Toponymic surname

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A toponymic surname or habitational surname or byname is a surname or byname derived from a place name, [1] [2] which included names of specific locations, such as the individual's place of origin, residence, or lands that they held, or, more generically, names that were derived from regional topographic features. [3] Surnames derived from landscape/topographic features are also called topographic surnames, [2] e.g., de Montibus, de Ponte/Da Ponte/Dupont, de Castello, de Valle/del Valle, de Porta, de Vinea. [3]

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Some toponymic surnames originated as personal by-names that later were used as hereditary family names.

The origins of toponymic by-names have been largely attributed to two non-mutually exclusive trends. One linked the nobility to their places of origin and feudal holdings and provided a marker of their status. The other related to the growth of the burgher class in the cities, which partly developed due to migration from the countryside to cities. Also linked was the increased popularity of using the names of saints for naming new-borns, which reduced the pool of given-names in play and stimulated a popular demand (and personal desire) for by-names—which were helpful in distinguishing an individual among increasing numbers of like-named persons. [3] In London in the 13th century, the use of toponymic surnames became dominant.

Some forms originally included a preposition —such as by, in, at (ten in Dutch, zu in German), or of (de in French, Italian and Spanish, van in Dutch, von in German)—that was subsequently dropped, as in "de Guzmán" (of Guzman) becoming simply Guzmán. While the disappearance of the preposition has been linked to toponymic by-names becoming inherited family names, it (dropping the preposition) predates the trend of inherited family surnames. In England, this can be seen as early as the 11th century. And although there is some regional variation, a significant shift away from using the preposition can be seen during the 14th century. [4]

In some cases, the preposition coalesced (fused) into the name, [5] such as Atwood (at wood) [6] and Daubney (originating as de Albigni, from Saint-Martin-d'Aubigny). [7] In the aristocratic societies of Europe, both nobiliary and non-nobiliary forms of toponymic surnames exist, as in some languages they evolved differently. In France, non-nobiliary forms tended to fuse the preposition, where nobiliary forms tended to retain it as the discrete particle, although this was never an invariable practice.

Issues such as local pronunciation can cause toponymic surnames to take a form that varies significantly from the toponym that gave rise to them. Examples include Wyndham, derived from Wymondham, Anster from Anstruther, and Badgerly from Badgworthy. [8]

One must be cautious to interpret a surname as toponymic based on its spelling alone, without knowing its history. A notable example is the name of Jeanne d'Arc, which is not related to a place called Arc but instead is a distorted patronymic (see "Name of Joan of Arc"). Likewise, it has been suggested that a toponymic cannot be assumed to be a place of residence or origin: merchants could have adopted a toponymic by-name to associate themselves with a place where they never resided. [1]

In Polish, a toponymic surname may be created by adding "(w)ski" or "cki" at the end. For example, Maliszewski is a toponymic surname associated with one of the places in Poland named Maliszew, Maliszewo, or Maliszów. [9]

In anthroponymic terminology, toponymic surnames belong among topoanthroponyms (class of anthroponyms that are formed from toponyms). [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surname</span> Hereditary portion of a personal name

A surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person.

Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of toponyms, including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of any geographical feature, and full scope of the term also includes proper names of all cosmographical features.

The suffix -onym is a bound morpheme, that is attached to the end of a root word, thus forming a new compound word that designates a particular class of names. In linguistic terminology, compound words that are formed with suffix -onym are most commonly used as designations for various onomastic classes. Most onomastic terms that are formed with suffix -onym are classical compounds, whose word roots are taken from classical languages.

Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names and a surname. The Vorname is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the "Western order" of "given name, surname". The most common exceptions are alphabetized list of surnames, e.g. "Bach, Johann Sebastian", as well as some official documents and spoken southern German dialects. In most of this, the German conventions parallel the naming conventions in most of Western and Central Europe, including English, Dutch, Italian, and French. There are some vestiges of a patronymic system as they survive in parts of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, but these do not form part of the official name.

An epithet, also a byname, is a descriptive term commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleiman the Magnificent, Richard the Lionheart, and Ladislaus the Short, or allusive, as in Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, Æthelred the Unready, John Lackland, Mehmed the Conqueror and Bloody Mary.

Orders is a surname.

The term von ( ) is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means 'of' or 'from'.

Polish names have two main elements: the given name, and the surname. The usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed by civil law, church law, personal taste and family custom.

The German nobility and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, German entities that recognized or conferred nobility included the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the German Confederation (1814–1866) and the German Empire (1871–1918). Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the German Empire had a policy of expanding his political base by ennobling nouveau riche industrialists and businessmen who had no noble ancestors. The nobility flourished during the dramatic industrialization and urbanization of Germany after 1850. Landowners modernized their estates, and oriented their business to an international market. Many younger sons were positioned in the rapidly growing national and regional civil service bureaucracies, as well as in the officer corps of the military. They acquired not only the technical skills but the necessary education in high prestige German universities that facilitated their success. Many became political leaders of new reform organizations such as agrarian leagues, and pressure groups. The Roman Catholic nobility played a major role in forming the new Centre Party in resistance to Bismarck's anti-Catholic Kulturkampf, while Protestant nobles were similarly active in the Conservative Party.

