Thornton (surname)

Last updated

Thornton is a surname found in Ireland and Britain.

Contents

Bearers of the surname

Fictional characters

First name

Related Research Articles

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.

The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:

  1. English and Scottish: A patronymic surname based on the English and Scottish name Colin, an English diminutive form of Nicholas.
  2. Norse: From the Old Norse personal name "Kollungr", a form of "koli" which in Old English became 'Cola', meaning swarthy or dark.
  3. Irish: The medieval surname was Ua Cuiléin, which has usually become Ó Coileáin today.
  4. Welsh: Collen; "hazel, hazel grove".

Bell is a surname common in English speaking countries with several word-origins.

Allen is a Celtic surname, originating in Ireland, and common in Scotland, Wales and England. It is a variation of the surname MacAllen and may be derived from two separate sources: Ailin, in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, means both "little rock" and "harmony", or it may also be derived from the Celtic Aluinn, which means "handsome". Variant spellings include Alan, Allan, etc. The noble family of this surname, from which a branch went to Portugal, is descended of one Alanus de Buckenhall.

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

Dillon is an Irish surname of Breton origin, descending from a cadet branch of Viscomte de Leon in Northern Brittany. It first appeared in Ireland with the arrival of Sir Henry de Leon, in the service of Prince John in 1185. Sir Henry married Maud de Courcy, daughter of Sir John de Courcy and Affrica Guðrøðardóttir. Awarded large tracts of land by in Meath and Westmeath, one of the Dillons’ first Mott & Baileys can still be found at Dunnamona before the establishment of stone structures such as Portlick Castle.

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.

Keith is a given name of Gaelic origin. It means "wood" or "from the battleground" and shares the same derivation as Clan Keith. The surname derives from a toponym, Keith Marischal in East Lothian, possibly containing the Brittonic element cet "woods, forest." Keith was the 298th most common name given to newborn boys in the United States in 2007.

Kerr is an English and Scottish surname, a topographic name for someone who lived by a marsh or swampy woodland. Middle English kerr means ‘brushwood wet ground.’ See Clan Kerr for the Scottish origins.

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burke</span> Surname list

Burke is a Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh had the surname de Burgh, which was gaelicised in Irish as de Búrca and over the centuries became Búrc, then Burke, and Bourke.

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.

Crawford is a surname and a given name of English and Scottish origins.

Peters is a patronymic surname of Low German, Dutch, and English origin. It can also be an English translation of Gaelic Mac Pheadair or an Americanized form of cognate surnames like Peeters or Pieters.

Phillips is a common patronymic surname of English and Welsh origin that derives from the given name Philip.

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

Leach is a surname, originally denoting a physician. Notable people with the surname include: