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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.
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen, an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the first martyr of the Christian Church.
William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Wills, Willy, Willie, Liam, Bill, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie. Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina.
Akins is a Scottish surname and northern Irish family name.
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".
Smith is an occupational surname originating in England. It is the most prevalent surname in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and the fifth most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. In the United States, the surname Smith is particularly prevalent among those of English, Scottish, and Irish descent, but is also a common surname among African-Americans, which can be attributed either to African slaves having been given the surname of their masters, or to being an occupational name, as some southern African-Americans took this surname to reflect their or their father's trade. 2,442,977 Americans shared the surname Smith at the time of the 2010 census, and more than 500,000 people shared it in the United Kingdom as of 2006. At the turn of the 20th century, the surname was sufficiently prevalent in England to have prompted the statement: "Common to every village in England, north, south, east, and west"; and sufficiently common on the (European) continent to be "common in most countries of Europe".
The surname Galbraith is derived from the Gaelic elements gall, meaning "stranger", and Breathnach, meaning "Briton". As such, the surname can be taken to mean "British foreigner", "British Scandinavian", "foreign Briton", or "stranger-Briton". The surname Galbraith can be rendered in Scottish Gaelic as Mac a' Bhreatannaich.
Wood is a surname in the English language. It is common throughout the world, especially countries with historical links to Great Britain.
Alan is a masculine given name in the English and Breton languages. Its surname form is Aland.
Williams is a common patronymic form of the name William that originated in medieval England, Wales, France, and Italy.
Brown is an English-language surname in origin chiefly descriptive of a person with brown hair, complexion or clothing. It is one of the most common surnames in English-speaking countries. It is the most common surname in Jamaica, the second most common in Canada and the United Kingdom, and the fourth most common in Australia and the United States.
Douglas is a masculine given name which originated from the surname Douglas. Although today the name is almost exclusively given to boys, it was used as a girl's name in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the north of England. The Scottish surname Douglas was borne by one of the most powerful families of the Kingdom of Scotland. It has sometimes been stated that the given name is connected with the given name Dougal, although it is more likely derived from the surname already mentioned.
Gentner is a surname of German origin. The first records of the Gentner name can be traced back to Württemberg, southwest Germany, in the late 1300s.
Cawley is a surname in the English language. There are several different origins of the surname. In some cases the surnames are derived from any of numerous place names in England. In other cases the surnames are derived from any of several Gaelic language surnames.
Scottish surnames are surnames currently found in Scotland, or surnames that have a historical connection with the country.
Bain or Bains is an English, French, Punjabi (Jatt), and Scottish surname. It may also be a variant form of a German surname.
Raven is a given name in the English language. While it may be given to boys and girls, it is more frequently a feminine name. In the United States of America the name has ranked among the top 1,000 names given to baby girls since 1977.
Cliburn is a surname in the English language. The name originated as a habitational name.
McCauley and MacCauley are surnames in the English language. There are several etymologically unrelated origins for the names: all of which originated as patronyms in several Gaelic languages—Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Although the English-language surnames are ultimately derived from Gaelic patronyms, the English-language surnames, and the modern Gaelic-language forms do not refer to the actual name of the bearer's father. The Irish McCauley's originated in county Westmeath in the Irish Midlands, province of Leinster, where at one time the area which is now Ballyloughnoe was once called "McGawley's Country, the scottish McCauleys are partly descended from the Irish McCauleys as the Irish moved to Scotland offered land by Robert the bruce" The English-language surnames are generally popular in certain parts of Ireland—both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. According to census records in the United States of America, "MCCAULEY" (McCauley) is a somewhat common surname, although "MACCAULEY" (MacCauley) is extremely rare.
Macaulay, Macauley, MacAulay, McAulay and McAuley are surnames of Irish origin originating in Westmeath, Leinster anglicized from Irish Mac Amhalghaidh in the English language. The surname is also found in Scotland of distinct, but related origins due to Irish settling in Scotland. Some of the Irish Macaulay's settled in Scotland during the reign of Robert the Bruce. There are several etymological origins for the names: all of which originated as patronyms in several Gaelic languages—Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Although the English-language surnames are ultimately derived from Gaelic patronyms, the English-language surnames, and the modern Gaelic-language forms do not refer to the actual name of the bearer's father.
References
- ↑ Wilson Family History, Ancestry.com, archived from the original on 30 December 2010, retrieved 16 February 2012. This webpage cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 .
- ↑ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 276, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 .
- ↑ Reaney, P. H. (1995-08-10). Wilson, R. M. (ed.). A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 495. ISBN 978-0198631460.
- ↑ Black, George F. (2015-02-12). Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History. Churchill & Dunn, Ltd. p. 817. ISBN 978-1626540590.
- ↑ "Wilson Surname at Forebears". Archived from the original on 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
- ↑ "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Smith: America's Most Common Surnames". blogs.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
- ↑ "Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000". census.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
- ↑ "100 Most Common Surnames". 2014-09-25. Archived from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-04-18.