEVILLE came from Neville-Seine-Maritime, France or Neuville (New Town), a common place name in France; PARRIS came from -- you guessed it -- Paris, France. 

Descriptive Names (Nicknames)
Another class of surnames, those derived from a physical or other characteristic of first bearer, make up an estimated 10% of all family names. These descriptive names are thought to have originally evolved as nicknames during the Middle Ages when a man, familiar with everyone in his small village, might jokingly create nicknames for his neighbors and friends based on personality or physical appearance. Thus, Michael the strong became Michael STRONG and black-haired Peter became Peter BLACK. Sources for such nicknames included: an unusual size or shape of the body, bald heads, facial hair, physical deformities, distinctive facial features, skin or hair coloring, and even emotional disposition.

Examples: STOUT, a large person; BROADHEAD, a person with a large head; BAINES (bones), a thin man; MOODY, a moody individual; ARMSTRONG, strong in the arm

Occupational Names
The last class of surnames to develop reflect the occupation or status of the first bearer. These occupational names, derived from the specialty crafts and trades of the medieval period, are fairly self-explanatory. A MILLER was essential for grinding flour from grain, a WAINWRIGHT was a wagon builder, and BISHOP was in the employ of a Bishop. Different surnames often developed from the same occupation based on the language of the country of origin (MÜLLER, for example, is German for Miller). When researching occupational surnames, the most important point is to remember that most evolved during the Middle Ages, based on the occupations and trades of the time, so some are not what they may seem. A FARMER, for example, was not an agricultural worker, but instead collected taxes. 
Examples: ALDERMAN, an official clerk of the court; TAYLOR, one that makes, alters, and repairs garments; CARTER, a maker/driver of carts; OUTLAW, an outlaw or criminal. 

Despite these basic surname classifications, many surnames of today seem to defy explanation. The majority of these are probably corruptions of the original surnames -- variations that have become disguised almost beyond recognition. Surname spelling and pronunciation has evolved over many centuries, often making it hard for current generations to determine the origin and evolution of their surnames. Such derivations of family names, resulting from ignorance of spelling, variations in pronunciation, or merely from the preference of the bearer, tend to confound both genealogists and etymologists. It is fairly common for different branches of the same family to carry different surnames as the majority of English and American surnames have, in their history, appeared in four to more than a dozen variant spellings. Therefore, when researching the origin of your surname, it is important to work your way back through the generations in order to determine the original family name, as the surname that you carry now may have an entirely different meaning than the surname of your distant ancestor. It is also important to remember that some surnames, though their origins may appear obvious, aren't what they seem. BANKER, for example, is not an occupational surname, instead meaning "dweller on a hillside."

 

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100 Most Common Surnames And Their Origins

#15 HARRIS (My maternal grandmother's maiden name)
Definition: Son of Harry. Harry is a derivation of Henry, meaning "home ruler." Surname Origin: English, Welsh Alternate Surname Spellings: HARRISON

#84 PERRY (My great grandmother's 2nd husband's name. He was an Indian. I don't know his first name.) Definition: 1- A local surname derived from the Old English word "pirige" or "pyrige," meaning pear tree, denoting a "dweller by the pear-tree." 2- Possibly derived from the old French "perrier" or "perrieur," for quarry, in which case it denoted one who worked in a quarry or who lived in a rocky location. Surname Origin: English, French Alternate Surname Spellings: PIRRIE, PERY, PEERY

#26 HALL (Maiden name of Vera Harris, my step great grandmother.)
Definition: A place name derived from various words for "large house," usually used to signify someone who lived in or worked in a hall or manor house. It could also possibly be an old Norse word for "boulder, slope" thus meaning someone who lived on a slope.

#23 LEWIS (Aunt Hazel's two bio sons' name)
Definition: Derived from the Germanic given name Lewis, meaning "reknowned, famous battle."  Surname Origin: English

#36 ADAMS (Aunt Hazel's 2nd husband, Uncle Roy's last name. She was widowed by both husbands, Lewis & Adams ) Definition: From the Hebrew personal name Adam which was borne, according to Genesis, by the first man. Uncertain entymology. Possibly from the Hebrew word adama meaning "earth", connecting to the Greek legend that Zeus fashioned the first human beings from earth. Surname Origin: Hebrew Alternate Surname Spellings: ADAMSON (Scottish), ADIE (Scottish), ADAMI (Italian), ADAMINI (Italian), ADCOCKS (English)PHILIP

#34 SCOTT (My mother's maiden name.)
Definition: An ethnic or geographical name signifying a native from Scotland or a person who spoke Gaelic. Surname Origin: Scottish, English Alternate Surname Spellings: SCOT, SCOTTE, SCOTTEN, SCHOTT, SCOTH, SCUTT

#45 PHILLIPS (My Auntie Della's only son's last name - Ronnie Phillips)
Definition: A patronymic surname meaning "Son of Phillip." The given name Phillip comes from the Greek name Philippos which means "friend of horses," composed of the elements philos "friend" and hippos "horse." Surname Origin: Greek Alternate Surname Spellings: PHILIPS, PHILLIP,

#30 KING (Married name of Aunt Genieve Carson King, my real father's sister)
Definition: 1) From the Old English "cyning,"originally meaning "tribal leader," this nickname was commonly bestowed on a man who carried himself like royalty, or who played the part of the king in a medieval pageant. 2) Occasionally, the name was given to a man who served in a royal household. Surname Origin: English Alternate Surname Spellings: KINGE

#20 ROBINSON (My first husband's name)
Definition: 1- Son of Robbin or Robin 2- Derived from the Polish word "rabin," meaning rabbi.  Surname Origin: English, Jewish Alternate Surname Spellings: ROBESON, ROBISON

#74 KELLY (This is a FIRST name in my family, but I thought this was interesting anyway.)
Definition: 1) Descendant of War 2) Possibly a modern form of the ancient Irish name "O'Ceallaigh." Surname Origin: Irish Alternate Surname Spellings: KELLIE

#78 WOOD (Granny Nora Robinson was kin to the famous sculptor whose last name was Wood. He lived on the highway between Tulsa and Hiwasse, Ark. I forget exactly where.)
Definition: 1) Originally used to describe a person who lived in or worked in a wood or forest. Derived from Middle English "wode." 2) Possibly derived from the Old English "wad," meaning crazed or crazy, the name was sometimes used to describe someone considered mad or violent. 3) An ancient Scottish surname, first called De Bosco, because the family bore trees in their coat of arms. Surname Origin: English, Scottish Alternate Surname Spellings: WOODE, WOODS

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