Surname how many

Those of higher social status often took surnames that are uncommon today; whereas people of lower social status often took what are today common surnames. It is also clear that people of lower social status had less control over their surnames, no doubt handed to them by aldermen, lords and other authorities. Thus we find numerous insulting surnames, such as Dullard, meaning a hard and conceited man. The majority of surnames are derived from the name of a male ancestor.

These evolved from pre-existing non-permanent naming customs whereby an individual was identified by reference to a male ancestor or ancestors. Grimbald English: Henry son of Grimbald. Such names are essentially the name of the father, sometimes with a suffix or prefix to denote the name as a patronym. For example, Armenian patronyms typically end in -ian, Polish patronyms end in -ski and Irish patronyms begin with Fitz-.

Patronymic surnames are indistinguishable from clan surnames, which may be assumed by subjects of a clan leader. Surnames derived from the occupation of an ancestor are also common, with Smith being the most common surname in the UK. This category of surnames is divided into two groups: standard occupations and titular occupations, such as Stewart, derived from an ancient clan title in Scotland.

Topographical surnames can be derived from features of a landscape Hill, Ford or from place names London, Aston, Eaton, Molyneux. Those surnames derived from place names were initially adopted by families that held land.

However, later such adoptions of surnames derived from place names occurred when people moved from one place to another. Descriptive surnames are less common, partly as they were often derived from unflattering characteristics such as: stupidity, girth, baldness and sometimes outright insults like Blackinthemouth.

Many of these surnames have disappeared. Matronymic surnames are derived from the name of a female ancestor usually the mother and are uncommon in most parts of the world. Only six Twelvetrees appear in the Census. We wonder if they were the same six who fought in the Great War some years later. Over 30, Clutterbuck family records appear in our archives. There are a number of reasons why you might have a rare surname.

Names linked to niche professions that no longer exist, migration, colloquialisms and even entire families being wiped out during war could contribute to your family name being less common than others.

Then again, it could simply be destiny. For instance, if a man with your name only fathered daughters generations ago, their surname most likely ended with them. However, history does tend to repeat itself and recent trends have seen near-extinct British surnames enjoy a resurgence. As families whose ancestors left Britain hundreds of years ago return, so too does the family name. The anglicisation of European names has also helped revitalise rare surnames in Britain. Do you think you have a rare surname?

Is your family more or less common than the Clutterbucks, Farahs and Twelvetrees? Then, why not get the bigger picture and make sense of your first name too? Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century.

The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in.

In France, the name Many is the 8, st most popular surname with an estimated - 1, people with that name. Because of the political and religious discontent in England , families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers.