Spence (surname)

Last updated

Spence is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Related Research Articles

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".

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.

The surname Aitken is derived from the Lowland Scots personal name Aitken, which is in turn a form of the name Adam. At the time of the British Census of 1881, its frequency was highest in Peeblesshire, followed by Linlithgowshire, Haddingtonshire, Stirlingshire, Fife, Dunbartonshire, Clackmannanshire, Shetland, Edinburghshire and Ayrshire.

Blair is a Scots-English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Gardiner is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbell (surname)</span> Surname list

Campbell is a Scottish surname —derived from the Gaelic roots cam ("crooked") and beul ("mouth")—that had originated as a nickname meaning "crooked mouth" or "wry mouthed." Clan Campbell, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans, traces its origins to the ancient Britons of Strathclyde. Between 1200 and 1500 the Campbells emerged as one of the most powerful families in Scotland, dominant in Argyll and capable of wielding a wider influence and authority from Edinburgh to the Hebrides and western Highlands.

Gregory is an English, Scottish and Slovenian surname, variants of the name include McGregor, MacGregor, Gregor, Gregson, Gregg, Grigg, Greig and may refer to:

Burrows is an English surname, and may refer to:

Simpson is an English/Scottish patronymic surname from the medieval masculine given name 'Simme', a medieval variant of 'Simon'. The earliest public record of the name was in 1353 in Staffordshire, West Midlands region of England.

Christie is a surname of Scottish origin.

Sutherland is a Scottish surname which may refer to:

Chisholm is a Scottish surname. Although derived from a place near Hawick in southern Scotland, it later became established in the Highlands, where it was Gaelicised as Siosal.

Skinner is a surname. It is an occupational surname of English origin, from the Old Norse word 'skinn', denoting someone who stripped the hide from animals, to be used in the production of fur clothing or leather.

Major and Majors are surnames.

This surname has two distinct and separate origins: