PLACING THE NAME

BY PHILLIP E JONES

THIS IS INTENDED TO BE A BOOKLET REVIEWING THE SOURCE, ORIGINS AND DERIVATIONS OF POPULAR MODERN DAY SURNAMES, SOME OF WHICH MAY BE SELF EVIDENT WHILE OTHERS ARE NOT. HISTORICALLY PEOPLE'S SURNAMES OFTEN REFLECTED THEIR FAMILY HERITAGE, THEIR TRADE OR INDEED THEIR PLACE OF BIRTH. THE WELSH PARTICULARLY, WOULD ATTACH THEIR FATHER'S NAME AS A SUFFIX OR SURNAME (IE LLEWELLYN AP GRUFFUDD), A PRACTICE WHICH NO DOUBT BECAME COMPRESSED OVER TIME INTO WHAT WE WOULD NOW RECOGNISE AS A MODERN DAY SURNAME. THE PECULIARLY WELSH WORD "AP" (eg: LLEWELLYN AP GRUFFUDD) IS ACTUALLY THOUGHT TO MEAN "SON OF" AND THEREFORE THE EXAMPLE WOULD READ AS LLEWELLYN "SON OF" GRUFFUDD. OVER TIME THE "AP" HAS BEEN FURTHER COMPRESSED AND ALTERED TO EITHER THE LETTER P OR TO A B, WHICH HAS LED TO THE MODERN SURNAMES SUCH AS PRICHARD (ie: SON OF RICHARD) OR BOWEN (ie: SON OF OWEN)

LARGE NUMBERS OF MANUFACTURERS OR TRADESMEN WHO IN EARLIER TIMES WOULD HAVE BEEN KNOWN AS SAY, JOHN THE COOPER (BARREL MAKER) OR ROGER THE WHEELWRIGHT (WHEEL MAKER) LATER ADOPTED A SHORTENED VERSION OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL TRADES OR CRAFTS AND BECAME KNOWN AS JOHN COOPER AND ROGER WRIGHT. MANY MODERN DAY SURNAMES NO DOUBT OWE THEIR ORIGINS TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE EARLIEST GENERATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES, INCLUDING THE LIKES OF THE FLETCHERS, SMITHS, DRAPERS, WEAVERS, TURNERS, TANNERS, SKINNERS, MILLERS AND MASONS. 

MANY HISTORICAL RECORDS OFTEN MENTION PEOPLE WHO ORIGINATED FROM A PARTICULAR SETTLEMENT OR TOWN AND LATER FOUND THIS ASSOCIATION BECAME THEIR WIDELY ACCEPTED TITLE, SO THAT AN INDIVIDUAL FROM A VILLAGE LIKE KELSALL IN CHESHIRE WHO WOULD HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN KNOWN AS JOHN OF KELSALL, LATER BECAME KNOWN SIMPLY AS JOHN KELSALL. IT IS INTERESTING TO SPECULATE HOWEVER, WHICH ADOPTED WHICH? IS THE TOWN OR VILLAGE NAMED AFTER AN INDIVIDUAL OR DID A PARTICULAR PERSON SIMPLY ADOPT THE NAME OF THE SETTLEMENT WHERE HE WAS BORN?

IT IS WORTH REMEMBERING, THAT AT THE TIME WHEN MANY COMMON SURNAMES FIRST CAME INTO GENERAL USE, A MAJORITY OF THE BRITISH POPULATION COULD NOT EVEN READ OR WRITE AND AS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE, THE WAY IN WHICH THEIR NAMES WERE RECORDED OFTEN RESULTED IN BOTH THE CONTRACTION AND CORRUPTION OF THEIR ORIGINAL FORM. EVERYDAY FAMILY NAMES, SUCH AS JONES AND DAVIES WHICH ARE SPECIFICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRINCIPALITY OF WALES ARE IN FACT CONSIDERED BY MANY EXPERTS TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN HISTORIC DERIVATIONS OF THE ENGLISH CHRISTIAN NAMES JOHN AND DAVID WHICH HAVE BEEN CONTRACTED AND CORRUPTED INTO THEIR PRESENT DAY FORMS.

THE WIDESPREAD AND ENFORCED MILITARY OCCUPATION AND COLONIZATION OF WALES UNDERTAKEN BY THE NORMAN FORCES OF WILLIAM I AND LATER STILL BY THE PLANTAGENET MONARCH, EDWARD I, BOTH BROUGHT GREAT SOCIAL AND LINGUISTIC CHANGES TO THE NATIVE PEOPLES OF WALES, INCLUDING IT SEEMS TO THEIR FAMILY NAMES. THE VARIOUS COMPLETE LANGUAGES OR LINGUAL TRAITS OF THESE AND OTHER PEOPLE'S WHO HAVE CONQUERED OR SETTLED IN BRITAIN HAVE ALSO PLAYED A LARGE PART IN THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN DAY PLACE NAMES AND FAMILY SURNAMES. "ECCLES" FOR EXAMPLE IS THOUGHT TO REPRESENT AN EARLY CELTIC/WELSH WORD FOR "CHURCH" AND IS REPRESENTED IN PLACE NAMES SUCH AS ECCLES IN MANCHESTER AND ECCLESTON IN CHESHIRE.

THE SUFFIX "HAM" IS SAID TO DERIVE FROM THE EARLY ANGLO SAXON WORD "HAMM" WHICH DESCRIBED A SMALL SETTLEMENT AND MAY BE THE LIKELY ORIGINS FOR THE UNIQUELY ENGLISH WORD "HAMLET". BY CONTRAST, THE ANGLO SAXON WORD "BURGH" OR "BURY" IS THOUGHT TO DESCRIBE A FORTIFIED TOWNSHIP OR SETTLEMENT AND IS A DERIVATION OF THE "BURH'S" WHICH WERE ESTABLISHED BY ALFRED THE GREAT TO DEFEND ENGLAND FROM THE VIKING MENACE. THE WORD "PORT" ALSO HAS ITS ORIGINS IN THE ANGLO SAXON PERIOD OF ENGLAND AND IS SAID TO IDENTIFY THE SITE OF A MEDIEVAL MARKET. LIKEWISE, THE COMMONLY USED SUFFIX "TON" IS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN USED TO IDENTIFY AN INDIVIDUALLY PROTECTED ENCLOSURE, HOUSE OR HOMESTEAD AND IS FOUND IN MODERN DAY SURNAMES AND PLACE NAMES SUCH AS STOCKTON (STOCKTON HEATH IN CHESHIRE). IT HAS ALSO BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THE "STOCK" PREFIX DERIVES FROM THE VIKING WORD "STOCC" WHICH ITSELF IS THOUGHT TO DENOTE A PROTECTED MOUND, HILL OR MOTTE AND IS NO DOUBT THE ORIGINS OF THE MODERN DAY WORD "STOCKADE".

THE DANISH INVADERS TOO, INTRODUCED NEW WORDS INTO THE EMERGING ENGLISH LANGUAGE, MANY OF WHICH HAVE ATTACHED THEMSELVES TO MODERN DAY PLACE NAMES AND INDIVIDUAL SURNAMES. "THING" (AS IN THINGWALL ON THE WIRRAL) IS THOUGHT TO BE A DANISH WORD FOR MEETING PLACE, A SITE WHERE THEIR PARLIAMENT OR COUNCIL WOULD ASSEMBLE.      

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Produced and maintained by Phillip E Jones @ Mobile 07756 693258 Text: 07914 189032

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