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".
Nicholson is a Germanic and Scottish surname. It is a patronymic form of the given name Nichol, which was a common medieval form of Nicholas.
Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. It has also been noted to be a Jewish surname.
Anderson is a surname deriving from a patronymic meaning "son of Ander/Andrew".
Bates is a common surname of English origin and is derived from the name Bartholomew. The name could also originate from the Old English "Bat", meaning "Boat", as used to identify a person whose occupation was boatman. Another origin is that which means "lush pasture", describing someone who lived near such a place.
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.
Welch is a surname that comes from the Old English word welisċ, meaning ‘foreign’.
Graham is a surname of Scottish and English origin. It is typically an Anglo-French form of the name of the town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England. The settlement is recorded in the 11th century Domesday Book variously as Grantham, Grandham, Granham and Graham. This place name is thought to be derived from the Old English elements grand, possibly meaning "gravel", and ham, meaning "hamlet" the English word given to small settlements of smaller size than villages.
Edwards is a patronymic surname of English origin, meaning "son of Edward". Edwards is the 14th most common surname in Wales and 21st most common in England. Within the United States, it was ranked as the 49th-most common surname as surveyed in 1990, falling to 51st in 2014.
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").
Howell is a surname and given name originating from Wales. As a surname, it is not particularly common among those of Welsh ancestry, as it is an anglicized form of the Welsh name Hywel. It originates in a dynasty of kings in Wales and Brittany in the 9th and 10th centuries, most notably king Hywel Dda and three Welsh royal houses of that time onwards. The royal House of Tudor was also descended from them. Today, nearly 200,000 people bear this surname.
Hunt is an occupational surname related with hunting, originating in England and Ireland. In Estonia, the surname Hunt is also very common, meaning wolf in the Estonian language.
Harrison is a common patronymic surname of Northern English origin. It means "son of Harry" or "Herry", representing the Middle English pronunciation of the given name Henry. It was in use by the 14th century. It may also be spelt Harrisson, Harryson or Harrysson. Henrison also appears historically but is now rare. Early records suggest that the surnames Harrison and Harris were used interchangeably by some families.
Crawford is a surname and a given name of English and Scottish origins.
Drake is an Old English surname of Latin origin.
Oliver is a masculine given name of Old French and Medieval British origin. The name has been generally associated with the Latin term olivarius, meaning "olive tree planter", or "olive branch bearer" Olive is a symbol of hope, so this name literally means - ''the one who carries hope''. Other proposed origins include the Germanic names *wulfa- "wolf" and *harja- "army"; the Old Norse Óleifr ; a genuinely West Germanic name, perhaps from ala- "all" and wēra "true" ; the Anglo-Saxon Alfhere; and the Greek name Eleutherios.
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.
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