Origin | |
---|---|
Language(s) | Old English |
Meaning | "noble stone", "elf stone", "old stone", "shrine stone", "temple stone" |
Region of origin | British Isles |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Allston, Alstone, Alliston, Elliston, Elystone |
Alston is an English language surname with several derivations, and a male given name.
The name may have evolved from the Middle English given name "Alstan", the prefix, Al- itself derived from different Old English words ("noble", "elf", "old", "shrine", "temple"), and the suffix -stan ("stone") derived from pre 7th century Old English. The oldest public record of this derivation is found in 1279 in Cambridgeshire. One branch of this name may have been taken from the manor of a Saxon Lord called Alstanus, who had his manor in Stambourne, North East Essex. It is known that he was still in possession of the manor after the Norman conquest, although as a tenant rather than owner, he held the land annexed against the King. There are a high density of families with the surname Alston and Alliston from around the Sudbury area, not far from Stambourne. In the 1224 feet of fines it is recorded that John son of Adam de Alliston sold land at Stanfeld (Stansfield) Suffolk. Stansfield is a few miles North of Stambourne. Both Stambourne and Stansfield may have taken their name from Æthelstan Half-King, Earl of East Anglia in the 930s.[ citation needed ]
Alston also evolved as a locational surname from villages named Alston (or Alstone) in Devonshire, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Somerset, and Staffordshire. The oldest public records of the locational surname in these villages are from the period of 1221–1246. [1] An alternate meaning is "from the old manor". The nearest locational name to Stambourne was Alston village in Suffolk near Trimley St Martin, recorded in the Domesday Book as Alteinestuna. The original meaning may have been Stone of Fire Farm (tuna). Alteines is a Gallic word meaning "stone of fire" and is associated with sorcery. The church was consolidated to Trimley St Martin in 1362. [2]
The coat of arms containing the stars may have been taken as a variant of the coat of arms of the De Veres (Earls of Oxford) who were one of the most powerful post Norman East Anglian families and associated with early East Anglian Alstons.[ citation needed ]
Notable people with the name include:
Manning is a family name.
Murray is both a Scottish and an Irish surname with two distinct respective etymologies. The Scottish version is a common variation of the word Moray, an anglicisation of the Medieval Gaelic word Muireb ; the b here was pronounced as v, hence the Latinization to Moravia. These names denote the district on the south shore of the Moray Firth, in Scotland. Murray is a direct transliteration of how Scottish people pronounce the word Moray. The Murray spelling is not used for the geographical area, which is Moray, but it became the commonest form of the surname, especially among Scottish emigrants, to the extent that the surname Murray is now much more common than the original surname Moray. See also Clan Murray.
Dykes is a British surname which is thought to originate from the hamlet of Dykesfield in Burgh-by-Sands, Cumbria in the north of England. Due to its close proximity to the English and Scottish borders, the surname Dykes has also been found in Scottish lowlands throughout the ages. The first family to bear the surname are said to have lived in the area prior to William the Conqueror's Norman conquest of England, with the oldest surviving written document placing them in Dykesfield at the end of the reign of Henry III. The family took their surname from Hadrian's Wall, also referred to in some texts as Hadrian's Dyke. The great wall crossed Great Britain from the mouth of the Tyne to the Solway Firth and forms part of the border for Dykesfield.
Orr is a surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic Odhar meaning "dark, pale". In Scotland, Orr may be a sept of Clan Campbell.
Melville is a surname and a given name.
Gray is a surname that can come from a variety of origins but is typically found in Scotland, Ireland and England.
Gardner is a surname of English, Scottish and Irish origin. Most sources say it is an occupational surname that comes from the word "gardener". Other sources claim that it is derived from the old English words gar-dyn meaning "warrior", "one who bears arms". In Ireland, the surname is an anglicized form of the Gaelic MacGairnéir. Variants include Gardyner, Gardener, Gardenar, Gardinier, Gardiner, and Gardner; the last two are the most common today.
Little is a surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Middle English littel and the Old English lȳtel, which means "little." In some cases, the name was originally a nickname for a little man. In other cases, the name was used to distinguish the younger of two bearers of the same personal name. Early records of the name include: Litle, in 972; Litle, in about 1095; and le Lytle, in 1296. The surname has absorbed several non English-language surnames. For example, Little is sometimes a translation of the Irish Ó Beagáin, meaning "descendant of Beagán." Little can also be a translation of the French Petit and Lepetit, as well as other surnames in various languages with the same meaning ("little"), especially the German name Klein during World War II.
Buckley is a surname originating from either Ireland or England where it is particularly common, as well as Canada and the United States.
