Pronunciation | Lewis |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | several origins |
Region of origin | Wales, England, Scotland |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Lewes, Louis, Luis |
Lewis is a surname in the English language. It has several independent origins.
One of the origins of the surname, in England and Wales, is from the Norman personal name Lowis, Lodovicus. This name is from the post-Classical Latin name Ludovicus, the latinized form of the Germanic name Hlūtwīg, meaning "famed battle" (hlūt meaning "loud" or "famous" and wīg meaning "battle"). The name developed into the Old French Clovis, Clouis, and Louis . The name Lowis spread to England through the Normans.
In the United Kingdom Lewis is most commonly associated with Wales, and is a common Welsh Patronym. The name developed as an Anglicised or diminutive form of native Welsh names such as Llywelyn . Among the earliest examples being the Lewis family of Glamorgan in the 1540s. [1] Other derivations include the Gaelic surname Mac Lughaidh, meaning "son of Lughaidh", which has also been Anglicised as Lewis. The surname Lewis is also an Anglicisation of several like-sounding Jewish surnames, [2] such as "Levy" or "Levi", and of the Arab form of the name "Elias".
Lewis is the 4th most common surname in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 6th most common surname in Wales, 16th most common in Jamaica, 22nd most common in England, 24th most common in the United States, 61st most common in Canada and 129th most common in Scotland. [3]
Mills is an English and Scottish occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish Ó Floinn or possibly Mac Floinn, meaning "descendant or son of Flann". The name is more commonly used as a surname than a first name.
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
Gavin is a Celtic male given name. It is the Scottish variation of the medieval Welsh name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk". Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem connected with King Arthur's Round Table. Gawain beheads the Green Knight who promptly replaces his head and threatens Gawain an identical fate the same time next year. Decapitation figures elsewhere: the Italian name Gavino is the name of an early Christian martyr who was beheaded in 300 AD, his head being thrown in the Mediterranean Sea only later reunited and interred with his body.
James is a surname in the French language, and in the English language originating from the given name, itself derived from Old French James, variant form of Jacme, Jame, from Late Latin Jacomus, variant form of Latin Jacobus, itself from Hebrew Yaʿaqōḇ. Notable people with the surname include:
Powell is a surname. It is a patronymic form of the Welsh name Hywel, with the prefix ap meaning "son of", together forming ap Hywel, or "son of Hywel". It is an uncommon name among those of Welsh ancestry. It originates in a dynasty of kings in Wales and Brittany in the 9th and 10th century, and three Welsh royal houses of that time onwards. The House of Tudor, one of the Royal houses of England, also descended from them.
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.
Bird is an English surname, probably deriving from the vertebrates of the same name. Another common variant of this surname is "Byrd."
Morris is a surname of various origins though mostly of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh origin. In 2014, the surname ranked 39 out of 104,537 in England, and 55 out of 400,980 in the USA.
Thomas is a common surname of English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, French, German, Dutch, and Danish origin.
This page lists notable people with the surname Matthews.
Richards is a Celtic Welsh, or Cornish surname based on the English version of the parent's name ending in -S. In 1881 people with this surname were mainly located in Wales, Cornwall and adjacent South-West counties of England. By 1998 many Welsh and Cornish people had migrated to cities in England particularly those adjacent to these areas. The name is derived from the Germanic ric ("power") and hard ("brave"/"hardy").
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.
Jackson is a common surname of Scottish, Irish and English origin eventually becoming a common American surname also. In 1980, Jackson was the 24th most common surname in England and Wales. In the 1990 United States Census, Jackson was the thirteenth most frequently reported surname, accounting for 0.3% of the population.
Phillips is a common patronymic surname of English and Welsh origin that derives from the given name Philip.
Day is an English and Irish surname. Notable people and characters with the surname Day include: