In the Middle Ages, most common people didn’t have a last name.
Many of our familiar surnames came from the necessity to distinguish between two people with the same first name by adding their occupation, location, or a physical characteristic.
William the tanner and William the blacksmith became William Tanner and William Smith.
Poor country people who worked the land took the name of their land lord, so a regal surname usually doesn’t mean regal ancestry.
Other occupational last names:
Taylor — makes or repairs clothing
Carter — makes or repairs carts
Miller — ground flour from grain
Wainwright — wagon builder
Bishop — worked with a bishop
Last names with geographic origins:
Atwood — one who lives near the forest
Eastman — one who is from east of here
Westwood — one who is from the western forest
Dunlop — from the muddy hill
Churchill — lives near a church on a hill
Related Posts
-
Why Do So many Scottish and Irish Surnames Begin With “Mac” As In MacDonald and “O” As In O’Connor?
One of the ancient Celtic traditions of Scotland and Ireland was, in much the same manner as for American slaves, that all the serfs who worked his land used the name of the…
-
What Are the Most Common Surnames In the United States?
The most common surnames in the United States in order, are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, and Brown. A surname is a name added to a given name and in many cases, a surname…
-
Where Do Family Names In Iceland Come From and Why Do Icelanders Have Unusual and Distinctive Last Names?
Icelanders are unusual in that they do not have family names, like Smith and Jones. To come up with a distinctive name, boys add their first name to a second name that is…
-
How Do Stars Get Their Names and Do All the Stars In Constellations Also Have Names?
Stars have names, but just like people, stars can have official names and nicknames. For instance, the brightest star in the constellation Leo has long been called Regulus. But not every star has…
-
How Do Atlantic Hurricanes Get Their Names and When Are Hurricane Names Retired?
When a tropical cyclone reaches a wind speed of 39 miles (63 km) per hour, the World Meteorological Association assigns it a name from one of six lists of names it rotates yearly.…
-
How Did the Chipmunks and Rocky and Bullwinkle Get Their Names and How Did the Cartoon Characters Originate?
The Singing Chipmunks were inspired by a near accident. Their creator, Ross Bagdasarian, had to swerve sharply to miss hitting a chipmunk while driving on a country road. He named the trio Alvin,…
