, 1885-05-16
Derivation OF Family NAMES.
Common Method. Of BestowinE surnAmss
In Old Engiiah Time.

l~llIouuNAiou, kANt ouCu utllto Us Al
wood, Byford and Byatt. Another class
of lanes arose from the practice Of ap-
pending TO the name n termination indi-
catiye Of the place Of residence. Thus
the rustic often became known among
his acquaintances a Robert the Field,
or Fielder, Filder; il he lived in a forest,
he was Woodyer, or Wood, or Wood
man; II by the church, he was Church
man, or, in Scotland, Kirkman; If by a
monastery, Temple, or Templeman. or
every village, he was Cross,
or CroSsman, or Croucher, 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
hirst is often found as a part of a proper
name. 1t originally meant wood, and
the compounds formed with it are nu-
merous. II hazels about, it IS Hazel
hurst: il lindens, il is L%yndhurst; IL
hawks are often found, it is Hawkhurst,
and Brockelhurst is often seen for bad
gerwoods: Deerhurst for n deer forest,
the proper names of men following
these appellhtions.
The holt was a less extensive forest
than the hurst, and from il 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 abreviation OF Heronshaw. In old
English, q den was a sunken covert or
.A.1Nn- To- .,g.,.1a ..-.,u11.~ - t1. u.nra
ferocious kinds, and so We have VOL
fenden, Harden, or Hareden, Buckden,
Ramden, and Rowden, or Roeden. The
names Of the domestic animals are
found in Horsden, Oxenden, Cowden,
Borden, Sowden, and Ogden, or Hog
den. While the den gave shelter the
and tame, and we thus have Horseley,
Sheeplea, Buckley, and Hindley. The
Ashley, Lndley, Elmsley, and Oakley.
Some Of the of men indi-
cate the clearings that were made in the
forests. Thus, n rod or rood was 4
cleared place in the woods, whence we
have Acroyds, where the acorn trees
have been taken away, Lindrood, Hol-
A0kAH hhA ~ Vi AAAAN hAAAAs "A
greaye was a woodland avenue graved
or carved out Of the forest, tho idea OF
cutting being still preserved in our
grave. Thus We find Hargrave, where
the hares were numerous; Congreaye,
where the came was true Of the comics,
and Pargreave, indicating the former
profusion OF bears. A slade was a
small strip Of open land in a 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 a small, skull-shaped hill,
whence our Knowles, KnowleTs. and
Knowlings. The holme was a meadow
land lying about the windings Of a
stream, and from it are derived the
Holmers and the Holmans.
The clough was formerly a narrow
fssure between the hills, and the proper
name was thence derived, while the
Cliffes, the Gives, the Cleves, the
Clevelands, the SATELLITES, Netherclifes,
Topliffs, Redcliffes, the Radcliffes, the
Stonecliffes, Rockliffes, and Hardcliffes
are all from the same source. A dune
was a billy slope, and the Duns came
from such n locality, while a 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 a cop, oil
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 Washes once
lived neal ash trees, the Naiders close
to alders, while the origin of the Nokes,
the Beeches, the Linds and Linden
woods, the Lindhurts and the Birches
is equally plain. But other rural oh
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 Rirkates still testify to the originRl
occupations of the founders OF the fam.
lilies bearing those names. A hearn,
wa any nook or corner Of land, 81
those who lived there became known a,
the Hearnes, while a gore was a mar
row defle in the mountains. aud gave 8
name to those living near it.
A croft was an inclosed pasture, and
has given us the Meadowcrofts, the
R~yecrofts, and the Haycrofts. A hay
was a hedge, whence come the Hayes
the Woodhayes, the Haynes, the Halves
the Roundhayes, the Heywoods, anc
others. An acre was n piece Of cult
waited land, whence the Akermans, the
Oldacres, the Goodanres, the Longacres,
and the Whitaker. OF tho Barnes il
is not necessary to speak, but the Booths
were so-called from their habitation Of
boughs, az also were the Boothmans,
the Powers, and the Bowermans. Town
formerly smeant farm, as Wycliffe used
it 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, thu
Broughs, and the Bugges still recall it
Another form of the same word wa
bere, and the Berrys, the Berrimans,
and Beers, and the Bearers commemo
rate the old significance of the word.
Names of occupations are perhapl
atill more common than names OF resi-
dences. No doubt to some worker il
metals we owe the Hammers, to somI
dealer in earthenware our Pottes AM
Kettles, to a halter Jul HATS, while tn
origin OF Basket, Last, Cheeses, Flows
Tubbs, Cades, Barriis and Puncheons
equally obllvious.