Origin | |
---|---|
Meaning | "Someone who lived in or worked in a hall or manor house" |
Region of origin | England, Scotland |
[1] |
Hall is a surname of English and Scottish borders origin.
The first bearers of the surname Hall came to England in the great wave of migration that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. [2]
The surname Hall was first found in Lincolnshire, England, where the family was granted lands after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Hall family is directly descended from Earl Fitzwilliam, who held a family seat at Greatford Hall in Lincolnshire, after the Norman Conquest. [2] The younger son of this noble house, Arthur FitzWilliam, came to be known as "Hall" so as to distinguish him from his senior brother. Hence, Arthur Hall was the first known bearer of the name, appearing on record about the year 1090. [3]
Many of the Norman noblemen who came to England with William the Conqueror soon grew dissatisfied with William's rule; as such, members of the Hall family accepted land grants from King Malcolm III of Scotland, and became prominent in that country. [2]
In Scotland, the name in Latin was de Aula and accordingly, the first record here was "Waldeu de Aula who witnessed a charter by Walter de Veteri Ponte a. 1200." [4]
Over one hundred years later the English version of the name was in use as "John of the Hall was one of an inquest made at Berwick, 1302 and c. 1311 Thomas dictus del Halle witnessed resignation by Adam de Dowane of his land of Grenryg in the barony of Lesmahagow." [4]
The first Hall of Fulbar in Renfrewshire was Thomas de Aula, surgeon, who for his faithful service obtained from Robert II a grant of land in the tenement of Staneley, barony of Renffrow, 1370." [4]
In northern England and southern Scotland, the Halls (Clan Hall) became one of sixty major riding families of the area known as the English and Scottish Marches, including the Debatable Lands. They were involved in cross-border raids to steal cattle and other property, known as reiving, as many other border clans were. As with the majority of reiving families, they would consider themselves loyal to neither the crowns of England nor Scotland, the family name holding allegiance over all else. [5] [6]
The traditional Scottish homes of Clan Hall were at Redesdale, East Teviotdale, and Liddesdale. Other Halls lived in Aynstrother; Glenryg, in the barony of Lesmahagow; Garvald; Irvide; Glasgow; Sancharmvr, in Preswick; and Perth. There were also large numbers of Clan Hall over the border in England, in what is modern-day Northumberland, where the Hall name remains common.
As recounted in the song "The Death of Parcy Reed", members of Clan Hall betrayed and stand idly by as the Laird of Troughend, Parcy Reed, was murdered by the Crosier Clan. This betrayal added to their reputation as one of the most notorious border clans.
Mad Jack Hall was a well-known member of the Clan.
Today, the name is found throughout the world as a consequence of large scale emigration from England and Scotland from the 16th century onwards. The name is especially common in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Today, with about 181,000 namesakes Hall is the 17th most popular surname in England and Wales. Around the world Halls are most common in Melbourne (one in 582 families), Canberra (one in 590) and Sydney (one in 601). The United States has more Halls than the entire population of Bristol-an estimated total of just over 494,000 makes this their 24th most popular surname. [7]
Mills is an English and Scottish occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Fitzpatrick is an Irish surname that most commonly arose as an anglicised version of the Irish patronymic surname Mac Giolla Phádraig "Son of the Devotee of (St.) Patrick".
Wyatt is a patronymic surname, derived from the Norman surname Guyot, derived from "widu", Proto-Germanic for "wood".
Carr is a common surname in northern England, a variant of Kerr, meaning "brushwood wet ground" in Middle English. The Old Norse kjarr means a "brushwood, thicket or copse" and may also come from the ancient Norse Kjarr translation meaning Kaiser from Caesar Kerr is also a Scottish variant, often from the Norse and from the Gaelic ciar, meaning "dusky". Carr is also a common surname in Ireland, where it often derives from the nickname, gearr, meaning "short of height". In some cases it is thought to come from the Welsh word cawr, meaning giant. Alternatively, in Ireland and Scotland, it may derive from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic cearr meaning pointed spear.
Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red".
Gilchrist is a surname of Gaelic language origins. In many cases it is derived from a Scottish Gaelic name, Gille Chrìost, Gille Chriosd, meaning "servant of Christ". Surnames of similar origins include MacGilchrist and McGilchrist, which are usually derived from Mac Giolla Chriosd or, literally, "son of the servant of Christ". Early, semi-anglicised versions of the surname, recorded include Geilchreist, Gilchryst, Gillchreist, Gillcryst, Mcillchreist and Mylchrest.
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.
Watkins is an English and Welsh surname derived as a patronymic from Watkin, in turn a diminutive of the name Watt, a popular Middle English given name itself derived as a pet form of the name Walter.
Bailey is an English or Scottish surname. It is first recorded in Northumberland, where it was said to have been changed from Balliol due to the unpopularity of Scottish king John Balliol. There appears to be no historical evidence for this, and Bain concludes that the earliest form was Baillie or Bailli . The origin of the name is most likely from Anglo-Norman bailli, the equivalent of bailiff; bailie remains a regional Scottish variant of the term bailiff. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Norman name may have been locational, derived from Bailleul-En-Vimeu in Normandy.
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
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.
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.
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).
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.
Porter is an English surname and also a given name. The name originates as an Old French occupational name, portier (gatekeeper), or porteour. Its earliest public record is 1086 at Winchester Castle. With transferred use, Porter also became a unisex given name with varied popularity. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Porter ranked #433 in 1907, declined to #1002 in 1944, and then rebounded to #476 in 2006.
Crawford is a surname and a given name of English and Scottish origins.
Webb is an English and Scottish surname meaning weaver of cloth.
Quinn is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Coinn or Mac Cuinn. The latter surname means "descendant of Conn". The surname Quinn is also rendered Ó Cuinn or Mac Cuinn in Irish. The surname is borne by several unrelated families in Ireland, especially in the northern province of Ulster and also the counties of Clare, Longford, and Mayo. According to the historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Quins were part of the Conmaicne Rein tribe in Ireland who came from the Erainn tribe who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland from about 500 and 100 BC. The most notable family of the name are that of Thomond, a Dalcassian sept, who derive their surname from Niall Ó Cuinn who was slain at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. This family was formerly represented by the Earls of Dunraven. Another family is that seated in Annaly, who were related to the O'Farrell lords of Longford. Another Quinn family was seated at An Chraobh, County Tyrone and they were related to the O'Neill Kings of Tír Eoghain and for whom they acted as Hereditary Quartermasters. Other families include one seated in Antrim; one seated in Raphoe; and one called Clann Cuain, seated near Castlebar. In the seventeenth century, the surname Quinn was common in Waterford. In 1890, the surname was numerous in Dublin, Tyrone, Antrim, and Roscommon. Quinn is one of the twenty most common surnames in Ireland. The surname Quinn is sometimes associated with Catholics, while Quin is associated with Protestants.