The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1886-07-17
Family Names.
ST. Louis Globe Democrat.

introduction, gave such names as At.
wood, Byford, Byatt. Another class oi
names arose from the practice of ap.
pending to the name termination in.
dicative of the place of residence. Thus
the rustic often became known among
his acquaintance as Robert the Field,
or Fielder, or Filder; if he lived in a
forest, he was a Wooderer, or Wood, OF
Woodman; if by the church, he was
Churchman, or, in Scotland Kirkham
if by monastery, Temple, or Temple
man, or Templer; if by the cross, to be
found in every village, he was Cross, or
Crossman, or Croucher, or Crouchman ;
if by the bridge, he became Bridger or
Bridgeman. From similar reasons came
the names Brooks, Brookman, Wells,
Wellman, Beecher, Beechman, Holly
wood, Oker and many others. The
word hurst or hirst is often found as a
part of proper name. 1t originally
meant wood, and the compounds form
ed with it are numerous. If hazels are
about it is Hazelhurst; if lindens, it is
Lyndhurst; and Brockelhurst is often
found, it is Hawkhurst, and Brockel-
hurst is often seen for badgerwoods,
Deerhurst for deer forest, the proper
names of men following these appella-
tions.
The holt was less extensive forest
than the hurst, and from it we have
Aldershot, Oakshot and Bagshot. A
shaw was small woody covert, a COM
mon shelter for game, and it remains
in our language as Hindshaw, Cock
shaw, Henshaw, or Hernshaw and Earn
shaw, an abreviation of Heronshaw. In
old English den was sunken cover
or shelter for animals, usually of the
more ferocious kinds, and so we have
Wolfenden, Harden or Hareden, Buck
den, Ramden and Rewden or Reeden.
The names of the domestic animals are
found in Horseden, Oxenden, Cowden,
Borden, Sowden and Ogden, or Hog
den. While the den gave shelter the
lea afforded pasture for both wild and
tame, and we thus have Horseley, Cow
ley and Kinley, Sheepley from Sheep
lea, Buckley and Hindley. The nature
of the surrounding trees gives Ashley,
Lindley, Elmsley and Oakley.
Some of the surnames of men indi-
cate the clearings that were made in the
forests. Thus, rod or rood was a
cleared place in the woods, whence we
have Acroods, where the acorn trees
have been taken away, Lindrood, Holy
rood and others of this kind. A greave
was woodland avenue graved or carv-
ed out of the forest, the idea of cutting
being still preserved in our grave. Thus
we find Hargrave, where the hares were
numerous; Congrave, where the same
was true of the cronies, and Bargreave,
indicating the former profusion of bears.
A slade was small strip of open land
in forest, and thus came Grenslade
and Whitslade. A lande was rich
piece of grassy, but uncultured ground
surrounded by trees, and hence the
Launders, the Landes, the Lowndes and
the Laundes. A knowl was small,
skull-shaped hill, whence the Knowles,
Knowlings. The home was meadow
land lying about the winding of a stream,
and from it are derived the Holmers
and the Holmans.
The clough was formerly narrow fis-
sure between the hills, and the proper
name was thence derived, while the
Cliffes, the Cleve, the Clevelands, the
SATELLITES, the Netherclifies, Topcliffes,
Redcliffes, the Radcliffes, the Stone
cliffes, RookcliffeS and Mardcliffes are
all from the same source. A dune was
a hillyslope, and the Dams came from
such locality, while a combe was the
cup-shaped depression of the hillside
whence we have Cumberland, New
combe and Slocome, with one hundred
others. Any prominence of earth or
rock was cop, or cope. Hence come
Copes, the Copleys, the Copelands and
the Copestakes. Cob was but another
form of the same word, whence come
the Cobbs, the Cobhams, the Cobwells,
the Cobdens and the CobleyS.
Some of the trees have given family
names to quite number of distinguish
ed families. The Nashes once lived
near ash trees, the Naides close to alders
while the origin of the Nokes, the
Beeches, the Lings and Lindenwoods,
the Lindenhurst and the BircheS is equal
ly plain. But other rural objects also
contributed their share to the names of
families. A common English site is the
park gate which is often conspicuous
from afar, and the Lindgates, the Flood
gates, the Parkgates and the Rirgates
still testify to the original occupations
of the founders of the families bearing
those names. A herne was any nook or
corner of land, so those who lived there
became known as the Hearnes, while a
gore was a narrow defile in the noun
tains and gave name to those living
near it.
A croft was an enclosed pasture, and
has given us the Meadowcrofts, the Rye
crofts and the Haycrofts. A hay was
bridge, whence comes the Hayes, the
Woodhayes, the Haynes, the Hewes,
the Rundhayes, Heywoods and others.
An acre was a piece of cultivated land,
whence the Akermans, the Oldacres, the
Goodacres, the Longacres, and the
Whittakers. Of the Barnes it was not
necessary to speak, but the Booths were
so called from their habitation ofboughs,
as were also the Boothmans, the Bowers
and the Bowermans. Town formerly
meant farm, as Wyclife used it with
this signifcation in his translation o1
the scriptures, and the Towns, the
Townes, the Towners and the Townsend:
or the Townsenders still remain to per
petuate the name. The family residence
in many parts of England is still the
bury; the Burys, the Bourrows, the Bur,
roughs, the Broughs and the Bugges still
recall it. Another form of the same
word was here, and the Berrys, the Ber
rimans and the Beers and the Bearer:
commemorate the old significance of the
word.
Names of occupation are perhaps still
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