By David Peel
As I mentioned last time, surnames are fairly recent. 1000 years ago, with most folks dying within 20 miles of their birth, in small villages, having Jacob the baker and Jacob the collier (coal miner) was enough.
Occupations weren’t the only source though. Surnames from a father’s name are common deriving from: Jacob, John’s son.
Any name ending in “son” is son of. Jackson, Wilson, Watson, Hobson, Dobson, Robinson, Williamson, Benson, Stevenson, Dickson, Robertson, Richardson, Paulson, and Johnson. Usually Scottish or British.
Some people had pet names ending in ‘kins’ or ‘kin’ So we have Atkins from Ad-kins (Adam-kins) and Wilkins. We also have Dawkins. (Daw was a pet name for David so we also have the surname, Dawson). Huggins is from Hugh-kins. Jenkins is from Jan-kins.
However, some people were just given their father’s name as a surname like Arnold, Henry, Howard, or Thomas. Men called Nicholas were sometimes called Nicol. Surnames like Nichols and Nicholson are derived from there.
An ‘s’ at the end of a personal name also meant ‘son of’ so we have surnames like Andrews, Stevens, Rogers, Hughes, Jacobs and Williams. The first names Robin or Robert were sometimes shortened to Dob so we have Dobbs, Dobson, Hobbs, and Hobson. People named Hugh were sometimes called Hudd so we have the surnames, Hudd and Hudson. Gilbert’s were sometimes called Gibb so we have the surnames Gibb, Gibbs, Gibbon, and Gibbons. Hutchinson and Hutchins both come from Hutchins, which was a pet name for a person named Hugh. The surnames Davies and Davis are both derived from Davy’s son. (Davy was short for David).
Scandinavians spell son with an e so you see Andersen, Pedersen, Neilsen, and the most popular name in Denmark, Jensen.
The ending ‘cock’ meant a young man. So Hitchcock (Hitch was a pet name for Richard).
“-Lett” Bartlett meant little Bart and Willett meant little Will. Hewett meant little Hugh. Elliott was a diminutive of Elias. Ellis was also a form of Elias.
“-ski,” such as “Petroffski.” This means your surname is Polish.
“-ez” or “-az,” such as “Fernandez” or “Diaz.” This means your surname is Spanish.
“-es” or “os,” such as “Morales” or “Rolos.” This means your surname is Portuguese.
Fitz is a corruption of the Norman-French ‘fils de’ (son of). In Gaelic Scotland common names include Fitzsimmons, Fitzhugh and Fitzgerald.
O’ is short for “of”. O’Malley, O’Brien and O’Connor. Irish origin.
Peel seeks justice for those injured in tractor trailer and car accidents, medical malpractice, and disability. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups without charge. Peel may be reached through PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.
