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Addington
Habitational name from any of various places named in Old English as Eaddingtun 'settlement associated with Eadda' or Aeddingtun 'settlement associated with Aeddi'. Places so named are found in Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent, and Greater London.
Alderton
This is an English locational name from any of the various places so called, although they do not share the same derivations. The Aldertones in Shropshire and Suffolk (recorded as 'Alretuna' in Domesday Book) derive from the Old English 'alra', alder (trees) and 'tun', and means 'the village by the alder wood'. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of George Alderton, married Olivia Withers, which was dated 1547 Capel St. Mary, Suffolk, during the reign of King Henry VIII,
Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2011
Allum
It is generally accepted that this is a dialectually transposed locational name deriving from a place in Kent now called Elham but spelt Alham in the Domesday Book of 1086 and Aelham in Domesday Monachorum. The spelling Elham first appears in 1182 "Index to the Charters and Rolls in the British Museum". The name is believed to derive fom the Olde English pre 7th Century "ealh" meaning "a pagan temple", plus "ham", a meadow or piece of enclosed land and is first recorded in the latter half of the 13th Century. In the modern idiom the surname can be found spelt as Allam, Allum and Ellham.
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Arbuckle
Recorded in several spellings including Arbuckle, Arbuckel, Hornbuckle, and possibly Harbottle, this is a Scottish surname of locational origins. It derives from the village of Arbuckle in the county of Lanarkshire, and like most locational surnames was probably give to the first nameholder after he left the original homestead, and moved elsewhere.
The meaning of the name Arbuckle is unclear, but it may derive from the Olde English pre 7th century "eor" meaning earth, and "boc", beech trees, the land covered by beech.
(http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Arbuckle#ixzz2NtGzyAUT)
Hermitage
the cell or habitation of a hermit, formerly a wilderness or solitary place; a convent of hermits or minor friars.
Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import (1857).
Aust
Recorded in several forms including Aust, Awste, Austen and Austin, this famous surname is English. However its origination is the Roman (Latin) name "Augustine", and in its short form is the medieval vernacular, being first recorded as a surname in the 13th Century (see below). The original popularity of the name owes a lot to the first Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Augustine, who died in 605 A.D., however the name totally lost popularity until the 12th Century, when, during the Christian revival period, the religious order known as the Austin Canons was established. The present name is probably habitational in origin, as the order was celibate, and therefore the name refers to people who worked at the various properties owned by the order. As the popularity of the Austin order spread, the name became baptismal in its own right.
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Barton
This ancient and distinguished surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is either a topographical name from residence by an outlying grange, deriving from the Olde English, pre 7th Century, "bere", barley, and "tun", enclosure, settlement; or a locational name from any of the various places named with the above elements. These places include Barton Suffolk.
Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 20111aUoMeElY
Bassett
This name has two possible origins, one English and one French.
The English source is from a
nickname for a short man, one of low stature, from the Middle English and Old French word "bas(se)", low,
short, from the Latin "bassus", "thickset", wide, as opposed to tall.
"Basset(t)" is the diminutive form of the original surname "Bass".
The second, French, source is locational, from a place in Normandy called "Basset".
The surname would have been introduced by the Normans after the Conquest of 1086.
Biggs
It derives from the ancient word "bigga" meaning large, and as such was both an original baptismal name, and later in the medieval period, either a nickname surname, or possibly one from a location.
Whatever the origin, it is one of the oldest on record, although whether the first named, as shown below, would have recognised his "surname" is conjecture.
Like the famous "Little John" of Robin Hood fame, who was according to legend, the largest man in the band of "Merry men", the name may well have been a nickname, for a small person!
(http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Biggs#ixzz2NtyRZPuk)
Bohea
Recorded in many forms including Bahaw, Baher, Biho, Bohea, Bohay, Bohee, Bohie, Bohey, and possibly others, this is probably an English surname. If so and inspite of the very varied spellings we believe that it is locational from some now 'lost' medieval place. It is estimated that at least five thousand villages and hamlets have completely disappeared from the face of the British Isles over the past five century, and the majority have given rise to surnames. The reasons for the phenomena of the lost village has provided the basis of several books, but in general the causes were changes in agricultural practices, coastal erosion, creaping urbanisation, the Great Plagues, and even war. As to the origins of this name we can only guess, but the village of Bashaw in Yorkshire, meaning the place on the ridge, is a possibilty,
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Boxall
Recorded in several spelling forms including Baxill, Boxall, Bexell, Boxhill, Boxill, Boxshell, Bicksall, and Buxel, this is a locational name from a place in Surrey and Wiltshire, called Boxhill or from Boxwell, in the county of Gloucester. The place name derives either from the Olde English pre 7th Century "box" meaning "box tree", plus "wella" a spring or stream; or "box" plus "hyll".
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Bright
This is a Medieval English nickname or given name meaning 'bright', 'fair' or 'beautiful'. The name derives from the Olde English, pre 7th century, 'beorht' meaning 'bright' or 'shining'. It may also be a short form of the Olde English personal name Beorhthelm - a compound of the elements 'beorht' - bright and 'helm' a helmet. Alternate spellings of the name have included le Brythe (1278) and Brite (1279). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Briht which was dated 1252. Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2011
Buckerfield
This surname is of English locational origin from one of the estimated seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets that have now disappeared from the maps in Britain. The prime cause of these "disappearances" was the enforced "clearing" and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 14th Century. Natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348 also contributed to the lost village phenomenon. The original place is believed to have been in Leicestershire. The component elements are the old English pre 7th Century "bucc" meaning "male deer" or "the old English personal name Bucca" plus "feld" meaning "open country".
