The idea was originally suggested by architect Thomas Pritchard in , and we mixed up our Thomases. Thank you to everyone who picked up on the error. Pingback: What was the legacy of William the Conqueror? Rowena Willard-Wright. Related Articles. Load More Comments. Another person establishing a last name might have chosen the name based on where he lived such as Appleby, a city or a farm raising apples, or Atwood , his job Tanner or Thatcher , or some defining characteristic such as Short or Red, which may have morphed into Reed which could also change by generation.
The establishment of permanent surnames for a group of people could have happened anywhere from the second century to the 15th century — or even much later. In Norway, for example, permanent last names started becoming the practice in about and were widespread by But it didn't actually become law to adopt a permanent last name there until It can also be tricky to identify which person is which in a search, as families may have similar naming orders for sons and daughters, for example, with the first-born son always named John.
When searching for the origin or etymology of your surname, consider that your last name may not have always been spelled the way it is today. Even through at least the first half of the 20th century, it is not unusual to see the same individual's last name spelled in many different ways from record to record.
For example, you might see the seemingly easy-to-spell surname Kennedy spelled as Kenedy, Canady, Kanada, Kenneday, and even Kendy due to clerks, ministers, and other officials spelling the name as they heard it pronounced. Sometimes, alternate variants stuck and were passed down to future generations.
It is even not that uncommon to see siblings passing down different variants of the same original surname. It's a myth, the Smithsonian says, that immigrants to the United States often had their last names "Americanized" by Ellis Island inspectors as they came off the boat.
Their names would have first been written down on the ship's manifest when the immigrants boarded in their country of origin. The immigrants themselves could have changed their names to sound more American, or their names could have been difficult to understand by the person taking it down.
If a person transferred ships during the journey, the spelling could change from ship to ship. The inspectors at Ellis Island processed people based on the languages they themselves spoke, so they may have been making corrections to spellings when immigrants arrived. At the top of this Wonder, we do have a listening icon that you can play to have this Wonder read aloud!
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We encourage you to embark on your own Wonder Journey to discover more about this topic, as well! We're sure you can discover all sorts of interesting facts by researching your questions online and at your library! Hi, Marion! We apologize for the confusion. We have corrected the Wonder Words. We hope you continue to research your family history and DNA.
It's very interesting to learn about! That's a great question, Ana! Depending on the language, "a la" could be "to the" or "at the. Hi, Arnold! It is always helpful to talk with family and friends about your family history. You could also do research about your family history. That's always important. Because the Wonders are sometimes updated, you should use the date you visited the Wonder. Thanks for checking! It's fun to learn about your family history. You never know, you just might be related to someone famous, like a president!
Thanks for your comment! Hello, Maddy! You can keep researching your ancestry and map your family tree. This will help you learn more about your last name, too. Hi, Martin! It's so interesting to learn the history behind your name! We encourage you to research your ancestry. Thanks for your comment. Maybe you can do more research at your library. It is interesting to learn the meaning of different parts of words. Hello there, Jack! Thanks for visiting Wonderopolis!
We think that's pretty COOL that your last name means "from the north. Sometimes you have to check the meaning of your last name in a different language. Hi Shania! Maybe look at a name meaning reference to find out what that last name means!
We'd love to hear! You could see what your first name means too! Harris would be your surname, Kaleb! Great question, Emma! Smith might not be a famous location, but many people were blacksmiths back in the day.
The name might have been shortened to Smith, which became a way to identify people! Great question, CianiRoom6! Surnames have been around for thousands of years, but your surname's origin depends on your nationality. Perhaps you and your family can Wonder about it together! Terrific application, Carlos! Taking the father's last name is very common in many cultures.
We hope you liked this Wonder. Visit again soon! Thanks for being a supportive Wonder Friend and reading other's comments! Hi there, Dori! Thanks for sharing your comment! We hope you and your family will research your surname to learn about its origin! Hey there Stephen! Thanks for sharing you comment with us today - we are so happy that you learned something new with us today! We love your connection and we hope you'll come back to Wonder with us again soon! Hi Ava, thanks for sharing your comment!
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Hi Anna, thanks for sharing what you've learned about surnames. In different countries, different traditions are maintained, and sometimes they have to do with names! We are glad we learned something new from you today! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition.
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We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. With no real brick industry during this period the surname Brick or Bricker does not exist - Brickman derives from the Norse 'brigg' meaning bridge. Similarly with names derived from military occupations, there are no names from firearms, only those derived from the weaponry and occupations around in these early centuries.
And from the church we have Pope , Bishop , Monk and Abbott. However, these are most likely to have been nicknames rather than actual occupations, as with King. Or possibly they originated from performers in the Mystery or other religious plays. Sometimes a nickname became a hereditary surname.
Names such as Fox , from the crafty animal, or White , perhaps from the hair or complexion, are widespread. However, the pronounced regional distribution of names such as Nice in Essex or Wildgoose in Derbyshire suggests single family origins. In some cases, nicknames are from Norman-French words, such as Papillon dainty or inconsistent, from butterfly or Foljambe deformed leg.
Names deriving from plants and animals are almost certainly nicknames - such as Catt , Sparrow and Oak - but may also be location names or even occupations. But most nicknames come from colour, complexion or form - names such as Armstrong and Strongitharm , Heavyside , Quickly , Slowman , Smallman , Fairfax and Blunt fair-haired.
Other examples of nicknames derive from personal or moral qualities, for example Good , Goodchild , Thoroughgood , Allgood , Toogood and Goodenough. Other examples are Joly , Jolibois and Joliffe , or Kennard royal-brave. And some - such as Puttock greedy or Coe jackdaw - show contempt or ridicule. The surname Blake may seem fairly straightforward but there are two derivations.
Firstly as a variation of Black , a descriptive name for someone of dark appearance, and secondly originating as the Old English word, blac meaning wan or fair - two completely opposite meanings. In Wiltshire, the surname Black is not a common one, greatly outnumbered by Blake. Many baptismal or Christian names have become surnames without any change. A son may have acquired his surname by adding -s or -son to his father's name.
The first method was favoured in the south of England and in the western border counties where the practice was later copied by the Welsh , while the second was preferred in the northern half of England and lowland Scotland, and was a late development. Occasionally, -son was added to a mother's names, as in Mallinson and Tillotson - both from Matilda.
The son of William might therefore end up with the surname Williams or Williamson. The small pool of personal names meant that pet forms and shortened versions were commonly used, and that many of these nicknames became surnames.
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