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Gordon is a surname with multiple origins, especially Scottish. The masculine given name Gordon is derived from the surname.
Holmes is an English-language surname with several origins.
Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion". As a surname, Neil is traced back to Niall of the Nine Hostages who was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill and MacNeil kindred. Most authorities cite the meaning of Neil in the context of a surname as meaning "champion".
Archer is a surname in the English language.
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.
Dunn is a surname of English and Scottish origins. It has several different origins. Typically the origin of the surname Dunn is from the Middle English dunn, meaning "dark-coloured"; this name originated as a nickname for one with dark hair. Another origin is from a habitative name, derived from Dun in Angus, Scotland; this place name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic dùn, meaning "fort". Another origin is from the Gaelic donn, meaning "brown".
Atkinson is an English-language surname. The name is derived from a patronymic form of the Middle English Atkin. The personal name Atkin is one of many pet forms of the name Adam.
Davidson is a patronymic surname, meaning "son/descendant of David". In the Highlands of Scotland, where the surname is an anglicised version of the Gaelic "mac Daibhidh", Clan Davidson was traditionally a sept of the Clan Chattan Confederation. There are alternate spellings, including those common in the British Isles and Scandinavia: Davidsen, Davisson, Davison, Daveson, Davidsson. While the given name comes from the Hebrew "David", meaning beloved, Davidson is rarely used as a masculine given name or nickname.
Patterson is a surname originating in Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England meaning "son of Patrick". There are other spellings, including Pattison and Pattinson. Notable people with the surname Patterson include:
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".
Bell is a surname common in English speaking countries with several word-origins.
Currie is a surname in the English language. The name has numerous origins.
Lyons is a surname with several origins. It is the name of an eminent Anglo-Norman family that is descended from Ingelram de Lyons, Lord of Lyons, who arrived in England with the Norman Conquest, and from his relation, Nicholas de Lyons, who emigrated from Normandy to England in 1080 and was granted lands at Warkworth, Northamptonshire by William of Normandy. The family originated in the district of the Forest of Lyons, north of the town of Lyons-la-Forêt, in Norman Vexin, where their seat was the Castle of Lyons. The original surname was 'de Lyons' : subsequently, the 'de' was removed from the name, and some branches removed the 's' from the end of the word, producing 'Lyon'.
Johnston is in most cases a toponymic surname derived from several places in Scotland. Historically, the surname has been most common throughout Scotland and Ireland.
Shaw is most commonly a surname and rarely a given name.
Corbett is an English-language surname. It is derived from the Anglo-Norman French, Middle English, and Old French corbet, which is a diminutive of corb, meaning "raven". The surname probably originated from a nickname referring to someone with dark hair or a dark complexion like a raven's. The surname was brought to England from Normandy, and spread to Scotland in the 12th century, and into northern Ireland in the 17th century. Early instances of the name are Corbet in Shropshire, recorded in Domesday Book in 1086; Corbet in Shropshire, recorded in the Assize Rolls of Worcestershire in 1158; and le Corbet in Oxfordshire, recorded in the Eynsham Cartulary in 1323. Variations of the surname include: Corbet, and Corbitt. Corbett is sometimes an Anglicised form of the Irish surnames Ó Corbáin and Ó Coirbín, which mean "descendant of Corbán" and "descendant of Coirbín", respectively.
Richardson is an English surname most commonly found in North East England. The prefix Richard is a given name popularised during the Middle English period derived from the Germanic ric ("power") and hard ("brave"/"hardy"). The suffix -son denotes "son/descendant of". The names Richard and Richardson are found in records as early as 1381 in Yorkshire, England. There are variant spellings including the Swedish Richardsson. People with the name Richardson or its variants include: Dickson, Dixon.
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.
Maxwell is a Scottish surname, a habitational name derived from a location near Melrose, in Roxburghshire, Scotland. This name was first recorded in 1144, as Mackeswell, meaning "Mack's spring ". The surname Maxwell is also common in Ulster, where it has, in some cases, been adopted as alternate form of the Irish surname Miskell. The surname Maxwell is represented in Scottish Gaelic as MacSuail.
Cowley is a surname in the English language.
References
- ↑ "Learn about the family history of your surname", Ancestry.com , retrieved 29 September 2011. For the surnames McQueen, Swain, Sweeney, this website cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 .
- ↑ "Origins of our names". Liverpool Echo. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ↑ name="ancestry"> "Learn about the family history of your surname", Ancestry.com , retrieved 29 September 2011. For the surnames McQueen, Swain, Sweeney, this website cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 .
- ↑ "Learn about the family history of your surname", Ancestry.com , retrieved 29 September 2011. For the surnames Choiniere and Sweeney, this website cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 .
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