10/30/2022 0 Comments British last names![]() ![]() In the bigger towns some of the more eminent citizens called themselves after the streets on which they lived, for example Henry de Fishergate, and the de would later be dropped. The prefix de can mean that a person owned the estate, or came from there, or lived there. Some names were derived from tiny places which have disappeared, likewise some surnames formerly extant have disappeared, for example Dipple. Their tenants and those coming from their towns and villages also acquired the same surname later on. It should be emphasized that not all who bear these names today are descended from these men. These territorial or location surnames acquired by the nobles and great landowners were thus the first in Scotland. The custom slowly filtered downwards in society, and from town to country from then on. The first surnames in Scotland came as a result of a directive from King Malcolm Ceannmor in 1061 who instructed Scots to take surnames from their territorial possessions. ![]() Scottish Location (Territorial) Surnames ![]() The early mixture of Scots, Angles, French and Flemings all left their mark on surnames in Scotland with location, patronymic, nicknames and occupational names being present by the 14th century. The best work on the surnames of Scotland is Black, which is particularly good on giving early instances with detailed authorities as well as later variants, but is short on the origins of these names. Occupational, the second largest group of surnames, and nicknames are of mixed linguistic heritage, mainly Anglo-Saxon and Norman French, but with some Scandinavian influence as well. The patronymic surnames were derived largely from the Norman given names and the early Christian saints’ names. Location names constitute over half of the surnames in England. Topographical surnames seem mainly to be based on Anglo-Saxon words. In the northwest and along the eastern half of England under the Danelaw there are many habitational names having Scandinavian origins. Most were habitational names from their French or newly acquired English estates. The first truly hereditary surnames in England were not in the native English language but in the Norman French brought over by William the Conqueror and his followers. Homes of British Surnames English Surnames
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