Anthroponymy is the study of anthroponyms, the proper names of human beings, both individual and collective. Anthroponymy is a branch of onomastics.

Da Ponte or dal Ponte is a topographic byname/surname literally meaning "from the bridge". Notable people with the name include:

Fitz was a patronymic indicator used in Anglo-Norman England to help distinguish individuals by identifying their immediate predecessors. Meaning "son of", it would precede the father's forename, or less commonly a title held by the father. In rare cases, it formed part of a matronymic to associate the bearer with a more prominent mother. Convention among modern historians is to represent the word as fitz, but in the original Norman French documentation, it appears as fiz, filz, or similar forms, deriving from the Old French noun filz, fiz, meaning "son of", and ultimately from Latin filius (son). Its use during the period of English surname adoption led to its incorporation into patronymic surnames, and at later periods this form was adopted by English kings for the surnames given some of their recognized illegitimate children, and by Irish families when anglicizing their Gaelic patronymic surnames.

A nobiliary particle is a type of onomastic particle used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular prepositional particle that was used in the creation of many surnames. In some countries, it became customary to distinguish the nobiliary particle from the regular one by a different spelling, although in other countries these conventions did not arise, occasionally resulting in ambiguity. The nobiliary particle can often be omitted in everyday speech or certain contexts.

Cornish surnames are surnames used by Cornish people and often derived from the Cornish language such as Jago, Trelawney or Enys. Others have strong roots in the region and many in the UK with names such as Eddy, Stark or Rowe are likely to have Cornish origins. Such surnames for the common people emerged in the Middle Ages, although the nobility probably had surnames much earlier on. Not until the later Middle Ages did it become necessary for a common man to have a surname. Most surnames were fully established throughout Cornwall by the end of the 15th century. Today Cornish surnames can be found throughout the world as part of the Cornish diaspora.

Scottish surnames are surnames currently found in Scotland, or surnames that have a historical connection with the country.

The surname Nevin has several origins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal epithet</span> Name for a person or group, by association with some perceived quality of an animal

An animal epithet is a name used to label a person or group, by association with some perceived quality of an animal. Epithets may be formulated as similes, explicitly comparing people with the named animal, as in "he is as sly as a fox", or as metaphors, directly naming people as animals, as in "he is a [sly] fox". Animal epithets may be pejorative, of negative character, or positive, indicating praise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant epithet</span> Name used to label a person or group with some perceived quality of a plant

A plant epithet is a name used to label a person or group, by association with some perceived quality of a plant. Vegetable epithets may be pejorative, such as turnip, readily giving offence, or positive, such as rose or other flowers implying beauty. Tree and flower forenames such as Hazel, Holly, Jasmine and Rose are commonly given to girls. Tree surnames such as Oakes (Oak) and Nash (Ash) are toponymic, given to a person in the Middle Ages who lived in a place near a conspicuous tree. A few plant surnames such as Pease and Onions are metonymic, for sellers of peas and onions respectively. Finally, plant surnames are sometimes emblematic, as in the name Rose, used as a family emblem.

De Ponte is a topographic byname/surname literally meaning "from the bridge". Notable people with the name include:

De Porta is a topographic byname/surname literally meaning "by the gate". Notable people with the name include:

References

  1. 1 2 "Toponymic Surnames as Evidence of the Origin: Some Medieval Views" Archived 2017-02-20 at the Wayback Machine , by Benjamin Z. Kedar.
  2. 1 2 Last Names and Their Meanings, ancestry.com
  3. 1 2 3 Iris Shagrir, "The Medieval Evolution of By-naming: Notions from the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem", In Laudem Hierosolymitani (Shagrir, Ellenblum & Riley-Smith, eds.), Ashgate Publishing, 2007, pp. 49-59; p.55
  4. ↑ P. H. Reaney, Dictionary of English Surnames, 3rd ed., Routledge, 1991, pp. xiv, xvi.
  5. ↑ P. H. Reaney, Dictionary of English Surnames, 3rd ed., Routledge, 1991, p. xiv.
  6. ↑ John Henry Brady, A Critical and Analytical Dissertation on the Names of Persons, J. Nichols & Son, 1822, p. 4.
  7. ↑ J. W. Freeman, Discovering Surnames, 1920, p. 55.
  8. ↑ Earnest Weekley, Surnames, E. P. Dutton and Co., 1916.
  9. ↑ "Maliszewski". Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  10. ↑ "Gary Lefman (2013): Internationalisation of People Names" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-10-19.

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