When the Normans arrived
in 1066 people in England only had a single personal name. The Normans
introduced new Christian names such as William, Richard, Henry, Gilbert
and Roger. These names became very popular and as the size of communities
grew, identifying people by a single name became more difficult.
In the 12th century the
Norman rulers began encouraging people to adopt surnames. These names
fell into six main categories:
Paternal
Names: A large
number of people were known by the name of their father. For example,
John son of Richard.
Place
Names: Some people adopted the name of the place where
they originally came from. For example, John of Edenbridge.
Topographical
Names: In some cases the name referred to the land where
the person lived. For example, Thomas atte Ford.
Occupation
Names: Some people were known by their occupation or trade.
For example, Hugo the Carpenter.
Office
Names: Some people were known by the official duties they
performed. For example, Osbert the Reeve.
Nicknames:
These names referred to the appearance and character of a person.
For example, Alan the Bold.
This system
of naming people continued
to cause problems in the 13th century. There
are several reasons for this. One was the growth of towns. In a small
village everybody
knew everybody else. It was not necessary to have a standardised system
of naming people. However, people living in towns found it very confusing.
Another problem was the
popularity of certain names. Most people were known by
their father's name. In the 13th Century, certain names like Thomas
became very popular.
Many men were confusingly called Thomas son of Thomas.
Finally, names did not
always stay the same. Hugo the Carpenter, for example, might
change his occupation and would then be called something else. Edward
Brown may have been
named after the colour of his hair. When he grew older and
lost his hair, he might become known as Edward Ball (ball being a
bare patch).
Eventually it became the
custom for people to take the surname of their father. Names
were also simplified. John, son of Richard became either John Richards
or John Richardson.
Thomas atte Ford now became Thomas Ford.
Yalding
Names
Ashdown:
Old English "dweller
on ash-tree hill" (1327: John de Asshdoune)
Baker:
Old English "maker of bread" (1177: William Ie Bakere)
Barfoot:
Old English "without shoes" (1160: Robert Barefoot)
Bennett:
Latin "blessed"
(1193: Benedictus)
Bigge:
Old English "big,
strong" (1177: Henry Bigge)
Brattle:
Old English "dweller
by new farm" (1195 William Brattle)
Brickenden:
Flemish "maker
of bricks" (1201: Hereward Brick)
Brooker:
Old English "dweller
by the brook" (1296: William Brokere)
Browne:
Norman French "brown
haired or skinned" (1111: Richard Ie Brun)
Carpenter:
Norman French "maker
of wooden objects" (1121: Godwin Carpentar)
Cheeseman:
Old English "cheese
maker" (1260: Henry Ie Cheeseman)
Chowring:
Old English "dweller
in a clearing" (1297: Thomas Chowing)
Clarke:
Latin "cleric,
scholar, secretary" (1272: John Ie Clerk)
Cooper:
Saxon "wooden
bucket-maker" (1176: Robert Ie Cupere)
Dunn:
Old English "dark
and swarthy" (1180: William Dun)
Fleete:
Old English "lives
by creek" (1158: Richard Ie Fleet)
Fletcher:
Old English "arrow-maker"
(1203: Robert Ie Flecher)
Foreman:
Old English "looks
after pigs" (1296: Christina Foreman)
Furner:
Norman French "dweller
by marshland" (1208: William Ie Furner)
Giffard:
Norman French "chubby
cheeked" (1200: Johannes Giffard)
Godfrey:
Saxon "god-peace"
(1086 Godefridus)
Golding:
Old English "son
of Gold" (1224: Aldred Golding)
Gregory:
Greek "watchful'
(1143 Willelmus Gregorii)
Hale:
Old English "dweller
on the hill" (1180: Morus de la Hale)
Herenden:
Old English "dweller
on high hill" (1334: Walter Herenden)
Hughes:
Saxon "son of
Hugh" (1066: Hugh)
Kynton:
Old English "lives
on the king's manor" (1295: Walter de Kynton)
Mannering:
Old English "manly"
(1260: Thomas de Mainnering)
Minchen:
Old English "nun"
(1190: Peter Minchun)
Nash:
Old English "dweller
by the ash tree" (1296: William atte Nasche)
Payne:
Norman French "pagan"
(1190: Edmund the Pane)
Rolfe:
Old English "peasant"
(1242: Martin Rof)
Seamark:
Old English "seaman"
(1324: Henry Seamarke)
Singyard:
Old English "singer"
(1164: Walter Sinyard)
Taylor:
Norman French "maker
of clothes" (1180 Walter Taylur)
Walter:
Old English "dweller
by water" (1296': Geoffrey atte Walter)
Ward:
Old English "guard
or watchman" (1194: John Warde)
Webb:
Old English "weaver"
(1100: Alger Webba)
Wood:
Old English "dweller
by the wood" (1242: Water de la Wode)
1. Write down in
section 12 of Family
Information Chart the
meaning of your name.
2. Count the number of
names that are based on (a) paternal names; (b) nicknames; (c) topographical
names; (d) occupation names.
3. In brackets is the date
of when the surname was first recorded in England. Can
you explain why so many of the names are spelt differently today?
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