Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". Hob was a diminutive of Robert, itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name Hrod-berht, translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spelling was introduced to England after the Norman conquest of England.
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.
Byrne is an Irish surname and less commonly a given name. It is derived from the Gaelic Ó Broin or Ó Beirn, which are also linked to the surname O'Byrne.
Melville is a surname and a given name.
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".
Wilkinson is an English surname of Norman origin. It is a variant of Williamson, derived from a variant of William, Wilkin, brought to the Anglo-Scottish border during the Norman conquest. At the time of the British Census of 1881, the relative frequency of the surname Wilkinson was highest in Westmorland, followed by Yorkshire, County Durham, Lincolnshire, Cumberland, Northumberland, Lancashire, Cheshire and Nottinghamshire. People named Wilkinson include:
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.
Curry is a common surname used in Ireland, Scotland and England. Currey is a less common variant. In England and Scotland, is it thought to derive from local place names and, in Scotland, also possibly from MacMhuirrich.
Carter is a family name, and also may be a given name. Carter is of Irish, Scottish and English origin and is an occupational name given to one who transports goods by cart or wagon and ultimately of Celtic derivation from the word "cairt" meaning cart, which is still used in Gaelic. This Celtic term has roots in the Proto-Indo-European word "kars" or "kart", which referred to a wheeled vehicle. It may also appear as an English reduced form of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic derived McCarter or the Scottish-Gaelic Mac Artair with Mc meaning "son of." Its appearance and pronunciation as Carter may also be the Anglicized form of the Irish Mac Artúir, Cuirtéir, Cartúir, Cartúr, or Ó Cuirtéir. The name is also related to the Latin carettarius meaning "cart driver" which was influenced by Celtic terminology and evolved into Norman French as "caretier." In Gaelic, the word "cairt" retained the meaning of "cart," and is used in a context that was familiar to and influenced by its earlier Celtic roots.
Dean is an English surname; it can also be of Scottish and Irish origin. A variant of this surname is Deane.
Martin may either be a given name or surname. In Scotland, Martin or McMartin is a common surname of Scottish Gaelic origin. Martin is, however, more common as a masculine given name in many languages and cultures. It comes from the Latin name Martinus, which is a late derived form of the name of the Roman god Mars, protective godhead of the Latins and, therefore, god of war. The meaning is usually rendered in reference to the god as "of Mars" or "of war/warlike" ("martial"). Alternatively, it may also be derived from the Proto-Germanic elements "mar", meaning famous and "tank", meaning thought, counsel.
Owen is usually an anglicised variant of the Welsh personal name Owain. Originally a patronymic, Owen became a fixed surname in Wales beginning with the reign of Henry VIII. Etymologists consider it to originate from Eugene, meaning 'noble-born'. According to T. J. Morgan and Prys Morgan in Welsh Surnames: "the name is a derivation of the Latin Eugenis > OW Ou[u]ein, Eug[u]ein ... variously written in MW as Ewein, Owein, Ywein. LL gives the names Euguen, Iguein, Yuein, Ouein. The corresponding form in Irish is Eoghan." Morgan and Morgan note that there are less likely alternative explanations, and agree with Rachel Bromwich that Welsh Owein "is normally latinised as Eugenius", and that both the Welsh and Irish forms are Latin derivatives.
Forrest is a surname of English and Scottish origins. This name derives from the Old French "forest". The word was introduced by the Normans, and referred to a Royal Forest. Variants include Forest, De Forest, De Forrest, DeForest and DeForrest. Forrest is associated with Clan Forrester and Clan Douglas. Variants of the name are first recorded in England in the early 13th century. Hugh de Foresta is mentioned in the Curia Regis rolls in 1204. There was a Templar knight, Guy de Foresta, who was Master of the Temple, n 1290–1294. One Adam ate forest appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Kent in 1300. In Scotland the name is first mentioned in the Morton Register of 1376 where William de Forest is found in Newlands, Scottish Borders. Morgan de Forest is found in Aberdeen in 1402, and a William of Forest was physician to the Queen in 1430. In 1505 John Forrest is recorded as succeeding his father John as owner of Gamelshiel castle in East Lothian. The name is first recorded in Ireland in 1566 where Piers Forest was a merchant in Cork. The Forrest baronets of Comiston in Edinburgh had a coat of arms containing three oak trees and the motto "vivunt dum virent". The prominent pioneer family of Western Australia, including Sir John Forrest, also have this motto and similar arms in their history.
Harvey is an English and Scots family and given name derived from the Old Breton personal name Huiarnviu, derived from the elements hoiarn, huiarn meaning "iron" and viu meaning "blazing". An alternative elemental derivation has been theorized in which origination is from haer + vy meaning "battle/carnage worthy". It is related to Old Welsh Haarnbiu. An altogether separate origin in Ireland has been theorized where Harvey is an anglicization of the Gaelic personal name Ó hAirmheadhaigh, which is itself possibly related to the name of a mythical physician, Airmheadh.
Drake is an Old English surname of Latin origin.
Cassidy is a common Irish surname and is sometimes used as a given name. The surname translates to "descendant of Caiside". Variations include: Cassady, Cassiday, Cassedy, Casadei and Cassedey. The family was originally a Munster sept called Uí Chaisín but in the 12th century a branch moved to Devenish Island in County Fermanagh, where they became a medical and poetic family, hereditary physicians to the Maguires.
Donnelly is an Irish surname. Also used as: O’Donnelly or Donley. It is derived from the Gaelic Ó Donnghaile meaning 'descendant of Donnghal', a given name composed of the elements donn and gal ('valour'). O'Donnelly was historically of the Northern Uí Néill's Cenél nEoghain, descended from Donnghal, the great-grandson of Domhnall, King of Ailech.
Berry is a surname with numerous etymological origins.
Reilly is an Irish surname, and is derived from the Gaelic Ó Raghallaigh Sept that was based in Counties Cavan and Westmeath. Reilly is among the ten most frequently found surnames in Ireland and although they are very widespread they can be mostly found in the region of the ancestral homeland. The Riley spelling is an anglicized version and not found originally in Ireland.