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Cackett
This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant of the locational surname frequently found as "Caldicott". The name derives from any of the numerous places, in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, for example, which are mostly called "Caldecote", and are named from the Old English pre 7th Century elements "ceald, cald", cold, and "cot", cottage, hut, dwelling.
The original meaning of the term is thought to have been an unattended shelter for travellers, or perhaps for shepherds and herdsmen, but by the 11th Century many of the places so called had developed into small hamlets and villages, and were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Cackett#ixzz2IjPqvAYK
Cain
Variant spelling of Cane. Nickname for a tall thin man, from Middle English, Old French cane 'cane', 'reed' (Latin canna). It may also be a topographic name for someone who lived in a damp area overgrown with reeds, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who gathered reeds, which were widely used in the Middle Ages as a floor covering, as roofing material, and for weaving small baskets.
Alternatively:
(of Norman origin): Habitational name from Caen in Calvados, France, named with the Gaulish elements catu 'battle' + magos 'field', 'plain'.
Cazalet
Recorded in many forms including Casa, Casereaux, Cazalet, and what seems to be the English derivatives of Caslett, Coslett, and Caslitt, this is a surname of Roman (Latin) origins, and found in particularly in the countries of Spain, France and Italy. The derivation is from the ancient pre 7th century word "casa" for which the original meaning was house, although this in itself probably referred not to any house, but to the most important house in the village or town, the one occupied by a chief or noble. The development in England appears to be from the Huguenot protestant refugee spelling of Cazelet or Caselet, which first seem to be recorded in the city of London at the end of the 17th century. This was the peak time for the arrival of the refugees fleeing the persecution by the Catholic King Louis X1V, and it is estimated that over fifty thousand such refugees passed into and through London upto 1750.
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Clifton
A locational name from the numerous places so called in all parts of England. They all share the same meaning and derivation, namely from the Olde English pre 7th Century "clif", meaning a gentle slope, or more usually a riverbank, with "tun", an enclosure or settlement.
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Couves
This surname recorded as Couve, Couves, Couvet, and Covet, is of French origins. As a refugee (Huguenot) surname it was introduced into England at the end of the 17th Century, by people fleeing the religious persecution that was rife on the continent. This followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, by King Louis X1V, and the loss of protection and rights of the protestants in France. The surname is probably topographical, for someone who either lived by a sheltered bay, or more likely an area sheltered by trees. The formation is similar to couvert, meaning a wood or covert, and originally from the Latin "cooperio", to cover. In this case the surname is from a village called "Couve" in the department known as "Cotes du Nord". Sadly in the religious "passion", almost all early registers relating to protestant families, were deliberately destroyed, even those of high rank that had served France for many generations.
© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2013
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Cox
possibly derived from Cock, a term of endearment, a diminutive, the same as ot or kin, used as a termination, as Willcox, little Will; Simcox, little Sim, etc. The word is also often used to denote a leader or chief man. Addison says: "Sir Andrew is the cock of the club.")
Cranton
Recorded in the spellings of Cranston, Cranstoun and the slightly transposed Cranton, this is a surname of Scottish origins. It is locational from 'The barony of Cranston', in Midlothian, Scotland. The first element of the placename is the Olde English pre 7th Century byname "Cran", meaning a crane, and was a nickname personal name used to denote a tall, thin man with long legs, whilst the second element is the Olde English "tun" an enclosure, settlement; hence "Cran's settlement". During the Middle Ages when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often took their former village name as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name.
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Cullington
Recorded as Callington, Cellington, Collington with the most popular form being as Cullington, this is a surname of Cornish origins. It originates from the small town of Callington, just across the border from the neighbouring county of Devon. The name is well recorded in the surviving church registers of the city of London, but almost always as Cullington.
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Darkin
This surname is of early medieval English origin, and is a pet name meaning "dear little one"
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Desbrough
Recorded in the spellings of Desborough and the variants Desbrow and Disbrow, this is an English surname
which was very prominent in the history of the country during the great Civil War of 1640 - 1660.
It is locational and there are two villages of which either or both may be responsible for the surname.
These are Desborough in Buckinghamshire, so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "dwostle",
meaning an aromatic plant now called 'Pennyroyal', and much used in herbal cures, plus "beorg",
which may mean a castle or fortress, but can also mean a hill.
The second origin is from a place in
Northamptonhshire, which was originally named in Olde English as "Deoresburh", and translating as
'the strong fort'.
Diver
Unlike many apparently obvious surnames, this quite rare example, actually reflects what it means. It is either a nickname for a good swimmer from the pre 8th century Norse Viking "dyfa" or it can be locational and describe a former inhabitant of the town of Dives in Calvados, France. The forms of the name are usually Diver(s), Dive(s), and Divver, and the recorded spellings are now so intermixed, it is usually impossible to say which name today relates to which origin.
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Dodd
From the Middle English personal name Dodde, Dudde, Old English Dodda, Dudda, which remained in fairly widespread and frequent use in England until the 14th century. It seems to have been originally a byname, but the meaning is not clear; it may come from a Germanic root used to describe something round and lumpish-hence a short, plump man.
Durand
Of Norman origin, introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066 as the personal name "Durant", it is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Durandus", and derives from the Olde French "durant" meaning "enduring", from "durer", to endure, last, itself from the Latin "durus", hard, firm
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Dutton
Habitational name from any of the places called Dutton, especially those in Cheshire and Lancashire. The first of these is named from Old English dun 'hill' + tun 'enclosure', 'settlement'; the second is from Old English personal name Dudd(a) (see Dodd above) + Old English tun.