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What’s In A Name? British Surnames Derived from Places
Introduction:
Over half of all English surnames used today are derived from the names of
places where people lived. This type is known as a locative surname. For example,
a man called John who lived near the marsh might be known as John Marsh. John
who lived in the dell was called John Dell. Other examples are John Brook, John
Lake, and John Rivers. Some names combined two words, such as Underhill (someone
who lived at the foot of the hill) and Hightower (dweller of the high tower).
- Many names had the following endings: -ford (the crossing place in a river or stream), -fort (a fortification), -field (an open area where fairs were held), -brook, -wood, and -well. Ashwood, for example, would describe someone who lived in a wood of ash trees.
Certain locative surnames are less clear in meaning, since they are derived from earlier forms of English. For example, who would guess that Dunlop means “a muddy hill!” Below are a few helpful clues for determining the meanings of this type of name.
- The prefix atte meant “at the.” It appeared in names
like Attewood and Attewater, which later evolved as Atwood and Atwater.
- Frequently used place nouns were den (valley), beck (brook), more (river bank), and adder (stream). Beckford referred to someone who lived near the crossing place of a brook.
- The endings -ton, -ham, -wick, -stow, and -stead meant “farm” or “town.” So the name Denton (den plus ton) referred to someone who lived in a town or farm in a valley.
- Other commonly used place endings were: -don (a hill), -bury (a fortification), -leigh or -ley (a clearing), and -chester (site of an ancient Roman fort).
In some cases, the preposition "of" was simply added to the name of a town to form a person's byname. Examples are John of York and William of Orange.
Guiding Question:
What are locative surnames?
Learning Objectives:
Students will develop an understanding of British surnames derived from locations and learn some of the more common names still prevalent today.
Instructional Plan:
- After discussing the above information with your students (you might wish
to list certain items on the board), return to the Surname
Origin List. Instruct the students, working in pairs, to look up the meanings
of the names on the chart (Locative
Surnames) also available in pdf format.
Student Activity:
| Name
|
Meaning |
| 1. Armstrong |
1. |
| 2. Black |
2. |
| 3. Fairchild |
3. |
| 4. Giddy |
4. |
| 5. Green |
5. |
| 6.Merry |
6. |
| 7. Noble |
7. |
| 8. Sharp |
8. |
| 9. Truman |
9. |
| 10. White |
10. |
Assessment:
- Review the key concepts covered in this activity. Call upon students to
suggest place nouns commonly used as roots or suffixes of British locative
surnames. Then have each student write down a list of five locative surnames
not previously mentioned.
- As a follow-up, you might play “What's My Name?” Call upon a student
to draw a figure on the board to illustrate one of the names on his list.
For example, he might draw a picture of a church on a hill to represent “Churchill.”
Whoever guesses the name gets to go next. Continue the game until everyone
has had a turn.
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