Orgin of Brtish names

Independent:

What does my surname mean and where does it come from? It is the question that baffles many amateur genealogists.

The meanings of all 150,000 surnames in use across the country look set to be revealed as part of the largest-ever database of family names in the UK.

The database will include very common names such as Miller or Williams, but will also cast light on the stories behind those unusual surnames which have fewer than 100 bearers.

The new £834,350 research project, led by the University of the West of England (UWE), plans to reveal the stories behind our surnames and make them publicly available to all home genealogists, family historians, and anyone interested in learning more about their family name.

The study will not focus exclusively on names of English and Scots origin, but will also include names of Norman French, Gaelic, Welsh and Cornish origin, as well as Huguenot, Jewish and later immigrant names.

Using published and unpublished resources, dating from as far back as the 11th century, a team of researchers will collect information about individual names, such as when and where they were recorded and how they have been spelt. Many variations in surnames resulted from misspellings or mishearings of names at a time when few people were literate.

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"Names can have origins that are occupational – obvious examples are Smith and Baker. Or names can be linked to a place, for example the names Hill or Green [which related to village greens]. Surnames which are 'patronymic' are those which enshrine the father's name – such as Jackson or Jenkinson. There are also names descriptive of the original bearer, such as Brown, Short or Thin."

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There is much more.

I recently cam across several archers who fought in the 100 Years War by the name of Benson. Some fought with Henry V at Agincourt. Obviously the Benson name is "patronymic."