The Brookhaven leader., 1885-05-14
DERIVATION OF FAMILY NAMES.
Common Methods of Bestouing surnamos
In Old English Times
Ist. Louis Globe-Democrat.

W
with the syllable at or after or by as an
introduction, gave such names as At
wood, Byford and Byatt. Another class
of names arose from the practice of ap-
pending TO the name termination mdi-
cative of the place of residence. Thus
the rustic often became known among
his acquaintance as Robert the Field,
or Fielder, Filder; if he lived in forest,
he was Woodyer, or Wood or Wood
man; if by the church, he was Church
man, or, in Scotland, Kirkman; if by a
monastery, Temple, or Terploman, or
Templcr if by the cross to be found in
every village, he was Cross,
or Crossman, or CrOuCber, or
Crouchman; if by the bridge, he be-
came Bridger or Bridgemen. from
similar reasons came the names Brooks,
Brookman, Wells, Weller, Wellman,
Beecher, Beechman. Hollywood, Oker,
and many others. The word hurst or
hlrSt is often found as part of a proper
name. 1t originally meant wood, and
the compounds formed with it are nu.
merous. If hazels about, it is Hazel
hurst. if lindens, it is Lyndhurst; if
hawks are ten found, it is HawkhurSt,
and Brockelhurst is often seen for bad
gerwoods; Deerhurst for deer forest,
the proper names of men following
these appellations.
The holt was a less extensive forest
than the hurst, and from it we have
Aldershot, Oakshot and Bagshot. A
shaw was a small woody covert, a com
mon shelter for game. and it remains in
our language as HindShaw, COckshaw,
Henshaw, or Hernshaw, and Earnshaw,
an aareviation of HerouShaw. In old
English, den was Sunken covert or
shelter for animals usually of the more
ferociouS kinds, and so We have VOL
fenden, Harden, or Hareden, Buckden,
Ramden and kowden, or EOcden. The
names of the domestic animals are
found in Horsden, Oxenden, Cowdcn
Borden, sowden, and ogden, or Hog
den While the den gave shelter the
lea afforded pasturGge for both wild
and tame, and we thus have HorSeley,
owley, and nley, Sheepley, from
Sheeplea, Buckley, and Hindley. The
nature OF the surrounding trees gives
Ashley, IIndley, Elmsley, and Oakley.
Some of the surnames OF men lndi-
cate the clearings that were made i'll the
forests. Thus, rod or rood was a
cleared place in the woods, whence we
have Acroyds, where the acorn trees
have been taken away, Lindrood, Hol
rood, and Others OF this kind. a
greave was woodland avenue grayed
or carved out of the forest, the idea o.
cutting being still preserved in our
grave. Thus We find Hargrave, where
the hares were numerous; COngreave,
where the same was true of the comics,
and Bargrcaye, indicating the former
profusion of bt arS. 4 slade was
small strip Of open land in forest. and
thus come Grenslade and Whitslade.
a lande was a rich piece of grassy, but
uncultivated ground surrounded by
trees, and hence the launders, the
Landes, the Lowndes, and the LaundeS
A knowl was small, skull shaped hill,
whence Or knowles, knowleIs, and
knowlings. The holme was meadow
land lying about the windings Of a
stream, and from it are derived the
Holmers and the HolmanS.
The clough was formerly narrow
fssure between the hills, and the proper
name was thence derived, while the
Cliffes, the Gives, the (leveS, the
Cleyelands, the SATELLITES, Nethercilfes,
Toplifis, ledclitfes, the RadclijeS, the
Stoneclitles, RockliffeS, and Hardclitfes
are all from the same source. A dune
was a hilly Slope, and the Duns came
from such a locality, while combe was
the cup-shaped depression of the hill
side, whence we have Cumberland,
Newcomb, Newcombe, and Slocombe,
with about 100 others. Any promi
nence of earth or rock was cop, or
cope. Hence come the Copes, the Cop
leys, the Copelands, and the CopeStakeS
Cob was but another form of the same
word, whence come the Cobbs, the Cob
hams, the Cobwells, the CobdenS, and
the Cobleys.
Some of the trees have given family
names to quite a number of diStin-
guished families. The Nashes once
lived near ash trees, the Naiders close
to alders, while the origin of the Nokes,
the Beeches, the linds and Linden
woods, the LindhurtS and the Birche5
is equally plain. Put other rural OBJ
jects also contributed their share to the
names of families. A common English
sight is the park gate, which is often
conspicuous from afar, and the Lind
gates, the Foldgates, the Parkates, and
the kirkates still testify to the original
occupations of the founders of the fam
lilies bearing those names. A hearne
was any nook or corner of land, so
the Hearnes, while a gore was a mar
row detile in the mountains, aud gave a
name to those living near it.
A croft was an inclOssd pasture, and
has given us the Meadowcrofts, the
Ryecrofts, and the Haycrofts. A hay
was hedge, whence cone the Hayes,
the Woodhayes, the Haynes, the Hawes,
the Roupdhayes, the Heywoods, and
others. An acre was piece of culti-
waited land, whence the Akermans, the
Oldacres, the Goodacres, the ongacres,
and the Whittakers. of the Barnes it
is not necessary to speak, but the Booths
were so-called from their habitation of
boughs, as also we're the Boothmans,
the Howers, and the Bowermans. Town
| formerly meant farm, as Wycliffe used
1T with this Specification in his tRansla-
ton of the scriptures, and the Towns,
the Townes, the Towners, and the
Townsends, or the Townsenders, still
remain to perpetuate the name. The
family residence in many parts of
England is still the bury; the Burys,
the Bourrows, the Burroughs, the
Eroughs, aud the Bugges still recall it.
Another form of the same word was
bere, and the Perys, the Berrimans,
and Beers, and the Bearers commemo-
rate the old significance of the word.
Names o. occupations are perhaps
still more common than names o resi-
dences. No doubt to some worker in