Scott is a surname of Scottish origin. It is first attributed to Uchtredus filius Scoti who is mentioned in the charter recording the foundation of Holyrood Abbey and Selkirk in 1120, the border Riding clans who settled Peeblesshire in the 10th century and the family lineage of the Duke of Buccleuch.
The surname Burns has several origins. In some cases, it derived from the Middle English or Scots burn, and originated as a topographic name for an individual who lived by a stream. In other cases the surname is a variant form of the surname Burnhouse, which originated as a habitational name, derived from a place name made up of the word elements burn and house. In other cases the surname Burns originated as a nickname meaning "burn house". In other cases, the surname Burns is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Broin, which means "descendant of Bran". In some cases the surname Burns is an Americanized form of the Jewish surname Bernstein, which is derived from the German bernstein ("amber").
Thomson is a patronymic surname meaning "son of Thom, Thomp, Thompkin, or other diminutive of Thomas", itself derived from the Aramaic תום or Tôm, meaning "twin". The surname is documented in Cheshire records before and after the 1066 Norman Conquest. Variations include Thomason, Thomasson, Thomerson, Thomoson, and others. The French surname Thomson is first documented in Burgundy and is the shortened form for Thom[as]son, Thom[es]son. Variations include Thomassin, Thomason, Thomsson, Thomesson, Thomeson, and others. Thomson is uncommon as a given name.
Baker is a common surname of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) origin and Scotland where Gaelic was anglicized. From England the surname has spread to neighbouring countries such as Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and also to the English speaking areas of the Americas and Oceania where it is also common. The gaelic form of Baker in Scotland and Ireland is Mac a' Bhacstair. Some people with the surname have used DNA to trace their origins to Celtic countries and specifically to the Baxter sept of the Clan MacMillan in Scotland. It is an occupational name, which originated before the 8th century CE, from the name of the trade, baker. From the Middle English bakere and Old English bæcere, a derivation of bacan, meaning "to dry by heat". The bearer of this name may not only have been a baker of bread. The name was also used for others involved with baking in some way, including the owner of a communal oven in humbler communities. The female form of the name is Baxter, which is seen more in Scotland. The German form of the name is Bäcker.
Kelly is a surname in the English language. The name has numerous origins, most notably from the Ui Maine. In some cases it is derived from toponyms located in Ireland and Great Britain, in other cases it is derived from patronyms in the Irish language.
Russell, also Rosel, Rousel, Russel or Rossell. The origin of the name has historically been subject to disagreement, with two distinct origins proposed. Early genealogists traced the Russel/Russell family of Kingston Russel from Anglo-Norman landholders bearing the toponymic surname 'de Rosel' or 'du Rozel', deriving from Rosel, Calvados, Normandy. However, J. Horace Round observed that these flawed pedigrees erroneously linked toponymic-bearing men with unrelated men who instead bore the Anglo-Norman nickname rus[s]el, given men with red hair. This nickname was a diminutive of the Norman-French rus, meaning 'red', and was also an archaic name for the red fox, which in turn borrowed from Old Norse rossel, "red-haired, from Old Norse ros "red hair color" and the suffix -el. Round concluded "there is no reason to suppose that the surname Russell was territorial at all," and surname dictionaries have preferred to derive the surname from the nickname. Dictionaries also state that the English name Rufus originally meant "red haired".
Burnett is a Scottish surname. It is derived from a nickname from the Old French burnete, brunette, which is a diminutive of brun meaning "brown", "dark brown". Another proposed origin of the name is from burnete, a high quality wool cloth originally dyed to a dark brown colour.
Cowan is a surname of both Scottish-Irish and Jewish origins.
Hoy is an English, Scottish and Irish surname. The Irish origin of the name is derived from "Ó hEochaidh". Other surnames developed from "Ó hEochaidh" include: McKeogh, Kehoe, Hoey, Haughey, Haugh and Hough. Hoy is sometimes considered to be a variant of Haughey, and it is very common in Ulster. The first recording of the surname in Ireland is of one Elizabeth, daughter of Leuise and Martha Hoy, on February 8, 1646 at Holy Trinity (Christchurch), Cork.
Wade is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin. It is thought to derive from the Middle English given name "Wade," which itself derived from the pre-7th century Old English verb "wadan" (wada) meaning "to go", or as a habitational name from the Old English word "(ge)waed" meaning "ford".
This article lists the origins of the Alliston surname found mainly in Essex and Suffolk. It also mentions the Liston and Alston variants which can also be traced to the same area but which also have origins in other locations. It is basically a timeline of events and people from the earliest recordings of the surnames.