Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presumably in the belief it is a Welsh patronymic in origin, for which there is no evidence, was that it is a corruption of "Ap Lake", meaning "Son of Lake".
Donaldson is a Scottish and Irish patronymic surname meaning "son of Donald". It is a simpler Anglicized variant for the name MacDonald. Notable people with the surname include:
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.
Dunn is a surname of English and Scottish origins. It has several different origins. Typically the origin of the surname Dunn is from the Middle English dunn, meaning "dark-coloured"; this name originated as a nickname for one with dark hair. Another origin is from a habitative name, derived from Dun in Angus, Scotland; this place name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic dùn, meaning "fort". Another origin is from the Gaelic donn, meaning "brown".
Cole is a surname of English origin, and is also now used as a given name. It is of Middle English origin, and its meaning is "swarthy, coal-black, charcoal".
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
- English and Scottish: A patronymic surname based on the English and Scottish name Colin, an English diminutive form of Nicholas.
- Norse: From the Old Norse personal name "Kollungr", a form of "koli" which in Old English became 'Cola', meaning swarthy or dark.
- Irish: The medieval surname was Ua Cuiléin, which has usually become Ó Coileáin today.
- Welsh: Collen; "hazel, hazel grove".
Mason is an occupational surname of Scottish and English origin, with variations also found in Italian and French, historically referring to someone who performed stonemasonry work. The surname Mason was originally brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Mason is for a stone-mason. The name was originally derived from the Old English or Old French word masson.
Bell is a surname common in English speaking countries with several word-origins.
Hughes is an English language surname.
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").
Grant is an English, Scottish, and French surname derived from the French graund meaning 'tall' or 'large'. It was originally a nickname given to those with remarkable size.
Ferguson is an Anglicization of the Scots Gaelic "Macfhearghus", a patronymic form of the personal name Fergus which translates as son of the angry (one).
Rowland is an English surname.
Kelly is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a partially anglicised version of older Irish names and 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.
Thompson is a surname of English, Irish and Scottish origin which is a variant of Thomson, meaning 'son of Thom'. An alternative origin may be geographical, arising from the parish of Thompson in Norfolk. During the Plantation period, settlers carried the name to Ireland. Thom(p)son is also the English translation of MacTavish, which is the Anglicised version of the Gaelic name MacTamhais.
Crawford is a surname and a given name of English and Scottish origins.
Sheridan is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin 'descendant of Sirideáin', a given name meaning 'to seek'. Originating in County Longford, the Sheridans were erenaghs of Granard, but in the County Cavan served the O'Reillys.
Webb is an English and Scottish surname meaning weaver of cloth.
Oliver is a surname derived from the personal name Oliver. The Scottish Oliver family was a sept of the Scotland Highlands' powerful Clan Fraser of Lovat. There are many different Oliver families in North America.
