Do You Know Where Your Surname Comes From

My maiden name is a somewhat common one and I know what it means.

My married name probably got mangled at Ellis Island or somewhere. I'm pretty sure what it was originally, but the database doesn't have that name, either. If I come across anyone with that name, they're always a relative of some sort.
 

I do know that the majority of Greek surnames typically come from the location a person was born in, or depict something about the family trait (height, vocation, trade, etc).

For example, "Makris" means tall in English. People with that surname were probably tall at some point. "Kontos" surname means short. "Rhoditis" probably came from the island of Rhodes. "Papas" means priest, and so on.
 
officerripley said:
According to a Frye and Laurie bit, it's a joke term for a man's you-know-what.
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I feel as though I should be impressed. Then I wonder whether even when the name was being established, whether if was considered derogatory even then.

No idea why I think these things. I might have to have a word with myself.
 
Given the reply I got above from the site.... you'd be surprised to know how common my surname is.. so if it hasn't got that in it's store then it's a pretty useless website tbh...
I checked on another surname website.. and it says this....

Approximately 318,407 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States

Highest density in:
Northern Ireland
 
timoc said:
Mine says that 'It represents the last true Irish Monachy', now where did I put my crown? 😊
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Now I expect all the men to bow their heads to respect my status, but the ladies can either courtsey or give me a bowl of ice cream. 😊
 
I have long known the origin of my maiden name. I have a plaque that depicts that name and my married name. I warned Hubby that if he ever came home and found it sawn in half that it would be time to pack his bags.



The Robertson clan has laid claim to be the oldest clan family in Scotland, with descent from the old Celtic kings and earls of Atholl. Their base has been Struan in Perthshire since the early 13th century. At that time the clan name was de Atholia, but it then took the Gaelic form of Donnachaidh (descendants of Duncan).
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The Bowditch name is also very old and has had numerous spellings of the centuries.

This unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is locational from the southern counties of Dorset, Somerset and Devonshire specifically. The derivation for the placename in Devon is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "bupar dice", meaning "above the ditch", but there is a more general derivation for the other locations, i.e. the Olde English "boga", bow, and "dic", ditch, meaning "a bow shaped water channel". In the modern idiom the surname can be found recorded as Bowditch and Bowdidge. The name Bowditch is well known in New England, where Nathaniel Bowditch (1773 - 1838), author of "The Practical Navigator" (1772) was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His family can be traced back to Thorncombe in Devon in the early 1500s. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Bowdyche, which was dated 1554, marriage to Joanna Savage, recorded in "Marriage Licences of London", during the reign of Queen Mary, known as "Bloody Mary", 1553 - 1558.
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I got no where with the web site. Previous research said it means from the south town and comes from the south of England. Other research says it came to the colonies in 1634.
 
My famous surname is Roman (Latin) in origin. The coat of arms has the distinctive blazon of a knight in armor holding in one hand a heart and in the other a shield, suggesting that he will defend his family to the end. The first recorded spelling of my family name was dated April 3rd, 1548, in Bari, Italy, during the reign of Pope Paul 111, who reigned from 1534 to 1549.

There was nothing on my husband's surname.
 
Mine is Bunting. There are 2 branches, one English, one Irish. The armoral shield is a Knight's gauntlet, holding 4 lightning bolts, upon a cloud base. The motto translates as "Nae Quibbly " or " Tolerate No Argument ". When I was a boy in the early 1950's here in Toronto, there were only three phone lines with that last name in the directory. Now there are quite a few more, but none are related to me. JimB.
 
Paladin1950 said:
Never been to Germany. Then there is the language barrier.
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You would be surprised Paladin, most Germans in the
northern 2, 3rds, who speak English do so with American
accents.

There were so many, American Forces in Germany when
I was there and into the 1990s, it could have been another
state.

I trucked Beef from Ireland to Germany for the Americans.

Mike.
 
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